A Biblical Analysis of Social Networks

Social networks. What to do with them? Are they good? Useful? Pure evil? Well let’s take a look. From virtually the birth of the internet there have been ways of connecting people to others. In fact, that was a major part of the very purpose of the internet. To facilitate communication.

Now how can we use such a thing to further and better represent Christ our King whom we as discussed before are mandated to represent? Let me explain. As an active member of social networks, I frequently run across profiles from people who claim to be Christians and yet the TV shows, music and other things they like are nothing a Christian should be even thinking about, let alone fairly (or even very) publicly expressing an interest in. Furthermore, it’s frequently used by people to have a pity party and to seek attention when they should be focusing on making use of the life they have been gifted with.  Instead, they whine and make dozens of poorly spelled, text-speak posts.  I’m not saying one shouldn't post to their friends asking for prayer or sharing a concern, I’m saying you should be mature about it. The purpose of social networking should be two-fold:

1)...be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord;  always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father...(Ephesians 5:15-16,19-20 NASB)

2) It’s a good way of keeping in touch with family, friends and local news.

It is the first point I want to cover in depth as this is the most misunderstood aspect. Christians need to be encouraged and uplifted by each other as they fellowship together.  As such, we should seek out like-minded, Bible-believing Christians who hold to sound Bible doctrine. Some social networks are designed to allow you to do that. I find it quite refreshing to browse various profiles of people whose feed is full of scripture, wholesome discussion about biblical matters, and challenges to fight the good fight.  If you post in public groups then expect some of them to add you. Check the requests you get, add the ones that are good and ignore the bad ones. The method is different for different ages, but the idea is the same.

Parents, I think the key to holding your children accountable is to monitor them prayerfully and have good relationships with them. Having a good relationship with your children is key to making sure you are not making an enemy of them. Children can be very well meaning but sometimes not the most prudent. Keeping on top of things will save potential hurt and misunderstandings. Open communication between you and your children is essential to your relationship in any avenue of life, but especially one that can be potentially dangerous, such as Social Media. .

Staying accountable. There must be clear communication between parent and child and clear boundaries. I believe for the youngest child, the parent should have login access to the child's account. I also believe there is a tendency to ignore biblical principles when issues arise. 

If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over Matthew 18:15

Last time I checked that was a command. So how come there is a whole group of Christians who don't think it applies to them in social media? One might not be able to go to someone direct but they can send someone they know and trust to deal with it. God honors the heart. He won't honor blatant disobedience. The parent or older person told about an issue must also be obedient, submit to God and go, tell whoever it is their fault. 

Children, adult and otherwise, be very thankful that your parents care enough about you to want to keep you safe and make sure you are not getting too involved in something.  I am legally an adult and have been for over five years now, but I am still under the protection and guidance of my parents.  I am thankful to God that He gave me parents who truly care about what I am doing and help keep me accountable.

A female friend of mine once said; "one thing that I have appreciated most, is that my conversations are monitored by my parents.  All my Facebook chats are checked on at least occasionally.  This is especially important in opposite gender chats, especially if the other party knows the conversation is monitored.  

While this is perhaps not the most effective method, it is one way to help keep your emotions from getting too involved, especially for the females.  Women tend to get emotionally attached, especially when it seems like the other person (usually a male) is “taking an interest” in them.  This is one reason there have been marriages that fall apart due to one partner or the other getting too involved with an old friend on the internet without proper accountability or communication."  

That being said, there is also another extreme that is just as dangerous, if not more so.  Refusing to let your children talk to someone of the opposite gender is dangerous because they do not learn the right way to interact and have not been taught how to guard both theirs and each others hearts. We seem to think that that is only important during a relationship but how can you expect a young man or woman to just start as if they were computers and you simply launch a program. That doesn't work for anything at all. Things must be taught. As has been said before, open communication between you and your children is essential to your relationship in any avenue of life but it is also essential among peers regardless of gender. Children learn through teaching and accountability and both are of paramount importance in every aspect of the journey they are taking growing up.  

