Mistaken Notions Of Pastor Andy Bloom About Salvation

by David J. Stewart | February 2020

Acts 20:21, “Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.”

       The preceding Bible verse does not mean that you have to do two steps to do saved. Acts 20:21 is referring to two parts of one step. I learned that truth from Evangelist John R. Rice (1895-1980). I was listening to Pastor Andy Bloom today, who is the pastor of Central Baptist Church in Ocala, Florida. The sermon is titled: “Mistaken Notions About Salvation.” This is a HORRIBLE sermon, which teaches Lordship Salvation. The message is 37:35 minutes long. In the sermon, Dr. Bloom refutes the idea of “easy believism,” saying that repentance means more than “a change of mind.”

Pastor Bloom insists that the complete meaning of repentance includes “turning from sin.” According to Pastor Bloom, when you turn to Jesus Christ as “Savior” and “Lord” by faith, you also turn from your sins, which empowers you to forsake them (he specifically mentions the sins of drug and alcohol abuse, and fornication). He cites 1st Corinthians 6:9-10, which says that no drunkard, fornicator nor effeminate (homosexual) person shall enter into the Kingdom of God. Kindly, Mr. Bloom is wrong! Folks that is not the Gospel. Biblically, you only need to receive Jesus as your personal “Savior” to be saved. 1st Timothy 4:10, “For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.” You don't make Jesus Lord, HE IS LORD! When you get saved, Jesus automatically becomes your Lord (Master).
 

Repentance is Necessary for Salvation

First, let me say unequivocally that repentance is necessary for salvation. That is why I chose Acts 20:21 as our text verse. Acts 20:21, “Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” The conjunction “and” is important, because it refers to THE SAME person. The Bible is not telling us to repent toward the Father, and believe in the Son; but rather, Jesus is God. We repent by believing the Gospel (Mark 1:15). Repentance does NOT mean what Pastor Bloom says it does. To “repent” does not mean to turn from sin. It is a change of mind from WRONG THINKING to believing the GOOD NEWS of Christ crucified, buried and risen from the dead the third day (1st Corinthians 15:1-4). That is why the word “repent” is not mentioned once in the Gospel of John, because it is automatic. A sinner who believes on Jesus Christ as Savior has repented!

Pastor Harry Ironside (1876-1951) was a brilliant theologian, who made this awesome statement about repentance, with which I fully agree:

“Which comes first, repentance or faith? In Scripture we read, 'Repent ye, and believe the gospel.' Yet we find true believers exhorted to 'repent, and do the first works.' So intimately are the two related that you cannot have one without the other. The man who believes God repents; the repentant soul puts his trust in the Lord when the Gospel is revealed to him. Theologians may wrangle over this, but the fact is, no man repents until the Holy Spirit produces repentance in his soul through the truth. No man believes the Gospel and rests in it for his own salvation until he has judged himself as a needy sinner before God. And this is repentance.” (Except Ye Repent, p. 16) [emphasis added]

Pastor Ironside also makes this helpful statement:

“Repentance is the very opposite of meritorious experience. It is the confession that one is utterly without merit, and if he is ever saved at all it can only be through the merits of our Lord Jesus Christ, 'who gave himself a ransom for all.' Here is firm footing for the soul who realizes that all self-effort is but sinking sand. Christ alone is the Rock of our salvation.”

SOURCE: Harry A. Ironside; Except Ye Repent, p. 36

Clearly, Dr. Ironside taught a Free Grace view of the Gospel, and not the damnable heresy of Lordship Salvation. Pastor Ironside didn't believe what Dr. Andy Bloom teaches, that you must turn away from your sins to be saved. Dr. Bloom is wrong to teach that repentance means more than “a change of mind.” No, the Greek noun “metanoia” simply means a change of mind, period! What saith the Scripture? Matthew 21:32, “For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.” Carefully notice that the Bible doesn't say they “repented not afterward, that ye might turn from sins.” No, the Bible says that they “REPENTED NOT AFTERWARD, THAT YE MIGHT BELIEVE HIM”! Read it again dear reader...BELIEVE HIM! BELIEVE HIM! BELIEVE HIM!!! That means the self-righteous chief priests and elders refused to change their mind, so that they would BELIEVE. They refused to get saved!!!

