Joel Olsteen

[Sevenseas]

The teaching professed by Osteen that ". . . Gods got to look at your heart. . ." for salvation is wrong. God has already "looked at you heart." In Jeremiah 17:9, the Lord says, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" Proverbs 28:26, says, "He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool. . ." The Lord Jesus says, in Matthew 15 "But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:"

Osteens refusal to confess the sole redemptive salvation of the Lord Jesus Christ sent shock waves among many of Osteens followers.

Osteen issued an apology on his website but does not matter. Since his gaff on King's show, he has repeatedly stated the same things.

These viewpoints are not Christian.

Jesus took hell very seriously and did not just preach love love don't judge like some are trying to state.

Jesus Christ took hell very serious. In Mark 9:43-47 the Lord says,

43 And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:

45 And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:

47 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:

So stop telling other posters, whoever you may be, that we are judgemental and mean...apparently so is Jesus if that is how you see things

[LOVE SONGS]

The teaching professed by Osteen that ". . . Gods got to look at your heart. . ." for salvation is wrong. God has already "looked at you heart." In Jeremiah 17:9, the Lord says, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" Proverbs 28:26, says, "He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool. . ." The Lord Jesus says, in Matthew 15 "But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:"

Osteens refusal to confess the sole redemptive salvation of the Lord Jesus Christ sent shock waves among many of Osteens followers.

Osteen issued an apology on his website but does not matter. Since his gaff on King's show, he has repeatedly stated the same things.

These viewpoints are not Christian.

Jesus took hell very seriously and did not just preach love love don't judge like some are trying to state.

Jesus Christ took hell very serious. In Mark 9:43-47 the Lord says,

43 And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:

45 And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:

47 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:

So stop telling other posters, whoever you may be, that we are judgemental and mean...apparently so is Jesus if that is how you see things

[LOVE SONGS]

Man...oh...man...Sevenseas you need to open up your own Ministry. LOL

You can bagger the daylights out of a person !

Jesus did speak of Heaven and Hell, when He was on Earth. He didn't bagger people into believing in Him. He Loves all...showing us the way.

He gave up His life on that cross for us all....for the great Love He has for All.

He went about teaching, healing the sick, raised the dead, setting the captives free, and casting out demons out of people.

He spoke about God... being our Father who Loves and cares for us all.

For God is Love.

[Guest]

ayin jade

I like sermons that make me squirm. I like uncomfortable sermons. Those force me to examine myself in light of Christ.

Amen jade! An "uncomfortable sermon" given with grace and love can make me "squirm" as well! Back when I was just starting to walk I used to get quite upset with the pastor, and felt that he was targeting me.

Until I came to understand that it was the Holy Spirit who had me in His sights, not the pastor....

Amen.

There are times when it seems that the sermon was aimed directly at me . . . I've needed that exact message each time that has happened, and it wasn't the preacher - it was the Spirit.

[sunnier]

Well, I have examined this a bit further. I will admit that I was extremely disappointed that there is such a vast Majority of Blatant breaking the Word of God by false Judgement, and outright disregard for What Jesus said about Judging.

Examing a teacher iin the light of Scripture is not "judging" in the sense that you mean it. It is perfectly scriptural to hold up what Olsteen says to the light of Scripture to see if they match.

Then I read over some comments, and compared to other comments, then I realized that this is a public forum full of Christians with all different growth levels. Love Song Post is full of Grace and Maturity, and lots of you have a ways to go. You need to grow up in the Lord.

This is not an issue of maturity. It is an issue of honesty. We have some honest criticisms of Olsteen and what he preaches. He belongs to an errant group known as the Word of Faith movement, which his father also beloned to.

Joel has a specific calling and Ministry. He reaches those that would not give most of us 2 seconds of their time. That is OK, we all have a different place to fill.

Joel has no specific ministry target demographic. He preaches to a chruch of tens of thousands. His entire personal ministry is wrapped up in Television and books. His preaching is all about fulfilling dreams and reaching personal goals. Personal wealth, prosperity and personal advancement are the core principles of what he teaches. He doesn't preach on much of anything else.

Jesus said I judge not those that don't obey the Word,

Where did Jesus say that?

Sunnier said she don't recall Joel preaching on sin?? Like Sunnier watches Joel and read all his books?

His books are a reflection of what he teaches on TV. They are an extension of his televised material. At any given time, you can open his book or turn on his program and he will be preaching about fulfililng self-interest, not the Gospel. He doesn't preach on sin because "sin" doesn't sell books. Telling people that they are okay and that their path to riches and well-being are wrapped up in goals and dreams and personal enrichment is what sells.

Joel also preaches on sin, and right and wrong..... He presents it in a way that does not condemn the easily offended, something they can receive. If they don't receive, and you offended them, then your far away from perfect.

He doesn't preach on sin. He doesn't tell people that they are sinners in need of a Savior and that they need to make sure they are saved, now. He never presents a clear evangelistic sermon. The assumption is that everyone who darkens the door of his chruch is genuine believer and in a stadium filled with tens of thousands of people, there is a good chance that someone there is not a believer. But that person will never be told they need Christ.

The truth is offensive to human nature. It is one thing to offend someone with the truth of Scripture. It is another to be offensive. Olsteen goes out of his way not to offend anyone with the Gospel, because he uses a worldly means of determining his success as a pastor. His success is measured in numbers and dollar signs. His measurement of success is determined by book sales.

Those that have grown some in the Lord need to keep in mind we are interacting with babes on the forum who also want to give their opinions without a fully renewed mind. I should have been more accommodating. That shows I myself need to continue to grow and mature.

Don't look now but your hypocrisy is showing. For all of your self-righteous, snooty bluster about not judging others, you have passed all manner of judgment on the spiritual maturity of others on this board. Your hypocrisy is duly noted.