False Teachers: Conclusion and Exhortation

In the last couple articles I revealed a number of false teachers and their error. Some may be familiar with them, some not. Now I come to the final person and some thoughts on where this stems from. This is not an exhaustive list of false teachers, nor an exhaustive list of solutions but it is a start and I do want to move on to other issues.

We close this series and come to a person and church that has only fairly recently come to light in the mainstream which we will come to. Steven Furtick and his Elevation Church. Charlotte Observer way back in 2008 described it as "a pop culture-friendly church with an orthodox Christian message.” You can immediately see a problem here but wait, there is more. Fast forward a few years to 2012 and you see them starting the new year off with a conference with speakers such as  T. D. Jakes of the Potters House and who was more widely known as an advisor to current American President Barack Obama. Also present was Joel Osteen. Though supposedly from the Southern Baptist denomination, many practices in the church mirror that of North Korea than anything else. An infographic emerged in February 2014 giving 29 reasons why Elevation is the best place to work. Innocent enough until you see that four of the reasons are as follows:

1. We serve a Lead Pastor who seeks and hears from God.

3. We serve a Lead Pastor we can trust.

7. We serve a Lead Pastor who pours into us spiritually and professionally.

16. We serve a Lead Pastor who goes first.

It may as well say Great Leader and the pastor’s name may as well be Kim Jong-Un! All four points reak of communist, dictatorial propaganda, but it is the last one that is the most serious.  A pastor who has been truly called of God will not go first at all, but rather reflect Christ as we all should. Don’t misunderstand me, he certainly has authority and this must be respected and honored, but to have any statement like that made public with the consent of the Pastor is a woeful misrepresentation of his role in the church. Steven Furtick is little more than a brand name of a product he is selling and it isn't God’s message. Not that one should even entertain the idea of selling the gospel for profit. It is freely given by God and should be freely given out by us.

What is he selling? He is selling glorification of himself. He is something special. He is so special he is able to save and mass baptize people. The teacher of a Baptist University was quoted as saying “This church has obviously discovered what we in the industry call the ‘Disneyfication’ of religious services.”

So what goes on in this show? Is it a model of accountability, reverencing the first act of obedience after salvation? Of course not. It’s fake, staged, and totally dishonest. People are so blind, Elevation church actually advertises how they con people. They have created a ‘kit’ and it tells you quite plainly, “Fifteen people will sit in the worship experience and be the first ones to move when Pastor gives the call. Move intentionally through the highest visibility areas and the longest walk...” as well as, “Pick young energetic people, not necessarily those who are there first.” The host team is directed to “Start in the hallway smiling, clapping and creating an atmosphere of excitement and help direct people to the changing rooms.” So we clearly have manipulation in overdrive with people being driven to being virtually drunk on their own emotions much like the music of the charismatics.

This along with the very obvious communist, dictatorial vibes make this a dangerous snare for any unsuspecting person who, when joining the church is taught to revere the greater leader Steve Furtick almost as though he were God. Such is the scale of the church’s apostasy that even secular news services consider this con-job performance worthy of mentioning. It makes one wonder how many are in hell as a result of this abhorant departure from the God-given method for baptism which is supposed to be an outward expression of one's belief in Jesus Christ.  

There are several general indicators whether when encountering pastors, churches, and other groups that call themselves Christians, including cults. They will deny key doctrines, such as the deity of Christ, The Trinity, sinful nature of man, or typically something crucial enough they cannot be Christians at all. Joel Osteen and Joyce Meyer fall into this category. The second group are more subtle. They may outwardly be good, may preach a good sermon and may well be right in many areas including many doctrinal areas, but it is still quite possible to discern they are just as false and just as dangerous.

