Faith through grace given to me by the Lord in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross.
Squid,
I can only tell you my story that relates to your post. First, I want to make two points. This has nothing to do with any denomination, and the other is that only you can answer the question about being saved during the period of time you write about. Going to a Baptist church or studying Baptist doctrine does not save a person. No doubt there will be many, many Baptist church members burning in hell while some members of the Catholic church are with the Lord.
I grew up in the Presbyterian Church. This story is not to shed a bad light on Presbyterians or a good light on Baptists. It is just the way it worked out for me. In the Presbyterian church, at about age 12 or so, one would go to what was called a communicants class, where one would learn the basics of theology. You would learn questions and answers such as why were we created, or what is the chief end of man. Then, when it was time to join the church, we would go before the congregation to answer the same questions we just memorized. The the elders, in their infinite wisdom, would vote on whether or not you were ready to join the church. That was my testimony until 1994 when I was 42. I had joined the Baptist church after going with my wife for a while in 1977.
We had a revival in November 1994 with an evangelist with the last name of Pelke. I do not recall the first name. Anyway, this man preached the Gospel every night for a week. The more I went, the more irritated I got at his messages. Then, on Thursday of that week, they had a musician play "Amazing Grace" on a saw. I thought to myself "this takes the cake, and this is my last night of this nonsense." Well, God had different plans. I knew down deep in my heart I had no relationship with Jesus. Memorizing answers to man made questions has no saving power. During the sermon, after the song on the saw, the Holy Spirit got hold of me and turned me inside out. It was kind of like getting hit with a ton of bricks. It dawned on me, that I had never admitted or acknowledged even in my mind that I was a sinner in need of the Lord, that I, through a gift from the Lord, had ever put any faith in the work of Jesus Christ. I had to admit that nothing had changed in my life, and down deep, I was worse than ever. I had no idea what faith even was. Guess I should have read Hebrews 11:1 long before that. I knew well before the sermon was over, that I was lost. When the invitation was given, I walked up to the front of the church and admitted that I in fact was lost. I asked for prayer from the church, and the Lord saved me. It was a matter of believing in what He said He would do. God brought me from death to life, and praise the Lord, He is alive, and I am saved forever.
I want to make the point again, one is saved when he or she puts faith in Jesus Christ. The faith in itself is a gift from the Lord. It has nothing to do with whether you were a Pentecostal or Baptist. It has to do with when Jesus Christ changed your life.
Another point, if you are questiong when you were saved based on some minor theological difference, that again, has nothing to do with the issue. It has to do with when Jesus Christ changed you life and you put faith and trust in Him. The faith itself is a gift of God. For example, if you put faith in Jesus and found out later you had not been baptized correctly, that means you need to get baptized correctly, not that you were lost. It is all about Jesus Christ and what your relationship to Him was.
