There are
many texts in 1 John that are abused to support eternal security (e.g., 1 John
2:18: "Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time"). However, New Testament scholar I. Howard Marshall, when summarising the
soteriology in 1 John, was spot-on when he wrote:
As might be expected, John affirms strongly here
also the doctrine of perseverance. A man born of God and kept by Him cannot sin
(1 John 3:9, 5:18), and can overcome the world. At the same time, his progress to final salvation is not automatic.
For example, although John teaches that all believers through their possession
of the Spirit have knowledge (1 John 2:20), it is still necessary for him to give them plentiful admonition and
teaching. He has to urge them to keep the commandments of God (1 John 2:7) and to abide in Jesus (1 John 2:28; cf.
also 1 John 2:15, 24, 27; 3:3, 18; 5:21; 2 John 7-11). He knows that they can and do fall into sin. (I. Howard Marshall, Kept by the Power of God: A Study of
Perseverance and Falling Away [Minneapolis, Minn.: Bethany Fellowship,
Inc., 1969], 186, emphasis added)
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1 John vs. Eternal Security
