This is a critique of Joel Osteen’s very popular and influential book, “Your Best Life Now,” published in
2004 by FaithWords. I read the book three times so that I could check and recheck his book with
Scripture, attempting to be as cautious as I know how before I draw conclusions. John wrote in his second letter that you can tell the difference between a true follower of Christ and a false prophet by what they say or don’t say about Jesus. If a person confesses that Jesus is God, has come in the flesh, this person is of God. Anyone who does not confess the person and work of Jesus is not of God but rather has a spirit of antichrist (1 John 4:1-3).
Paul says that if anyone preaches a gospel other than the gospel of Jesus Christ, this person is accursed by
God. Paul says this because many want to change, distort, or add to the gospel of Jesus for their own advantages (Galatians 1:6-9).
Paul had to warn the Corinthian church of the false teachers who wanted to use the ministry for personal gain, personal glory, and personal fame. He admonishes, “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works” (1 Cor. 11:13-15).
My objective is to check what Joel Osteen says with Scripture in order to see if he is a true representative of the gospel of Jesus Christ or not. I will comment on each of Joel’s statements from his book and his treatment of Scripture, then, at the end I will make a few concluding remarks.
Introduction, ix, x
“Happy, successful, fulfilled individuals have learned how to live their best lives now. They make the most of the present moment and thereby enhance their future. You can, too.” “We can’t do anything about the past, and we don’t know what the future holds. But we can live at our full potential right now!
In this book, you will discover just how to do that! . . . I’m confident that if you will take these steps along with me, you ultimately will be happier than ever before, living with joy, peace, and enthusiasm – not just for a day, or a week, but for the rest of your life! In Your Best Life Now, we’ll explore how to:
* Enlarge your vision;
* Develop a healthy self-image;
* Discover the power of your thoughts and words;
* Let go of the past;
* Find strength through adversity;
* Live to give; and
* Choose to be happy
“By following the principles I’m going to share with you in Your Best Life Now, you can be happy and fulfilled, starting today.”
My Comment: It is clear what Joel’s aim is: to help the reader achieve happiness. You will see this time and again throughout his book. Notice that he does not say that “happy, successful, fulfilled individuals” who are living their best life now are actually saved from their sin through the righteousness of Jesus
Christ. In fact, and this is what is most disturbing about Joel’s message, is that you will NEVER hear, not once in over 300 pages, Joel talk about the cross of Christ, Jesus’ atonement, death, burial, and resurrection. Joel has made, I believe, a great error: He sets up personal happiness as the chief end of man, when the Bible teaches that the greatest fulfilled life that any human could have is to know the riches of Jesus Christ: “I do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of
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Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all” (Eph. 1:15-23).
Enlarging Your Vision pgs. 4-6
After telling a true story where a young girl overcame obstacles to becoming Miss America, Joel tells us that she became Miss America by envisioning herself walking down the runway by keeping “that vision of victory” in front of her. Likewise, we must keep a successful vision in front of us if we are to be successful. “But God wants us to constantly be increasing, to be rising to new heights. He wants to increase you in His wisdom and help you to make better decisions. God wants to increase you financially, by giving you promotions, fresh ideas, and creativity. The Scripture says that God wants to pour out “His far and beyond favor.’ God wants this to be the best time of your life.”
My Comment: The Scripture quote is from Eph. 2:7 which actually says, “that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus,” has to do with heaven, not now. However, the vision that Paul gives us in Ephesians is this: “For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might though His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height – to know the love of Christ
which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Eph. 3:14-19).
“When Jesus wanted to encourage his followers to enlarge their visions, He reminded them, you can’t put new wine into old wineskins. Jesus was saying that you cannot have a larger life with restricted attitudes.
That lesson is still relevant today. . . God wants to show you His incredible favor. He wants to fill your life with “new wine,” but are you willing to get rid of your old wineskins? Will you start thinking bigger?
Will you enlarge your vision and get rid of those old negative mind-sets that hold you back?”