Such men like Rick Warren have sincere Christians who follow them and even Steve Furtick may well have baptized genuine believers. The problem arises when they refuse any form of accountability, are investigated by the IRS due to financial issues, and other things which are certainly not God honouring. Don’t misunderstand, I have no problem with riches, but our use of them should leave the observer in no doubt that money is not our God. Jesus Himself said you cannot serve God and money at the same time. Our conduct as His ambassadors should be impeccable. The problem with many preachers today is, while they themselves may be of reasonable character, those they endorse may not be. Once a person falls into the trap of ‘just win people to Jesus’ they are on a slippery slope. Winning souls is, of course, of paramount importance, but likewise so is the method. All around us we see acronyms, cute phrases, programs, schemes, and the list goes on. But all of these, while having their place, should not and cannot even come remotely close to diluting the gospel, nor should they cause us to endorse, or work with those who do not hold to sound Bible doctrine. But why is this Ecumenical Movement so bad?

The Encyclopedia Britanica defines it as, “the movement or tendency toward worldwide Christian unity or cooperation. The term, of recent origin, emphasizes what is viewed as the universality of the Christian churches.” Furthermore, even clear and obvious unbelievers are supportive of this, including the highly secretive Masonic Lodge. Albert Pike, former Supreme Pontiff of Universal Freemasonry said, "Masonry [is that religion] around whose altars the Christian, the Hebrew, the Muslim, the Brahman [Hindu], the followers of Confucius and Zoroaster, can assemble as brethren and unite in prayer”

This was written way back in 1906, long before the Ecumenical movement as we know it started. Yet, sure enough, it’s reared it’s head time and time again. Recently the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Reformed Church in America, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the Christian Reformed Church in North America, and the United Church of Christ all signed what they called the ‘Common Agreement on Mutual Recognition of Baptism.’ The document ignores all manner of common sense in that it is oblivious to the doctrinal differences and oblivious to the fact the god of the Catholic church is a false, pagan god, and the fact that they believe a false gospel of works.

Nevertheless, the Christian Post reported these five groups as saying, “Together we affirm that, by the sacrament of Baptism, a person is truly incorporated into the body of Christ, the church. Baptism establishes the bond of unity existing among all who are part of Christ's body and is therefore the sacramental basis for our efforts to move towards visible unity, we rejoice at the common faith we share and affirm in this document.”

I must confess it’s difficult to put into words the revolution and horror I have at such wickedness. The idea that any church could collaborate with a false religion blinding millions and sending people to hell does nothing but please the very first deceiver, Satan, who is a liar, and the father of lies. It is no wonder, then, that Paul told Timothy, “If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness;

He is proud, knowing nothing….” (I Timothy 6:3-4a)

General Dwight Eisenhower once said (and it is unfortunate the source is unknown), “War is a terrible thing. But if you’re going to get into it, you’ve got to get into it all the way.” He’s right. The Apostle Paul, time and again, exhorted his readers to watch out, and stand firm.

“In conclusion, be strong in the Lord [be empowered through your union with Him]; draw your strength from Him [that strength which His boundless might provides]. Put on God’s whole armor [the armor of a heavy-armed soldier which God supplies], that you may be able successfully to stand up against [all] the strategies and the deceits of the devil. (Ephesians 6:10-11 AMP).

Yes, the battle is fierce, the battle is long and hard and,

“...the devil, roams around like a lion roaring [in fierce hunger], seeking someone to seize upon and devour” (1 Peter 5:8b AMP)

Yet as powerful as he is, he can do nothing without the permission of God. Remember Job? I’m sure many of you do but take a look for a moment at Job 1:6-13. While there is insufficient space to quote the passage in full, we see Satan laughed at God and alleged Job feared God because he had riches. What happened? God limited Satan and prevented him from harming Job (vs. 12) later on we see he is allowed to do so but then was commanded to spare his life (2:6). This is certain proof that God is in control and our anchor is sure if our Anchor is indeed Christ and we are His children.

False teachers - Part 2

Last week in part 1 we established that it is acceptable and even commanded to judge in certain circumstances. We also dealt with both Joel Osteen and Joyce Meyer and showed they are not of God but of the devil.If you have not read it or need a refresher please take a look.

Rick Warren

The devil, of course, has more than one poison. He is the deceiver and father of all lies, having told the first one in the Garden of Eden. This poison attacks the church, stripping it of virtually everything that makes it a church and watering down the gospel to virtually nothing. What is this poison? The Purpose Driven Church and it’s proponent Rick Warren.

