1 john 2 (NMV)
1 My dear children, I'm writing these things to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate [like a defense attorney] who pleads our case before the Father: Jesus Christ, the righteous one [completely just and without guilt].
2 He is the sacrifice that satisfies justice for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for the sins of the whole world.
3 This is how we know that we truly know Him: if we keep His commands.
4 Whoever says, "I know Him",but does not obey His commands is a liar, and the truth is not in them.
5 But whoever keeps His word, in that person, God's love has truly been made complete. This is how we know we are in Him:
6 Whoever claims to remain in Him must walk just as Jesus walked.
7 Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old one, which you have had from the beginning. This old command is the message you have already heard.
8 Yet I am writing a new commandment to you, what is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is fading away and the true light is already shining.
9 Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother or sister is still in darkness.
10 Whoever loves their brother or sister remains in the light, and there is nothing in them that causes others to stumble.
11 But whoever hates his brother or sister is in darkness and walks in darkness. They don't know where they're going, because the darkness has blinded their eyes.
12 I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven because of who He is.
13 I am writing to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have defeated the evil one. I have written to you, children, because you have known the Father.
14 I have written to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the Word of God remains in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in them.
16 Because everything in the world, the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, and the arrogant pride in one's way of life, is not from the Father, but from the world.
17 And the world is fading away, along with its desires, but the one who does the will of God remains forever.
18 Children, it is the last hour. And just as you heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have already come. This is how we know that it is the last hour.
19 They went out from us, but they were never really part of us. For if they had truly belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But their departure showed that none of them truly belonged.
20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know the truth.
21 I have not written to you because you don't know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie comes from the truth.
22 Who is the liar? It is the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ. This is the antichrist: the one who denies the Father and the Son.
23 No one who denies the Son has the Father. The one who confesses the Son also has the Father.
24 Let what you heard from the beginning remain in you. If it remains in you, then you will remain in the Son and in the Father.
25 And this is what He promised us: eternal life.
26 I have written these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you.
27 But as for you, the anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you don't need anyone to teach you. Instead, His anointing teaches you about all things. It is true and not a lie. And just as it has taught you, remain in Him.
28 And now, children, remain in Him, so that when He appears, we may be confident and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.
29 If you know that He is righteous, you also know that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of Him.