Ok allow me to repeat; I do not hate Joel Osteen. I don’t even disagree with everything he says or writes down. I just disagree with most “Biblical” things he says and/or writes down. Other than that, it’s all good!
I love Joel Osteen; Jesus told us that first we are to love God with all that we have, then we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. In today’s cyber world where anybody is as close as the Internet, Joel Osteen is surely my neighbor. So, under the conviction of the Holy Spirit, I try to love Joel Osteen.
I don’t know the true state of Joel Osteen’s heart or his relationship with Jesus Christ. No one knows the inside of any person’s heart except for God Himself. He may be quite saved and in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. He may be a real believer who has just gotten misguided and misdirected. I simply do not know. Based on his public pronouncements, I can say with certainty that he either totally misunderstands or intentionally misrepresents the true Gospel of Jesus Christ.
And it’s what he says and who he says it to that creates my issue with Joel Osteen. The who is the some 40,000 or so who attend his Lakewood Church in Houston, and the untold millions more who listen to him on radio or watch on the television. I must clarify, though; it is not so much WHAT he says but what he does not say that makes Joel Osteen dangerous to lost souls all over this world.
The following statement by Mr. Osteen was made during an Interview with Christian Broadcasting Network News a couple of years ago:
“When I grew up, the Devil was a reason why I had a headache or the Devil was the reason I got mad today. We always blamed the Devil. I think today when I say the enemy, I like to make it broader. Sometimes the enemy can be our own thoughts. We’ve trained ourselves the wrong way. Or the enemy can be our own lack of discipline. Some people preach about Hell like you’re already going there, and to me the Gospel means ‘Good News.’ I’d rather say God is a God of mercy. So I think the people already know what they’re doing wrong, and I certainly believe in Hell. But to me, when I see thousands of people before me, it just doesn’t come out of me to say, ‘You guys are terrible, and you’re going to Hell.’ I’d rather say that God is a God of mercy. You’ve got to live an obedient life, but for every mistake you’ve made, there’s mercy there, and I believe we can do better”
You see, Joel Osteen never talks about sin and he never talks about repentance. According to his thinking, we are all well aware of what we are doing wrong and we don’t need a preacher to remind us.
The problem is, we are not aware of what we are doing wrong. We may vaguely understand we are not perfect, but we simply don’t understand how serious our sin is to a perfect and Holy God. I have covered our sinful state in previous articles.
Although salvation is a free gift from God to us, it is a gift we can only receive when it is accompanied by repentance. Repentance can be defined in the Biblical sense as “a change of mind that results in a change of action.” We must agree with God that our sin is wrong and turn from it.
Is repentance necessary for salvation? Of course it is. Part of believing on the Lord Jesus Christ is believing that He died to pay for our sins. If we don’t understand that our sins actually deserved payment in the form of death(Romans 6:23), then we can’t really understand Jesus’ atoning work on the Cross. The Book of Acts has numerous instances where repentance and salvation are linked together, making it clear they are a package deal.
Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Acts 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;
Acts 11:18 When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.
Acts 17:30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
Acts 20:21 Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
Acts 26:20 But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.
There you have it. Repentance is key to believing faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and salvation. Agreeing with God is a key component of repentance. We have to see our sin from God’s point of view before we can change our minds about it. As long as we think we are just fine, we will never see the need for a change of mind.
And there lies the problem with Joel Osteen’s theology in terms of the salvation of lost souls. Joel Osteen is charismatic, engaging, good looking and entertaining. Every week tens of thousands of people hear him preach and leave feeling great, feeling pumped up, and feeling ready to go back to the world and make a better life for themselves. The problem is, nobody ever leaves convicted of their sin.
Unless we understand our sinful condition, we cannot repent from it. Without repentance, we cannot exercise true believing faith in Jesus Christ. If we do not know we are lost, we will not be saved.
Pray for Joel Osteen. More importantly, pray for the countless lost souls who listen to his feel good gospel week after week. Pray that somehow, somewhere they might hear the true Gospel of Jesus Christ and come to a saving faith in Him.
March 18, 2015 at 11:36
Great post I also struggle with Osteen I want to like him but his teachings are borderline Antichrist almost a cult
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March 18, 2015 at 11:38
Thanks. And he is very likable. Heck, if I ran a business, he would be the first motivational speaker I would hire LOL. Smooth, glib, nice looking…what else could you ask for?
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March 18, 2015 at 12:36
Without conviction there is no need for a Savior. I think though that people don’t like to hear about sin. It makes us uncomfortable, but it’s part of the process of forgiveness. Thanks for another great post.
