Open Letter to Joel Osteen #0.001c – “It’s Your Time: Activate Your Faith, Achieve Your Dreams, and Increase in God’s Favor”
(New readers can click here to download the introduction and first chapter of Joel Osteen’s new book, It’s Your Time: Activate Your Faith, Achieve Your Dreams, and Increase in God’s Favor.)
On Saturday, we continued with Joel Osteen’s opening remarks. We’ll conclude our look at his introduction today, and begin to examine the content from Chapter 1 on Tuesday.
? “’It’s Time for Favor’ is the section about faith fortification. Here you can bulk up with encouragement to pray bold prayers, to seek thriving over surviving, to choose faith over fear, to expect favor in your future, and to speak faith-filled words.”
This paragraph is very confusing. “It’s Time for Favor” sounds like we should be about “gaining merit in God’s eyes.” The first problem with that, though, has to do with the fact that you haven’t yet identified who your reader is.
If your reader is an unbeliever, then we have no further to look than two very significant passages:
Isaiah 64:6 – “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” (KJV)
Romans 3:23 – “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (KJV)
This passages state very clearly that we can’t make it to God, we can gain no favor in God’s eyes, because we have all willfully sinned against a holy and righteous God. No amount of “bold prayers,” “thriving,” or speaking of “faith-filled words” is going to make a hill of beans worth of difference in the matter.
If your reader is saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, though, then certain good works (such as sharing the gospel, helping those in need, etc.) do indeed please God and bring glory to Him. Unfortunately for your text, though, praying “bold prayers” and “expecting favor in our future” simply aren’t mentioned in the Bible as activities which somehow result in increased merit for us on God’s scorecard. Omit.
- I could go on with the rest, but I’m instead going to summarize, since a definitive pattern has emerged in these paragraphs. For the sake of time and space, I’ll use a few brief excerpts and move along:
“It’s Time to Believe” – “bigger things to come…fresh opportunities…new seasons of increase.”
“It’s Time for Favor” – “thriving…expect favor in your future…”
“It’s Time for Restoration” – “…come back from setbacks…bounce back from disappointments…holding on to your promise of a better day.”
“It’s Time to Trust” – “…strength through adversity…an anointing of ease.”
“It’s Time to Stretch” – “…grow…build strength…reach beyond previous levels of achievement and fulfillment…stay open for something new, to find your place of blessing…”
The content of all five summary paragraphs is very much receipt-oriented, meaning the emphasis is on what I get out of it. It’s hardly a wonder that you’ve grown to be such a popular teacher here in the States.
I do wonder, though, what those martyrs who are currently suffering for the Christian faith in other countries would think if they read such an introduction. If I put on my thinking cap, I can imagine their thoughts might sound like this:
“Finally! A book that will give me hope and encouragement despite the fact that it is likely I will die very soon for my faith in Jesus Christ.”
Or perhaps more like this:
“Sigh. Another rich westerner writing to his rich audience, ‘prophesying’ as though the Bible promises everyone increased wealth and comfort, all while I sit here in my chains, apart from my family, perhaps unable to ever see my loves ones again.”
Even without your thinking cap on, you can guess which one I believe sounds more true-to-life…
(For new readers, my earlier analyses of Jesus Wants to Save Christians: A Manifesto for the Church in Exile (by Rob Bell and Don Golden) is available for free download. Simply click on my title, Clear as a Bell, and decide for yourself whether or not Bell’s teachings match those found in God’s Word.)