So we see that repentance is necessary for salvation, but it simply refers to a change of mind. God deliberately used the Greek word “metanoia,” which is an open ended term, all inclusive. So what does a person have to change their mind about to be saved? That's easy—anything and everything that is hindering you from BELIEVING on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved! You don't get saved by repenting, you get saved by believing; but no one has ever believed who didn't repent (John 3:20). People get confused by incompetent preachers, causing them to worry, wondering if they have really repented. My friend, if you have received Jesus Christ as your personal Savior (John 1:12), then you have repented, otherwise you never would have believed.

It's Not Your Righteousness, It's God's (You cannot pay for the sins Jesus has already paid for)

Most Preachers and Bible Scholars Get John 2:23-25 Wrong!

Respectfully, Pastor Andy Bloom gets John 2:23-25 totally WRONG! Mr. Bloom is propagating a dangerous notion about salvation, a total misconception, saying that you can believe and still not be saved. Hogwash! Folks, that is not what happened in John 2:23-25! If the Bible says that someone BELIEVED on Jesus, then THEY ARE 100% SAVED! It would be very irresponsible to say otherwise, going against the plain teaching of the Scriptures. When the Bible says “many believed” on Jesus in John 2:23, that means THEY GOT SAVED!!! Let's examine this intriguing passage of Scripture...

John 2:23-25, “Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did. But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.”

The words “BELIEVED” and “COMMIT” are translated from the SAME Greek word. In layman's terms, the Bible is saying that many people who attended the Passover believed in Jesus, but Jesus did not believe in them! Literally, Jesus did not trust them! The Lord had the supernatural ability to read other men's hearts, and Jesus didn't like what He saw. It is gross theological incompetence for any preacher to teach that these people didn't get saved. Think about the theological implications if these people weren't really saved, because they didn't really believe! That is exactly the nonsense that Dr. Andy Bloom is teaching, claiming that Christ refused to save them, because (he says) they refused to make a commitment to Jesus as “Lord” and “Savior.” Listen to his sermon for yourself, in which he says that even though the Bible says MANY BELIEVED, they didn't actually get saved, because he says they were guilty of “EASY-BELIEVISM” (he openly criticizes this term in his heretical sermon). My friend, it is EASY to get saved, and anyone who complicates God's plan of salvation is pulling on the same rope as the Devil. Here is a helpful sermon by Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001) called: “Yea, Yea, And Nay, Nay” about the sin of complicating the Gospel.

If these people in John 2:23-25 didn't really get saved, as Pastor Andy Bloom claims, then the apostle John cannot be trusted whenever he says that someone believed on Christ. How would we know who really really believed? I mean, if you can believe and still not be saved, because you didn't “really believe,” then that opens a Pandora's Box of doubts, uncertainties and fears! Kindly, Dr. Andy Bloom is a theological liar—A FALSE PROPHET ON SALVATION!!!

Most Bible commentators errantly interpret this Bible passage, saying that these people at Passover didn't “really believe” on Jesus for salvation, even though the Scriptures plainly tell us that MANY BELIEVED! Pastor Bloom says their faith was insufficient for salvation, because he says it was merely superficial. What lies! What incompetent Bible preaching! The simple truth behind John 2:23-25 is that the more we commit ourselves to Jesus, the more He is willing to commit Himself to us, as believers. James 4:8, “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.” John 14:21, “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.” As Christians we SHOULD live for Christ; not MUST (that would be works); not WILL (that would be Calvinism). Forgiveness of sins and eternal life are a free gift from God (Romans 5:15, 6:23). Jesus called those who obey His commandments His “friends” (John 15:14-15). I am Jesus' friend, but far from perfect!

