The Dangerous Teachings of Joel Osteen
READING TIME: 15 MINUTES
(Author’s note: Many people are posting articles and statements concerning Joel Osteen at this time due to the catastrophic flooding situation in Houston, Texas, and Osteen’s response or lack thereof. This article does not concern his response, but rather, thoroughly communicates reasons why believers should consider him a false teacher and avoid him).
Joel Osteen was born on March 5, 1963 in Houston, Texas. He inherited Houston's Lakewood Church and its television ministry in 1999 from his late father John Osteen. Joel expanded both the church and the TV ministry, wrote the hugely popular Your Best Life Now in 2004, and then took his "live at your full potential" message on the road to sold-out sports arenas. Osteen says God wants to show "incredible favor" to those who "start expecting God's blessings, start anticipating promotion and supernatural increase" in all areas of life. Osteen has no college or seminary degree. He studied briefly at Oral Roberts University, and then worked behind the scenes in Lakewood's TV ministry until his father's death. He gave up his $200,000 church salary in 2005, after Your Best Life Now became a New York Times best-seller. In 2006, with 3 million hardcover copies of that book sold, he reportedly signed a multi-million-dollar deal with Free Press, an imprint of Simon and Schuster, for future work. Beginning in 2003, Lakewood Church met in leased space in a remodeled sports arena previously known as The Summit and the Compaq Center. Then, in 2010 the church bought the building from the city of Houston.
According to the Houston Chronicle, Osteen was ordained a minister "by Lakewood's six-member board" in a private 1992 ceremony... His ministry, not affiliated with any particular Christian denomination, remains a family affair. As co-pastor, Joel's wife, Victoria, appears with him at Sunday services in Houston and on the road. Lakewood's staff includes Osteen's mother, brother, sister and brother-in-law. Their children, Jonathan and Alexandra, 21 and 17, respectively, are members of LYA (Lakewood Young Adults), the young adult band from their church. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88lMFfuaCRk)
Here is a clip (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOG7-PYqNvU) which demonstrates the essence of the issues concerning Osteen. He is being interviewed on CNN by a panel of reporters. He is promoting his book, I Declare: Thirty-one Promises to Speak Over Your Life. A short promo for the book reads like this: “The words you speak set the course for your future. I Declare encourages readers to speak God’s promises over their lives daily.” This interview demonstrates some of his Word of Faith beliefs; the difficulty he has giving a straight answer; and the “everything’s coming up roses” philosophy he espouses. Then, when Soledad O’Brien, in reference to homosexuality, says “when you call people sinners, that’s not uplifting.” Osteen says: “I don’t focus on that; I only talk about that on the interviews.” And, then, he says: “I’ve stayed in my lane and my lane is lifting people’s spirits.” Right here we can see that Joel Osteen is not fulfilling the role of a pastor. In 2 Timothy 4:1-2, Paul instructs Timothy: “I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.”
We see an example of his positive thinking message in Osteen’s hugely popular book, Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential. In chapter one he states: “Early in our marriage, Victoria and I were out walking through our neighborhood one day when we came upon a beautiful new home in the final stages of construction. Victoria was excited. She turned around, looked back at the home, and said, “Joel, one day we’re going to live in a beautiful home just like that!” Over the next several months, she kept speaking words of faith and victory, and she finally talked me into it. She convinced me that we could live in an elegant home like the one we saw. I got rid of my limited thinking and I started agreeing with her. I started believing that somehow, some way, God could bring it to pass. We kept on believing it, seeing it, and speaking it.” But, it’s just amazing to me how many people automatically assume when they get something they want, or something works out the way they want, that God must have made this happen. And, then, they use this as proof that God approves of what they’re doing and say He’s blessing them. Additionally, Word of Faith adherents use such an example as proof one can speak things into existence. However, at the beginning of this blog I mentioned the fact that by 2006, three million copies of Your Best Life Now had been sold. And, then Osteen signed a multi-million dollar deal with Simon and Shuster for additional books. So, it’s easy to see how he was able to afford this elegant home his wife dreamed of having. God did not bring to pass the incredible popularity of a book which would lead people astray. Osteen actually earned the money due to the gullibility of a great number of people.
