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My friends, I wanted very much to write to you about how God has saved us from sin. That is what he has done for you and for us. But instead of that, I now know that I must write to you about something else. I must tell you to be strong and brave. You must do everything that you can to keep God's true message safe. God has given this message to his special people and his message will never change. Do not let anyone teach you a different message.

I say this because certain bad people have secretly come among you. They have turned away from God. They are trying to change God's true message. They teach that we can do any evil things that we want to do. They say that God will be kind and he will forgive us for all those things. They do not accept the authority of Jesus Christ, who is our only Master and our Lord. God will certainly punish those wicked people. A long time ago God said that he would punish people like them.

Remember that the Lord brought Israel's people out of Egypt where they had been slaves. But later he destroyed all those same people who did not trust him.[a] I want you to remember these important things. You should already know all about them, but you must never forget them.

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Footnotes

  1. 1:5 Israel's people were slaves in Egypt. God saved them when Moses led them out from there. But as they travelled through the wilderness, most of them did not trust God. So they did not go into the land that God had promised them. Instead, they died before they arrived there. That is how God punished them. See Numbers 14:1-37; 26:64-65.