Can non-Trinitarians be saved?

[Charlie24]

I was an Arminian saved as can be. Also a Dispensationalist and Pentecostal. It was only after hearing about the Limited Atonement doctrine by accident that I fled those persuasions and now rest in God alone for my salvation. After years of study I believe the first 3 of the 5 points of Calvinism are true to scripture.

If you agree that Calvin was wrong on 2 points of the tulip, how can you convince anyone he was right about 3?

Not trying to take this thread off subject. I will end it here.

 

[Dave L]

If you agree that Calvin was wrong on 2 points of the tulip, how can you convince anyone he was right about 3?

Not trying to take this thread off subject. I will end it here.

It takes study and objective reading to prove someone wrong. Calvin only believed 4 of the 5 points. The Synod of Dort came up with the 5 points.

 

[Dave L]

Trying to summarize all the posts so far: It seems that only @Dave L and @Al Masihi don't think no-Trinitarians can be saved.

I like statements by @Charlie24 "It is my belief that only one doctrine must be believed to enter into the Kingdom of God. The misunderstanding of the Trinity does NOT doom one to hell. Unbelief in Jesus the Saviour is what will doom ones soul," and @hedrick "No Standardized Theological Achievement Test." It's not clear whether @SkyWriting meant the same thing or meant a more universalist understanding.

The distinction of OnePens noted by @Sabertooth is appreciated. @tampasteve added interesting info regarding INC and LLDM. Perhaps these belong in the Unitarian category that I failed to include in the OP? In the same category would be small groups like Christadelphians and World Wide Church of God before they changed their theology & name.

I have a particular problem with groups that consider themselves the only true Church of God. These would include JW, INC and LLDM.

No trinity = idol worship. = damnation.

 

[All4Christ]

I also appreciate the distinction about Oneness Pentecostals vs the other non-Trinitarians. I don’t think someone has to have full understanding of the Trinity to be saved, and many who believe in the Trinity have very flawed understanding of the Trinity. Will God save them? I don’t think so, especially in the case of those who don’t believe in the divinity of Christ. Regarding the others, the question becomes - how distorted can ones’ view of God be and still worship the same God? When we reach that day of judgment and they see Christ, will they recognize Him as our Lord and bow down before Him or reject Him as someone they don’t know? For what it is worth, that applies to everyone. Just being a part of any Christian Church (including Orthodoxy) is not a guarantee to be saved.

We know the normative path of salvation, but I won’t preclude God from acting as He sees fit. The path of salvation, however, is narrow, and I wouldn’t stop sharing God’s word with those groups.

 

[Dave L]

I also appreciate the distinction about Oneness Pentecostals vs the other non-Trinitarians. I don’t think someone has to have full understanding of the Trinity to be saved, and many who believe in the Trinity have very flawed understanding of the Trinity. Will God save them? I don’t think so, especially in the case of those who don’t believe in the divinity of Christ. Regarding the others, the question becomes - how distorted can ones’ view of God be and still worship the same God? When we reach that day of judgment and they see Christ, will they recognize Him as our Lord and bow down before Him or reject Him as someone they don’t know? For what it is worth, that applies to everyone.

We know the path of salvation, but I won’t preclude God from acting as He sees fit. The path of salvation, however, is narrow, and I wouldn’t stop sharing God’s word with those groups.

It's after they hear the doctrine and reject it that they reject Christ and worship an idol in his name.

 

[All4Christ]

It's after they hear the doctrine and reject it that they reject Christ and worship an idol in his name.

That’s what I mean about distortion of Who God is. Can one truly worship God if their view of Him is extremely distorted, or are they worshiping a different God altogether?

 

[Dave L]

That’s what I mean about distortion of Who God is. Can one truly worship God if their view of Him is extremely distorted, or are they worshiping a different God altogether?

They worship idols of their imagination. Only a precise definition of Christ is the true Christ.

 

[All4Christ]

They worship idols of their imagination. Only a precise definition of Christ is the true Christ.

