If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

1 John 1:8-10

When John wrote his letter, he was responding, in part, to a heresy that attempted to gain ground in the church.

GotQuestions.org defines gnosticism as “a philosophy of religion it held that matter is evil and spirit is good. The solution to the tension between these two was knowledge, or gnosis, through which man rose from the mundane to the spiritual. In the gospel message, this led to two false theories concerning the person of Christ, Docetism—regarding the human Jesus as a ghost—and Cerinthianism—making Jesus a dual personality, at times human and at times divine.

The gnostics seemed to think that it was our body (the material) that sinned while our spirit is pure. While most wouldn’t adhere to all the theories of gnosticism, the truth is many people fail to see their need for the Savior. I’ve heard people say things like –

“I’m as moral as the next guy.”
“I’m better than most of the people who go to church anyway.”
“I am just fine the way I am.”
“I believe my good deeds will outweigh my bad deeds and if there is a God, I’ll be in.”
“I’ll get to heaven by doing it my way.”

I like to solve problems and achieve goals, but no one gets excited about the solution to a problem he/she doesn’t see in the first place. Acknowledging our need is the first step.

As John wrote in the verses at the top of the page, we can either be deceived or we can repent of our sins and be rescued.

I am sure that I for one am in need of the Savior. In spite of myself, the good news is found in the well-known verses above – God gave Christ for whoever will believe and He did not come to condemn us but to save us so that we might live.