The Osteens Are Not The Only Ones...

The Osteens are in the news, but many of you already knew that.

The Osteens' Donald Sterling Moment 

My favorite excerpts? 

"The flap over Victoria Osteen’s recent comments is anticlimactic, given the Osteens have said a thousand even more theologically indefensible things."

"But what really makes the Osteens’ books and sermons worse than the things they say are the things they don’t say. The Osteens talk about living your best life now and unlocking God’s earthly blessings. But the Osteens don’t talk about the best life won for us in the blood of the Lamb and God’s eternal blessings for those who cling to Christ in faith. The Osteens doesn’t talk about sin. They don’t talk about forgiveness or redemption or atonement. They don’t talk about heaven and hell or the crucifixion and the resurrection. Do you know why a teetotaler’s favorite drinking game is 'Take a Shot Every Time Joel Osteen Talks About Jesus?' Because Joel Osteen doesn’t talk about Jesus."

"In other words, God glorifies Himself by forgiving our sins, and we glorify God in our worship by thanking Him for His mercy in Christ. Why does God command Christians to be baptized and celebrate the Lord’s Supper? Not because He needs our obedience in order to be glorified, but because He wants to glorify Himself by wrapping us in His glory through the waters of regeneration and feeding us with Christ, the very bread of life, in the Sacrament of the Altar. Why does God command Christians to gather together in worship? Not because He needs the sacrifice of our praise, but because we need the sacrifice of Christ’s life, which is given to us in the Word of the Gospel proclaimed in Christian worship. How does God want us to glorify Him? Not by saying, 'Lord, look what I’ve done for you,' but by saying, 'Lord, thank you for what you’ve done for me.'"

READ THE ENTIRE COMMENTARY HERE

The author (who is also a Lutheran Pastor, by the way) of that piece is spot on.

What Mrs. Osteen said was bad, but it was hardly the most egregious thing the Osteens have ever shared with the world while claiming it to be "Gospel truth" under the banner of Christianity.

Remember this infamous moment broadcast to millions on Live TV?

And it's not like that was an "isolated" incident either!

Todd Friel of Wretched Radio/TV once asked, "Who's Worse - Oprah Or Joel?"

This is why the author of the article we shared at the outset is right to say that this all feels a bit "anticlimactic" when Osteen has a history of false teaching that's much worse than what his wife recently said.

While this is all well and good, the problem I have is that I know many Christians who recognize the false teaching coming from the Osteens (especially after this recent debacle), and yet, those same people still champion similar false teachers like Rick Warren, Mark Driscoll, T.D. Jakes, Beth Moore, Steven Furtick, Carl Lentz, Francis Chan, and Andy Stanley to name just a few.

In short, the Osteens are not the only ones who should be under the microscope right now. Bottom line? I pray that the Osteens will truly repent of their false teachings and return to "the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 1:3)

In a Lutheran layman's terms, now that the Osteens are under the microscope for their unbiblical teachings, it's about time that Christians continued to use discernment and put other popular so-called "Pastors" under that same microscope for equally spiritually disastrous teachings from the pulpit (or stage depending on who we're talking about).

NOTE: As you know, I am a newly converted Confessional Lutheran who recently escaped American Evangelicalism. That being said, please contact me ASAP if you believe that any of my "old beliefs" seem to have crept their way into any of the material you see published here, and especially if any of the content is not consistent with our Confessions and Lutheran doctrine (in other words, if it's not consistent with God's Word, which our Confessions merely summarize and point us back to) so that I can correct those errors immediately and not lead any of His little ones astray (James 3:1). Finally, please be aware that you might also discover that some of the earlier pieces I wrote on this blog back in 2013 definitely fall into that category since I was a "Lutheran-In-Name-Only" at the time and was completely oblivious to the fact that a "Book of Concord" containing our Confessions even existed. In addition, there are some entries that are a little "out there" so-to-speak since the subject matter was also heavy influenced by common Evangelical concerns/criticisms that aren't that big a deal for us Lutherans. I know that now and I'm still learning. Anyway, I decided to leave those published posts up on this website and in cyberspace only because we now have this disclaimer and only to demonstrate the continuing work of Christ and the Holy Spirit in my life (Hebrews 12:2; Philippians 1:6). Finally, please know that any time we engage in commenting on and/or interpreting a specific portion of the holy Scriptures, it will always follow the verse-by-verse notes from my Lutheran Study Bible unless otherwise noted. Thank you for stopping by and thank you in advance for your time, help, and understanding. Grace and peace to you and yours!

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