My Comment: The Scripture quote is from Matt. 9:17. The text that Joel cites has nothing to do with restricted attitudes or enlarging our vision. Jesus is teaching that he is the new wine and that what he was bringing by way of sacrifice cannot be contained in the old rituals of the Old Testament. His atonement would explode the old way making room for Himself in your life. pgs. 8 -11
“God has so much more in store for you.” “God wants you to go further than your parents” “God could bring it to pass” “God has been trying to encourage you” “God is constantly trying to plant new seeds in your heart . . . He’s constantly trying to get you to conceive, to give up antiquated ideas and spawn new bursts of creativity within.” “That’s God trying to get you to conceive.” “He’s trying to fill you with so much hope and expectancy that the seed will grow and bring forth a tremendous harvest. It’s your time.”
“If you will get in agreement with God, this can be the greatest time of your life. This can be the time that
God pours out His immeasurable, far and beyond favor.” “God is always ready to do new things in our lives. He’s trying to promote us, to increase us, to give us more. . . Are you believing for increase? Are you believing to excel at your job? Are you believing to be a more effective leader, or a better parent?” “It can happen without the bank loaning you the money. It can happen without having the right education.
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It can happen in spite of your past. It can happen despite what the critics are telling you.” “We serve the
God that created the universe. We’ve got to eliminate this barely-get-by mentality. Get rid of those old wineskins. Get rid of that small-minded thinking and start thinking as God thinks. Think big. Think increase. Think abundance. Think more than enough.”
My Comment: Joel presents God as a paralyzed God who cannot accomplish much of anything unless you get with it; he does this throughout the book.
Raising Your level of Expectancy pgs. 13 - 15
“The Bible says, ‘Set your mind and keep it set on the higher things.’ When you get up in the morning, the first thing you should do is set your mind in the right direction. Say something such as “This is going to be a great day. God is guiding and directing my steps. His favor is surrounding me. Goodness and mercy are following me. I’m excited about today! Start your day with faith and expectancy, and then go out anticipating good things. Expect circumstances to change in your favor. Expect people to go out of their way to help you.” “Perhaps you work in sales, and you are scheduled to give an important presentation. You’re really hoping to snag that big contract. . . God wants you to get your hopes up. We can’t even have faith without hope. The Bible says, ‘Faith is the substance of things hoped for’ and one definition of that sort of hope is confident expectancy. Start expecting doors of opportunity to open for you. Expect to excel in your career.” “If you don’t develop the habit of expecting good things to come your way, then you’re not likely to receive anything good.”
My Comment: If our reason for setting our mind on God in the morning is so that we can expect people to go out of their way to help us, this is idolatry of self. This turns God into little more than a divine bellhop to make our day the way we want it. A more biblical approach to beginning a new day in confidence of God is “Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. The LORD is my portion, says my soul, Therefore I hope in Him” (Lamentations 3:22-24). pg. 17
“I want a double portion of your spirit,’ Elisha replied boldly. ‘I want to be twice as powerful, twice as strong, twice as blessed. I want to see twice as many miracles.’ Interestingly, Elijah didn’t rebuke his underling. He simply responded, ‘Elisha, you’ve asked a very difficult thing. Nevertheless, if you can see me when I’m taken from you, it shall be done unto you. But if not, it shall not be so’. . . We can’t help but wonder if Elijah was also saying, “If you can see it, then you can be it.” pg. 19
“Let me encourage you to raise your expectations; start seeing yourself receiving good things. Expect the favor of God. Expect His blessings. Expect to increase. Expect promotion. Get up and face each day with enthusiasm, knowing that God has great things in store for you. And even when circumstances don’t go your way, don’t let that get you down. Keep your mind set in the right direction.”
My Comment: Joel teaches the Word of Faith method that his father taught while pastoring Lakewood. It teaches that whatever you envision and then say out-loud, it will be granted. Joel turns the events of
Elijah and Elisha into selfishness on the part of Elisha. Elisha, as recorded in 2 Kings 2 did not ask for these things other than a double portion of God’s spirit so that he could perform the duties of a prophet, for the times of trouble in Israel were peaking to a terrible threshold and there needed to be a prophet who would courageously speak for God to the people. Again, Joel removes the spiritual dimension of growing in grace and knowledge of God as the great things that we can expect from God.
