Hey, you know what occurs to me as I have read this thread?
Water baptism is a very good thing (actually, I already knew that). If a believer is convicted that they are not saved unless they are dunked, then it is very important that they do it ASAP!
And if they believe it is a public declaration of their identification with the death, burial, and ressurrection of Jesus, not crucial to their salvation, but beneficial to their individual and corporate faith, then they should do it ASAP!
Where's the water???
Now, the other thing that occurs to me is (and I believe this is really the divisive issue) there are those among us who are convinced that they can clearly and precisely define salvation (which is not the work of man at all, but the work of God!). Therein lies inherent danger!
If we can begin to look around us and determine the spiritual state of others, whether they are saved by God, based on our sets of standards and expectations, there are two BIG RED FLAGS that should fly before us:
1. God does what He does HOW He wants to do it. He is not at all obligated to operate wthin our expectations. More often than not, He works in ways completely different than we expect. How, when, and any other query regarding the issue of a person's salvation is between them and God. God knows what it takes to save each one of us, and He knows whether it's real or not. It is not for us to say whether someone is redeemed of the Lord or not.
2. If we are focusing on other people's relationship with the Lord (after all, until you are born again, you have NO relationship with Him), then what does the Lord have to do to bring our focus back to what He wants to deal with us about (in other words, US!). There is an overriding biblical mandate for believers to examine ourselves. We are not able to be the world-changers the Lord has commanded us to be if we are not able to master ourselves, defeating the worst enemy of the faith: religion (which is borne of pride and the desire to control others).
In conclusion (unlike a lot of preachers with whom that phrase has no meaning), Let God be God. He saves. Don't focus on others' spiritual state. Work on your's.
