According
to 60 MINUTES, Osteen's ministry rakes in over $73,000,000 a year. His brother, sister and mother are all minister's in his church—a family
operated cash cow. In his new book, "Become A Better You,"
Osteen's 7 principles for becoming a better you don't mention God or Jesus
Christ even once. This is apostasy. Joel Osteen is the pastor of
Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas.
Joel Osteen is the fulfillment of God's warning to us in 2nd Timothy 4:3... "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears." Joel Osteen is no man of God; but rather, an imposter who appeases the neo-evangelical apostates of our time. Osteen's sermonettes and books are nothing more than secular self-help guides. Osteen is no better than modern psychologists, who completely avoid the issue of sin as the root of man's problems. Osteen avoids controversial subjects such as sin, condemnation, judgment, Hellfire and the wrath of God.
Here's the 60 MINUTES interview:
Folks, the Bible is God's Word, which warns that all unbelievers will be cast into the Lake of Fire to burn for all eternity... "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." Call it "scare tactics" if you will, but it's what the Word of God teaches. You ought to be scared if you're not a born-again Christian!!! Heed the warning of 2nd Thessalonians 1:8,9... "In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction..."
Yet, Joel Osteen never warns anyone about God's condemnation upon sinners, and the inescapable penalty of Hellfire apart from the precious blood of Jesus Christ (1st Peter 1:18,19). Osteen and his family have sold their souls for money— propagating an impotent message of self-improvement that is void of the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ. All we hear about is love, love, love; BUT, we ought to also be hearing about God's wrath towards unrepentant sinners (Psalm 7:11... "God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day"). John 3:36 states, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." Joel Osteen is nothing more than a motivational speaker, who is highly sought after by the business community for his Shirley Temple, girly-boy, milquetoast, panty waist, milksop, presentations. What America desperately needs today is preaching preachers!!!
There's a Hell that burns with
fire and brimstone, where all Christ-rejecters will spend eternity in
torment! We must warn sinners of the judgment to come. We read
the effects of Paul's preaching to governor Felix in Acts 24:25... "And as
he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix
trembled." Do you think any of Joel Osteen's audience "trembles"
at his message? No, because Osteen doesn't "preach the Word" as 2nd
Timothy 4:2 commands. Instead, Osteen preaches modern psychology and
only touches upon non-offensive Christian topics. We read in 1st
Corinthians 1:18, "For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish
foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God." The Biblical Gospel offends people, because it MUST include the guilt and
condemnation which our sin brings upon us. It's not enough to just
acknowledge Jesus Christ. You must come to the cross of Jesus Christ
as a dirty, rotten, condemned, guilty, hell-deserving SINNER!!!
Osteen's Health, Wealth and Prosperity False Gospel
Osteen is the poster-boy for the health, wealth and prosperity false gospel movement. He certainly fits in with the rest of the greedy televangelists... a 2001 Real Estate Guide (http://north-valley.com/realestate_board/messages/157.html) valued his home at $1,265,500. Meanwhile, citizens of Haiti are literally eating mud to survive! The following Scriptures in Revelation 3:16,17 describe Joel Osteen and these new "prosperity Christians" word for word... "So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. 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."
There can be NO salvation without the Law of God, i.e., without coming to the self-realization that one is a guilty sinner, under the condemnation of God's Holy Law, deserving of Hellfire. Osteen is a false prophet who is leading multitudes into Hell—thinking they are going to Heaven simply because they "gave their life to Jesus." Judas gave his life to Jesus and he is burning in Hellfire this moment. In Matthew 27:3 Judas "repented himself" and forsook his sin and still went to Hell (so much for Lordship Salvation). A person cannot be saved by turning over a new leaf and forsaking sin. A person cannot be saved by committing their life to Jesus. To be saved, a person must become guilty before God, and believe on Jesus Christ (because of the precious blood that He shed) to wash away our sins.
On Lakewood Church’s website, a video presentation is given to announce their new building project. Osteen gives the new vision of his ministry:
"We’re all about building people up. We’re all about helping people reach their full potential. We don’t push some kind of religion... all we push is joy and peace and victory through Jesus Christ. …Our message every single week -is through faith in God you can live an overcoming life of victory … I believe that’s the message this generation needs to hear. We’ve heard a lot about the judgment of God and what we can’t do and what’s going to keep us out of heaven. But it’s time people start hearing about the goodness of God, about a God that loves them. A God that believes in them. A God that wants to help them. That’s our message here at Lakewood."
