Does it really matter what the subject is when a leading religious figure makes a statement such as the one in the above title? After thinking about the meaning of that sentence, different words come to mind from the Scriptures. Jesus taught:
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matt. 7:13-14).
Jesus taught that there is a broad way that leads to destruction and a narrow way that leads to life. Is that where we want to leave this subject? Or do not people have the right to know what is wrong and what is right? Did Jesus not come into the world to tell people what was wrong? Was He not telling people what was wrong when He said the following things defile a man: “evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies” (Matt. 15:18-20)?
It was that same Jesus Who said, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” seven times in Matthew 23 (13, 14, 15, 23, 25, 27, 29). In each instance the Lord told them specifically what was wrong with their behavior. He also said they were fools and blind (sometimes blind guides) for behaving the way that they did (16, 17, 19, 24, 26). It’s almost as if Jesus came to tell people that what they were doing was wrong. John records these words of Jesus:
“And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness more than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God” (3:19-21).
Man’s deeds are evil, but we are not going to tell them what it is that they are doing wrong? What kind of attitude is this? Jesus further warned that all would perish unless they repented (Luke 13:3, 5). Repent of what? If no one explains what sin is and the need to repent of it, then how could anyone be saved? Jesus came to seek and to save those who are lost (Matt. 18:11), but they cannot be saved unless they repent, and they cannot repent unless sin has been clearly defined for them. Somebody must be the harbinger of bad news in order for people to profit from the good news. John the baptizer did not mince words. He came, preaching this message, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (Matt. 3:2). And guess what? The response to this stern message was great! The people “were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins” (Matt. 3:6).
Norman Vincent Peale published The Power of Positive Thinking in 1952, and the book had a tremendous impact in various religious circles. Another individual of this stripe was Robert Schuller, associated with the Crystal Cathedral and the Hour of Power television program for 40 years. He wrote a number of books on thinking positively. The new heir of this mentality is Joel Osteen. He is the author of the quote under discussion and is well-known in Houston and for writing books that spread this philosophy.
His comments were made specifically in connection with homosexuality. Several articles can be found on the Internet involving Osteen’s recent interview. Among other things, Osteen said these words to the Huffington Post:
It doesn’t matter who likes you or who doesn’t like you, all that matters is God likes you. He accepts you, He approves of you.
Is that right? No, such a statement is not even close to the truth. God loves all men and sent Jesus to die for their sins (John 3:16). His love is truly amazing in that it is extended even to those who are hostile to Him (Rom. 5:8). God “desires all men to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:4) and is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). None of these passages, however, teaches that God accepts or approves of anyone while they remain in their sins.
Osteen’s false ideology that God accepts and approves of sinners (including homosexuals) is what makes him so popular with people like Cher and Oprah Winfrey. Who doesn’t want to hear that you can have your cake and eat it, too? The message that God loves all people regardless of what they have done is powerful; to say that He accepts people in their sins is anti-Biblical and an attack against the atonement provided by Jesus Christ, Who died that we might be delivered from our sins—not abide in them.
When asked if Osteen’s philosophy included homosexuals, he answered, “Absolutely. I believe that God has breathed his life into every single person. We’re all on a journey. Nobody’s perfect.” What? God created Man in His own image, and he breathed the breath of life into Adam (Gen. 1:26-28; 2:7). What is the intent of saying, “Nobody’s perfect”? The meaning is, again, that God accepts all of us as we are. Why doesn’t Osteen ever think of Scriptures? In this case, he might have thought of, “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Matt. 5:48). Osteen looks at man’s sinfulness, shrugs his shoulders, and says, “Nobody’s perfect.” God wants us to be cleansed of sin and go on to perfection (Heb. 6:1).
Osteen apparently knows that if he defined sin and encouraged people to repent of it, he would lose his vast audience. So he doesn’t want to say anything negative.
But I believe every person is made in the image of God, and you have accepted them as they are, on their journey. I’m not here to be preaching hate, pushing people down. I’m not here telling people what they’re doing wrong.