Here is a short clip (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrNBIlMOyPA)of Joel Osteen appearing on Oprah’s Lifeclass program promoting I Declare and leading the audience in several of these “I am” statements. This clip is very telling as it discloses Oprah’s excitement about the book and shows that it is completely void of Christian principles.
Here are some applicable statements from an article entitled “The Convenient Christ” found at the “faith actually” blogspot. “The Convenient Christ is on the rise in our churches! He's a lovable, Santa-esque figure who wants to make us happy and bless us abundantly. He wants us to be comfortable in the world and for the world to comfortable with him. He refrains from saying things that might offend people. After all, can't we all just get along? The Convenient Christ loves us, so why would he ever call us into trials, sickness, or poverty? He never wants his children to suffer hardship or persecution. That wouldn't be loving. He wants us to be successful, wealthy, and healthy! He wants us to shine as His victors!
Each Sunday, tens of thousands flock to hear Joel Osteen deliver the message of the Convenient Christ at Lakewood Church in Texas, which boasts the largest congregation in America, topping 45,000 in attendance every week. And millions more tune into his sermons, which are televised weekly on national TV. Why the popularity? As Michelle Vu of The Christian Post explains, "Joel Osteen doesn't like to ruffle feathers; he is known for his open-arms, positive-thinking, God-wants-to-bless-you approach to Christianity, which has earned him a loyal following of millions worldwide and the largest and fastest growing church in U.S. history." Osteen does indeed present a very attractive, very convenient, version of Christianity: "God wants us to prosper financially, to have plenty of money, to fulfill the destiny He has laid out for us," Osteen wrote in a 2005 letter to his flock.
Staying true to his Convenient Christ, Osteen's message is devoid of inconvenient truths. He sticks to positive, crowd-pleasing topics, dodging bible verses that could ruffle feathers, like those that record Jesus' own words: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?" (Matt 16:24-26). There is certainly very little emphasis on cross-bearing and denial of self from within the Word of Faith camp.”
I thought those were some excellent statements which highlight various concerns about Joel Osteen’s teaching. I am also stunned at the number of people who attend Lakewood; who buy Osteen’s books; at the number who follow him on Facebook which is over 15 million now. These are people who are ingrained to think being a Christian is a bed of roses; that one can just speak the life he or she desires into existence. What is quite concerning is how will people with this attitude survive when even the smallest amount of persecution comes their way? When we read Hebrews 11 and the incredible examples of faith described there, we do not find saints who were preoccupied with their quality of life; who were consumed with having their best life now.
From an article by the Christian Post in June of 2015 we learn that evangelical Christian pastor Joel Osteen shared in an interview that "a whole group of probably about 50 Muslims" recently visited his nondenominational megachurch in Houston, Texas, and indicated that his inspirational messages on "how to live a great life" resonate with people "in Muslim countries."
"I have Muslims that attend our church and my books sell a lot in Muslim countries as well," Osteen said during an interview with Jeremy Hobson for the "Here and Now" radio program published online.
He then asked Osteen if he has conversations with Muslims, which prompted the preacher to share that he "certainly" does.
"You know, I don't know, I don't get too deep in those kinds of things," Osteen added, "but our ministry is about reaching out to everybody, and so you know, I do have those conversations."
He added, “And I think part of our ministry is, our main theme is Jesus says love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as you love yourself. And I don't try to put people in a box — OK, they're Jewish or they're Catholic, they're this or they're that. I just say, 'you know what, they're somebody that God's put in our path for us to love,' and that's our philosophy."
Osteen previously has shared that his messages are not only attractive to Muslims, but to atheists as well.
In a 2014 "Larry King Now" interview, King asked the megachurch pastor, also known for his megawatt smile: "Why would an atheist be a fan?"
"I think what they like, Larry, the principles that we teach is from the Scripture but they can help anybody you know, to reach dreams or to forgive or to have a good self-image," Osteen said. "I know that I'm not a traditional pastor in terms of I'm just going down teaching scripture by scripture, because a lot of what I would teach is just how to live a great life." (https://www.christianpost.com/news/megachurch-pastor-joel-osteen-says-muslims-attend-his-church-and-that-his-books-sell-a-lot-in-muslim-countries.html)
However, as someone commenting on this article had to say: “If your message to a Muslim, an atheist, or any other sinner is simply that you can have a great life and have a good self-image, you are not preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ – not in the slightest. A sinner going to hell does not need a pep talk, a feel-good sermon, New Age mumbo jumbo, or therapeutic emotionalism. He needs the real gospel. Osteen should be making his listeners feel bad – about their sin, about their lostness, about offending a holy and just God – and then out of that sense of despair and hopelessness, the good news side of the gospel can be proclaimed: the glorious good news of a Savior who took our place at Calvary and offers newness of life if faith and repentance are produced.
