Protestants believe that to so partner with God guarantees that our salvation will be accomplished, if only for so long as it is our intention that our salvation be accomplished.
Huh? I am not getting you. It sounds like you are saying if our intention changes, then God doesn't any longer guarantee our salvation. Which is not OSAS.
All Protestants do not believe in OSAS. I happen to believe that it is a matter of the will.
I believe that God, in this regard, gives to us what we want.
If we want to spend eternity with Him, He makes it so.
If we do not wish to spend eternity with Him, He will not force us.
The further question might be ... would one who has turned to God ever opt to turn away ? How deep-seated is such a decision ? Is such a thing inherently tied to our being ... such that we would have to become a different person to make a different decision ?
The truly saved are saved, no doubt.
It is deciding that we are them, without the benefit of living our lives that is the trouble. If we are them then we will lives our lives accordingly. If we are not them, at some point we will fall.
If we are not them, we have nowhere to fall from.
It does no good to assume you are them, ...
Obviously, John the Apostle felt that there is some good to knowing that we have eternal life. Elsewise, why would he endeavor to make it so ?1 John 5:13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life,[1] and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.
Exactly.
If we are not them, we have nowhere to fall from.
Fall from the path that leads to righteousness.
It does no good to assume you are them, ...
Obviously, John the Apostle felt that there is some good to knowing that we have eternal life. Elsewise, why would he endeavor to make it so ?
This is back to square one. John wrote that we can know we have eternal life if we believe and follow the commandments. Not that we can know just by our "believing."
SD