Dear reader, the “many” sinners at Passover, who “BELIEVED” in John 2:23-25, were 100% bonafide born-again believers! It would be horribly wrong to say that they didn't get saved. Pastor Andy Bloom is a false prophet, who downplays the Biblical truth that it is EASY to be saved. He clearly teaches that turning away from sins is part of the Gospel, which is exactly what the apostle Paul refuted in the Epistle of Galatians. A cult had infiltrated the church in Galatia, teaching that keeping the works of the law are required to be saved (Galatians 3:1-5). “Keeping the law” is the same as teaching that you must “turn away from sinful ways” to be saved. Either way, WORKS are required. Whether doing GOOD WORKS, or ceasing from BAD WORKS—both are DEAD WORKS (Hebrews 6:1).

By the way, all references are only to the inspired King James Bible. I have to say that because all of the modern Bible revisions horribly corrupt Hebrews 6:1, teaching that you must turn from sinful ways to be saved. Lordship Salvation has absolutely invaded the churches today, perverting THE GOSPEL! I am talking about the Calvinist institutions of Moody Bible Institute and Bob Jones University! Heretic Pastor John MacArthur is a BJU alumni. Calvinism (aka, Lordship Salvation) is not the Gospel!!! We read about “THE SIMPLICITY THAT IS IN CHRIST” in 2nd Corinthians 11:3-4. There is nothing “simple” about behavior modification or human reformation (i.e., turning from one's sins). The Bible calls the Gospel “simple” because it is a free gift (Romans 5:15), and the gift of eternal life need only be accepted by faith. Do you believe?

Caught Between Grace And Works! | MP3 | MORE
(AWESOME TRUTH! By Pastor Ralph “Yankee” Arnold - Please share with OTHERS!!!)

Lordship Salvation is Another Gospel

I did not write this article to condemn Pastor Bloom, but only to refute his false teaching that “easy believism” is not Biblical. It is! I wrote this article to refute the false claim by Pastor Bloom, that repentance means more than a change of mind. It doesn't! We are saved simply by BELIEVING the “GOOD NEWS” of Jesus Christ—Who DIED on the cross to pay for our sins, was BURIED, and miraculously physically RESURRECTED three days later (1st Corinthians 15:1-6). Salvation is not a matter of what we CAN DO for God, it is a matter of what JESUS HAS DONE for us! It is a gift. If You Are Saved You SHOULD Live For Christ; But If You MUST, That's Works; And If You WILL, That's Calvinism!

There is a fine line between faith and foolishness. In the sermon, Pastor Bloom rightly teaches that Jesus came to save us from our sins, by His precious blood (1st Peter 1:18-19). I believe that to be saved a person must realize their sinnership, and need for the saving grace of God through faith alone in Jesus Christ (Romans 3:19-20). This is why God divided the Holy Bible in to two major divisions of: LAW and GRACE! LAW shows us our desperate need as a guilty sinner, and then brings us to GRACE to be saved through faith alone in Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:24-26).

I do NOT agree with Pastor Bloom that a person must receive Jesus as “Lord” and “Master” to be saved. That's Lordship Salvation!!! Bible repentance is seeing yourself as a guilty sinner in the sight of a holy God, but Dr. Bloom takes it a step further, teaching that to be saved a person must submit to God's transforming power over sin in their life. He says if you reject that power to overcome sin, then you are as the people who believed in John 2:23-25, but Jesus rejected them! I couldn't disagree more! Those people DID get saved in John 2:23-25, by faith alone. You don't need to submit to God's transforming power over sin to be saved, which is effectively saying that you MUST be willing to forsake the sins in your life to be saved. Pastor Bloom is teaching Calvinism (aka, Lordship Salvation). Dr. Bloom is teaching that God expects something from you to be saved, but that cannot be a gift! A gift has no stipulations, obligations nor strings attached.

Pastor Bloom compares salvation to a wicked man in prison. The incarcerated man wants out of jail, but he doesn't want to go out and work a hard job, be honest, and be good. So Dr. Bloom says the people in John 2:23-25 merely wanted deliverance from Rome, and not from their sins. He says they weren't willing to make a commitment to Christ, so He refused to make a commitment to them, and they didn't get saved. That is Satanic heresy! Dr. Bloom quotes 1st Corinthians 6:9-10, but leaves off verse 11...

