Verses 1-2
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Scripture is written to teach us to stop sinning, not to give us an excuse to sin.
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Focus on reading the Word daily and you will sin less.
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But if you do sin, know that Christ has made you forgiven, since He took the wrath of God for all our sin.
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Notice that John says “if” we sin, not “when” we sin.
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Don't live your life expecting to sin. Strive to be obedient. Your normal life should be to repent and obey.
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Choosing to turn away from the sinful thought when you feel tempted is what it means to repent. And doing what the Word says to do, instead, is obeying.
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Verses 3-8
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The person who knows and loves God is the one who obeys His commandments (John 14:15,21-23).
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More specifically, to know and love God is to walk like Jesus. Purpose to live like Jesus lived. You were saved for this!
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God's command has been consistent from the Old into the New Testament—that we love God with our whole being and love others as ourselves (Matthew 22:37-40).
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Therefore, continue to love God by obeying His Word, since the commands of the Word are really love in action (Romans 13:9-10).
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Verses 9-11
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Loving others is also part of what empowers us to love and obey God. If you love people, you won't sin, since sin is the failure to love.
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Above all else, focus on cultivating a love for others (1 Peter 4:8)—to care as much as the Son cared—and then you will be like Him and obedient to God.
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This also means that you cannot love God while hating or harboring bitterness against a person.
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If you have hate or anger or bitterness in your heart against someone, you won't think clearly, and it will be impossible to please God. Always forgive! This will allow you to repent of such hate.
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Verses 12-17
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Because of Jesus, we are forgiven, we get to truly know God, we've overcome the devil, we have strength, and God's Word abides in us.
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To stay in that state of victory, do not love worldly things—sins, pleasures, riches, power and fame—anything that the flesh wants.
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Sin will seem attractive, but don't be fooled. It always leads to death.
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In verse 8 John said that the darkness is passing away, and now in verse 17 he says that the world and its lusts are also passing away.
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Everything that is sinful will be destroyed, along with the desire for it. And if we desire and go after sin, we will also be destroyed. Why would you desire something that is going to be destroyed? Such is an empty pursuit.
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Pursue the things that last forever. Delight yourself in doing the will of God.
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Verses 18-27
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There is coming a day when an individual man—the Antichrist—will be revealed. He will be a kind of dictator over the whole world, and will be fully possessed by the devil.
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He is the man of sin and the beast discussed in 2 Thessalonians, and in the book of Revelation.
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Until the time the antichrist comes, there is a spirit of opposition to Jesus that continues, and it is hidden in churches.
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There are people who appear to be believers, but they are eventually exposed to be false brethren. This is how the spirit of the antichrist works—by trying to blend in with believers while, in reality, being against Christ.
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But we are God's chosen, and by knowing His Word well we can identify those who are true and those who are false.
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Therefore, know your Bible well and stay focused on it, and watch for those who claim Christianity and yet deny the truth of the Word.
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The Holy Spirit within you teaches you. We shouldn't depend on any one man to grow and know the truth, because the Spirit helps to guide us into truth as we read the Word (Jeremiah 31:34, John 16:13).
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Be confident in your personal relationship with God, and learn from the Word for yourself.
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Do listen to teachers God has appointed in the church (Ephesians 4:11-12), but don't depend on anyone like you should depend upon the Word for yourself. Human teachers can be easily flawed, but the Word is perfect. It will never lead you astray.
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Verses 28-29
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Stay close to Christ by staying in the Word and obedience to it, and when it comes time to see Christ, you'll be confident and unashamed before Him.
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You do not want to be ashamed when you see Christ, and you do not want to be unashamed today. If you want to be confident with Christ, you will have to practice righteousness.
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