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1.
Are you a baptized member of the church?
The above question appears in newspaper ads looking for a
church minister. Such a question is the very first one that
they ask in finding a qualified minister, which misleads lay
people who read the ad because they would believe that a
baptized person is a saved person and thus have true faith.
However, many people who have been baptized are not born
again Christians in a biblical sense, which could be
revealed after one or two counseling sessions. Therefore,
the question can cause a serious harm, confusing lay people
and removing them further away from the true faith. When
they see such a question, they automatically assume that one
is saved if he is baptized, and that baptism is required for
salvation. If they get baptized in their attempt to get
saved based on such a belief, they will suffer eternal
punishment in hell fire, a place of destruction, after death
because they trusted religion.
Baptism does not mean regeneration or forgiveness of sin.
Why do Korean pastors, nonetheless, teach that one must get
baptized in order to receive forgiveness of sin or
salvation? Baptismal regeneration has been one of the
biggest problems since the early churches. Such a false
doctrine penetrated into corrupted bibles, bringing in more
serious doctrinal confusion, and many people accept the
heresy that teaches baptism as requirement for salvation.
The Korean King James Bible correctly defines what baptism
is: The
like figure whereunto even baptism, doth also now save us
(not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the
answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection
of Jesus Christ
That is, water baptism is not a requirement for salvation,
but a symbol of salvation which already had been given.
However, corrupt bibles distorted the verse and hid the
truth that baptism is for saved Christians to confess their
good conscience toward God. Another example is Ephesians
5:26, where Korean King James Bible says
That he
might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by
the word;
that is the word is compared with water, whereas corrupt
bibles separated water and the word, teaching that the
church is cleansed through water baptism and the word.
Another cause for the belief that forgiveness of sin comes
through baptism is mistranslation in the Korean bibles. The
English language does not have distinction between baptism
by immersion and baptism by sprinkling. The English word
baptism
is transliteration of a Greek word
baptizo.
The Korean Revised Version includes in Korean translation of
baptism by sprinkling a Chinese word
seh
which means to
wash.
This mistranslation prevents many people from getting saved
because it supports the Catholic doctrine of baptism as a
means of washing away of sin. The Catholic Church, which
teaches baptism by sprinkling as requirement of salvation,
has expanded by way of baptizing infants and making them as
members of the church. Whoever rejects such a baptism and
receives a biblical baptism after hearing the biblical
gospel was persecuted as a heretic.
The readers of this article must realize that many Korean
protestant churches deny the pure word of God and follow the
Catholic tradition by teaching salvation by works. If you
truly love God, I pray that you get saved by trusting the
gospel of Christ, get a biblical baptism by immersion and
receive blessing from the Lord.
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