The Osteen-Oprah Interview and Why Doctrine Matters

1Timothy 4: 16 Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers. (NIV)

The third time seemed like the charm for Pastor Joel Osteen this week as he appeared on the new Oprah Winfrey Network; where he sat down for an hour long interview. I say the third time because Pastor Joel has appeared twice before on national television and seriously flubbed the most basic tenet of our faith; namely that Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven.

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14: 6 (NIV)

This time Pastor Joel appeared more prepared for the question and did correctly assert Christ as the way to heaven; although he did parse the answer a bit by saying there were many ways to Christ. Oprah did not take the bait however so the issue ended there. But as always there was plenty to delve into when someone sits down for an hour long interview. Before the would-be Pastor Joel apologists get upset you must realize this is not "picking on" Joel Osteen. He runs the largest church in the country. He willingly took the microphone for this interview.

And I will start by commending him for not taking any money from his church. It was very nice to hear that the lifestyle he leads is based solely off the money he has earned in book sales and from that he generously gives back as well. I firmly believe that the "God wants me poor" theology is no better than the "God wants me rich" theology. The issue for God is not where your wallet is at but where your heart is.

But as I watched last night I realized there was an underbelly of innuendo being put forth that if you were not careful you might have missed. There seemed to be a concerted effort to make "doctrine" a dirty word. It was referred to as "rules and regulations" that "beat people down." Pastor Joel smiled and seemed to agree or at the least did not challenge the assertion. That is a dangerous train of thought beloved.

Now, we believe in God but that does not make us special. The Washington Post had reported in 2008 that 92% of Americans believe in God. The actual percentage of atheists is quite low and always has been. Belief in one God has never been extraordinary:

You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. James 2: 19 (NLT)

Then the question becomes what God do you believe in? What do you believe about your God and more importantly, where did those beliefs come from? This is what we refer to as "doctrine." The dictionary definition is, " A particular principle, position, or policy taught or advocated, as of a religion or government. " God created us but He did not leave us uniformed. He has provided for us His Word; the Bible. I know that the faithless will say it was written by men but we know that God divinely inspired the writers. It was God who wrote the Bible through these men. Just consider that the Bible was written by forty different authors spread out over 1600 years! Yet despite the vast differences in language, culture and time, the themes remain consistent throughout the Bible and there are no contradictions. Quite frankly man is not smart enough to pull off this feat with divine intervention and organization. And why did God go to such great lengths?

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. 2Timothy 3: 16-17 (NLT)

This life is dangerous to navigate. We can barely leave the house anymore without a GPS system to direct our paths. Well, the Bible is God's GPS for our everyday life. First of all, doctrine is useful for us to teach us what is true. We need to know what is true because of all the deceitful pitfalls in the world. Remember there is an enemy to our souls and he is not only described as a murderer but a liar:

For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. John 8: 44 (NLT)

What we believe shapes our thinking. What we think shapes our actions. How we act shapes the outcomes in our lives. For instance, last night Pastor Joel was defending his riches and in doing so said, "How can I be a blessing if I am poor?" This cuts to the very heart of what is wrong with a vast majority of American Christianity. In connects the word blessing to material wealth in this life. The title of Pastor Osteen's bestselling book is even entitled, "Your Best Life Now." The Bible assures us that while we can live the eternal life now, the best is certainly still to come:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, "Look, God's home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever." And the one sitting on the throne said, "Look, I am making everything new!" And then he said to me, "Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true." And he also said, "It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega--the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life. All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children. Revelation 21: 1-7 (NLT)

No more death, sorrow or pain! That is the best life beloved! There is nothing any man can offer us that will compare. The Bible teaches us that blessings are what God has already given us, not what the enemy shows us we do not have. In a lot of instances, blessings are when God holds something back from us we think we want! Blessings are eternal, not carnal. In order to sift through the deception we must know the truth and the Bible teaches us that the root of all evil is the love of money yet too many churches sell the pursuit of money as being a righteous cause.

