Is the Trinity Essential for Salvation?

Last week’s article, Teaching the Trinity to Students, sparked an unexpected debate after I posted it on a facebook group for youth leaders. I suspected there would be some pushback about this or that, but I wasn’t prepared for multiple comments denying the Trinity as essential for salvation. I don’t know the people who made these claims, and the post was eventually pulled down for non-theological reasons - so I want to believe the best about these men and women, but it seems worth responding to their objection.

If the Trinity is essential for salvation, then it’s something we absolutely must teach students. But if it’s optional, or good for discipleship but not essential for salvation, then that seemingly separates the gospel from the doctrine of the Trinity, which is problematic. Since last week’s article highlights how to teach the Trinity to students, I don’t feel any need to define or explain the Trinity in this post. Please read that article before proceeding.

What’s at Stake?

The Trinity strikes at the most foundational question of religion: “Who is God?” Christians have always believed in the Trinity: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are God. There is one God, who exists eternally as three Persons. This is the foundational distinction between Christianity and every other religion. It is hard to conceive of anyone denying the Trinity and still considering themselves a Christian in any meaningful, theologically-grounded way. Those who attempt to do this may continue to share various moral and ethical convictions, but their core beliefs about who God is no longer align with historic Christianity.

Just consider the Apostle’s Creed, and how explicitly it is structured according to their Christian’s essential belief in the Trinity. Christians have always held to the conviction that denying anything in the Apostle’s Creed meant your faith was “heresy” or “other.” The only exception to this has to do with the statement about Jesus descending to Hell, since that was not original, but is a later addition.

Everything Christianity teaches is a direct outflow of the Trinity. Everything. In the same way that accidentally removing a support beam jeopardizes the entire house’s stability, downgrading the Trinity to a non-essential doctrine compromises the structural integrity of all Christian doctrine.

What Christians Have Taught About the Trinity

There is nothing about Christianity that doesn’t find its origin and destiny anchored in the Trinity. Many have gone so far as to say that all Christian doctrine is an explanation and application of Trinitarian theology. Rather than taking my own word for it, here are a number of quotes from throughout Christian history regarding the significance of the Trinity.

“Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the catholic [that is, the church’s orthodox] faith…. And the catholic faith is this: that we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity.” Athanasian Creed 6th century

“The whole knowledge of faith involves these two things, namely, the divinity of the Trinity and the humanity of Christ.” Thomas Aquinas

"There is only one Christian doctrine… the doctrine of the Holy Trinity in its inward and outward movements.” John Webster

“The Trinity is the basis of the gospel, and the gospel is a declaration of the Trinity in action.” J.I. Packer

“For what makes Christianity absolutely distinct is the identity of our God. Which God we worship - that is the article of faith that stands before all others. And so, because the Christian God is triune, the Trinity is the governing center of all Christian believe - the truth that shapes and beautifies all others.” Michael Reeves

Evangelism and the Trinity

My hunch is this: Christians who balk at agreeing the Trinity is essential do so for evangelistic reasons. It seems clunky and overly complicated to expect normal Christians to articulate a basic understanding of the Trinity. And it seems too lofty to expect unbelievers to agree with the most mysterious teaching of Christianity before they can join the faith community.

Rather than asking too much, perhaps we’ve asked too little. Just look at the state of Christianity today. Most Christians are so intimidated by the Trinity they throw their hands up in surrender when asked to explain it. If our evangelistic focus is on getting the most number of people “saved” quickly then our emphasis is people-focused, not God-focused.

Instead of speeding through the evangelism process towards a decision for Christ, I believe our evangelistic fruit will be more enduring when we present nonbelievers with a clearer portrait of the God we are inviting them to worship. We should not be ashamed to teach about who God is.

Taking the time to meet with those who are spiritually curious to discuss the Apostles’ Creed places new converts into disciple-making relationships while ensuring their newfound faith is built on a solid foundation, rather than trying to correct unbiblical theology at a later time (if ever!). This may not be efficient enough for many people’s preference, and it won’t fit easily onto a gospel tract - but it better reflects the way that Christians have always conducted evangelism and discipleship, except for the past century.

Surely, nobody should expect a new Christian to have a mature understanding of the Trinity. But they should have a basic understanding that God created them and the world, sent his Son to make atonement on the cross, and that the Holy Spirit applies that salvation to them in order to unite them with Christ. This is simply the message of the gospel, which is a beautifully Triune message.

If Christians are people who worship God, and the most important distinctive of the Christian view of God is the Trinity, then why would we minimize it or consider it “advanced Christian teaching”? Teach students the Trinity. Obviously, new believers will not have a clear understanding of the workings of the Trinity. But it is good to expect them to have a basic knowledge that God is three-in-one: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Further Study

Delighting in the Trinity by Michael Reeves is one the best place to begin reading more about the Trinity and how this doctrine works itself into the normal Christian life.

Simply Trinity by Matthew Barrett presents a simple and robust framework for understanding the doctrine of the Trinity and why it matters so much for Christian maturity.

The Deep Things of God by Fred Sanders is another good example of pastoral theology, working out a theology of the Trinity and showing how it transforms the Christian’s life and worship.

The Holy Trinity by Robert Letham is an exploration of the biblical teaching about the Trinity and traces the way Christians have understood it throughout history. This is an accessible theological work that will help youth workers ensure they understand the Trinity (and the pitfalls that sometimes lead well-intentioned Christians into choppy theological waters).

note: this article was updated in July 2024