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Breaking the Barriers of the Past pg. 31
To illustrate how we need to let go of the past and reach toward the future, Joel uses the event of the children of Israel at the end of their forty year trek in the wilderness but still struggling to see beyond the desert and into Canaan land beyond the Jordan. Saying, “they couldn’t conceive it”, they had a “defeated mentality” and “focusing on their problems”. “God finally jolted them out of their complacency. He said to them, ‘You have dwelt long enough on this mountain. . . It’s time for increase, time for promotion, time for supernatural favor.”
My Comment: This is biblical and intellectual dishonesty! The reason why the children of Israel failed to go into the land of Canaan was not because of a defeated mentality or the inability to conceive what it could be like if they succeeded. It was because of rebellion and unbelief in God. God responded to their rebellion with a death sentence upon them all except Joshua and Caleb and the young ones. But even before the day was over God sent a plague on the main leaders of the revolt and killed them all instantly
(Numbers 14). God did not justly kill Israelites who simply had a “defeated mentality.” Throughout the book Joel habitually avoids the subject of sin, treating the sinful actions and attitudes of men as “negative thinking.”
Increasing in Favor pgs. 38-40
“The Bible clearly states, God has crowned us with glory and honor. The word honor could also be translated as “favor.” And favor means to assist, to provide with special advantages and to receive preferential treatment. In other words, God wants to make your life easier. He wants to assist you, to promote you, to give you advantages. He wants you to have preferential treatment. But if we’re going to experience more of God’s favor, we must live more favor-minded.”
“All my life, I’ve been aware of God’s favor. . . Consequently – and I say this humbly – I’ve come to expect to be treated differently. I’ve learned to expect people to want to help me. My attitude is: ‘I’m a child of the Most High God. My Father created the whole universe. He has crowned me with favor, therefore, I can expect preferential treatment. I can expect people to go out of their way to want to help me.”
My Comment: There is not a verse in the Bible that would support such a selfish statement. If anything, we can expect to be mistreated by people just as well as being treated kindly; Jesus said that people will go out of their way to hurt us – not to help us – “If the world hated me it will hate you.” God never said anything about making our life easier, but rather, “hard and narrow . . . through much tribulation we shall enter the kingdom of God” (Matt. 7:14; Acts 14:22). Jesus said that his burden is easier and lighter because he will help us carry it. But Jesus also taught us to take up our cross and deny ourselves and follow him.
As an illustration, Joel talks about the time when he was speeding and he was pulled over by a policeman. When the officer saw Joel’s driver’s license and recognized that he was the son of John
Osteen, “he let me go with just a warning.” Another time Joel says that he was going really fast and got pulled over. This officer was very upset. The officer saw Joel’s driver license and said with a ruff voice,
“Are you related to that ahh . . ., that ahhh, that preacher?” Joel responded not knowing whether it was a good thing to be related to his dad or not, with, “Well, Officer, it all depends.”
The illustration goes on: “He glared at me and said, “Boy, what are you talking about? I said, “It all depends on whether you like him or not.” He looked up in the air for a long time, at least long enough for me to think, Hmm, that’s not a good sign, if he has to think about it. Then he looked back at me, cracked a hint of a smile, and said, Yes, I like him. I like him a lot.” Good! I said, “Because that’s my dad, and I’m sure he wouldn’t want you to give me a ticket.” The point is, of course, that I received
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preferential treatment, not because of me, but because of my father. A correlation exists in the spiritual realm.”
My Comment: I take it that this is what it really means to live under God’s favor: you can break the law and expect God to spare you from the consequences. It is outrageous that Joel would turn the Bible’s teaching about God’s grace and mercy into a license or basis for selfishness and freedom from consequences of highway speeding.
Developing a Prosperous Mind-Set pg. 82
“God has already equipped you with everything you need to live a prosperous life. He planted “seeds” inside you filled with possibilities, incredible potential, creative ideas, and dreams. . . You’ve got to believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that you have what it takes. . . God didn’t make you to be average.
God created you to excel, and He’s given you ability, insight, talent, wisdom, and his supernatural power to do so. . . The Bible says that “God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing.” . . . He’s already deposited within us everything we need to succeed.”
My Comment: The quote is from Ephesians 1:3-4, but here is what it says: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.” It is not true that God planted seeds in us so that we could live a prosperous life.
