[one Lord one faith one baptism]

My answer was yes.

We can agree we are saved by grace and grace alone.

Even faith is a gift of grace, grace precedes faith.

We are spiritually dead in Adam and without grace no one would believe in Jesus.

God may decide to save some American Indians living in the year 500ad and obviously could not believe that Jesus is the Christ since no one was there to preach to them. In that case, the Holy Spirit would have baptized them into Christ and faith would have been totally absent.

[boatbums]

The Holy Spirit would have baptized them into Christ and faith would have been totally absent.

So now you concede that water baptism isn't required for someone to be saved? Dude...make up your mind!

You are right there but DEAD wrong about faith being absent in a person's salvation. God says it is IMPOSSIBLE to please Him without it and whoever comes to Him must believe. There is NO OTHER NAME by which we are saved but Jesus Christ. Some native in deepest darkest Africa must still have faith to be saved. His good works don't save him anymore than ours do. I don't limit the work of the Holy Spirit in rewarding those who diligently seek the truth. Do you?

[Iscool]

God may decide to save some American Indians living in the year 500ad and obviously could not believe that Jesus is the Christ since no one was there to preach to them. In that case, the Holy Spirit would have baptized them into Christ and faith would have been totally absent.

You've got some scripture to prove that, right???