THEY WENT OUT FROM US

Many have taken John’s words—“They went out from us, but they were not of us” (1 John 2:19)—to mean that every person who falls away was never truly saved. But the Bible shows that this verse does not describe all Christians who stumble or depart. John was speaking of false apostles and deceivers who denied that Jesus is the Christ (1 John 2:22). They were never part of the true fellowship of the faith. They did not lose salvation; they had never embraced the gospel’s truth from the heart.

When John wrote, the church was troubled by antichrists—those who claimed divine knowledge while rejecting the Lord’s authority. Their departure revealed their nature. They “went out” because their message was not of God. Yet this is very different from a believer who has tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then falls away (Hebrews 6:4-6). That tragedy is not about false apostles, but about true converts who turn back from grace.

The New Testament repeatedly warns genuine believers to continue steadfast in the faith (Colossians 1:23), to make their calling and election sure (2 Peter 1:10), and to take heed lest they fall (1 Corinthians 10:12). Why would such warnings exist if a believer could never fall? The Bible does not say that every deserter was a hypocrite from the start—it says that some truly believed and then departed from the living God through an evil heart of unbelief (Hebrews 3:12).

So John’s statement in 1 John 2:19 applies narrowly to those who were never truly part of Christ’s body—the deceivers who opposed His truth. It does not erase the many passages that call Christians to endurance, repentance, and faithful abiding. Salvation is real, and so is the danger of falling. Let us therefore walk humbly with Christ, keeping our hearts close to His word, for “he who endures to the end shall be saved” (Matthew 24:13).

BDD