1 John closes with a summary of the book. John's goal for the book was to assure believers that they have eternal life. He restates two vital reasons for this assurance and focuses on the right object of our worship.

John ended chapter 4 with the command to love one another. Chapter 5 helps us obey this command by showing the connections between love, obedience, and faith.

We've all struggled to love those close to us. So how can we love one another? What's the link between God's love and our love?

There have always been and will always be false teachers and teachings. John wants us to identify and avoid them. He tells us how.

John has just taught his readers that they must abide in Christ and purify themselves. But what do we do about the fact that we still sin? Isn't it proof that we don't abide in Christ?

Christ is coming for us. It is our hope. This hope should and can make a difference in our present.

John warns his readers about the rise of antichrists who will try to draw them away from Jesus. He describes how these false leaders can be known and comforts believers with the assurance that they will not be drawn away.

Many of us struggle with doubts and a lack of certainty about our faith and our salvation. So did the people to whom John wrote. In today's passage, John reassures his readers and us of our salvation - rooted in what Christ had done for us.

Guilt seems to be an ongoing problem, mostly because sin is an ongoing problem. The apostle John has a solution for both.

John writes this letter to reassure Christians who were pressured to believe that Jesus wasn't all he claimed to be. The truth of the gospel will impact how these Christians should live and treat each other.