Joel Osteen: False Teacher
Good Evening. A Puritan’s Mind brings you the old time radio program The Wild Boar News Podcast from Sunny South Florida.
Welcome, I’m Dr. Matthew McMahon.
Do you know the two most popular admission tickets that Ticketmaster sells? U-2 is #1. And Joel Osteen is #2.
According to The Magazine for Church Business Administrators and Para Church Executives: The Church Report - The 50 Most Influential Christians in America has voted Joel Osteen in their #2 position.
Following the death of his father, in 1999, he took over as pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, despite having completed less than one year of college at Oral Roberts University and never having preached a sermon in his life. Who is more of the fool, the one stepping into a positionlike that, or those that allowed him to do so?
The O’Reily Factor interviewed Osteen in December 2004 where Osteen stated that while he is an ordained minister, he admitted to having no seminary training. This is not surprise. Osteen’s first book, Your Best Life Now: Seven Steps to Living at Your Full Potential, rose to number one on the New York Times “Best Sellers” list in December 2004. Hisbook is made up of principles to live by.
Principle 1) Enlarge Your Vision. He says, “In other words, God wants to make your life easier. He wants to assist you, to promote you, to give you advantages” (38). God seems to bethe great CEO in the sky.
Principle 2) is “Developing a Healthy Self-image.” Quoting the Message, a heretical twisting of the Scriptures, Osteen says, “The modern-day biblical paraphrase The Message related the story about the blind men with an interesting twist: ‘[Jesus] touched their eyes and said, “Become what you believe.”’…Are you believing to go higher in life, to rise above your obstacles, to live in health, abundance, healing, and victory? You will become what you believe” (76). Osteen says, “God doesn’t want you to drag through life, barely making it….It is not His preference for you to live in perpetual pain….Become a true believer, knowing that youwill become what you believe” (76).
Principle 3) “Discover the Power of Your Thoughts and Words.” “Our words become self-fulfilling prophecies. If you allow your thoughts to defeat you and then give birth to negative ideas through your words, your actions will follow suit. That’s why we need to be extremely careful about what we think and especially careful about what we say….Your words have enormous creative power. The moment you speak something out, you give birth to it” (121–22, 129). He says, “If you are facing sickness today, you should confirm God’s Word concerning healing. Say something such as, ‘Father, I thank You that You promised me in Psalms that I will live and not die and I will declare the works of the Lord.’ As you boldly declare it, you are confirming that truth in your own life” (130). If you can’t stomach these, then don’t despair, Osteen will feed you more in the other principles he has ready for unsuspecting and gullible people to feedon.
Larry King interviewed Osteen on June 20, 2005. King askedOsteen if he always believed the Gospel.
Osteen said, “Ihave always believed…I just grew up believing.”
King asked, “But you're not fire and brimstone, right? You'renot pound the decks and hell and dam nation?”
Osten said,“No. That's not me. It's never been me. I've always been an encourager at heart. I don't believe in that. I don't believe -- maybe it was for a time. But I don't have it in my heart to condemn people. I'm there to encourage them. I see myself more as a coach, as a motivator to help them experience the life God has for us.”
KING: So you didn't go to seminary?
OSTEEN: No, sir, I didn't.
KING: They can just make you a minister?
OSTEEN: You can, you can.
KING: That's kind of an easy way in.
OSTEEN: Yeah, but I think it happens more than you think. But I didn't go to seminary.
KING: So the church in a sense ordained you?
OSTEEN: Right. And then you're ordained through the State of Texas.
KING: And when are you on television?
OSTEEN: We're on different times. We're in the top 25 markets on one of the network stations.
KING: What if you're Jewish or Muslim, you don't accept Christ at all?
OSTEEN: You know, I'm very careful about saying who would and wouldn't go to heaven. I don't know ...
KING: If you believe you have to believe in Christ? They're wrong, aren't they?
OSTEEN: Well, I don't know if I believe they're wrong. I believe here's what the Bible teaches and from the Christian faith this is what I believe. But I just think that only God with judge a person's heart. I spent a lot of time in India with my father. I don't know all about their religion. But I know they love God. And I don't know. I've seen their sincerity. So I don't know. I know for me, and what the Bible teaches, I want to have a relationship with Jesus.
Can we say anything else that would biblically condemn this man other than simply pointing out that false teachers abound, and Osteen is among the most popular? One of the most popular methods of preaching today by evangelicals is to leave out the law entirely and to present only the Gospel. Antinomians do this. However, Osteen conveniently leaves out both the Law and the Gospel in his preaching. Osteen orates about self-esteem.
