Stop Apologizing - Mealy Mouthed Mega Church Pastors
by Tristan Emmanuel:
Are Pastors Too Mealy-Mouthed To Tell The Truth About Homosexuality?
See:
December 24, 2013:
by Janna Brock
The cultural war against gay marriage is one Christians are not going to win. Satan’s all out assault on Christians via the thugs of the gay mafia is a travesty, but a necessary one when looking at the whole picture. Leading up to the Tribulation, the masses must be disarmed, impotent, and weak. Thus, when the Man of Sin comes on the scene, he won’t have any work to do. The culture will be depraved, reduced to animalistic zombies. Catch a clip of “The Walking Dead” and it is easy to see what we are becoming. Lifeless, soulless, flesh-eating zombies.
But it is no less painful to watch this daily process of rot and decay accelerate. As the days go on there are fewer watchmen. They’re falling by the wayside or dying. It’s like they’re being purposely removed one by one. With the church already fallen prey to the prosperity gospel that preaches “love” the most important component is lost. A gospel message without “sin” is no gospel.
This past week, Phil Robertson, patriarch of the “Duck Dynasty” family, was fired by the A&E network for making “anti-homosexual” comments. What did Phil Robertson do? He called homosexuality a sin. He uttered the dreaded “sin” word, the one that sends all the sodomites running, screaming into the hills. For a group that believes there is no sin, they get violent when the word is mentioned. What was (the) “hate speech” he spewed forth? Robertson quoted the Bible.
(1 Corinthians 6:9-10) Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves . . . shall inherit the kingdom of God.”
That’s all he did, he paraphrased God’s word. The homosexual mob went berserk, like he had threatened their lives. One could equate this to the demons being called out of the possessed men by Jesus and running into a herd of pigs, sending them flying off a cliff. They know the truth, and they’ll do anything to destroy it. It sends them spewing venom and foaming at the mouth, like crazed animals.
One would expect that pastors wouldn’t shy away from the Biblical truth of sin. But in 2013 America, the pastors are as weak as newborn kittens, too timid to speak the truth. The Bible offends the non believer. The gospel is about blood, not about roses and sunshine. It’s about redemption through the power of the blood of Jesus Christ, and his atonement only. There is no substitute. There is only one way to heaven, and many paths to Hell.
Joel Osteen, America’s “feel good” pastor, did an interview with Katie Couric that was shameful in its truthfulness about the condition of the American church. Osteen has always been touchy about the issue of sin and there being only one way to heaven. But this is not the time for mealy mouth, impotent men. This is a time for truth. Osteen’s gospel is a false gospel of health, wealth, and prosperity. It’s practically karma. You give God a little, and he’ll give you back more. Hindus and Buddhists would love Osteen’s message.
As reported in the Christian Post, Couric pressed Osteen on the fact that he doesn’t spend time in his sermons talking about good and evil, sin and redemption. Instead of using an opportunity to present a black and white gospel, Osteen went completely gray.
Osteen replied, “There’s enough pushing people down in life already,” he added. “When they come to my church, or our meetings, I want them to be lifted up. I want them to know that God’s good, that they can move forward, that they can break an addiction, that they can become who God’s created them to be.”
God is good, but what is pushing people down is sin. Osteen completely missed a chance to tell the Biblical truth. God is not out to make sure that people are happy. Christians are being slaughtered by Muslims in the Middle East and Africa. Is this God’s best for them? When their heads are on the slab about to be cut off by a soldier of Allah, are they worried about their comfort? Their lives are required of them and they die martyrs. What would Joel Osteen have to say about that?*
He suggested that although he might touch on doctrine in his messages, he believes an emphasis on doctrine may be what is contributing to low attendance at other churches. “These days, people want to know, ‘If I come to church, how’s it going to help me to live my life?’” he added.
Osteen is ordained by his church but he does not have a seminary degree. He’s a self-help guru, a “Christian” Tony Robbins. He just said the most horrific thing a pastor could say, in that an emphasis on doctrine drives people away. That the gospel message of sin is what keeps attendance in church’s low. More importantly, he is making it abundantly clear that he would rather have people in his church who are happy in their flesh than saved by the blood of Jesus Christ. He steers away from doctrine because he doesn’t know it. Anyone who has ever watched his television program knows he doesn’t touch doctrine. This is the reason that he has 45,000 church members. He tickles their ears.
Today if a church is growing in America there is probably a reason, and it’s not because a pastor is preaching Hell fire and damnation. It’s because a pastor is telling the church what they want to hear. There’s no condemnation, no absolutes. Carl Lenz, another prominent pastor of Hillsong in NYC, was also interviewed by Katie Couric. He said he never discusses sexuality or social issues because it will “ostracize.”
“When it comes to people’s sexuality, I don’t want to use a public forum to talk about private things. Because how in the world could you have a dialogue? How in the world can I hear your story? How in the world can someone have a question?”
This is not making a public spectacle of the issue. This is addressing sin. Everyone struggles with it. These are life and death matters. Not wanting to talk about sexuality is not wanting to talk about what separates man from God eternally. But these men are not interesting in preaching a hard-line, one way, gospel. Doing so would “alienate” people.
Herein lies the problem. The gospel alienates. The only way to be delivered from homosexuality, or any other sin, is through the blood of Jesus Christ. When Phil Robertson is willing to stand up and tell the truth about sin, but pastors with huge churches aren’t about to utter the word, the American church is finished. The only gospel that saves is a gospel of liberation from the bondage of sin. True freedom only comes from denying oneself to follow Christ. To follow the gospel of man is folly. This path leads to death.
But why do “millions” flock after men like Osteen and Lenz? Because they preach a gospel that doesn’t offend. Robertson’s message offended, and he got cut from television because it. With each passing day, more states are ruling that bans on homosexual marriage are “unconstitutional.” Soon, every state is going to lose this battle. Is this any one person’s fault? No, this was bound to happen. It’s time for Satan to unleash his arsenal on an unsuspecting and unprepared world. These are the last days. All hell is breaking loose.
The problem is the church. The gutless, feeble pastors that choose to feed their flocks the “7 steps” to happiness instead of truth. The truth that they might have to say what they believe soon in front of someone who wants to kill them. That they might be required to go to prison for professing to be a Christian. Are these people who just want to be happy going to be ready to have their heads loped off by Islamists, or hunted down by the gay militia? Not a chance. But it’s coming. The pack of hungry lions out for Christian blood has been loosed and they’re hungry. Walls are closing in on Christians, as Satan’s hoards close in, readying for the massacre.
*Though Joel Osteen has called homosexuality sin in 2012, his preference appears now to simply state that marriage is between a man and woman and leave it at that – editor