That is a false gospel every day of the week. Satan loves it, of course. It is sending countless fans of Osteen to a lost eternity. As such, it is our solemn responsibility to pray for Osteen. We need to pray that the Holy Ghost convicts him mightily of the false, men-pleasing gospel he is preaching, that he repent, and that he turn back to proclaiming the biblical gospel.
I realize of course that were he to do so, he would likely lose 95 percent or more of his local and international following. But that is OK. Better that 5 percent receive solid biblical truth and make it to heaven, than that 95 percent follow this message and be sent to a lost eternity. Our Lord Jesus made this message perfectly clear in places like Matthew 7:13-14: ‘Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” (Now, I realize these comments are strong, but they are the absolute truth. All this patting on the head, holding hands, and singing kumbaya is sending people straight to hell. People must hear about their sins so they can repent and be forgiven. Rom. 1:18 says, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold (or suppress) the truth in unrighteousness.” Tragically, suppressing the truth is exactly what Osteen is doing when he neglects to preach about sin).
The modern megachurch is basically a huge mission field. It is a perfect picture of the Laodicean church mentioned in Rev. 3. Verse 17 says: “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. And then verse 20: Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.”
I would like to refer back to Osteen’s statement “OK, they’re Jewish or they’re Catholic, they’re this or they’re that. I just say, ‘you know what, they’re somebody that God’s put in our path for us to love,’ and that’s our philosophy.” So, this shows us Osteen does not recognize that Judaism and Catholicism are religions based on the traditions of men, and that the love those who follow these religions desperately need expressed to them, is the truth of the gospel which says Christ died for our sins and that this work was finished on the cross. And, this belief is also expressed in Osteen’s reaction to the Pope’s visit in September of 2015.
In an article from the Christian Post from September 25, 2015, we read: “Author and Lakewood megachurch Pastor Joel Osteen expressed excitement over Pope Francis' visit to the United States this week and believes the pontiff is a ‘man of the people’ who is focused on inclusion. “I like the Pope. I like that he's making the Catholic Church more open to bring people in and not exclude them. He's a man of the people. I like what he stands for — humility, reaching out to others and he's not so formal that people can't relate to him," said Osteen to CP. Joel Osteen had already visited Pope Francis at the Vatican in June of 2014. Here is a clip of an interview which mentions the visit: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKj_PrDHxbI) Osteen makes this statement: “I just felt very honored and very humbled. He’s (the Pope) made the church more inclusive. Not trying to make it smaller, but larger, to take everybody in. They want to see unity.”
It is a very serious issue that Osteen would make such statements concerning the Pope. Over 1.2 billion people are currently being deceived by the Pope and Catholicism. But, Joel Osteen likes him? How absolutely tragic! These statements sound like someone who is knowingly, or unknowingly, leading his church straight into the one world religion.
Moving on to a discussion of one of Osteen’s most recent books, The Power of I Am: Two Words That Will Change Your Life Today. Now this book sounds like a repackaging of I Declare, but when I looked at this ministries’ website, I saw he had also written books entitled: Say So, Declaring God’s Promises, Seeing God’s Goodness and You Can, You Will. So, this self-declaration, self-affirmation theme is obviously found in several of his books.
Concerning The Power of I Am, the following is from an article at the Christian Post on Oct. 27, 2015: “Osteen discussed his latest book, which focuses on the power of words, and encouraging believers to stop speaking negatively about themselves in internal dialogue and external conversations. Osteen suggests Christians should use the words "I am" and follow that up with statements from God's Word about His people. "It's easy to go through life and say 'I'm unattractive, I'm slow, I'm not as smart as my brother.' Just these negative things," said Osteen. "I give a list of 30 or 40 positive things; I am healthy, I am disciplined, I am focused. And I believe, when you're constantly meditating on that, those things are attracted to you. You're sowing a seed for it to come into your life."
