2:9 works. Only faith, not works, can bring us acceptance with God. But good works are the vital consequence and evidence of life with God (Titus 2:14; 3:8, 14; James 2:14–26). God chose us to make us holy sons and daughters (1:4, 5), and He has now fashioned us to be new bearers of His image (4:24), designed for the kind of life that conforms to God’s character (4:1–6:20). Also see “Antinomianism” at 1 John 3:7.