Pastor Joel Osteen’s Sin Or Not?

            Pastor Joel Osteen’s volte-face on homosexuality is certainly intriguing. Initially he said homosexuality was a sin and homosexuals would not inherit heaven. Later he claimed that God approves homosexuals.

            His radical shift is intriguing and damaging as well, for Christians could be led to believe that Pastor Joel Osteen is correct in his views. He is after all a very successful and a wealthy Christian pastor. 

            Should Christians follow or emulate Pastor Joel Osteen especially with regards to his views on homosexuality?

            Here is the background.

            A blog “Joel Osteen's Sin” published by The Huffington Post in the year 2012 was updated this year (2016).¹ That blog was an offensive on Pastor Joel Osteen because the blogger quotes Pastor Osteen speaking to Oprah Winfrey in which he echoed the Bible and deemed homosexuals as sinners and that they would not go to heaven unless they repent, “When Oprah asked Pastor Osteen if he thought gay people would enter heaven, he answered, "Yes, if they repent for their sins." Pastor Osteen went on to say that the Bible defines homosexuality as a sin.”²

            However, in the year 2013, Pastor Joel Osteen, when interviewed by HuffPost live’s Josh Zepps, reversed his views on homosexuality. He claimed that God absolutely approves of homosexuals, “Zepps read a piece that he liked from Osteen's new book: "It doesn't matter who likes you or doesn't like you, all that matters is that God likes you. He accepts you, he approves of you." Zepps followed up by asking if that included homosexuals. "Absolutely," Osteen insisted, "I believe that God breathed life into every person and that every person is made in the image of God and you have accept them as they are, on their journey. I'm not here to preach hate or push people down."”³

            So Pastor Osteen knows in his heart that practicing homosexuality is a sin. However, it seems to me that because of the tremendous pressure upon him to be politically correct, he diluted the seriousness of the sin of homosexuality and made public statements such as “God approves of homosexuals.”

            I have not watched or attended Pastor Joel Osteen’s Lakewood church services, but I have read media reports that he usually does not preach sin or hell, “Last month Texas megachurch leader Joel Osteen was asked on CBS News' "Sunday Morning" program if he feels "like you're cheating people by not telling them about the Hell part? Or repentance part?" Osteen replied that "No, I really don't, because it's a different approach" and that "I say most people are beaten down enough by life. They already feel guilty enough."”⁴

            I personally do not endorse the style of preaching of Pastor Joel Osteen, but then who am I to object to his preaching? He is arguably the most famous Christian pastor and people flock to hear him, and his books are bestsellers.

            Since Pastor Joel Osteen is so famous and successful, Christians who follow him may be well inclined to be like him. They may think that since God has blessed him abundantly, he must be pleasing God, hence it is only appropriate to emulate Pastor Joel Osteen.

            This is an invalid thought process, for God can choose to or allow someone who does not believe in HIM to be abundantly prosperous as well. In other words, those who do not believe in the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ could be abundantly prosperous, for God could have either blessed them abundantly or allowed them to prosper.  

            Worldly success is never a benchmark for genuine Christians. If the unbelievers of Christ could be abundantly prosperous, then prosperity need not be a benchmark for a genuine Christian. Hence let us consider Pastor Joel Osteen as a mere Christian and not as a wealthy or successful Christian pastor.

            To recap, this is the dilemma. Pastor Joel Osteen echoed the Bible to deem homosexuality as a sin. But he neither preaches about sins (e.g. homosexuality) nor about repentance. To top it all, he makes public statements such as “God approves homosexuals.” This is as if to say that God approves the practice of gay sex.

            This then is the drift of the dilemma; if the Bible condemns homosexuality, then how could anyone claim that God approves homosexuals? It is appropriate to say that God loves homosexuals, for HE loves sinners. But it is incorrect to say that God approves homosexuals, for the Bible screams that God does not approve of any sin.

            God hates sins. So the wrath of God is upon the thieves, drunkards, adulterers, homosexuals, and the like.

            A born again Christian would not be a practicing homosexual. He would strive to be straight. A born again Christian may have the urge or the temptation to be a homosexual, but he/she would resist those urges to live a straight life.

