Joel Osteen and the Mormon Church

by Pastor William Shifflett 

www.reasoningtreechurch.org

If you’re an Osteen fan please don’t read these words in a defensive posture or you will certainly miss the point. I’m not out to be overly critical of the man or his style of motivational speaking but as a shepherd I am supposed to warn the sheep and a recent event makes me more mindful of that responsibility and of the need to make some comments about Mr. Osteen.
My wife and I were watching a video about the marks of a cult which included a clip from Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace that was recorded in late  2007 as the presidential candidates were vying for the attention of the American public. Joel Osteen was the participant and he was asked by Chris Wallace whether he thought Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts and a practicing Mormon, was a Christian. Joel’s response was “In my mind yes, he believes in Jesus Christ.”
Now I don’t know Mitt Romney but I do know that if he is a good Mormon then he cannot be a Christian. Let me defend myself again by saying this is not an unfair criticism of Joel Osteen, it is a recognition of how little Joel really knows about Christian faith and worldviews. For those who might be equally confused here are a few reminders of what Mormons believe.

• The Bible is only God’s Word if it is correctly translated, which means
  the way they say it should be translated. Anything which contradicts
  Mormonism is of course in their view wrong.
• Because the Bible is filled with error the gospel has been perverted and
  this is why Joseph Smith was given the Restoration of the Everlasting
  Gospel.
• Mormon doctrine says that Jesus and Satan are spirit brothers of God.
• Mormons believe The Father, Son and Holy Ghost are three separate and
  distinct gods. Thus they believe in polytheism, i.e. many gods.
• Mormons believe in eternal progression that men can and will become gods
  themselves. God the Father was once a man, he has a physical body as does
  his wife. Jesus was the offspring of physical union between God and Mary.
• Jesus’s death on the cross provides resurrection but not atonement for
  all sins. This must be done by works.

Does Mitt Romney believe in Jesus Christ? Certainly. But if he is a good Mormon it isn’t the Jesus of the Bible. Joel Osteen’s comments reveal his ignorance of Bible truth and provides but one more reason for discerning Christians to turn him off.