October 14, 2015
By Vincent Funaro
A note from Pastor Kevin Lea follows this article.:
This encouragement from Joel Osteen is another indication that he is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Jesus told
Lakewood Church pastor and New York Times best-selling author Joel Osteen advises Christians to be “respectful” when engaging people of other faiths. “I think [Christians should] take the high ground and respect where [other people are] coming from. What I’ve seen in life is most people get their faith or their religious background from their parents,” said Osteen to The Christian Post, noting that oftentimes Christians try to prove their faith by debating others.
“I always realize — because I travel to a lot of different countries with different people of different faiths — I realize this is the way they were raised and I think people will know who the Disciples of Christ are by our love for one another. So I think respect and understanding is [the] starting point.
“[I prefer to] really make them want something that I have [such as] peace, joy and strength. Something that would be enticing to them,” continued Osteen. “Respect is one of the characteristics of showing that we’re people of faith. That we love God, that we love Jesus, and that is that we treat people with, respect and honor. Even those who disagree with us.”
Note from Pastor Kevin Lea: This encouragement from Joel Osteen provides another indication that he is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Jesus told Nichodemus, “You must be born again” because Jesus loved Nichodemus (and everyone else that He “debated” with) enough to tell him the truth.
For the Christian to stop encouraging (debating) people to turn away from their sin, deceptions and false hopes and to instead repent of sin and to put their trust in the saving power of Jesus’ sacrifice for them on the cross is to concede the battle to Satan, who wants them to be with him in hell. How could a loving Christian do such a thing?
I encourage the true believer in Jesus to listen to the Apostle Paul rather than Joel Osteen:
I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince [debate], rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. (2 Tim 4:1-4) NKJV
Read the article in its entirety at: http://www.christianpost.com/news/joel-osteen-says-stop-debating-people-who-arent-christian-147010/#qV4O4ZGJAMFZRgVx.99