On his website, Arminian Perspectives, Ben Henshaw has a questions page at which he answers questions about Arminianism and Calvinism that visitors to his site pose in the comment section of the page. Here is a question from a man named Marius followed by Ben’s answer:
Question: I would like to find out how Arminians answer 1 John 3, 7-10. Some Calvinist used that in a discussion to show that a person cannot abandon the faith.
Answer: Regarding 1 John 3:7-10, there is nothing there to suggest that one cannot abandon the faith. What it does say is that no one can continually practice sin (in that it would characterize his lifestyle) and be born again. A born again person will not have a life that is characterized by continual sin. That doesn’t mean those who are born again never sin (2:1), but it does mean that they will not live a sinful lifestyle (3:4-6).
Throughout this epistle John is contrasting the lifestyles of those who are born again and those who are not. Those who are born again (children of God) live lives that reflect the character of the Father and the Son. God’s children will behave in a godly manner while those who are not God’s children will behave in an ungodly manner. Because of this, we can be sure that anyone who denies Christ by profession or by lifestyle is not a child of God (2:9, 11, 18-23; 3:4-6, 10; 4:1-6, etc.). The new spiritual life of the believer is evidenced through righteous living (2:3-6, 29, etc.). This is a concern for John because he is combating false teaching that would suggest that one can live like the devil and still belong to God (3:7, 8). He is also helping his readers to be able to identify false teachers by the way that they live.
But again, there is nothing here that would suggest that one who is a child of God cannot fall away from faith and cease to be a child of God. There is only the reality that if one is a child of God, that person will live like it and bear fruit that gives evidence to that fact. However, John does repeatedly warn his readers (who are believers, cf. 2:12-14; 2:20, 27; 3:2) to remain in Christ and continue to follow Him and the true teaching of the gospel (2:15, 24, 28; 3:7, 24; 5:21). It would be senseless to encourage true believers to remain in the faith if it was impossible to fall away.
All of this is in harmony with John’s Gospel where, in chapter 15, Jesus makes it very clear that one who is in Christ can yet be cut off from Him, wither, die and be thrown into the fire if that person does not “remain” in Him.