One wonders what people like Osteen think of when they sing the song, “Just As I Am.” Apparently, they think God approves of them just the way they are. Actually, the song does not mention repentance or even allude to it. It does recognize sin, however, and the need for Jesus to cleanse it. The words of verse 5 seem to teach salvation by “faith only.”
Just as I am, thou wilt receive,
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
Because thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Why should God receive, welcome, pardon, cleanse, and relieve the sinner? Because the sinner believes His promise to do so. There is no sense of “Trust and Obey” here. The closest mention is in the first verse. He bids me come, and on that basis I come, but obedience is not otherwise mentioned anywhere in the song, nor is repentance. Certainly no mention is made of baptism. Billy Graham claims that he was “converted” when this song was sung at the conclusion of a revival in Charlotte, North Carolina. He then used the song in all of his “crusades” during the latter half of the 20th century. The song talks about our need of salvation—our need of forgiveness—but not a word is spoken concerning man’s need to repent; God accepts us just the way we are. What could fit Joel Osteen’s theology any better than that? He can always skip verse 2, which deals with sin—or say that God has accepted us in our sins, as cited above: “…you have to accept them as they are.”
Another justification for accepting homosexuality, which he has admitted is a sin, is that Osteen says: “The Bible said a sin is pride, a sin is selfish ambition. We tend to pick out these certain things.” Apparently, that comment means we shouldn’t select one sin to target when plenty of others are available to discuss. That complaint would be legitimate if preachers only selected one sin and neglected to mention all others. The Bible defines sin and lists many of them numerous times in the New Testament (Rom. 1:21-32; Gal. 5:19-21; Rev. 21:8, et al.). So, yes, it would be wrong to focus on just one, but who is doing that? Christians study the whole Bible, which has the proper emphasis. Osteen is the one who selectively cites verses of the Bible, ignoring most of those that deal with sin.
In his book, Your Best Life Now (2004), he mentions zero lists of sins and barely mentions the concept, period. One of his strongest statements is:
God does not always approve of our behavior. He is not pleased when we go against His will, and when we do, we always suffer the consequences and have to work with Him to correct our thoughts, words, actions, or attitudes (67).
Immediately afterward, however, he undermines what he just said by asserting that “nothing you do will ever cause God to love you less…or more. His love is a constant you can depend on” (68). If this statement were true, how could God condemn anyone to hell on the Day of Judgment? While God’s grace and love is unconditionally offered, they are appropriated on the basis of man’s response. God loved all of those who perished in the Flood and made salvation available to them, but they rejected it and perished. Osteen says that we must “correct our thoughts….” But then he says it doesn’t make any difference if we do. Well, then, why waste the effort?
Osteen later provides this scathing denunciation of sin: “We never have permission to live an ungodly life” (92). Whoa! Probably, everyone is trembling in his boots! So, we don’t have permission to live ungodly, but what is the penalty for doing so? God doesn’t love us any less, according to him. Osteen surely cannot be classified as a “hellfire and damnation” preacher.
The only reason for emphasizing a certain sin at a particular time is that it happens to be pertinent in society. When citizens realized the problems associated with alcohol, many spoke against it, which led to prohibition, which (despite problems associated with it) improved the quality of living for all. When Roe v. Wade was legislated from the bench, many preached lessons pertaining to the value of human life, including when life begins. Just because a great deal of attention was given to one of these sins did not mean that other sins, such as pride or selfish ambition, were ignored.
Likewise, the attention given to the sin of homosexuality has received a great amount of condemnation during the past 25 years because homosexuals established an agenda to get the “grievous sin” (Gen. 18:20) accepted into society. Their success has culminated in the acceptance of even homosexual “marriage,” which very well may hasten the destruction of this nation which was founded upon Biblical principles and which it has mostly abandoned.
All sin offends God and needs to be repented of; national sins such as idolatry (in Israel’s case), abortion, fornication, unscriptural divorce and remarriage, and homosexuality lead to the downfall of nations. Christians have lost all of these moral battles, but hey! we still have Joel Osteen to tell us how great we are and that God loves us no matter what.