He is, for all intents and purposes, a New Age guru, propagating anti-Christian philosophies of self-betterment in an arena which reflects little more than a pep rally. For Osteen, God is seen as the Cosmic Bellhop that wants you to live your best life now, and Jesus is the Cheerleader who roots for you on the sidelines as His star quarterback.
However, this kind of teaching is a mockery to God. God will not stand for it. He will allow and does allow false teachers to inflict the world with the agony of error and heresy, but God has a day of reckoning in which He will require the life of these false prophets and their children. Jeremiah 23:1, "Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!" says the LORD. Therefore thus says the LORD God of Israel against the shepherds who feed My people: "You have scattered My flock, driven them away, and not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your doings," says the LORD.
This is Dr. Matthew McMahon signing off.
I think your being a little hard on Pastor Joel. In the grand scope of the Church, even Pastor Joel Osteen serves a purpose. Maybe his messege is a little weak but people do need encouragment and thats what he does.
Posted by
Elisa Gwilliam |
10:11 PM
Thank you for your review and exposition of Joel Osteen. I once enjoyed watching him, but then as I learned more about Rick Warren's book, The Purpose Driven Church, I found that Joel's message was missing the mark in leading people to truly knowing Christ. Thanks for your diligence and for posting this.
Posted by
Kurt Michaelson |
9:24 AM
I think people speak bad the others is becouse have a lots of envious in their hearts God is Love .And Joel show this in theirs sermones Now inthis times this is the people need listen something positive because the world are totally negative wars, terrorism, people die ,poverty.God comming to anounce the good news.this is Isaias :61 (READ ENVIOUS theologist mens)Claudia Bobadilla
Posted by
Unknown |
10:31 AM
Happy that Joel is Joel. He inspires and picks me up when I am down. He is encouraging and easy to listen to. I am thankful for him.
Also the fact that he does not pound you for donations or to buy this or that.
Anyway-he is more minister like than many ordained ministers out there.
Posted by
Jill |
1:24 PM
jole is wise by not walking into a trap being set
Posted by
Unknown |
10:48 AM
jole is wise not to walk into what i think was a trap being set
Posted by
Unknown |
10:49 AM
I have watched Joel Osteen on television many times. I have yet to hear him deliver a single Biblical message. His messages are pure self-esteem "psycho-babble". He is definately a Robert Schuller "wanna be". You rarely hear a Bible verse and he is definately not a Bible expositor. Also what's up with that bizzare globe spinning behind him?
Posted by
Practicing Berean |
6:03 PM
Who are you??who point out your long finger against your brother.I believe God has a porpose for everyone and everything...so it's not up to us to judge anybody,why don't you pray to God touch his heart about the true mean of the gospel,so that he can start preaching the truth of Jesus more effectively,instead exposing your neighbour.
Posted by
Unknown |
12:46 PM
While it is true that we are not to judge another mans eternal destiny. True Christians are commanded by scripture to test all teachings and measure them against what God has already said in his Holy Scripture. The Apostal Paul, John, James and Jude all judged behavior. Jesus judged behavior. God the Trinity constantly judges behavior. (Read Proverbs) The entire 66 books of the Bible are about nothing but behavior. Good behavior ie: obedience to Gods commands and bad behavior ie: disobedience or Sin. Every person on the planet judges behavior. We really need to get rid of this warped 1960's "hippy think". Here is my favorite although often misquoted scripture on judging:
Matthew 7
Judging Others
"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.
Jesus does not say "don't judge". He say's do not judge hypocritically. If you are commiting adultery do not accuse you brother of commiting adultery. He clearly states: "first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." You are told to help your brother if he sins.
P.S. If I am not mistaken, I believe you just judged me for judging.
Posted by
Practicing Berean |
11:41 PM
Wikipedia Definition:
Critical thinking consists of mental processes of discernment, analysis and evaluation. It includes possible processes of reflecting upon a tangible or intangible item in order to form a solid judgment that reconciles scientific evidence with common sense. In contemporary usage "critical" has a certain negative connotation that does not apply in the present case; the term "analytical thinking" may more accurately convey the idea.
Critical thinkers gather information from all senses, verbal and/or written expressions, reflection, observation, experience and reasoning. Critical thinking has its basis in intellectual criteria that go beyond subject-matter divisions and which include: clarity, credibility, accuracy, precision, relevance, depth, breadth, logic, significance and fairness.
******************************
People often accuse others of being "judgemental" when they diagree with them. This is a technique used to "shut them up". What they are really trying to do is "censor" that person without being perceived as a censor.
Posted by
Practicing Berean |
7:37 AM
th man is making a lot of money and that make people go mental
because he is doing it in the name of god you could do it to. just fine what you realy want to do and do it in the name of god
anyway what joel doing you thought about it
god bles
Posted by
sartuz |
3:54 PM