I have often made reference to this passage, insisting (contrary to the exponents of 'once saved always saved' that it does not negate the concept of real apostasy. The argument is made that so-called apostates aren't really so, because like the figures mentioned in 1 John 2.19, they were never actually part of the Church. And so when a person seemingly 'falls away', they did not in fact fall away, but merely manifested their unregenerate state. In other words they were never 'real' Christians.
