1 John 2:19 “They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.” This is a scary verse. Not so much this one, but the topic of losing our salvation. I can recall many times when I was unsure. I went forward at more than one altar call. My brother pulled me aside and told me I didn’t have to do that again. There are several things going on. John is talking about people that were in the fellowship and left. They did more than leave. They began to act against the cause of Christ. John is saying that they were never believers to begin with. He felt the need to write this because they were disturbed. They probably remember actions that convinced them that this one was a believer. Yet, now he’s with the opposition. How is this possible? Hebrews 6:5,6 “addresses this; “and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance,” Tie this in with Matthew 13:20,21 with the parable of the sower: “The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.” The Word can be sown in one’s heart and take root and grow. For the unbeliever, it’s the beginning of salvation. There is the appearance of growth. The person is joyful in The Lord. It’s the test drive stage. The person experiences the car. This one can love it, but walk away. So it is with salvation. This person in 1 John was experiencing the life of God, but wasn’t quite in yet. Circumstances eventually caused him to be weeded out. This bothered the believers there. They lost a friend. This is different from backsliding. Peter denied Christ. David sinned for a season. All of these came back. The one is today’s passage doesn’t want to return. He test drove the car and didn’t like it. The difference between this person and the backslidden christian is desire. This one has no desire to return. Lord, thank You that You take us back. Thank You for the life within.