Osteen believes a lot of people are raised with negative ideas about themselves or have outside events, such as deaths and divorces, which pervert their perception along the way. Others lean more toward a pessimistic attitude naturally, according to the pastor. He hopes those who read The Power of I Am will begin to turn those negative thoughts around to positive ones and start to build productive images of themselves in their minds based on what God has said about them. "The real battle is taking place in our minds and thoughts. Because we all have negative circumstances. You can view them and get negative and discouraged, or you can turn it around and say, 'God, thank you that you're fighting my battles.' It's what the Scripture says. Rejoice in the Lord always and count it all joy when you face trials," he said.
Here is a short clip of Joel Osteen promoting this book: https://www.joelosteen.com/Pages/ThePowerOfIam.aspx One statement from the video is, “When you say, I am strong, strength comes looking for you.” Next to the link for this clip at the ministry’s page, we read: “Choose today to rise to a new level and invite God's goodness by focusing on these two words...I Am! You can set the course for your future on the right track by speaking the right things. What follows 'I am' will follow you.” But, true believers will recognize this as absolute nonsense. Do strength and blessings have the ability to come looking for you? How preposterous! God does bless his children, but this whole idea of making “I am” declarations circumvents God blessing us and supposedly gives us the power to cause good things to happen in our lives. So, here we are back to the Word of Faith teaching that people are little gods.
In addition, there is a study guide for The Power of I Am, which according to its advertising, “presents intriguing questions, challenging activities, and encouraging insights that will inspire you to use two simple words--I AM--to start living your best life. Designed for both individual and group use, this interactive book will guide you to strengthen your faith and grow your self-assurance to experience amazing breakthroughs. With Joel Osteen as your personal guide, learn to invite the right things into your life. Once you begin to harness The Power of I Am, you can redirect your life's course to a path of confidence and success.” But, having Joel Osteen as a personal guide on top of his law of attraction style teaching? No, thank you. It sounds like he’s supposed to be a guru or something. There is nothing good about this at all.
In closing, I would encourage those following Joel Osteen’s pop psychology/positivism/WOF/law of attraction teachings to come away from this fluff and get back to God’s Word. True Christianity is a narrow path and doesn’t include new age, ecumenical, your best life now philosophies.
READING TIME: 15 MINUTES
(Author’s note: Many people are posting articles and statements concerning Joel Osteen at this time due to the catastrophic flooding situation in Houston, Texas, and Osteen’s response or lack thereof. This article does not concern his response, but rather, thoroughly communicates reasons why believers should consider him a false teacher and avoid him).
Joel Osteen was born on March 5, 1963 in Houston, Texas. He inherited Houston's Lakewood Church and its television ministry in 1999 from his late father John Osteen. Joel expanded both the church and the TV ministry, wrote the hugely popular Your Best Life Now in 2004, and then took his "live at your full potential" message on the road to sold-out sports arenas. Osteen says God wants to show "incredible favor" to those who "start expecting God's blessings, start anticipating promotion and supernatural increase" in all areas of life. Osteen has no college or seminary degree. He studied briefly at Oral Roberts University, and then worked behind the scenes in Lakewood's TV ministry until his father's death. He gave up his $200,000 church salary in 2005, after Your Best Life Now became a New York Times best-seller. In 2006, with 3 million hardcover copies of that book sold, he reportedly signed a multi-million-dollar deal with Free Press, an imprint of Simon and Schuster, for future work. Beginning in 2003, Lakewood Church met in leased space in a remodeled sports arena previously known as The Summit and the Compaq Center. Then, in 2010 the church bought the building from the city of Houston.
According to the Houston Chronicle, Osteen was ordained a minister "by Lakewood's six-member board" in a private 1992 ceremony... His ministry, not affiliated with any particular Christian denomination, remains a family affair. As co-pastor, Joel's wife, Victoria, appears with him at Sunday services in Houston and on the road. Lakewood's staff includes Osteen's mother, brother, sister and brother-in-law. Their children, Jonathan and Alexandra, 21 and 17, respectively, are members of LYA (Lakewood Young Adults), the young adult band from their church. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88lMFfuaCRk)
Here is a clip (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOG7-PYqNvU) which demonstrates the essence of the issues concerning Osteen. He is being interviewed on CNN by a panel of reporters. He is promoting his book, I Declare: Thirty-one Promises to Speak Over Your Life. A short promo for the book reads like this: “The words you speak set the course for your future. I Declare encourages readers to speak God’s promises over their lives daily.” This interview demonstrates some of his Word of Faith beliefs; the difficulty he has giving a straight answer; and the “everything’s coming up roses” philosophy he espouses. Then, when Soledad O’Brien, in reference to homosexuality, says “when you call people sinners, that’s not uplifting.” Osteen says: “I don’t focus on that; I only talk about that on the interviews.” And, then, he says: “I’ve stayed in my lane and my lane is lifting people’s spirits.” Right here we can see that Joel Osteen is not fulfilling the role of a pastor. In 2 Timothy 4:1-2, Paul instructs Timothy: “I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.”
