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Are my trinitarian friends saved?

 Submitted: 6/21/2007
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Question: Blessings in the name of our Lord Jesus. I used to be a believer in the trinity and God recently opened my eyes to the truth of His oneness. I have tried to speak to my friends (who believe in the trinity) concerning the oneness of God. Unfortunately it was not accepted and I was even sent emails about the heresy of oneness. I praise God everyday for His revelation of Himself. However, it also deeply concerns me in regards to my friends. I believe they are saved and love the Lord, however I can't dismiss certain biblical truths that concern me. Jesus clearly said in John 8:24 'that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am He, you will indeed die in your sins'. My question is, what does the 'He' Jesus is referring to entail? Trinitarians will confess that it means believing the 'Jesus is Lord/God'. However the word also says that God is the Father (Mal 2:10, 1 Cor 8:6), and Trinitarians don't believe that Jesus is the Father. All in all, what really concerns me is trinitarians believe that Jesus is God, but that Jesus is not the Father. I ask myself 1. Is it possible to accept that Jesus is God but not the Father given the verses that state that God is the Father (Mal 2:10, 1 Cor 8:6)? 2. Is it acceptable with God to accept that Jesus is only 'God the Son' (2nd person of 3) and not God Himself (fullness of the Godhead...Col 2:9)? It scares me when I ask them if Jesus is God? They'll admit 'Yes', yet when I ask, Is God Jesus? they will say that 'God is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit'. They admit Jesus is God, but when asked what is God's name, they tell me 'Elohim'. This is an example from asking my friend about the 'mystery of the Godhead' and her two conflicting responses. Keep in mind these two response were from the same conversation. Response 1: I do understand the Godhead to be three persons in one: The Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. How they exist as one is the mystery that I believe is to be so. Response 2: The Godhead’s existence is not a mystery to me; three separate entities are one God. In regards to semantic breakdowns lies the mystery, not in regards to how they exist; they exist as three separately as one. To be honest it's almost like they are contradicting themselves by saying one minute Jesus is God, but the next God is not Jesus 'only' but also the Father and Holy Spirit. I know in the end God alone knows the hearts of men, but scripturally it deeply concerns me.
Answer: We believe you ought to be deeply concerned about your friends. They are obviously quite confused about who God is and how the Bible describes His Godhead. We suggest that when you talk to them, you be very careful to stay within the Bible. For example, you might ask your friends, 'Do you believe that all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily in Jesus Christ?' (see Colossians 2:9). If they say yes, then ask them if this means to them that the Father and the Holy Spirit dwell bodily in Christ? If they answer yes, then are there three divine persons in Jesus? If this were the case, wouldn't Jesus have to be three men in order to be an accurate revelation of God to man. If His purpose is to reveal the invisible God and God is three persons, why isn't Jesus three persons? Of course, they don't really believe that all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Jesus. They believe that only God the Son came in the flesh.

We realize that it is difficult for a loving person such as yourself to accept the hard truth that these people are not saved. But if you don't accept this reality, you will not be in a strong position to help them. The Bible says that we are saved by 'belief in the truth' (2 Thessalonians 2:13). Sincerity alone is not enough. It is possible to be sincerely wrong. In fact, that is the definition of being deceived. Salvation is predicated on a person coming to and embracing the truth. Anything less than that leaves a person short of the grace of God.

We hope you are able to make a great impact on your friends by the testimony of your life and your witness of Jesus.


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