What a copout! Osteen is attempting to justify his lack of preaching about sin, judgment and Hellfire by blaming other preachers who DO preach about such critical issues. The truth is that most Americans have become stubborn, sinfully proud, arrogant and selfish; thus, they absolutely refuse to listen to SOUND DOCTRINE (just as 2nd Timothy 4:3 foretold). Instead, apostate sin-loving Americans... heap to themselves teachers [like Joel Osteen], having itching ears. Such apostates only go to hear Mr. Osteen because he satisfies their selfish lusts to hear only what they choose to hear. Again, 2nd Timothy 4:3 warns, "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears." The average American will not tolerate Biblical preaching anymore.
The average woman
today absolutely refuses to submit to the Biblical command for women to
dress modestly (1st Timothy 2:9), obey their husbands (1st Peter 3:1), and
not usurp authority over men (1st Timothy 2:12). These apostates are
flocking to false churches like Joel Osteen's where they can have
churchianity without Christianity—never being told to repent, no guilt or
conviction, and never having to carry a cross of persecution for Jesus
Christ.
Joel Osteen Refuses to Call Homosexuals and Abortionists "Sinners"!
In an interview with Larry King on June 20, 2005, Osteen sat for an interview with Larry King on CNN’s The Larry King Show. King introduced Osteen as “evangelism’s hottest rising star, pastor for the biggest congregation in the United States.” And what does he preach? Osteen said he doesn’t get into controversial subjects like sin and judgment. Larry King tossed Osteen a "soft-ball," asking Osteen about the wicked and vile sins of abortion and homosexuality. Even lost people like Larry King take a stand on these blatant "sins"...
KING: How about issues that the church has feelings about? Abortion? Same-sex marriages?
OSTEEN: Yeah. You know what, Larry? I don't go there. I just ...
KING: You have thoughts, though.
OSTEEN: I have thoughts. I just, you know, I don't think that a same-sex marriage is the way God intended it to be. I don't think abortion is the best. I think there are other, you know, a better way to live your life. But I'm not going to condemn those people. I tell them all the time our church is open for everybody.
Larry appears surprised at Osteen’s waffling. Larry allows Osteen to clarify his confusing position. And again Osteen blatantly contradicts the words of the Lord Jesus Christ.
KING: You don't call them sinners?
OSTEEN: I don't.
KING: Is that a word you don't use?
OSTEEN: I don't use it. I never thought about it. But I probably don't. But most people already know what they're doing wrong. When I get them to church I want to tell them that you can change. There can be a difference in your life. So I don't go down the road of condemning.
The word "sin" occurs in the King James Bible over 830 times! Get a Bible Mr. Osteen! Every pastor in the world should be preaching
against the sins of homosexuality and abortion. Joel Osteen won't
touch these issues with a 10-foot pole because he'll lose money. The
love of money is the root of all evil (1st Timothy 6:10).
Joel Osteen Denies That Jesus is the ONLY Way to Heaven!
In the same interview
with Larry King on June 20, 2005, Osteen said that false religions such as
Islam, Hinduism, and Judaism don’t concern him and he doesn’t really know
who’s going to Hell and who isn’t.
The first very alarming portrait of Osteen’s heart (Matthew 12:34, "...for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh") deals with the most important subject in the Bible—salvation is only through the redemptive blood of the Lord Jesus Christ! Nothing is more important. Nothing is more evident in the Scriptures! The following Scriptures (among many) loudly and boldly proclaim Jesus Christ as the ONE and ONLY way of salvation, without any room for misinterpretation or misunderstanding. The Bible makes this crystal-clear. Other doctrines may have opportunity for argument, but not this one:
John 14:6—
"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."Acts 4:12—
"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."1st John 2:22—
"Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son."John 3:36—
"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."1st Timothy 2:5-6—
"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time."
On Larry King Live, the following very disturbing conversation occurred with Larry King and Joel Osteen:
I don't know ...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.