We see an example of his positive thinking message in Osteen’s hugely popular book, Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential. In chapter one he states: “Early in our marriage, Victoria and I were out walking through our neighborhood one day when we came upon a beautiful new home in the final stages of construction. Victoria was excited. She turned around, looked back at the home, and said, “Joel, one day we’re going to live in a beautiful home just like that!” Over the next several months, she kept speaking words of faith and victory, and she finally talked me into it. She convinced me that we could live in an elegant home like the one we saw. I got rid of my limited thinking and I started agreeing with her. I started believing that somehow, some way, God could bring it to pass. We kept on believing it, seeing it, and speaking it.” But, it’s just amazing to me how many people automatically assume when they get something they want, or something works out the way they want, that God must have made this happen. And, then, they use this as proof that God approves of what they’re doing and say He’s blessing them. Additionally, Word of Faith adherents use such an example as proof one can speak things into existence. However, at the beginning of this blog I mentioned the fact that by 2006, three million copies of Your Best Life Now had been sold. And, then Osteen signed a multi-million dollar deal with Simon and Shuster for additional books. So, it’s easy to see how he was able to afford this elegant home his wife dreamed of having. God did not bring to pass the incredible popularity of a book which would lead people astray. Osteen actually earned the money due to the gullibility of a great number of people.
Here is a short clip (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrNBIlMOyPA)of Joel Osteen appearing on Oprah’s Lifeclass program promoting I Declare and leading the audience in several of these “I am” statements. This clip is very telling as it discloses Oprah’s excitement about the book and shows that it is completely void of Christian principles.
Here are some applicable statements from an article entitled “The Convenient Christ” found at the “faith actually” blogspot. “The Convenient Christ is on the rise in our churches! He's a lovable, Santa-esque figure who wants to make us happy and bless us abundantly. He wants us to be comfortable in the world and for the world to comfortable with him. He refrains from saying things that might offend people. After all, can't we all just get along? The Convenient Christ loves us, so why would he ever call us into trials, sickness, or poverty? He never wants his children to suffer hardship or persecution. That wouldn't be loving. He wants us to be successful, wealthy, and healthy! He wants us to shine as His victors!
Each Sunday, tens of thousands flock to hear Joel Osteen deliver the message of the Convenient Christ at Lakewood Church in Texas, which boasts the largest congregation in America, topping 45,000 in attendance every week. And millions more tune into his sermons, which are televised weekly on national TV. Why the popularity? As Michelle Vu of The Christian Post explains, "Joel Osteen doesn't like to ruffle feathers; he is known for his open-arms, positive-thinking, God-wants-to-bless-you approach to Christianity, which has earned him a loyal following of millions worldwide and the largest and fastest growing church in U.S. history." Osteen does indeed present a very attractive, very convenient, version of Christianity: "God wants us to prosper financially, to have plenty of money, to fulfill the destiny He has laid out for us," Osteen wrote in a 2005 letter to his flock.
Staying true to his Convenient Christ, Osteen's message is devoid of inconvenient truths. He sticks to positive, crowd-pleasing topics, dodging bible verses that could ruffle feathers, like those that record Jesus' own words: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?" (Matt 16:24-26). There is certainly very little emphasis on cross-bearing and denial of self from within the Word of Faith camp.”
I thought those were some excellent statements which highlight various concerns about Joel Osteen’s teaching. I am also stunned at the number of people who attend Lakewood; who buy Osteen’s books; at the number who follow him on Facebook which is over 15 million now. These are people who are ingrained to think being a Christian is a bed of roses; that one can just speak the life he or she desires into existence. What is quite concerning is how will people with this attitude survive when even the smallest amount of persecution comes their way? When we read Hebrews 11 and the incredible examples of faith described there, we do not find saints who were preoccupied with their quality of life; who were consumed with having their best life now.
