My wife and I were members of the Gideons for about 5 years. We joined the Gideons because we wanted to pass out Bibles when sharing the gospel with someone. We started to see problems with The Gideons International (TGI), such as unbiblical restrictions of membership, and the fact that TGI is a para-church organization. However, the last straw for us was the false gospel that is printed on the back of every personal witness testament. We usually inserted one of our own tracts into each Bible. However, it was a violation of our conscience to be a part of spreading a false gospel on every Bible that we passed out. Last week we finally turned in our ID cards and pins. We hope this page will help other Biblical Christians to take a stand and avoid (or leave) The Gideons International. Here is a sequence of events.
Reason 1 - The Gideons Are a Para-Church OrganizationThe Gideons are increasingly taking over the role of the church but refuse to work with or submit under the church. Gideon membership is dwindling. In order to boost numbers, they place enormous pressure on their members to recruit others. I got the impression that membership growth was stressed even more than evangelism. To cater to a younger membership, they have moved their camp business meetings out of the monthly camp meeting and replaced them with a bible study and fellowship time that looks and feels like a "church". The DVDs will consist of two segments: the first on personal development in the programs of the Gideon ministry, and the second on spiritual growth through a series of Bible teaching messages. We are pleased that the Bible teaching messages for 2008-2009 are given by Dr. Woodrow Kroll, one of our past International Convention Bible Hour speakers - April 2008 Information Bulletin However, The Gideons International ministry is impossible to integrate in any church ministry. “Gideons never unite or associate themselves with any other group in the distribution of Scriptures, no matter how worthy that group might be, this policy dating back to 1903.” - p. 214 of The Gideons International Guide Book. In this way, TGI has become a parasitic organization, taking people and resources away from the local church. But God has called the church to fulfill His great commission, not a para-church organization. Reason 2 - The Gideons Unbiblically Restrict Their MembershipTo be a member of the Gideons you must be one of the following:
This is "white-collar" elitism, which is a sin. This also caused division in the church of God. I can only ask business men in my church to be a part of TGI. But how would that make a tradesman feel, who is my brother in Christ, when I invite someone else and not him? It would make him feel like he belongs to a lower class. For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. - 1 Cor. 1:26 Should we really be supporting such qualifications? Not even Jesus would be qualified to be a Gideon. How superficial and wicked. Reason 3 - The Gideons Preach a False Gospel To outline the problems with the false gospel that the Gideons propagate, I will simply quote an email that my wife and I sent to them in Oct. 2008. Date: October 26, 2008 10:09:30 PM CDT To: tgi@gideons.org Subject: Concerns With Personal Witness Testaments My wife and I have been members of the Gideons International since Dec. 2003. We have appreciated the opportunity to share God's Word on our own as well as during Bible distributions. We also like the fact that Gideon testaments include the Psalms and Proverbs in the back and helpful references in the front. Though there are many aspects of the Gideons that we appreciate, we have a concern with passing out Gideon personal witness testaments that contain the so called "plan of salvation" (according to the Guide Book) in the back. We can not, in good conscience, be a part of passing out something we believe to be a falsehood regarding the gospel of Jesus Christ. Therefore, I called up the Gideon's International Headquarters earlier this month to see if we could utilize the red new testaments (not containing the "plan of salvation" in the back) as personal witness testaments. However, they said that this was not possible because these types of testaments are only available through camp funds. We are writing this email as a last attempt to work out a solution. We also hope to explain in more detail the theological concerns we have with the "plan of salvation" that is in the back of every personal witness testament. Theological Concerns with the "Plan of Salvation": ============================================== 1. The so called "Plan of Salvation" starts out with the statement, “God Loves You”. This statement is true only of God's elect. Since we do not know if someone is of God's elect or not, we could be telling a lie to someone by saying that God loves them. On the contrary, the scriptures tell us that we are in a legal standing of being under God's wrath (or children of wrath) before we believe. "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness," - Romans 1:18 "among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others." - Eph. 2:3 Also, the scriptures tell us that God hates "all workers of iniquity". "The boastful shall not stand in Your sight; You hate all workers of iniquity. You shall destroy those who speak falsehood; The LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man." - Ps. 5:5-6 God can not remain neutral while his infinite glory, holiness, majesty, and sovereignty is offended by the wickedness of men. It is because God is loving (first and foremost towards Himself) that he must hate what is evil, just like those who love babies must hate abortion. The "plan of salvation" quotes John 3:16 “For God so loved the world...” to show that God loves everyone. However, if you translated “whoever believes” correctly as a verb participle modifying everyone (“everyone believing”) it would be clear that Jesus so loved all believers in the world. As for unbelievers, verse 18 says “but he who does not believe is condemned already”. How could God love those He has condemned to hell? That doesn’t seem like a loving thing to do. “God Loves You” also hides man’s greatest need, to be saved from the wrath of God. Instead of telling people the truth, that we have offended a holy God and are worthy of His wrath, this statement tells them that God loves them (implying God's peace). This false message removes the necessity of the cross! The "plan of salvation" also quotes Romans 5:8 "But God demonstrates His own love toward us..." However, the "us" (2nd person plural) in this verse shows that this statement only applies to believers (Paul and the church in Rome) 2. The so called "plan of salvation" also states, "I do now receive and confess Him as my personal Savior.” and later, “After making your decision to receive Christ...” Yet, we are not saved by receiving Jesus as a personal Savior nor by making a decision. This concept of receiving Jesus as a "personal savior" is not found anywhere in scripture. We are saved by the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ and his substitutionary atonement on the cross. The John 1:12 passage quoted is taken out of context by not quoting the rest of the sentence in verse 13. vs 12: But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: vs 13: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. We are not saved by receiving Jesus. Jesus' saving work is applied to us through regeneration and faith. "not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit," - Titus 3:5 Urging people to "receive Christ" misleads people into thinking that by performing some ritual, they can be saved. The Bible says that we can only be saved by the work of Jesus Christ imputed to us through faith. "So they said, 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.'” - Acts 16:31 True faith does not come by a ritual, but by God's gift of regeneration, whereby the Spirit of God brings our spirit to life from the dead. "And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins" - Eph. 2:1 3. The "plan of salvation" also quotes Rev. 3:20 "Behold, I stand at the door and knock..." out of context. This is written to a church of believers, not unbelievers. Instead, the Gideons are using this passage to explain a lie, that God waits for man to cooperate in salvation (open the door of his heart). This is offensive to God because it makes salvation a work of man instead of a sovereign work of God. Eph. 2:1 says we "were dead in trespasses and sins", Romans 3:11 says "there is none who seeks after God" and Romans 5:10 says "we were enemies" of God. How can spiritually dead God haters who do not seek after God open the door of their hearts to Him? By quoting this verse out of context the Gideons have chosen to spread a false gospel of works salvation (pelagianism). In contrast, the biblical model for explaining how people should respond to the gospel message is to call them to believe (Acts 8:37), "repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance" (Acts 26:20). This call is something that no one will follow unless the Holy Spirit sovereignly regenerates their soul. "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day" - John 6:44 Conclusion: ============================================== We hope this explanation of our concerns will prompt the Gideons International to revise their "plan of salvation" in the back of their testaments or provide a way for Gideon members to purchase personal witness testaments that do not promote a false gospel on the back cover. If not, we will be forced to follow section 8 of Article 1 in the Gideon bylaws and withdraw our membership from the Gideons International. We prayerfully await your response. our names and camp numbers |
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The Gideons International - Spreading a False Gospel |