Comparing & contrasting. That’s what John’s been up to in this, our present passage.

He’s been reasoning with us from both the positive & the negative position & he’s trying to

get us to understand that “the proof is in the practice” of a person’s life. How can you know

if you’re truly a child of God. How can you detect or discern if someone else is truly a child

of God. The proof isn’t in what I say (I can say any number of things that sound affirming

to the Christian position). The proof really lies in what my life characteristically displays.