From an article by the Christian Post in June of 2015 we learn that evangelical Christian pastor Joel Osteen shared in an interview that "a whole group of probably about 50 Muslims" recently visited his nondenominational megachurch in Houston, Texas, and indicated that his inspirational messages on "how to live a great life" resonate with people "in Muslim countries."
"I have Muslims that attend our church and my books sell a lot in Muslim countries as well," Osteen said during an interview with Jeremy Hobson for the "Here and Now" radio program published online.
He then asked Osteen if he has conversations with Muslims, which prompted the preacher to share that he "certainly" does.
"You know, I don't know, I don't get too deep in those kinds of things," Osteen added, "but our ministry is about reaching out to everybody, and so you know, I do have those conversations."
He added, “And I think part of our ministry is, our main theme is Jesus says love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as you love yourself. And I don't try to put people in a box — OK, they're Jewish or they're Catholic, they're this or they're that. I just say, 'you know what, they're somebody that God's put in our path for us to love,' and that's our philosophy."
Osteen previously has shared that his messages are not only attractive to Muslims, but to atheists as well.
In a 2014 "Larry King Now" interview, King asked the megachurch pastor, also known for his megawatt smile: "Why would an atheist be a fan?"
"I think what they like, Larry, the principles that we teach is from the Scripture but they can help anybody you know, to reach dreams or to forgive or to have a good self-image," Osteen said. "I know that I'm not a traditional pastor in terms of I'm just going down teaching scripture by scripture, because a lot of what I would teach is just how to live a great life." (https://www.christianpost.com/news/megachurch-pastor-joel-osteen-says-muslims-attend-his-church-and-that-his-books-sell-a-lot-in-muslim-countries.html)
However, as someone commenting on this article had to say: “If your message to a Muslim, an atheist, or any other sinner is simply that you can have a great life and have a good self-image, you are not preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ – not in the slightest. A sinner going to hell does not need a pep talk, a feel-good sermon, New Age mumbo jumbo, or therapeutic emotionalism. He needs the real gospel. Osteen should be making his listeners feel bad – about their sin, about their lostness, about offending a holy and just God – and then out of that sense of despair and hopelessness, the good news side of the gospel can be proclaimed: the glorious good news of a Savior who took our place at Calvary and offers newness of life if faith and repentance are produced.
That is a false gospel every day of the week. Satan loves it, of course. It is sending countless fans of Osteen to a lost eternity. As such, it is our solemn responsibility to pray for Osteen. We need to pray that the Holy Ghost convicts him mightily of the false, men-pleasing gospel he is preaching, that he repent, and that he turn back to proclaiming the biblical gospel.
I realize of course that were he to do so, he would likely lose 95 percent or more of his local and international following. But that is OK. Better that 5 percent receive solid biblical truth and make it to heaven, than that 95 percent follow this message and be sent to a lost eternity. Our Lord Jesus made this message perfectly clear in places like Matthew 7:13-14: ‘Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” (Now, I realize these comments are strong, but they are the absolute truth. All this patting on the head, holding hands, and singing kumbaya is sending people straight to hell. People must hear about their sins so they can repent and be forgiven. Rom. 1:18 says, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold (or suppress) the truth in unrighteousness.” Tragically, suppressing the truth is exactly what Osteen is doing when he neglects to preach about sin).
The modern megachurch is basically a huge mission field. It is a perfect picture of the Laodicean church mentioned in Rev. 3. Verse 17 says: “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. And then verse 20: Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.”
I would like to refer back to Osteen’s statement “OK, they’re Jewish or they’re Catholic, they’re this or they’re that. I just say, ‘you know what, they’re somebody that God’s put in our path for us to love,’ and that’s our philosophy.” So, this shows us Osteen does not recognize that Judaism and Catholicism are religions based on the traditions of men, and that the love those who follow these religions desperately need expressed to them, is the truth of the gospel which says Christ died for our sins and that this work was finished on the cross. And, this belief is also expressed in Osteen’s reaction to the Pope’s visit in September of 2015.
