In this passage, John is stressing the importance for the folks in the churches under his care to practice righteousness in the face of the false teachings that had crept up amongst them. Specifically, we see John pointing his readers to 3 specific ways that they should be practicing righteousness which, in turn, shows us 3 specific ways that we should be practicing righteousness: by abiding in Christ, by hoping and trusting in Christ, and by rejecting sinfulness. These are, by no means, the only 3 ways that we practice righteousness, but they are the 3 John is focusing on here, and they are important. So, let’s look at them together.