I write these things to you so that you may know that you have eternal life, you who believe in the name of the Son of God.
I really don't think this should give anyone carte blanche to think that they can determine who will be saved or damned. It is a confirmation of eternal life.
At the end of the day, it is all about eternal life with God. That is why it is so important to keep all of life's distractions under control. In this day and age I consider false idols to be things like television, Britney Spears types, football, work, etc. None of those things are inherently evil. But when we dedicate way too much time on them they become false idols. Still, only God knows our hearts and I can't take it upon myself to say that my neighbor is damned because he watches telelvision ALL day long, and they aren't programs about God. I'll pray for him though.
I didn't say that. I said each person can know if he himself has eternal salavation.
Becky
I agree. If we cannot know for sure that another person is not saved, can we/anyone know for sure that another person IS saved?
No, you can’t tell if someone else is truly saved (unless that person curses God and lives like the devil) but you CAN know that YOU are saved.