As a matter of fact I have watched Osteen on tv more than a few times and every single time I've watched his sermons it's always the same topic. Be positive, don't have a sour attitude, God will work everything out in your favor, you're a champion, ........as far as reading his books no I admit I haven't read a book of his from cover to cover although I have skimmed through it which of course doesn't give me the whole picture of what the book is about but it does give me a pretty good idea that since I can count on what his sermons are going to be about every Sunday I can surely bet that his books are a continuation of what is said on Sundays. Or am I wrong? Does he talk about sin in his books?

[LOVE SONGS]

Excuse me !...... Now you are personally attacking me and wrongly judging me ... as a born again Christian...a child of God.

YOU are way off topic ... the topic is about the finger... that you are pointing at and backbitting , Joel Olsteen ...Gods' servant as a Preacher !

You people need to get off of your negativity about this man, and the way he preaches.

This is my opinion of Joel Olsteens Ministry.

I am not in here to attack people ...no matter who they are. That would not be Christ like of me to do so.

Sevenseas...........Name calling is Not Christian of you.

O.K. ...I do have a few verses for you....at my signature of every post that I write... are verses that are positive !

Plus ..! I have one more to add... another positive from God Himself , which is ..Positive... so you cannot say that ...what I am saying is not ...biblical.

Proverbs 4 : 20-21-22

20- My son, give attention to my words;

Incline your ear to my sayings.

21-Do not let them depart from your eyes;

Keep them in the midst of your heart;

22- For they are life to those who find them ,

And health to ALL their flesh.

Gods' word is health and healing to ALL of your flesh.... now that is a positive verse !

The book of John...1:1-2

1- In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2- He was in the beginning with God.

Oh , in the book of Revelations....19 : 13

He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called

The Word of God.

Jesus is the Word of God ! That is a positive verse !!!

God Bless you ...Sevenseas

You go from scolding another believer and telling them not to say bad things about you, to scolding all of us who disagree with you and basically tell us to shut up. That's hypocrisy right there.

James 5:19-20 19 My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, 20 remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.

You can deny it as long as you wish to, but simply denying it won't change the fact that Joel has wandered from the truth. All he preaches is a feel-good message that is devoid of conviction and devoid of confrontation of sin. He preaches Christian Lite. And his flock isn't getting it's basic spiritual nutritional needs met. Joel's messages are the equivalent of spiritual junk food.

When we see error, we are supposed to point it out. That isn't optional, it's required:

Galatians 2:11-16 11 When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. 12 Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. 13 The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray. 14 When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, "You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs? 15 "We who are Jews by birth and not 'Gentile sinners' 16 know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.

Just because someone claims to be a preacher and a person of God does not mean that they are above scrutiny or reproach. It actually means we are to examine what they speak and do more closely because, as persons who have adopted a mantle of authority and leadership, they also carry more responsibility to do that which is right. They are not off-limits when it comes to criticism or accountablity.

I will give you this scripture, again. Read it carefully. No one should have insulted you. Given, but they were right about one thing. What you are advocating is not complete Christianity. You are saying just stick with the parts you like and the Bible never says that.

Act 20:25 And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more. 26 Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. 27 For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. 28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

I believe in Gods' promises...the positive verses in scripture...doesn't your bible have them in it ? Just because I am not writing down the bible verses ...doesn't mean I am speaking of some differant doctrine , so quit judging me, about that.

Do you believe in the promises of God?

I am not twisting anything here ...you are misunderstanding my views on this topic about Joels' Ministry.

Instead you are making me the Topic here, attacking me.

You think what you want of me... I will speak positive things about God and His word.

You are being hateful and mean to me , because of the good that I speak about God, and His word and His Preachers .

God bless you... Cobalt

[ayin jade]

Jesus did speak of Heaven and Hell, when He was on Earth. He didn't bagger people into believing in Him. He Loves all...showing us the way.

He gave up His life on that cross for us all....for the great Love He has for All.

He went about teaching, healing the sick, raised the dead, setting the captives free, and casting out demons out of people.

He spoke about God... being our Father who Loves and cares for us all.

For God is Love.

He was also quite harsh at times too. He didnt pull punches with some folks. He preached unpleasantness too.

[LOVE SONGS]

Jesus did speak of Heaven and Hell, when He was on Earth. He didn't bagger people into believing in Him. He Loves all...showing us the way.

He gave up His life on that cross for us all....for the great Love He has for All.

He went about teaching, healing the sick, raised the dead, setting the captives free, and casting out demons out of people.

He spoke about God... being our Father who Loves and cares for us all.

For God is Love.

He was also quite harsh at times too. He didnt pull punches with some folks. He preached unpleasantness too.

As I said, Jesus didn't bagger people into believing in Him.

Yes ...He was harsh to those who sought to kill Him...and He called them ... hypocrites !

[ayin jade]

Galatians 1

6 I marvel that you so soon are being moved away from Him who called you into the grace of Christ, to another gospel,

7 which is not another, but some are troubling you, and desiring to pervert the gospel of Christ.

8 But even if we or an angel from Heaven preach a gospel to you beside what we preached to you, let him be accursed.

9 As we said before, and now I say again, If anyone preaches a gospel to you beside what you have received, let him be accursed.

Now thats harsh. And nothing in there about chastising those who seek to kill anyone. Its words against a false gospel.

[~candice~]

I suggest that those who are feeling offended... might want to take 24 hours off and re-evaluate the thread then. I don't really see a lot of personal insults flying around here, but the topic has highlighted some personal sensitivities. Life on this earth is too short to be take offense where none is intended. Go enjoy His creation and come back refreshed tomorrow .