In an article from the Christian Post from September 25, 2015, we read: “Author and Lakewood megachurch Pastor Joel Osteen expressed excitement over Pope Francis' visit to the United States this week and believes the pontiff is a ‘man of the people’ who is focused on inclusion. “I like the Pope. I like that he's making the Catholic Church more open to bring people in and not exclude them. He's a man of the people. I like what he stands for — humility, reaching out to others and he's not so formal that people can't relate to him," said Osteen to CP. Joel Osteen had already visited Pope Francis at the Vatican in June of 2014. Here is a clip of an interview which mentions the visit: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKj_PrDHxbI) Osteen makes this statement: “I just felt very honored and very humbled. He’s (the Pope) made the church more inclusive. Not trying to make it smaller, but larger, to take everybody in. They want to see unity.”
It is a very serious issue that Osteen would make such statements concerning the Pope. Over 1.2 billion people are currently being deceived by the Pope and Catholicism. But, Joel Osteen likes him? How absolutely tragic! These statements sound like someone who is knowingly, or unknowingly, leading his church straight into the one world religion.
Moving on to a discussion of one of Osteen’s most recent books, The Power of I Am: Two Words That Will Change Your Life Today. Now this book sounds like a repackaging of I Declare, but when I looked at this ministries’ website, I saw he had also written books entitled: Say So, Declaring God’s Promises, Seeing God’s Goodness and You Can, You Will. So, this self-declaration, self-affirmation theme is obviously found in several of his books.
Concerning The Power of I Am, the following is from an article at the Christian Post on Oct. 27, 2015: “Osteen discussed his latest book, which focuses on the power of words, and encouraging believers to stop speaking negatively about themselves in internal dialogue and external conversations. Osteen suggests Christians should use the words "I am" and follow that up with statements from God's Word about His people. "It's easy to go through life and say 'I'm unattractive, I'm slow, I'm not as smart as my brother.' Just these negative things," said Osteen. "I give a list of 30 or 40 positive things; I am healthy, I am disciplined, I am focused. And I believe, when you're constantly meditating on that, those things are attracted to you. You're sowing a seed for it to come into your life."
Osteen believes a lot of people are raised with negative ideas about themselves or have outside events, such as deaths and divorces, which pervert their perception along the way. Others lean more toward a pessimistic attitude naturally, according to the pastor. He hopes those who read The Power of I Am will begin to turn those negative thoughts around to positive ones and start to build productive images of themselves in their minds based on what God has said about them. "The real battle is taking place in our minds and thoughts. Because we all have negative circumstances. You can view them and get negative and discouraged, or you can turn it around and say, 'God, thank you that you're fighting my battles.' It's what the Scripture says. Rejoice in the Lord always and count it all joy when you face trials," he said.
Here is a short clip of Joel Osteen promoting this book: https://www.joelosteen.com/Pages/ThePowerOfIam.aspx One statement from the video is, “When you say, I am strong, strength comes looking for you.” Next to the link for this clip at the ministry’s page, we read: “Choose today to rise to a new level and invite God's goodness by focusing on these two words...I Am! You can set the course for your future on the right track by speaking the right things. What follows 'I am' will follow you.” But, true believers will recognize this as absolute nonsense. Do strength and blessings have the ability to come looking for you? How preposterous! God does bless his children, but this whole idea of making “I am” declarations circumvents God blessing us and supposedly gives us the power to cause good things to happen in our lives. So, here we are back to the Word of Faith teaching that people are little gods.
In addition, there is a study guide for The Power of I Am, which according to its advertising, “presents intriguing questions, challenging activities, and encouraging insights that will inspire you to use two simple words--I AM--to start living your best life. Designed for both individual and group use, this interactive book will guide you to strengthen your faith and grow your self-assurance to experience amazing breakthroughs. With Joel Osteen as your personal guide, learn to invite the right things into your life. Once you begin to harness The Power of I Am, you can redirect your life's course to a path of confidence and success.” But, having Joel Osteen as a personal guide on top of his law of attraction style teaching? No, thank you. It sounds like he’s supposed to be a guru or something. There is nothing good about this at all.
In closing, I would encourage those following Joel Osteen’s pop psychology/positivism/WOF/law of attraction teachings to come away from this fluff and get back to God’s Word. True Christianity is a narrow path and doesn’t include new age, ecumenical, your best life now philosophies.