When I was a young Christian, I had a friend with emotional problems. He wanted to kill himself, but he was afraid of going to hell if he did.

This friend went from place to place seeking help for his problems. Evidently, among his many councilors there was one who strongly believed in the doctrine of eternal security. This is the belief that once you are saved, you can't lose your salvation -- not even if you kill yourself.

Upon learning this doctrine, my friend's fear of hell was removed. He attempted to kill himself but failed. That's when he told me about his new found belief in eternal security. He said since he wasn't going to hell, all he wanted to do now was go to be with Jesus.

I argued with him the best I could. Although I leaned strongly in the direction of believing in eternal security myself, I certainly didn't think it wise to use the doctrine in such a manor.

Not long later my friend succeeded in killing himself. And, that experience has followed me to this day. It taught me to not be casual about what I believe when it comes to the important issue of salvation. The bottom line was, my friend took a step of another person's faith into eternity. And once there, there was no way for him to turn back if that person's faith was wrong.

Here's my point: We live in a time when the Bible tells us there will be a lot of, what I call, "casual boasters" among us. These are those who speak like they are the final authority on issues they don't understand themselves. And worse yet, they don't even understanding the possible consequences to others if they're wrong.

It's time for us to get real.