What purpose is he driving the churches who advocate this system to? Purpose Driven churches will typically reclassify  the saved and lost to the "churched" and the "unchurched, replace the organ and piano with heavy metal instruments and sing repetitive praise lyrics. Sometimes even the word church may be removed and called a ‘campus’. How is this change made? By force. There are 6 steps to this.

1.  Identify those who are resisting the changes;

2.  Assess the effectiveness of their opposition;

3.  Befriend those who are undecided about the changes;

4.  Marginalize more persistent resisters;

5.  Vilify those who stay and fight; and

6.  Establish new rules that will silence all resistance.

In short, the church is stolen as the church isn't told until it’s too late and the members either accept the changes, or leave the church. Clearly, any Bible-believing Christian should leave such a place. Warren opposes those who hold to sound Bible doctrine saying of fundamentalists on an interview on Larry King Live in 2006,  “There are all kinds of fundamentalists, Larry, and they’re all based on fear. There are Christian fundamentalists. There are Muslim fundamentalists. I’ve met some Jewish fundamentalists. You know that there are secular fundamentalists. They’re all based on fear.”

This is very similar to the ideology of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair who was quoted as saying “We have to be prepared to take the security measures necessary for our immediate protection. . . .The answer is to promote views that are open-minded and tolerant towards those who are different, and to fight the formal, informal, and internet propagation of closed-minded intolerance.”

Take this with a 2005 quote by Rick Warren who says, “Who’s the man of peace in any village – or it might be a woman of peace – who has the most respect, they’re open and they’re influential? They don’t have to be a Christian. In fact, they could be a Muslim, but they’re open and they’re influential and you work with them to attack the five giants. And that’s going to bring the second Reformation.”

If you have read this far you will know such statements are utterly false. While Warren abuses Matthew 7:1 and says ‘Judge not’ one moment he makes a foolish judgement a moment later on national TV. Yes, fundamentalists have rules, but they can and should be backed up with the Word of God. Furthermore, a Christian cannot be an ambassador of Christ by tolerating. He must fight using the Sword of the Spirit, speaking the truth and whole counsel of God out of love and concern for millions of lost souls. Let’s take a look at what Warren means when he speaks of a second Reformation.

Here he is again, “You know, 500 years ago, the first Reformation with Luther and then Calvin, was about beliefs. I think a new reformation is going to be about behavior. The first Reformation was about creeds; I think this one will be about deeds. I think the first one was about what the church believes; I think this one will be about what the church does. The first Reformation actually split Christianity into dozens and then hundreds of different segments. I think this one is actually going to bring them together."

This is precisely the world’s philosophy that will usher in the Anti-Christ and the one world government, uniting world religions, regardless of belief. It’s no wonder because all religions have a single source. Satan. He said thousands of years ago, “I will ascend like the Most High” and for a time he will be allowed to pretend he has, ruling the world during the Great Tribulation. To help usher this one world government in, he has his pawns, like Warren, to preach a false gospel of tolerance. In Warren’s video going along with his 40 Days of Purpose book has people praying the infamous ‘sinners prayer’. Not only that, the prayer he has people praying does not mention sin, repentance, the cross, or the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Now we see Warren’s true purpose. Sending people to hell by winning people to a false gospel.

Rick Warren is a Satanic missionary, leading his followers on a reformation that will bring in the anti-christ, the one world government ruled by his father the devil, but has chocolate covered this with the Bible, God’s perfect and Holy Word.

Mark Driscoll

Mark Driscoll. Though many believe him to be very well known, just how well do they know him? Some are at least partially aware of certain aspects of his error but do we know the full story? Founding pastor of Mars Hill church in Seattle Washington on America’s Northwest coast, Driscoll states his methods as  ‘theologically conservative and culturally liberal’. This is the first sign of anything untoward and the first sign of compromise we see. God’s Word states plainly ‘ye shall know them by their fruit’, so what fruit does Driscoll manifest?