Again, Joel hijacks the whole message of the gospel – to take sinners and make them holy, with, to take less than average people and make them rich. The Gospel According to Joel Osteen is, Jesus came to make you prosperous.
Develop a Healthy Self-Image pg. 98
“God said to Joshua, ‘As I was with Moses, I will be with you.’ Notice He didn’t say, ‘Joshua, you need to try to be just like Moses, then you’ll be okay.’ No God said to Joshua, ‘Be an original. Be who I made you to be, and then you’ll be successful.’”
My Comment: What God really said to Joshua was this: “Be strong and courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make
your way prosperous, and then you will have good success” (Joshua 1:7-8). This is deception and false witness against Joshua and God. Joshua did not want to be an “original” and neither did God want Joshua to be an original. God wanted Joshua to be a lover of the Word – which would be the key to success. In his book, Joel never, not once referred to knowing the Scriptures in any way as the means to a successful, godly life.
Choosing the Right Thoughts pgs. 104-105
After quoting Philippians 4:8, Joel says that God is positive and that “there is nothing negative about
Him.” “When you think positive, excellent thoughts, you will be propelled toward greatness, inevitably bound for increase, promotion, and God’s supernatural blessings.”
On page 110 Joel wants to inspire the reader to believe in himself. To begin this discussion he has in bold type: “God Has Confidence in You.”
My Comment: There is just as much negative stuff about God as there is positive. There is a heaven and hell; there is mercy and wrath; there is love and hate; there is patience and there is “payday.”
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Furthermore, God does not have any confidence in you! And you are not to put any confidence in yourself: “Put no confidence in the flesh” (Phil. 3:3-6). Paul goes on to say that if anyone had any reason to be self-confident – he did! But all of that self-confidence is “rubbish” (vs. 8). But we are to have great confidence in God: “being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil 1:6). The work that God has done in us and will complete is Christ likeness (Phil. 3:9-11). Again Joel subtly shifts the focus off of being conformed to Christ and onto making much of man.
Speaking Life-Changing Words pg. 130
“Similarly, you must start boldly confessing God’s Word, using your words to move forward in life, to bring to life the great things God has in store for you. The Scripture says, “With the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” This same principle is true in other areas. . . If you are struggling financially, instead of talking about the problem, you need to boldly declare, “Everything I put my hands to prospers and succeeds!”
My Comment: This is amazing! Joel quotes Romans 10:10, a passage that deals with showing Jesus
Christ as the goal of the entire Old Testament, calling the sinner to turn to Christ for salvation because he was raised from the dead, and uses it out of context to support a theology whereby we can boldly confess with our mouths, “May my investments on Wall Street today turn to gold.” Joel repeatedly avoids sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ even when he quotes real verses that only have to do with what the gospel is all about – Jesus Christ!
Don’t Let Bitterness Take Root pgs. 154-163
“A lot of people are trying to improve their lives by dealing with the external fruit. They are attempting to rectify their bad habits, bad attitudes, bad tempers, or negative and sour personalities. . . But the truth is, unless they get to the root, they will never be able to change the fruit. Because as long as that bitter root is growing on the inside, that problem will persist and keep popping up time and again. . . You have to go deeper. You must discover why you are so angry.”
“Maybe that’s why David said, “Search my heart, oh God, and point out anything in me that makes You sad.” We need to search our hearts and make sure we haven’t let any roots of bitterness take hold.”
“If you want to be happy, if you want to be free, get that junk out of your life. Quit holding on to it; let it go. Don’t let the root of bitterness continue to poison your life. Search your heart. When God brings issues to light, be quick to deal with them. Keep your stream pure.”
My Comment: Joel quotes from Psalm 139:23, but here is what it says: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Joel’s translations are at best, loose paraphrases of the text, if not outright revisionism of the
Word of God to suit his agenda. Again, he dilutes the subject of sin against God by changing the meaning of the text.
