Re: Once Saved, Always Saved?

i was raised under calvinist doctrine and upon rejecting that i also rejected eternal security. however, due to an initial post or two by batchman and some more study, i am beginning to see the importance of KNOWING that we have been saved and being secure in that knowledge.... also a fuller understanding of what it means to be "SAVED"... we are forgiven, adopted as sons and daughters, etc etc

anyways, looking at your passages, trapper, (Mark 13:13)... i checked out my study bible which comments on this verse... "he who stands firm to the end will be saved".
the comment at the bottom of the page is that "Such perserverance is a sure indication of salvation" Note Hebrews 3:14; 6:11-12; 10:36.
Heb 3:v14 "We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly to the end the confidence we had at first"
Comment: "Salvation is evidenced by continuing in faith to the end. Such perseverance reveals those who share in Christ"
I know this is not what you were getting at and these verses, of course, could be taken in quite the opposite way. but, i think not being sure that we are saved (right now) and already forgiven leads to different problems. for instance, what if i commit some sin (any sin, big or little) and before i get a chance to confess it to God or decide to repent of it... i die? would i go to heaven? this is a point that a friend of mine gets stuck on. she knows that no sin will enter heaven so lives in fear that she will die without confessing and being forgiven of something. if God has already forgiven all of our sins, there is no problem. what if we as christians were to undergo persecution and be martyred? even believing that in such a situation God would give me the strength to not deny Him even through torture, i need the assurance that i am His own... regardless.
i know that there is much much more that could be argued or discussed on this topic, but just a few of my thoughts when i read the above post...