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March 18, 2015 at 12:41
Agreed. Thank you for commenting.
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March 18, 2015 at 13:29
Ya I hear you on this one. I think like anything else, God can use anybody. I have found with Him that at least he becomes a starting point to discuss Jesus with my Jewish friends, many have asked to go to one of his events. I use this as an opening to explain the gospel message to them so they understand that he is a Christian and believes in Jesus. This opens up a lot of conversation so God allows me to use it that way, then of course I recommend getting a bible and so on and so forth. Just some food for thought 🙂
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March 18, 2015 at 14:27
I will chew on that food for thought but I can see what you say.
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March 18, 2015 at 16:03
Hey W:
I looooove Acts 17.30, and the ‘winking’ of God. Did you ever think how gracious it is of God to even allow men repentance? the long suffering and patience; geez, look how we get dealing with
opposers…………..THAT attribute of God is off the charts good.
Anyway, read somewhere you are taking a hike 😉 Don’t forget your hat! Sunburn can be brutal.
Hope you have an awesome time, and when you are on the high seas, offer up a prayer for your friend up north.
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March 18, 2015 at 16:37
I am so glad he waited for me that is a fact. Don’t get too cold brother not leaving till this weekend just work gonna be nuts till then
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March 18, 2015 at 16:46
I would venture to say that I would not like hanging around Joel Osteen. Unless there’s things we don’t see (which there usually is), being around somebody that’s that positive and smiling all the time would get on my LAST nerve. I could not be friends with somebody who was always happy, ’cause if I ever needed to vent I’d feel ashamed. FYI, my close friends have heard me use adult language – I’m not always happy.
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March 18, 2015 at 17:32
Me either lol guy would get on my last nerve lol
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April 24, 2015 at 17:48
I wish I had time to read all your posts. I take care of my 96 year old mother and my time is limited, but I did take time to read this one — amen, brother, many are traveling the wrong path because of ministers (?) like Osteen. I heard him say in an interview a few years ago that he never mentions sin, hell, or repentance because he wanted his followers to feel good about themselves. I have been pastoring churches for over 40 years, and I assure you, there is nothing good about me except the righteousness imputed by Jesus Christ.
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April 24, 2015 at 18:55
First of all, many blessings to you and your mother; I can only imagine how tough that must be for you.
Second, thanks for coming by and commenting.
Yes, Joel Osteen is arguably the most dangerous man in America to people’s souls. I hate that, because honestly he is very, very engaging!
I read that interview; it was with Larry King I think. Feeling good is great to and extent, but sadly many will fell good themselves right into an eternal separation from God.
40 years? Wow. What a wealth of knowledge and experience you must have. I have actually only been a believer for about eight years now; I was 45 before I was saved. Thank The Lord for His patience.
I look forward every day to your posts, and usually begin looking for them early to mid afternoon. They are a nice breath of fresh air and inspiration in my day. Thank you for them.
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May 22, 2015 at 11:03
Hey Wally. A really excellent post! You make difficult subjects easy to understand! Being British, we don’t really have Osteen tv over here so I only came across him and other Prosperity Teachers thru the Internet. How we need to speak out for The Truth in these last days. Thank you for your contribution! Be blessed – Reuben
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May 22, 2015 at 11:24
I things easy to understand Reuben that way I can get it! From what I understand Britain has its own issues. We had a missionary in Scotland and it was a hard work.
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May 24, 2015 at 07:25
I am encouraged by your post. It is so important that we Christians of these final times point out the key to true salvation and repentance. I said this once before, but I have finally left behind thirty-seven years of alcohol and drug abuse and have been set free by the Blood of the Lamb. Jesus broke my bondage of addiction. I have read several of Osteen’s books, and I watched him on TV several times. I never heard him say anything that would have broken my chains and released me from addiction. I don’t hear him preach about repentance or the sin problem. He does not talk about becoming a new creation through Christ Jesus. He doesn’t talk about a renewing of our minds. Most importantly, he does not model his ministry after the likes of Apostle Paul, who said, “I know nothing but Christ and Him crucified.” I don’t know if Osteen is one of the false teachers we’re warned about, but I do know his feel-good sermons are distracting Christians from the real problem. From the One true solution.
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May 24, 2015 at 07:31
Amen brother and thank you for that fine comment. Folks just don’t understand the danger from those who water down the real message. There you were, in the chains of your sin, and there he is never saying a word about how you might be released from those chains. I was in a similar situation to an extent, in that it was only the real gospel message that got through to me finally.
Thanks for the visit and comment!
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