Let God Bring Justice into Your Life pgs. 164-166, 168
“Maybe you were cheated in a business deal and you lost a lot of money. Maybe somebody lied about you, and that misinformation kept you from getting a promotion . . . The Bible says, “God is a just God and He will settle and solve the cases of His people.” “. . . you need to keep a good attitude and start trusting God to make it up to you . . . when God pays back, He always pays back in abundance. When
God wants you to be promoted, it doesn’t matter whether your boss likes you or not . . . The Bible says
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that promotion doesn’t come from the north, south, east, or west. In other words, promotion doesn’t come from your boss, your supervisor, or your company. No, true promotion comes from Almighty God.
And when God says it is time for you to advance up the ladder, all the forces of darkness cannot hold you down. You will be promoted. . . “But Joel, everybody is getting so far ahead of me,” Darla lamented.
“When is it going to be my turn? All my friends are getting married; everybody I graduated with is making big money and living comfortably; everybody is being promoted in my company except me.”
You may have concerns similar to Darla’s, but understand, God is a supernatural God. One touch of His favor can make up any lost ground, plus give you so much more. One touch of God’s favor can bring the right person into your life or put you in charge of that entire organization.”
“Somebody may be saying nasty things about you behind your back. Your attitude should be: No big deal.
God’s got me covered. He’s going to make it up to me. If somebody cheats you out of some money: No big deal.
God’s promised me double. They don’t owe me anything. God, I’ll give it to them, because I know you can repay me
with twice as much. . . If somebody invites all your friends out to dinner but they exclude you, your attitude should be: No bid deal. God knows what I need. He will bring new friends into my life. What a liberating way to live!”
My Comment: What a sinful way to live! Jesus says this: “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you . . love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of
your Father in heaven” (Mt. 5:11-12, 44-45). Joel fuels the selfishness of the sinful heart by focusing the reader on himself in his losses. God’s Word commands us to deal with losses by doing good: “Do not be over come by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21). To his credit, Joel does advise, “God, I’ll give it to them,” but it is only “because I know you can repay me with twice as much”, which again, guides the reader to view all losses with self-centeredness. God does not have to make anything up nor does he promise that he will in this life. If he does, it is his mercy and free grace to do so.
Defeating Disappointments pg. 176-177
The Bible says, “The mercies of God are fresh and new every single day.” God doesn’t condone our sins;
He doesn’t wink at our wrongdoing. But God doesn’t automatically condemn us either. The Bible says,
“The Lord is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” If you’re going to avoid getting trapped in your past, you must learn to forgive yourself. You must be willing to accept God’s mercy. You can’t be so critical of yourself that you won’t receive what God has to offer. . . Perhaps it is time that you simply receive God’s mercy and forgiveness so you can move on with your life.”
My Comment: Joel uses a passage (2 Peter 3:9) that speaks about God’s love and patience toward sinners and then turns the original meaning of the text into a catapult for moving on with your life by not allowing disappointments get you down. Again, Joel rarely uses the Scripture honestly with the original intent by the Holy Spirit.
Getting Up on the Inside pgs. 191-192
“Don’t allow yourself to wave the white flag of surrender. You must get out of that defeated mentality and start thinking and believing positively. Your attitude should be: I’m coming out of this thing! I may have been sick for a long time, but I know this sickness didn’t come to stay. It came to pass. I may have struggled with this addiction for years, but I know my day of deliverance is coming. My children may not be doing right, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. . . God wants you to be a winner, not a whiner. There is no reason for you to be perpetually living “under the circumstances,” always down, always discouraged. No matter how many times you get knocked down, keep getting back up. God sees
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your resolve. He sees your determination. And when you do everything you can do, that’s when God will step in and do what you can’t do.”
My Comment: As for much of what Joel says, this paragraph gives us a good example how he can say hopeful, truthful, advisable things. But like a false prophet, who mingles just enough of the truth to gain an audience, he then shows his true colors and displays a very false view of our relationship with God.
God does not “help those who help themselves.” He helps those who call on mercy and acknowledge that they can’t help themselves (“God be merciful to me a sinner” and “ . . . and the life which I now live,
I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me” and “you can do nothing without me”). We are never told to do all we can do and then God will come in and do what we can’t. Joel undermines sanctification by turning it into a bribery in which God is compelled and obligated to do something good for you since you worked so hard for him. This is Merit Theology!
