Study Desk

But God made a promise to us. And we are waiting for what he promised—a new sky and a new earth. That will be the place where goodness lives.

Dear friends, we are waiting for this to happen. So try as hard as you can to be without sin and without fault. Try to be at peace with God.

The devil has been sinning since the beginning. Anyone who continues to sin belongs to the devil. The Son of God came for this: to destroy the devil's work.

This is how we know what real love is: Jesus gave his life for us. So we should give our lives for each other as brothers and sisters.

And God gives us what we ask for. We receive it because we obey God's commands and do what pleases him.

True love is God's love for us, not our love for God. He sent his Son as the way to take away our sins.

So we know the love that God has for us, and we trust that love. God is love. Everyone who lives in love lives in God, and God lives in them.

Loving God means obeying his commands. And God's commands are not too hard for us,

We can come to God with no doubts. This means that when we ask God for things (and those things agree with what God wants for us), God cares about what we say.

Suppose you see your fellow believer sinning (sin that does not lead to eternal death). You should pray for them. Then God will give them life. I am talking about people whose sin does not lead to eternal death. There is sin that leads to death. I don't mean that you should pray about that kind of sin.

Be careful! Don't lose the reward we have worked for. Be careful so that you will receive all of that reward.

So we should help them. When we help them, we share with their work for the truth.

Dear friends, I wanted very much to write to you about the salvation we all share together. But I felt the need to write to you about something else: I want to encourage you to fight hard for the faith that God gave his holy people. God gave this faith once, and it is good for all time.

Some people have secretly entered your group. These people have already been judged guilty for what they are doing. Long ago the prophets wrote about them. They are against God. They have used the grace of our God in the wrong way—to do sinful things. They refuse to follow Jesus Christ, our only Master and Lord.

Also, remember the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and the other towns around them. Like those angels they were full of sexual sin and involved themselves in sexual relations that are wrong. And they suffer the punishment of eternal fire, an example for us to see.

Not even the archangel Michael did this. Michael argued with the devil about who would have the body of Moses. But Michael did not dare to condemn even the devil for his false accusations. Instead, Michael said, "The Lord punish you!"

It will be bad for them. They have followed the way that Cain went. To make money, they have given themselves to following the wrong way that Balaam went. They have fought against God like Korah did. And like Korah, they will be destroyed.

Like the dirty foam on the wild waves in the sea, everyone can see the shameful things they do. They are like stars that wander in the sky. A place in the blackest darkness has been kept for them forever.

to judge everyone. He will punish all those who are against him for all the evil they have done in their lack of respect for him. Yes, the Lord will punish all these sinners who don't honor him. He will punish them for all the evil things they have said against him."

Keep yourselves safe in God's love, as you wait for the Lord Jesus Christ in his mercy to give you eternal life.