Beloved, don’t imitate that which is evil, but that which is good. He who does good is of God. He who does evil hasn’t seen God.
World English Bible
This verse is examined in more than one Scripture Analysis section. Each lens is shown on its own terms, in the section's own words; GEBible reaches no verdict of its own.
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Beloved, don’t imitate that which is evil, but that which is good. He who does good is of God. He who does evil hasn’t seen God.
World English Bible
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
1 Kings 8:46, 2 Chronicles 6:36, Proverbs 20:9, Ecclesiastes 7:20, Romans 3:23, and 1 John 1:8-10 all declare that no human is without sin. 1 John 3:6, 3:9, and 5:18 declare that anyone born of God does not sin and cannot sin.
Critical scholarship: Genuinely disputed among scholars.
Theology
The proposed answers and sources for each reading are on the question page.
Psalm 14:3, Psalm 53:3, and Paul quoting them at Romans 3:12 say absolutely no one does good — not one. Ecclesiastes 7:20 and Isaiah 64:6 ("all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags") double down.
Critical scholarship: Genuinely disputed among scholars.
Theology
The proposed answers and sources for each reading are on the question page.
Each section sets the viewpoints side by side; you weigh the evidence. Here, "critical scholarship" means academic study, not a value judgment. How this is built →
Within each section, grouped by shared field or question type — not a cross-section comparison.
This citation refers to this GEBible page — the verse and the analysis gathered here. To cite the underlying scholarship, cite those sources directly.
"3 John 1:11 — Scripture Analysis" GEBible, https://gebible.app/analysis/verse/3-john/1/11?version=WEB (retrieved 27 August 2026).