            The much acclaimed and renowned Christian leaders are tempted to be politically correct. People like Pastor Joel Osteen succumb to this temptation to refrain from calling sin a sin. The danger of being politically correct is to make sins seem like God-approved deeds. Does Christ mandate us to be politically correct or biblically correct?

            Today, a small fry, or a rather unknown Christian minister can say anything and hardly anyone would notice it. But if this small fry were to be as eminent as Pastor Osteen, then the whole world would become aware of his words and deeds. Would he then have the audacity to say in the public media that homosexuality is a sin? Similarly, if he is given an opportunity to preach in a famous Church, to tens of thousands of people, would he preach that homosexuality is a sin and that homosexuals ought to repent to enter into the Kingdom of God?

            Known or unknown, wealthy or poor, successful or not, a genuine Christian ought to be biblically correct. A genuine Christian cannot be politically correct so much so that he makes sins appear to be a normative Christian lifestyle that God approves of.

            Should we follow Pastor Joel Osteen or the Bible? Of course, the answer is that we are to follow God and HIS Word - the Bible.  

            Does God approve of homosexuals? No! God loves them, but HE does not approve of their sinful lifestyle. Should we love practicing homosexuals? Yes, absolutely. We should unconditionally love a practicing homosexual. Should a practicing homosexual repent to gain eternal life? Yes, of course! Within this context, should we follow Pastor Joel Osteen or not? Absolutely not!

            Wasn’t it St. Augustine who said this, “Right is right even if no one is doing it; wrong is wrong even if everyone is doing it”? Let us do the right by following God and HIS Word – the Bible. Let us also pray that our leaders would have the courage to do what is right.

Endnotes:

Websites cited were last accessed on September 15, 2016.

¹ http://www.huffingtonpost.in/entry/joel-osteen-sin_b_1213936

² http://www.huffingtonpost.in/entry/joel-osteen-sin_b_1213936 & Oprah Winfrey’s interview of Joel Osteen can be seen here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTl1YLI8C5g

³ http://www.huffingtonpost.in/entry/joel-osteen-pope_n_4031530

⁴ http://www.christianpost.com/buzzvine/bible-verses-joel-osteen-never-preach-hell-160830/#lDHpU0lJeyfG7j0C.99

Loving the Sinner

“True Christians rebuke sin and expose it; False Christians practice sin and defend it.” While this slogan recites the truth, it needs to be understood well.  Does “rebuke” involve condemnation?

“I'm a 34-year-old NBA center. I'm black. And I'm gay,” confessed Jason Collins, a professional basketball player on 29-April-2013.¹ Some offered support to Jason Collins, and others rebuked him. ESPN’s sports analyst Chris Broussard said, "I would not characterize that person as a Christian because I don't think the Bible would characterize them as a Christian." ²

I disagree with Broussard and the many who brand sinners (in this context, LGBT – Lesbians, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender community) as non-Christians. The rationale for my disagreement is in my blog, “Way to Heaven, Not by Works.” Since I am blogging on the subject of church, I wish to scratch the surface of “church’s response to a sinner.” How should the church rebuke sin? We should integrate truth from Christ and HIS response to sinners.

First, Christ does not condemn the Samaritan woman for her sin.  HE appreciates her honesty and gently highlights her sin, “Jesus said to her, “You have correctly said, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly” (John 4:17b-18, NASB). Christ exposes her sin without condemning her. Christ’s response to the woman caught in adultery reveals a similar response (John 8:11).

Second, Christ reveals HIS love for sinners. Although there was a history of bitterness between the Jews and Samaritans (John 4:9), Christ accepts Samaritans’ request and stays with them for two days (John 4:40). Thus Christ reveals HIS love for the sinful Samaritans (cf. 2 Kings 17: 26-33; John 8:48; Acts 8:25).

Third, Christ defends the sinner against the accusers. Christ urged the sinless to hurl the first stone at the woman caught in adultery (John 8:7). In the very next chapter, Christ defends the blind man by emphasizing that his blindness was not due to his sin or that of his parents (John 9:3). (The rabbis believed that suffering was due to sin.)

Although Christ defends the sinner (not the sin), we can, from the instances mentioned above, reasonably claim that the Samaritan woman, the woman caught in adultery, and the blind man, were unbelievers. So we could assume that the sinners Christ loved and defended were unbelievers.

