Anton Bergen’s Response To My SiriusXM Radio Program

Anton Bergen of Winnipeg, Manitoba wrote regarding one of my Bible Crossfire programs: “So my friend Patrick Donahue actually believes that unless you’re baptized, you can’t be saved, you can’t get to heaven. What say you, my Facebook friends, do you agree with Patrick? I do not, and I’m willing to stand alone on this. … Why do I keep pointing this out? Patrick has a megaphone, a half hour program on satellite radio with possibly millions of people tuned in on Sunday nights. … Most of the calls he gets are from people who disagree with him …”

First, don’t the following passages (read them in their context) teach baptism is necessary to salvation?:

Mark 16:16 … He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved …

Acts 2:38 … Repent, and be baptized … for the remission of sins …

Acts 22:16 … arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins

Gal 3:26-27 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

I Peter 3:21 … baptism doth also now save us …

Second, Anton asserted via email John 3:16 teaches all we have to do to be saved from our sins is believe in Jesus. But I asked Anton the following questions:

• Does a believer in Jesus have to believe in God the Father to be saved (John 5:24, Hebrews 11:6)?

• Does a believer in Jesus have to repent of his sins to be saved (Luke 13:3)?

• Does a believer in Jesus have to believe in the resurrection of Jesus to be saved (Rom 10:9)?

• Does a believer in Jesus have to confess Jesus to be saved (Rom 10:9, John 12:42-43)?

• Does a believer in Jesus have to call on the name of the Lord to be saved (Rom 10:13-14)?

• Does a believer in Jesus have to be willing to forgive others to be forgiven himself (Matt 6:14-15)?

• Does a believer in Jesus have to love God/Jesus to be saved (I Cor 16:22, Gal 5:6, James 1:12b)?

I doubt my friend Anton really believes all a sinner has to do to be saved is believe in Jesus. How could he deny the plain meaning of all the above scriptures which conclusively prove otherwise?

hear Bible Crossfire Sundays at 8:00 pm central on SiriusXM national radio Family Talk 131 & 62 local stations across America or at www.BibleDebates.info