Trusting God’s Timing pgs. 198-199
Before Joel’s father died, he headed up the TV/Radio ministry for Lakewood. Joel has bigger plans for the radio ministry but Joel’s father does not want to expand, and so he says, “I was so disappointed. I thought, God, I’m young, and I have all these dreams to touch the world . . . with messages of hope all over the world.”
Joel then spends a couple paragraphs encouraging the reader to wait on God’s perfect timing and then says, “Suddenly, things will change. Suddenly, that business will take off. Suddenly, your husband will desire a relationship with God. Suddenly, that wayward child will come home. Suddenly, God will bring your hopes and dreams to pass.”
My Comment: This is very misleading and hurtful for those who are broken over the devastation of a lost husband or child, for those whose lives never get better, for those whose cancer only gets worse, and for those whose lives only get harder as time passes. Without any Scripture to back up his statements, Joel unwittingly sets up the reader for a huge let-down because lost husbands and wayward children may never come to Christ. We should pray that they will but whether they will or not is not based upon your ability to dream big dreams or put faith in God’s timing as if God has promised these things.
The Purpose of Trials pgs. 205, 206, 210, 212
“The Scripture says, “Don’t be amazed at the fiery ordeal that’s taking place to test your quality as though something strange was happening.” All through life, you will face various tests, and even though you may not enjoy them, God will use those trials to refine you, to cleanse and purify you. He’s trying to shape you into the person He wants you to be. If you will learn to cooperate with God and be quick to change and correct the areas that He brings to light, then you’ll pass that test and you will be promoted to a new level.”
My Comment: This is tragic! Again, Joel just can’t seem to get to Christ – even when it comes to the purpose of trials. Here is what Peter said: “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. If you are reproached for the
name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you” (1 Peter 4:12-14). Joel consistently uses ambiguous language as to what the new level, the big promotion, and the increase really is. As best as I can tell, because of his financial illustrations and lucrative stories that he uses, he means money! Paul warned us that this will be one way that you can tell between a true preacher and a fraud: “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: for men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers . . . lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! For of this sort are those who creep into households and make
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captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come
to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Tim. 3:1-7)
Joel quotes Eph. 2:10, “We are God’s Workmanship.” And then says, “When struggles come your way, look deep inside and be quick to change.”
My Comment: Never look down deep inside yourself for hope – look to God, he is your only resource for perseverance through the trials of life.
“Unfortunately, there are no shortcuts; there’s no easy way to mature physically, emotionally, or spiritually, You must remain determined and work with God. The Bible says, ‘Work out your own salvation.” Salvation is more than a onetime prayer. It is constantly working with God, dealing with the issues He brings up and keeping a good attitude, fighting through until you win the victory.”
My Comment: The passage actually says this: “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is
God who works in you both to will and to do for his good pleasure” (Phil 2:12-13). Again, Joel does not show the reader where his real strength lies – not in self, but in God. Joel is incapable of being honest with the scriptures as they point us to a Savior. Instead, Joel makes you the savior of your own story.
“God never promised that we wouldn’t have challenges. In fact, He said just the opposite. His Word says,
“Be truly glad! . . . These trials are only to test your faith, to see whether or not it is strong and pure . . . So if your faith remains strong after being tried in the test tube of fiery trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day of his return . . . When you go through difficult times, make sure you pass the test.”
My Comment: Actually, the text says, “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom
having not seen you love” (1 Peter 1:6-8a). It is not we who receive praise, honor and glory but Jesus Christ.
Joel consistently undermines the Scriptures teaching on trials and suffering by making the reward of trials and suffering man centered and materialistic, keeping the reader focused on making it big in this present world.
Keep Your Heart of Compassion Open pg. 242
“If you study the life of Jesus, you will discover that He always took time for people.”
“But no, Jesus had compassion on people. He was concerned about what they were going through, and
He willingly took the time to help”
“Interestingly, Jesus was very patient with people. He took the time to listen to their stories.”
My Comment: This was the only page in the entire book where Joel actually talked about Jesus, and I’m not kidding! This is all that he said about the only person who is mankind’s only hope, for sinner and for saint. It is sad that a self-proclaimed “life coach” can write a book, call himself a Christian, open God’s word, have an opportunity to speak to millions, and this is all that he can say about Jesus.
