Bible Study

I will start by laying out the passage and the OSAS objection and then respond as is usually done on the website. Hopefully, this format continues to be useful to you.

The King James Version is used for this bible study.

 

Passage

1 John 2:18-19

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.

¹⁹ They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.

 

Objection of “Once Saved Always Saved” Explained

As I already mentioned in other studies, the doctrine of “Once Saved Always Saved” assumes that once a person is born again, there is nothing that can make that person lose their salvation even if they go back to a deliberate lifestyle of sin. 

For this passage, the objection is not straightforward and not in direct relation to the OSAS doctrine. We have to dig a bit more to understand what our OSAS brothers are trying to accomplish with this verse. So let us look at it.

 

objection: All brothers who fell away were not born again to begin with

The point of using this verse to back up “Once Saved Always Saved” is mainly to prove that there are false brothers in the church. According to Calvinists, these brothers are not born again and therefore they don’t have the Spirit of God. Either they are still unsaved people who are seeking God, or they are false evil brothers. These people look as if they are saved from outside because of their presence with the sons of God but in reality, they are not. 

So from this, OSAS believers will say that whoever falls away was not really part of the true believers (They went out from us, but they were not of us). Because to Calvinists, if this person were really part of the true believers, he would have continued with them (if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us).

It is relevant to say that this objection is used mainly in Calvinist circles, meaning the camp of “Once Saved Always Saved” brothers who say: “if someone keeps on sinning, that means they were never really saved to begin with”. As I already stated, my issue is not with theses believers even if this is not biblical.

I will answer this with two (2) responses. 

The first response will tackle the question of who the “they” is in verse 19.

The second response will tackle the question of who the “us” is in the same verse.

 

Response 1: The “they” in verse 19 is about AntiChrists

The big issue with OSAS believers’ interpretation of 1 John 2:19 is that they are generalizing the word “they” to mean anyone. Basically, to Calvinists, ALL who “went out from us” were also “not of us”. But is that what the verse is saying? Of course not. This is not talking about anyone who comes out from a body of true believers, it is talking about a specific class of people called AntiChrists.

Now let’s look at the passage.

1 John 2:18-24

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.

¹⁹ They (Who is this “they”? it is the AntiChrists in verse 18) went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.

²⁰ But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.

²¹ I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth.

²² Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. (So here John expands on who these AntiChrists are, they are the liars who deny that Jesus is the Christ and who by denying the Son, deny also the Father)

²³ Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.

²⁴ Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.

 

So, simply, this passage is not talking at all about what Calvinists are using it for. In other words, this passage is not saying that “all who go out from us” were never really “of us”. It is simply saying that these SPECIFIC AntiChrists went out because THEY were never really “of us”.

To say more than that is simply a desperate way to use an unrelated verse to back up the OSAS doctrine. That is why this is a classic example of pushing INTO scriptures what we want them to say instead of reading OUT of them what the author really intended.

 

Response 2: The believers in verse 19 (“Us” and “You”) are born-again believers who ABIDE IN CHRIST

Another important point is that we have to identify who is this “us” the apostle John is speaking about in 1 John 2:19. 

Let’s look again at the passage, this time with that question in mind.

1 John 2:18-29

¹⁸ Little children, it is the last time: and as ye (plural you, John is talking to the believers) have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we (John includes himself with the believers) know that it is the last time.

¹⁹ They went out from us, but they were not of us; for IF they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us (here is the first clue as to who the believers are, they are the ones who CONTINUE): but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.

²⁰ But ye have an unction from the Holy One (the believers have the Spirit), and ye know all things (the believers know all things).

²¹ I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, (the believers know the truth) and that no lie is of the truth.

²² Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. 

²³ Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.

²⁴ Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. (LET WHAT abide in them? what he just spoke about, that Jesus is the Son of God and the Christ). IF that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, (IF that remains in them, they shall CONTINUE IN THE SON) and in the Father.

²⁵ And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even ETERNAL LIFE. (So this promise is for those who CONTINUE BY LETTING THE TRUTH ABIDE IN THEM)

²⁶ These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you.

²⁷ But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

²⁸ And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.

²⁹ If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.

 

Basically, taken in context, this passage goes exactly AGAINST the doctrine of Once Saved Always Saved. Why?

Because the promise of eternal life is for those who:

1. have the unction of the Holy Spirit 
2. know the truth of Jesus as the Son of God and as Christ
3. LET the truth abide in them
4. CONTINUE IN THE SON, ABIDE IN HIM IN RIGHTEOUSNESS.

 

Conclusion

In conclusion, to use this verse to back up the false doctrine of “Once Saved Always Saved” would be to take verse 19 completely out of context. This is obviously done to back up a preconceived taught doctrine and that is surely not reading out of the scriptures but INTO them something they do not say. 

Dear friend, did this article convince you that “Once Saved Always Saved” is a man-made doctrine? If yes, then I am so happy for you. I am happy because now you know the truth. This truth is that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and He is the Christ, the truth that we have to continue believing in Him and let His Truth abide in us, the truth that we have to continue abiding in Him in righteousness until the end to have the promise of eternal life.

May God help us abide in His Son in the joy and hope of the Spirit until the end!