Fleecing the Gideons of Their Bad Theology
Long before Andy Stanley “unhitched” the Old Testament from Christianity, the Gideons International was publishing their little pocket Bibles, void of the Old Testament, save for the Psalms and Proverbs. A Gideon member will tell you they also have Bibles with the Old Testament included (ie. hotels). The pocket New Testament has always put a question in my mind about the Gideons International. Stated another way, I had concerns, but I never took the time to explore their works…until recently.
A Facebook friend posted a picture of an open page, at the back of a Gideon’s Bible. He was using it as an example, to show how the Gideon members evangelize with it. I was astounded by the placement of Bible passages to fit a system one would only know if he or she had studied theology.
The system of free will decisionalism is the modern-day effort of pastors and evangelists, to get people to decide, to let Jesus save them. Its most popular proponent was Billy Graham, but it is widely used by other crusaders and pastors in local church services. It is manipulative, with its man-centered theology and emotional pleas.
The foundation of free will decisionalism is the theology of easy-believism. This is the micro-waved version of the Arminian heresy. It takes the whole Bible and the doctrine of salvation, and it produces a simplified system, in which absolutely anyone can believe and decide on their own.
The result is that instead of the Scriptures declaring an eternal salvation for God’s elect, redeemed, regenerated people — it offers salvation to anyone, anywhere, and at all points in time. This is the Arminian ploy to deny the sovereignty of God in salvation, while avoiding Universalism. Arminians replace the unconditional covenant of grace, and they make it a conditional covenant of works that only requires one little work from man…a decision.
Let us go to battle with these valiant warriors, who champion the well-meant offer of the Gospel, easy believism, and free will decisionalism.
The page opens with four claims: 1. God loves you; 2. All are sinners; 3. God’s remedy for sin; 4. All may be saved now.
The first claim is shared by the Universalists and Arminians. What they mean is that God loves everyone, everywhere, and at all times. Their proof texts, taken out of context, are John 3:16 and Romans 5:8. The pronoun “us” in Romans 5:8 is the church, “But God shows His love to us”…the church, as Christ died for us…the church. How do we know this “us” is the church and not the world? Paul is writing to the church. If there is an “us” then, there has to be a “them,” and them is the world (grammar forgiveness required).
John 3:16 is easily the most used and abused verse in the Bible. The Universalist and Arminian both use it to make their case for universal love. They never want anyone to do the word study on kosmos, however. This would reveal no less than ten options for interpretation of the word, “world.” The Apostle John was keen to use “world” and it carries a remarkable range of meanings. Of course, the Universalist and the Arminian both choose a meaning that does not correlate with the rest of Scripture, which is ”everyone, everywhere, and at all times.”
If God/Jesus loves, and if the atonement shows us God’s love, then there is no question that Christ died for the church (Eph 5:25). He laid down his life for His sheep (Jn 10:11, 15). He gave Himself up for His bride (Eph 5:25). He bore our sins in His body on the cross (1 Pet 2:24). He came to save his people from their sins (Mt 1:21). He died for the ungodly, yes, but that was the church before He saved us (Rom 5:6; Titus 3:5). Thus, we agree with the statement, over and against the Gideons, “God loves you”…church.
Second, there is not much to say about the abbreviated section that attempts to capture the bad news, other than two proof texts are woefully deficient in making the case for the biblical doctrine of man’s total depravity. The Arminian will employ the Romans road version of evangelism abbreviation (Rom 3:23; 6:23; 5:8; 10:9–10, 13). The Gideons’ version is even shorter (Rom 3:10, 23).
The confusion is manifested when universal love meets diluted depravity. This is the reason “Just as I am” and “I have decided to follow Jesus,” remain traditional hymn favorites, in man-centered worship services. Simply put, man does not think he is that bad a person (dead in trespasses and sins), and God loves him just as he is (a good person), so what is the big deal?
Third, God’s remedy for sin is all about receiving (Jn 1:12) the free gift of God (Rom 6:23). This is the work of a wise decision maker. If someone hands you a gift, what do you do? You decide to reach out your hand and receive it.
The problem with this nifty concoction is when someone comes along and ruins the birthday party of a false convert, “Dead men don’t receive gifts, by deciding it is a good deal, extending their cold dead hands, in order to put Jesus in their hearts.” The true Christian birthday is when Jesus gives us eternal life (Jn 10:28), by implanting the incorruptible seed of God’s Word (Jn 6:63; 1 Pet 1:23; Jas 1:21), into the good soil of the hearts of His elect people (Mk 4:8, 20).
The sin of omission might be said to be John 1:13, which the Universalists, Arminians, and Gideons all ignore because it ruins free will decisions, by men, to be saved. Those who received Jesus, “…were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but of God (1:13).” It is God’s free will and choice that determines who will believe in Jesus Christ. Graced recipients are the elect (Eph 1:4–5), redeemed (1 Pet 1:19), regenerated (Jn 3:1–8), whom the Holy Spirit caused to be born again of God (1 Pet 1:3). Christ died for our sins (1 Cor 15:3), church, and the Spirit made us alive together with Him (Eph 2:5; Col 2:13).
Fourth and finally, here is the most God-dishonoring claim of all. A flat-out lie…“All may be saved now.” Not only is this claim, itself, a distortion of truth, but both proof texts are wildly out of place. The context of Revelation 3:20 is Jesus’ warning to the churches (Rev 2–3). He is standing outside of the church of Laodicea, rich and lukewarm. What is Jesus doing outside the church? The rich of this world have no need for the Lord (Ps 73). His promise is to enter the backslidden church if they repent.
Ripped out of this context, the Gideons want you to believe Jesus is knocking on the door to everyone’s heart. Jesus is offering himself (may we be so crass to echo them), even prostituting Himself in the hope that someone will get up, open the door to Him and love Him. This is His desire, His wanting, His longing…but all He can do is wait on the dead men who must reason, then reach, then receive Jesus into their hearts. It is all a pathetic sham.
The misery ends with a promise from Joel 2:32, quoted in Romans 10:13, that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. Our birthday party crasher returns to say, “Dead men don’t call on anyone!”
In the Bible, those who call upon the name of the Lord are believers, born again, by the Spirit, according to the will of God, eternally decreed from the foundation of the world, from and for the eternal good pleasure of God.
Gideon, the reluctant judge, learned, as David also knew that the battle belongs to the Lord. It does not belong to the will and work of dead men (Jn 1:13; Phil 2:13). It is a tragedy that the organization adopting his name would present the God of Gideon in such an impotent and distorted way.
May the Lord separate even as few as three hundred Gideons, to turn their international organization around, to faith in the sovereign God of the Old Testament (you cannot read about a true Gideon without the O.T.!) and the New Testament, who sits in the heavens and does as He pleases, which includes His giving victory to His chosen people (1 Cor 15:57; 1 Jn 5:4; Rev 17:14).
David Norczyk
Spokane Valley, Washington
September 21, 2022
