Most professing Christians don’t understand very much about eternal life. They have heard the term mentioned and think they will always have it because of the popular false teaching of once saved always saved! The real issue is, what does the Bible say about this? Ponder this passage carefully and contrast it to today’s misinformation:
No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also. See that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is what he promised us—even eternal life. I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. (1 John 2:23-26)
Besides the mention of the promised eternal life, did you notice that remaining in the Son [Jesus] is conditional and depends on us? That totally destroys the cliche once in the Son always in the Son which is unconditional. God’s truth is, IF what we heard from the beginning remains in us, we will remain in Jesus and retain eternal life. If not, we won’t! What needs to remain in us has to refer to the real truth about Jesus being the Christ, which brought about salvation and with it a holy, radical change in behavior. The danger which John is writing about there centers around false religious teachers. Apparently, John knew they posed a very real and genuine lethal danger to the Christian that too many are not aware of, especially in our apostate sin-loving day. We must be on guard. Spiritual death for the righteous is a real possibility.