1st Corinthians 6:9-11, “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”

Dr. Bloom attempts to use this Scripture passage to teach that if your life hasn't changed, you're not saved. Folks, that is NOT what this passage means! Everybody leaves off verse 11—“BUT YE ARE WASHED.” I love that wonderful phrase! The very moment that you place childlike faith in Jesus as your personal Savior, receiving His sacrifice on the cross as payment for your sins, YOU ARE FOREVER WASHED OF ALL YOUR SINS!!! The truth is that every believer still has sin in our life. Who can live above sin? That's right, no one! You may live above reproach, but no one can live above sinning. 1st Timothy 5:24, “Some men's sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after.”
 

Please Don't Bid Godspeed to Another Gospel

What bothered me most is seeing on the Central Baptist Church website that Dr. Shelton Smith of the Sword of The Lord recently preached at their church, which means he is bidding Godspeed to them. Calvinism (aka, Lordship Salvation) has crept into most Baptist churches today, so it seems. I was looking at the Moody Bible Institute website last week, and noticed that they openly admit to being “generally Calvinistic” in their doctrines. That is so sad and tragic! Moody has a strong influence on Baptist churches worldwide. Moody is aired on at least 71 radio stations across the country, spreading their lies and promoting Dr. John MacArthur. Moody publishes all his heretical books. In fact, I heard Mr. MacArthur himself say that the Mormons require their students at Brigham Young University to read his book on Lordship Salvation.

It is so sad that professed independent fundamental Baptist churches, like the Central Baptist Church have succumbed to the Devil's lies of Lordship Salvation. It is a deadly spiritual poison! This type of heresy, especially in our fundamental Baptist churches, needs to be exposed for the sake of others. Eternal life is gift is a gift, which does not require making a commitment. I think often of 2nd Peter 3:16-17, where Peter admirably said he couldn't understand Paul's epistles, and Peter was very wise to admit that he wasn't even going to try to butcher the Scriptures to fit his lack of understanding, lest he be damned. Calvinism (i.e., the teachings of a man named John Calvin in the 16th century) is NOT the Gospel.

A sore evil that I see in America today is that religious leaders, Bible colleges and churches have become complacent, indifferent, going along to get along with apostates, tolerating the evils of Calvinism as a mere matter of subtle difference in beliefs. I visited the website of Pastor Andy Bloom's Central Baptist Church, and noticed that Dr. Shelton Smith (current editor of the Sword Of The Lord) preached at their church recently. That concerns me! As far as I know, the Sword Of The Lord is accurate on the Gospel, and I have promoted their ministry for decades, but it bothers me that professed Christians all across the United States are supportive of doctrinally corrupt pastors (like Andy Bloom), who teach the Devil's lie of Lordship Salvation.

In case you missed what I said earlier, Dr. Bloom says the people who BELIEVED in John 2:23-25 didn't actually get saved, because he says they refused to MAKE A COMMITMENT to Christ, so Jesus refused to make a commitment to them, and they didn't really get saved. THAT IS ANOTHER GOSPEL! Kindly, Dr. Shelton Smith ought to be exposing this heresy, not supporting it by bidding Godspeed to their ministry!!! Does anybody care? I CARE! I do not intend to be unkind, God knows my humble heart, I am simply obeying the Scripture to “earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints” (Jude 1:3). Thank you for reading my article.

THE FOUR PERVERSIONS OF GRACE
(a very helpful chart by Pastor Ron Shea)

END OF ARTICLE

Wonderful Words Of Life (beautiful piano Gospel hymn by Calvin Yawn)

“Faith is the only righteous thing that I can do!”
—Pastor Jack Hyles, a quote from the MP3 sermon titled: “God's Reversal Of Psalm 51”

1st Corinthians 16:24, “My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.”

Ye Must Be Born Again!

You Need HIS Righteousness!

Believe The Gospel