I’m not arguing what you are saying about them.

ETA: I’d say that anyone outside of the ancient Nicene creed likely has a very distorted view of Christ, and not all who profess Christ actually worship Him. I’m also limiting my answers to the question at hand (can they be saved).

 

[Dave L]

I’m not arguing what you are saying about them.

ETA: I’d say that anyone outside of the ancient Nicene creed likely has a very distorted view of Christ, and not all who profess Christ actually worship Him. I’m also limiting my answers to the question at hand (can they be saved).

I believe the early Creeds define Christianity and most today have drifted far away from them.

 

[All4Christ]

I believe the early Creeds define Christianity and most today have drifted far away from them.

I agree that many groups have drifted far away.

That’s why I phrased my question that way. At what point is the view of God so distorted that it no longer is the one true God? That applies to more than just the Trinity.

 

[Alain Valdivia]

I would say no. Since faith is a virtue whereby we are turned to God and trust in not only His mercy but His divine revelation then anything that causes a defect in that faith could be damning to the soul. For instance, faith is necessary for salvation as the Apostle asserts, “For we account a man to be justified by faith, without the works of the law.” (Romans‬ ‭3:28). Thus if anyone lacks the virtue of faith or has a serious defect in it, then that person would not attain to that faith whereby he would otherwise be justified. In this instance, faith includes assent to the truths of divine revelation. Because of this, to believe in things that are contrary to the truth that God has revealed it would be damning if the truth is essential. Now the Trinity is a doctrine that is most definitely essential and this is evident in the fact that Paul speaks of there being different Christs’ (2 Corinthians 11:4). The Jews, in the dispensation of the Old Law, held the doctrine of God’s oneness to be so essential that to deny it would be nigh to blasphemy. In the same way, we believe in God’s oneness but also His triunity in the three persons of the Blessed Trinity. To deny such a thing is to believe in heresy. Heresy is a sin that causes a defect in the virtue of faith. Because of this the faith is not able to justify since it isn’t a formed faith that assents to the Divine Revelation. So in short, no, they can’t be saved if they willfully reject the doctrine of the Trinity.

 

[StevenBelievin]

Oneness Pentecostals are not in the same boat with LDS & JWs. The latter two do not acknowledge Jesus' divinity.

OnePens DO acknowledge His divinity. They just emphasize the "one" aspect of Trinity over their "three" aspect. I don't think that we need to totally get how "Trinity" works in order to get saved (or else we would all be in trouble).

I would tent to agree on this one. LDS and JWs in my opinion are cults and deny the deity of Christ. In that case they are not worshiping the true Jesus but a construct that they have created for themselves. In other words they are not saved unless they deny their unbiblical view and believe the truth of the divinity of Christ.

 

[lsume]

Oneness Pentecostals, LDS, and JW are major non-Trinitarian groups. Are there other significant non-Trinitarians? Can non-Trinitarians be saved?

Interesting question considering that it’s 100% the purview of God. He Tells us that all of His children will be taught directly by Him. When that happens you will understand things differently than you currently do.

 

[Lazarus Short]

No trinity = idol worship. = damnation.

That's stark.

 

[Barney2.0]

Trying to summarize all the posts so far: It seems that only @Dave L and @Al Masihi don't think no-Trinitarians can be saved.

I like statements by @Charlie24 "It is my belief that only one doctrine must be believed to enter into the Kingdom of God. The misunderstanding of the Trinity does NOT doom one to hell. Unbelief in Jesus the Saviour is what will doom ones soul," and @hedrick "No Standardized Theological Achievement Test." It's not clear whether @SkyWriting meant the same thing or meant a more universalist understanding.

The distinction of OnePens noted by @Sabertooth is appreciated. @tampasteve added interesting info regarding INC and LLDM. Perhaps these belong in the Unitarian category that I failed to include in the OP? In the same category would be small groups like Christadelphians and World Wide Church of God before they changed their theology & name.