Firstly, he is an admirer of the aforementioned missionary of Satan, Rick Warren saying, “God has used Warren’s insights to bring untold numbers of people to Jesus…….Sadly, there was a time when, as an arrogant young punk, I was critical of his work.” He is now fully supportive of this apostate saying, “Rick Warren is a brother in Christ. Having spoken with him on the phone, spent time at his church, and shared dinner with him, I can assure you that he loves the Bible, loves Jesus, loves pastors, loves the church, and has a heart for the world.”

Far from being theologically conservative, he violates a principle tenet of conservatism by affirming his support for a false teacher, rejecting in action the command to come out and be separate (2 Corinthians 6:17). In doing this he also violates 1 Timothy 1:6 which says “[These elders should be] men who are of unquestionable integrity and are irreproachable.”

The integrity of Driscoll is certainly far from blameless. He is known as ‘the cussing preacher’ and indeed he does indeed use crude, profane language to the degree the texts of his sermons would not pass an internet filter and most, if not all, true conservatives would cringe at such language.

Boyce College professor Heath Lambert reviewed his book Real Marriage: The Truth About Sex, Friendship, and Life Together and said “Make no mistake: men and women will be introduced to pornography because of this book…The Driscolls introduce their readers to the titles of pornographic books, magazines, and videos; they provide technical names for specific kinds of pornographic films; they list the names of celebrities who have starred in pornography; they even provide web addresses….”  

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not for one moment saying I support this Southern Baptist college but in this Professor Lambert makes a very valid point. Where in the name of foolishness did Driscoll think this was in any way, shape, or form edifying or useful for anything other than poisoning young minds and quite potentially opening them up to months if not years of struggling with a very real and dangerous sin? Driscoll is even too much for the notoriously liberal and compromised Christianity Today who said “...Driscoll's history of using risqué language, and the fact that he drinks alcohol and talks about sex, angers those who say his approach undermines his message.”

Driscoll is also quite upfront about his love of secular rock and punk music, voicing his support for a popular rapper who has an album called American Gangster. In support of his love of this worldly form of so-called music, he is quoted as saying, “I envisioned a large church that hosted concerts for non-Christian bands and fans on a phat [sic] sound system, embraced the arts, trained young men to be godly husbands and fathers, planted other churches, and led people to work with Jesus Christ as missionaries to our city.” (Confessions, p40)

This is clearly a total mess of theology, again showing he is not in fact conservative or he would know very well that you cannot win the world to God with the world’s music as by now you will have read the chapter on what Godly Christian music is. And yet Driscoll goes even further, ”Our church services started to stink a whole lot less. We scraped together enough money to buy some big honking speakers, and I stole an unused sound console from my old church along with a projection screen, which were sins that Jesus thankfully died to forgive.” So we have him here saying before he brought in this music his services used to stink? As if the plain, simple, unadulterated Word of God was insufficient. In a way he is right. The Word of God is insufficient for his purpose so we know his purpose is not to glorify God. We then have him admitting he is a thief and sacrilegiously claiming God forgave that. Of course, Jesus died so that our sins may be forgiven but He certainly does not just grant that forgiveness without genuine repentance, which Driscoll shows no sign whatsoever of exhibiting.

On the contrary we see a pattern of behavior. Two years earlier, in 2006, he writes in his book Radical Reformation,  “I was torn between buying the ‘secular’ music that I enjoyed and the Christian music that I did not. After much prayer, I decided that God loved me and allowed my music to be stolen so that I could buy back the old albums that I enjoyed. And so I did, and as pastor of a church filled with ‘secular’ bands that hosts ‘secular’ concerts, I have not had a regret since.”

Let’s pick through this. We’ve seen the Word of God isn’t enough for him, we’ve seen his  crude sexual language, and now we see he believes he can do anything he likes because God forgives him anyway. Clearly he does not believe the Word of God or he would know that “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 KJV).

He says that because God loves him, God will allow Driscoll to do what he wants. We are asked to believe, in direct opposition to the Word of God that God actually approves of Driscoll’s taste in secular rock bands, one of whom decided to remove their clothing during a church concert. Such behavior quite simply defecates on the house of God, turning it into a secular nightclub. I have only one thing to say to this: Get thee behind me, Satan!