In other words, we can theorize that Christ would permit condemnation of a believer’s sins. So Broussard’s condemnation of Jason Collins could be legitimized (Jason Collins is believed to be a Christian). To condemn a sinner, Christians could cite Paul’s mandate to excommunicate the man accused of incest (1 Corinthians 5: 1-5) or Christ’s condemnation of Pharisees and the teachers of the law (Matthew 23).

When we research Paul’s writings on sin, we should recollect Paul’s self-description as the ‘worst of all sinners’ (1 Timothy 1: 15). The tense in this statement is ‘present’ not ‘past.’ Moreover Paul’s letter to Timothy was written at the end of Paul’s ministry. So Apostle Paul affirmed that he is a sinner. The man in the incestuous relationship was also a practicing sinner. Thus we are consistent with Bible’s teaching that all are sinners (Psalm 143:2; Ecclesiastes 7: 20; Romans 3: 23; 1 John 1: 8 et al.). The man in the incestuous relationship was to be excommunicated for deliverance from sin. However, excommunication does not merit condemnation, for the church was asked to mourn (1 Corinthians 5: 2, NIV), not hate. Mourning need not elicit condemnation.

The Bible teaches that man should not sin. Christ urged the woman caught in adultery to leave her life of sin (John 8: 11). But the existential dilemma is that the Christian succumbs to temptation and sins. He does not want to sin, nevertheless he sins (cf. Romans 7: 15-25). Let me get this straight, homosexuality is a sin and a sexual aberration. Those within this sexual orientation should plead with God for forgiveness and deliverance. A Christian cannot take pleasure in his sins; he repents and prays for its removal. Even if he takes pleasure in his sins, I do not see any reason for condemnation.

Is homosexuality a greater sin that deserves condemnation? Let us examine Paul’s statement for relevance and coherency. Paul said, “Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6: 9-10, NIV). Homosexuality is a sin at par with theft, drunkenness, and slander.

In Matthew 23, Christ respected the position of the Pharisee and the teachers of the law for they sat in Moses’ seat, so HE encouraged people to do everything they were told (v 2-3). However, Christ condemns these ministers, for they did not do what they preached. HE condemned their hypocrisy (Matthew 23: 13, 15, 23, 25, 27, 29). The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were hypocrites who did not walk their talk. In stark contrast is Jason Collins, who confessed to his sin!

We have now observed that:

·         A Christian’s sins will not relegate him as a non-Christian.

·         Christ loved the sinners; HE did not condemn, but defended them. HE urged them to leave their life of sin.

·         Homosexuality is a sin that is at par with any other sin (with the exception of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit – Matthew 12: 32; Mark 3: 29).

·         So we reasonably infer that a homosexual, even if he is a Christian, should not be condemned.

Since homosexuality is at par with other sins, if one condemns homosexuality then by the same logic he too can be condemned for he is not sinless. Christians love John 3:16, but they should also love and practice John 3:17 - Christ came not to condemn. Since condemnation is against the tenet of Christianity, we do not condemn each other. To rebuke is not to condemn.

How then should a church respond to a sinner? Ephesians 4:15 offer us an insight. We ought to speak the truth, but we are called to do so in love. Wayne Grudem says, “Paul reminds us that we are to “restore” the sinning brother or sister “in a spirit of gentleness” (Galatians 6:1)…”³ We are called to rebuke sin, but as Christ did, we should in love and gentleness, and by defending the honor of the sinner. We will do this, if we believe we are practicing sinners, but saved by grace through faith. Amen.

References:

¹ http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/magazine/news/20130429/jason-collins-gay-nba-player/#ixzz2Rrh8O559

² http://www.christianpost.com/news/chris-broussard-questions-jason-collins-christianity-on-espn-sparks-debate-video-94974/

³ Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology.

Other useful reads:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-raushenbush/jason-collins-gay_b_3180069.html

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/espn-chris-broussard-clarifies-views-jason-collins-don-221941033.html

http://townhall.com/columnists/michaelbrown/2013/05/01/why-jason-collins-is-not-the-new-jackie-robinson-n1584093/page/full

http://global.christianpost.com/news/christian-apologist-says-church-losing-battle-against-hate-label-for-homosexuality-stance-93566/