Ummm Joel? What about the New Testament?

So you might have seen this video spreading around the web like wild-fire. In this video Mr. Joel Osteen tells his congregation to go back to the Old Covenant dietary requirements.

(H.T.: Heidelblog)

Now, if Joel would have taken out the 10% of his "speech" where he referenced the Bible and if he didn't do it behind a pulpit this could actually be beneficial on a purely natural basis. Joel clearly shows that he is not capable of "rightly handling the word of truth" (2 Tim 2:15) by not allowing “Scripture to interpret Scripture,” or pointing out how the drama of redemption will work out the fulfillment of OT types and shadows. Unfortunately there is another instance of Joel doing this very thing in a more unbelievable manner which I commented on here.

Here are just some of the New Testament Scripture passages that come to mind which contradict the very theological argument that Mr. Osteen is making:

Acts 10:9-16
The next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. 10 And he became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance 11 and saw the heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth. 12 In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. 13 And there came a voice to him: "Rise, Peter; kill and eat." 14 But Peter said, "By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean." 15 And the voice came to him again a second time, "What God has made clean, do not call common." 16 This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven.

Mark 7:19
...since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?" (Thus he [Jesus] declared all foods clean.)

1 Tim 4:1-5
Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, 2 through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, 3 who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5 for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.

That last passage from 1 Tim 4 is almost scary how applicable it is to this very situation.

God's Word isn't hard to understand, but it does take work to read the whole thing and allow the grand drama of redemption to show how the types and shadows of the Old Testament are fulfilled in the light of Christ.

This just makes me angry

Repost from the Gig Harbor Reformed Bible Study blog

So Joel Osteen is coming out with a new book on November 3. The title of the book is It's Your Time, which considering the current economic depression a title like that is bound to sell millions. Obviously I am not angry with Joel for writing a book--he can write whatever he wants--but he cannot call this a "Christian" book. Why do I say that? Well, Joel is offering an excerpt from his book that contains an introduction and the first chapter. All in all this selection is 14 pages long and not once, NOT ONCE, does he pen the words "Jesus" or "Christ". How can you write a whole chapter of a book without mentioning the central character of our faith? This is just another sad case of American Evangelicalism reducing its message to nothing more than platitudes that narcissistic man can't get enough of.

Joel does talk a lot about "faith", but he never gives that faith an object. It is just generic faith, at least what I read here. Faith has to have an object and that object is Christ and all he accomplished. From what I can tell, faith for Joel is a belief in blessings from God, material and physical blessings right here and now. Sure we can trust in God to provide for our needs, but our faith is in Christ and Christ alone. What Joel is giving is what Martin Luther called a "Theology of Glory" instead of the proper "Theology of the Cross."

There is a lot more I could say, and I might use this popular form of Evangelicalism to springboard into the truth of the Bible concerning Christ and our redemption through him. In the mean time I want to point you to two resources that are invaluable in evaluating the theology of Joel Osteen. The first is a "Case Study" on Joel Osteen and the Glory Story which can be found here. This essay discusses the "Prosperity Gospel" and the need for a proper understanding of the Law of God especially as it relates to our sin. The second is a review of Joel's last book, Become a Better You, which gives a really great insight into the "theology" of Joel and how it works itself out. That great review can be found here. If you know people who are enamored with the message of Joel Osteen then please pass along these documents to them.