Originally posted by Cow Poke
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The text you cited above is 1 John 5:13. It speaks to having a present assurance of a present salvation. ‘Eternal life’ is only to be found in God’s Son (v. 11), and ‘The one who has the Son has the life; the one who does not have the Son of God does not have the life’ (v. 12).* The assurance that an individual will inevitably persevere in the faith by maintaining his or her faith-union with Jesus Christ and attain salvation in the age to come is not here provided. The possibility that one may forsake Christ and thus no longer have the Son nor ‘the life’ is not negated. But as long as one is truly in Christ, he or she is safe.
I know that this has taken us far afield from the opening post. I do hope that, at some point, you will consider reading Robert Shank’s Life in the Son: A Study of the Doctrine of Perseverance (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House, 1989). If read with an open mind, it strongly challenges the doctrine of eternal security (once saved, always saved).
* Lexham English Bible.
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