Happiness Is a Choice pgs. 269-281
On page 276 Joel appeals to verses by the apostle Paul, demonstrating that even Paul, with all of his trials chose to be happy: “Yet Paul wrote such amazing faith-filled words as, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” and “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” Notice, we are to rejoice
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and be happy at all times. In your difficulties, when things aren’t going your way, instead of having a pity party and thinking about how unfair life is treating you, instead of feeling sorry for yourself, make a decision to rejoice in the Lord. Choose to be happy! Choose to stay full of joy.”
My Comment: Rejoicing in the Lord at all times is not the same as being happy all the time. Joel does not honestly deal with the sorrows of life, passing them off as temporary setbacks only to be used to bring you more money or promotions. The psalms would be out of sync in Joel’s book, for the psalms teach us to worship God with sorrowful hearts – our joy is knowing that God is with us in the valley (Psalm 23 for example).
Being a Person of Excellence and Integrity pgs. 282-295
This chapter says nothing about becoming more Christ-like. Rather, Joel says that if you do the right things, and tell the truth, God will “guard you.”
Joel exhorts us to tell the truth, have integrity, so that we can have bigger and better clients: “A business man worried, “If I told the whole truth, I’d lose some of my best customers. I may lose some of my biggest clients.” “No,” I said. “If you will consistently do what is right, even if you do lose some customers, God will bring you bigger and better clients. There’s no limit to what God will do in your life when He knows that He can trust you.”
“I know people at my workplace, and they lie, they cheat, they stab people in the back,” said a young woman working for a stock brokerage. “It’s not hurting them one bit. In fact, they’re getting way ahead of me.” “Don’t be deceived,” I replied. “One day that is going to catch up with them. I promise you this: If you’ll make a commitment to integrity, in the long run you’ll go further, you’ll be happier, you’ll be more fulfilled. God will promote you.”
My Comment: This is pure secularism! Joel encourages us to be honest in order to get more from God.
But the Bible’s reason for telling us to be honest is because, first, it is sinful to be dishonest; and secondly, we are to be godly because God is holy (Exodus 20). True, obedience is rewarded because God does promise that things will go better if we obey (example: Eph. 6:1-2). But obedience is first and foremost because of who God is, not because of what God does. Jesus said, “I always obey my father” and Jesus’ obedience got him nailed to a cross. God may and he may not materially reward you for doing right. The question is: will you do right because it is right to do right? And, here again, is Joel’s view of God: he can’t do anything good for you until he can trust you or until you start doing all the positive things that you’re supposed to do. How exhausting and depressing is that?!?
Living with Enthusiasm pgs. 299, 305-306
This is the last chapter in the book.
“Who knows what would happen if each of us lived with more excitement in our eyes, with our hearts full of passion, our faces filled with enthusiasm? Instead of dragging around, complaining that you don’t want to mow the lawn, put a smile on your face, a spring in your step, start acting as if you’re enjoying it.
Maybe somebody will come along to help! If not, at least you will feel better about your work. You’ll have more energy, and you will get the job done quicker. You will be amazed at how God will pour out
His favor, and how the “breaks” will start coming your way, when you start living with enthusiasm.”
“Friend, God doesn’t want you to drag through life defeated and depressed. No matter what you’ve been through, no matter whose fault it was, no matter how impossible your situation may look, the good news is that God wants to turn it around and restore everything that has been stolen from you. He wants to restore your marriage, your family, your career. He wants to restore those broken dreams. He wants to
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restore your joy and give you a peace and happiness you’ve never known before. Most of all, He wants to restore your relationship with Him. God wants you to live a satisfied life.
. . . God doesn’t want you simply to feel a little better for a few days after you read this book. No, God is in the long-term restoration business. He wants you to have a life filled with an abundance of joy, an abundance of happiness. God doesn’t want you simply to survive that marriage. God wants to turn it around and restore you with a strong, healthy, rewarding relationship. God doesn’t want your business to merely make it through the murky economic waters. He wants your business to sail and to excel!
When God restores, He always brings you out better, improved, increased, and multiplied. He has a vision of total victory for your life!”