I have a particular problem with groups that consider themselves the only true Church of God. These would include JW, INC and LLDM.

Hey, to sum this up, if anyone believes that a Non-trinitarian can be saved he or she better read the works of Saint Athanasius the Apostolic, what would be the point of the Nicene creed if Non-Trinitarian heretics could be saved, Non-Trinitarians either fit into three camps as far as I know, the Modalist heretics that believe all persons of the Trinity are each other playing different roles so there’s only one Hypostasis or person of which the Onness Pentecostals fall into, and the Arians heretics that believe that Christ is an inferior created deity subject to the Father and a second weaker created god of which the Jehovah’s Witness and other similar groups fall into, and the Adoptionist heretics that Christ say that Christ was a man elevated to the status of an inferior deity and made the Son of God by the will of the Father rejecting that he was begotten of the Father with his divine Sonship being inherent to his Nature, many of the so called “Biblical (heretic) Unitarians” fall into this category of promoting Neo-Adoptionism. All of these contradict Orthodox Christian theology and are all Non-Christian groups, none will attain salvation in the slightest.

 

[Andrewn]

I believe the early Creeds define Christianity and most today have drifted far away from them.

This is why the Eastern Orthodox convened a very important synod in 1672. Among the decrees of that synod that strongly criticized Calvinism were the following statements:

"We believe the Divine and Sacred Scriptures to be God-taught; and, therefore, we ought to believe the same without doubting; yet not otherwise than as the Catholic Church has interpreted and delivered the same. For every foul heresy accepts the Divine Scriptures, but perversely interprets the same, using metaphors, and homonymies, and sophistries of man’s wisdom, confounding what ought to be distinguished, and trifling with what ought not to be trifled with.

"For if [we were to accept Scriptures] otherwise, each man holding every day a different sense concerning them, the Catholic Church would not by the grace of Christ continue to be the Church until this day, holding the same doctrine of faith, and always identically and steadfastly believing. But rather she would be torn into innumerable parties, and subject to heresies. Neither would the Church be holy, the pillar and ground of the truth, {1 Timothy 3:15} without spot or wrinkle; {Ephesians 5:27} but would be the Church of the malignant {Psalm 25:5} as it is obvious the church of the heretics undoubtedly is, and especially that of Calvin, who are not ashamed to learn from the Church, and then to wickedly repudiate her."

There is more criticism of Calvinism in the other decrees:

The Confession of Dositheus (Eastern Orthodox)

 

[anna ~ grace]

Oneness Pentecostals, LDS, and JW are major non-Trinitarian groups. Are there other significant non-Trinitarians? Can non-Trinitarians be saved?

I think a good question is "is it the same Jesus?"

The Jesus of the JWs is a creation of God and did not physically rise from the dead. The Jesus of the LDS is the spiritual brother of Satan, and appeared to Joseph Smith and commanded Mormonism to be established because all other Christians churches and denominations were abhorrent to the real God, who is himself a created being.

So.... that's incredibly wrong.

The Oneness Pentecostals are Modalists. That's not correct, but it's less incorrect than either of the above examples.

 

[Albion]

Oneness Pentecostals, LDS, and JW are major non-Trinitarian groups. Are there other significant non-Trinitarians? Can non-Trinitarians be saved?

You've named the major ones, but there are also the Unitarian Universalists, Swedenborgians, and Christadelphians among others. As was already mentioned by another poster, there was the old Worldwide Church of God which broke into a number of still-active splinters--United CofG, Living CofG, Philadelphia CofG and others.

As for the prospects for salvation of the members of any of these, it may depend on just HOW one redefines the Trinity. But I also am of the opinion that we should not push too hard on making such decisions for God.

 

[Bruce Leiter]

Oneness Pentecostals, LDS, and JW are major non-Trinitarian groups. Are there other significant non-Trinitarians? Can non-Trinitarians be saved?

They certainly have the wrong God, but I wouldn't put it past God to save them if they have a relationship with Jesus.

 

[LizaMarie]

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