Can a real Christian doubt his salvation?

[brian]

This topic came up in our Bible Study discussion. I grew up in a church, thought I was a Christian, and served in church leadership many years, and at times I would doubt my salvation. A few years ago I became a true Christian and had a personal relationship with God that I never had before, so now I no longer doubt my salvation. It seems inconceivable for me to doubt, so I wonder if it is possible for a true believer to have doubts about his own salvation. Could this be established from scripture? People in the Bible do doubt certain parts of God like whether He will come through at certain times, but do they ever doubt their own salvation?

[AaronBDisney]

Seems like much of the book of 1 John was written for this very purpose.

1 John 5:13 KJV These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life

I would say you certainly have no reason to doubt it, if you examine the scriptures. You may find you have a false assurance or a true assurance. The fact that you may be unsure does not seem to be the normal state or the desired state of the Christian, but considering the reason John wrote his first epistle, it is a possible state of the Christian.