While this article was originally written earlier this year I do recognise the recent events, which have seen him first resign and then even more recently the fact that the church network is breaking up and becoming independent. While I would like to think he is repenting it is too early to tell for sure as there have been many public apologies in the past

False teachers - Part 1

Should a Christian judge false teachers?

Should a Christian judge false teachers, call them out and condemn false doctrine? Should I even be stepping on your toes asking this? The answer to both is absolutely yes! The abuse of Matthew 7 to claim you can never judge is usually used by those who want to remove the pressure from themselves when convicted of sin. It would also mean the Apostle Paul was wrong to confront the Galatians and the Apostle Peter and it would also mean Jesus was a hypocrite and a sinner as He called out the Pharisees most vocally and would introduce a contradiction into His word. Clearly such an idea is blasphemous in the extreme. In truth we as Christ's Ambassadors must confront and condemn sin. To not do so would then be like saying the One we represent accepts those actions. Proverbs 17:15 says.

Whoso is justifying the wicked, And condemning the righteous, Even both of these are an abomination to Jehovah. (YLT)

The Hebrew word for abomination here is very strong indeed and means 'exceedingly disgusting and hateful'. In fact it is the very same word used in Leviticus 18:22 to describe a man who lies with another man and the penalty for that under the Mosaic Law was death. This is why the Apostle Paul firstly said:

Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them (Romans 16:17 NASB).  And then to the church at Ephesus he wrote,

“Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them.” (Ephesians 5:11, NASB).

We cannot by any means be passive and keep silent. The very Greek word for expose (elegchō) means reproof, correction or discipline.

Then Paul escalated this in 2 Timothy 4:14 while the Apostle John did in 3 John 1:9–10 by actually naming people. Did this contradict the other passages on love? Not if you have a biblical definition of love.  A love that does not openly expose and oppose sin for the good of the sinner is not biblical love. Love not only “does not act unbecomingly” but it “does not rejoice in unrighteousness”. (1 Corinthians 13:5–6 NASB) This is an essential part of our Ambassador role in daily evange-living.

The early church knew how to do this. We know many heresies by the names of their proponents such as the Montanism heresy names after Montanus, Apollinarism names after Apollinaris and a very interesting one called Arianism. Like the others this was named after its proponent Arius whose heresy is virtually identical to that of the Jehovah's (False) Witnesses who deny the deity of Jesus Christ and claim He had a beginning.

Joyce Meyer

One good way of spotting false teachers is by their view of salvation and who God is. Such is the case with Joyce Meyer. Widely known author of many books, she is in fact a heretic who has said: “He could have helped himself up until the point where he said I commend my spirit into your hands, at that point he couldn’t do nothing [sic] for himself anymore. He had become sin, he was no longer the Son of God.” Clearly this is utter blasphemy.

Jesus has always been the Son of God as He has always been God. The Hebrew word Echad, used in Deuteronomy 6:4 to describe God denotes plurality but not the exact nature of it. How then could one God be separated from Himself in such a way? If this wasn’t bad enough she also says. "I am not poor. I am not miserable and I am not a sinner. That is a lie from the pit of hell. That is what I were [sic] and if I still was then Jesus died in vain. I'm going to tell you something folks. I didn't stop sinning until I finally got it through my thick head I wasn't a sinner anymore. And the religious world thinks that's heresy and they want to hang you for it. But the Bible says that I am righteous and I can't be righteous and be a sinner at the same time."

Now this is just willful deception. Even a new Christian, hungry for the Word of God will have read “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one (Romans 2:28 KJV). We, as filthy, wicked sinners deserving death, are clothed in the righteousness of God. Isaiah, 700 years before Christ knew better when he said: “I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness” (Isaiah 61:10 NIV). and again in Philippians 3:9 Paul said “......not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith.