My Comment: This is Joel’s final words to the reader. Like any false prophet, there is a little truth in all that they say. False prophets, as in 2 Peter 2, say enough truthful things so that their message can be received; not all that Joel says is false. But this is why it is so dangerous and why the strongest words in
Scripture are aimed at the religious leaders who use portions of Scripture to spread their lies. Even Peter warned that men will use Scripture and “twist it to their own destruction” (2 Peter 3:16).
I take these final words of Joel Osteen to be insensitive and dishonest because nowhere in Scripture does it teach that God wants to “restore your marriage, your family, your career” or cause your “business to sail and excel”. Shockingly, Joel does say that God wants to restore your relationship with Him, but he never tells us what Scripture teaches us in order that our relationship may be restored. Joel has not even talked about what broke the relationship, (sin), and what restores it (Jesus’ atonement) and our response to this great truth (repentance). Therefore, I can’t help but say that Joel is a deceiver because his message is not from Scripture; his message is pagan and any basically moral unbeliever who believes that Jesus was a good moral example could have written this book. His claim that God wants to restore you is incredulous because he does not point the reader to the only one who can restore – Jesus Christ, crucified!
After listing the Scripture texts on pages 307-309 that he used in his book, he then has a final word on page 310 titled, “We Want to Hear from You!”
On this final page, Joel wants to invite you now to make Jesus the Lord of your life. If you want to “find life and peace and happiness,” Joel asks you to pray with him, “Lord Jesus, I repent of my sins. I ask You to come into my heart. I make You my Lord and Savior.”
Then, Joel immediately says, “Friend, if you prayed that simple prayer, I believe you have been ‘born again.’” He closes by saying, “Victoria and I love you, and we’ll be praying for you. We’re believing for
God’s best for you, that you will see your dreams come to pass. We’d love to hear from you!”
My Comment: How could the reader know what sin is, what repentance is and who Jesus Christ is when
Joel never took the time to explain? I fear there will be more false conversions as a result of this book – which is why false teachers are so deadly.
The reason why Joel’s message is more dangerous for the church than the Da Vinci Code, for example, is because:
For the sinner or the saint, Joel NEVER tells them who Jesus Christ is and what Jesus Christ came to do and why Jesus Christ died on the cross, was buried, and rose again on the third day. Dan Brown does not confess that he is a Christian in the Biblical sense, does not hold the Bible in hand, does not claim to be a pastor who preaches the gospel – but Joel does! The Bible’s greatest warnings to the church are directed at those who profess to know Christ but then deny him when they speak about the Bible or things of life.
The severest words came from Christ himself for those who held the Bible in hand, honored God with meaningless lip-service, but did not want to know Christ as Lord of their lives. Type in Joel Osteen on
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your search engine and you will get a number of blogs and sites where good, biblical preachers have written to warn the church of this powerful false prophet. Paul told us that religious people in society would no longer endure sound doctrine but would gather to themselves, teachers who would tell them things that would make them feel better about their lives without ever talking about the redemption that is found in Jesus Christ (2 Tim. 4:1-6). Be warned – this man is a wolf in sheep’s clothing! Quite frankly,
Joel’s best life now does not include Jesus Christ! And any life that does not include Jesus Christ as Lord,
King, Redeemer, Friend, Author of our Faith, Lion, Lamb, God Almighty, Prince of Peace, Counselor,
Bread of Life, Everlasting Fountain is no life at all. Your Best Life Now is one that is growing in grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. God did not send his Son to die on a cross so that you could have preferential treatment and get a parking space at the front of the lot or get out of a speeding ticket! God sent his Son so that he might deliver us from every lawless deed, sanctify us from our sins, and give us the joy of Jesus as He reveals to us the knowledge of His Father – and so many other wonderful and exciting things that come with growing in grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Jesus came to rescue from myself, not advance me. Jesus came that I may have an abundant life as I come to know more and more who Jesus is and what he has done for me. Jesus calls me to true joy and peace by denying myself, forgetting myself – not by making me the center of my life. Joel’s gospel message sounds just like the first false gospel message given to the woman in the garden. The devil twisted the words of God and then helped her to focus on her potential advancements. Joel’s message is as old as the devil’s – because it is!
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