The second purpose for doctrine according to the Timothy verses is that it separates for us what is right and what is wrong. This is where the Oprahs of the world get confused. To them being told what is right and what is wrong is somehow, "beating them down." Last night Oprah actually said, "I can beat myself up enough." I would respectfully disagree. We do not beat ourselves up nearly enough. If we did, we would see positive change in our lives more frequently. And the real core of this issue is that God does not tell us right from wrong for His amusement but for our betterment. The child who gets spanked for crossing the street by themselves doesn't get hit by the next car if they learned from the chastisement. The cold hard reality is that man has been recreating God in his own image since time began. But when you do that you are merely making it all up as you go along. I've tried being my own God. I am not very good at it. But to the Oprahs of the world, they still think they are. God teaches us:

And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can't. I want to do what is good, but I don't. I don't want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don't want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. I have discovered this principle of life--that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. Romans 7: 18-21 (NLT)

But as long as we live by the Word of God, He will always let us know what is right and what is wrong. Knowing that He only has our best interests in mind. It is possibly the most devious of lies the devil has ever concocted to convince people that the very heart of the love God has for us is translated into punishment by the world. To convince people that God is "beating us down" when in reality He is protecting us with His great love.

The final purpose for doctrine from the Timothy verses is that it prepares us for the great works God has planned for us to do. Within this purpose we find the true selfishness of the Osteen motivational creed. At the heart of it, it is only YOUR best life NOW. It has nothing to do with other people and it has nothing to do with eternity. It is self-centered at its core. Once you have been saved you realize that it is not longer about me it is about Him! It is about His plans. It is about the fact that God would not see anyone suffer and would see all come to repentance.

Pastor Joel last night said that he tries to stay away from all the rules and regulations. The implication being that doctrine somehow has become a dirty word. A society that does not adhere to basic doctrine does not care if people are murdered. Does not care if there is rampant adultery. Doesn't care if theft is celebrated and lying is a way of life. The sad thing is that we live in that society today. The adulterer doesn't want to hear that he is wrong. The thief doesn't want to hear that he is wrong. The mega church Pastor who doesn't preach the full Gospel doesn't want to hear that he is wrong. Don't want to get beaten down by all those rules and regulations. Here were the parting words to the Ephesian elders from the Apostle Paul:

"Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again. Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. Acts 20: 26-27 (NIV)

Pastor Joel said last night that his vision was to cast a net of hope out across the whole world. To assure them that God loves them. That God wants the best for them. And he is absolutely right in saying that. But that is NOT the whole will of God. The Bible is the will of God. The doctrine that shapes our lives is the will of God. To cast aspersion upon it is not wise. Because our Christianity should cost us something. King David once needed a plot of land to make an offering unto God and the owner offered it to him for free; after all who charges the king?

Then the king said to Araunah, "No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God with that which costs me nothing." So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. 2Samuel 24: 24 (NKJV)

And if you boil it down, the Osteen-Oprah mantra is selling a Christianity that costs us nothing. Where the very thing God warns us to watch closely is mocked into being a beat down of rules and regulations because at our heart we all want to rebel against what God says. In our key verse today Paul tells Timothy to watch his doctrine because he knew that it is doctrine that will lead you away from the lies of this world. It is doctrine that will discern right from wrong. It is doctrine that will prepare us for the purpose God has for us. That isn't cheap; it isn't dirty. For the record I do not question Pastor Joel's motive. I never have. But as my pastor likes to say, you can be sincere and sincerely wrong. I don't want any blood on my hands.

God is love but God is also wrath. Ask Sodom and Gomorrah. If God is only love then sin becomes irrelevant. If sin is irrelevant, then there is no need for a Savior. That is how you remove Christ from Christianity. That is how you reinvent God in your own image. Beloved I pray you realize today that there is no new age spirituality that will get you into heaven. There is no motivational speaker so good, or so powerful that he will be able to motivate you into heaven. There is no net of hope that can be cast wide enough to catch you and snatch you up into heaven. You best life is not now. It is only when you follow the one true God and have a relationship with Him. I do not say that with any malice towards anyone, such as Pastor Joel. I say that because God said it. Guard your life and your doctrine closely beloved. What you believe is not a dirty word. It is the Word of the Lord.

Reverend Anthony Wade January 9, 2012