Lastly, Joyce Meyer believes there are things that even the Bible can’t explain. What is this? Revelation. She states in an ironically elusive tape What Happened From the Cross to the Throne?: “The Bible can't even find any way to explain this. Not really. That's why you've got to get it by revelation. There are no words to explain what I'm telling you. I've got to just trust God that He's putting it into your spirit like He put it into mine.” In the first place, her title is a replica of other people’s work as well as the theme. Second, and far more seriously, her statement all but says God and His Word is insufficient and she is completing it by revelation. At the very least she is equating herself with the Apostles and quite possibly far worse.

She is also highly prideful, stopping every 5 minutes for applause if she doesn't get it,  she is likely to say something like, “I’m preaching better than you’re acting.” This smacks of manipulation, pride, and an inflated view of herself. She would have to if she claims she is not a sinner, nor poor and wretched.

Finally, as is typical with such people, Meyer and her ministry refuse to tell how much the ministry pays Meyer, her husband, her children and her children's spouses of which most, if not all of whom, work for her. "I don't make any more than I'm worth,"  says Meyer. How much is she worth? Since 1999, the ministry has spent at least $4 million on five homes for Meyer, she has her own airplane and multiple vehicles. While riches are not evil in themselves, she has gained her wealth by deceiving millions of people into believing she is a shepherd when in fact she is nothing more than a ravenous wolf, sent by Satan to blind people.

Joel Osteen

Another highly popular false teacher is Joel Osteen. Famous senior Pastor of Lakewood Church in Texas with over 5 million likes on Facebook and a weekly attendance of 43,000 as of 2013. Why is he so popular? In his first book Your Best Life Now he says, “If you develop an image of success, health, abundance, joy, peace, happiness; nothing on earth will be able to hold those things from you.”

Worse yet, the essence of his message bares a striking resemblance to that of Satan himself. Osteen says, “I believe one of the main ways that we grow in favor is by declaring. It's not enough to just read it. It's not enough to just believe it. You've got to speak it out. Your words have creative power. One of the primary ways we release our faith is through our words. There is a divine connection between you declaring God's favor and seeing God's favor manifested in your life.”

What did Lucifer say before the fall? I will do this and I will do that. Osteen tells you to declare success, declare abundance as if God is just waiting to shower us with whatever we want because we say it, regardless of what we do. Osteen continues with his falsehood by openly refusing to admit a non-Christian will not go to heaven. He said to a popular TV presenter when asked, “You know, I'm very careful about saying who would and wouldn't go to heaven. I don't know.”

The incredulous presenter tried again, asking if Osteen believed non-Christians were wrong, only to be told:

“Well, I don't know if I believe they're wrong. I believe here's what the Bible teaches and from the Christian faith this is what I believe. But I just think that only God will judge a person's heart. I spent a lot of time in India with my father. I don't know all about their religion. But I know they love God. And I don't know. I've seen their sincerity. So I don't know. I know for me, and what the Bible teaches, I want to have a relationship with Jesus.”

This displays total unbelief in the Word of God which clearly has Jesus saying:

"I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” (John 14:6 NASB).

Belief in God is not enough. Sincerity is not enough. Millions upon millions of people are very sincere in what they believe and yet are lost, hell-bound, and without hope because they do not believe the Gospel. Osteen, in the same interview stated, “I don't have it in my heart to condemn people. I'm there to encourage them.” Clearly he is not preaching the message of Christ. Jesus Himself said:

“Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed….(John 3:18 NIV).

1 John gives the test as well as James. One who claims to be a Christian must display the fruits of it. Faith without (being evidenced by) works is dead.  Joel Osteen knows 100% he is a liar and he is deceiving people. How can I be so sure of this? What gives me the right to make such a dogmatic statement?

Osteen states after his interview, “Jesus declared in John 14; I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me. I believe that Jesus Christ alone is the only way to salvation. However, it wasn't until I had the opportunity to review the transcript of the interview that I realize I had not clearly stated that having a personal relationship with Jesus is the only way to heaven.” Now this sounds good and one may think he learned. This, however, went on his blog in 2005 and in March 2014 and a sermon was entitled ‘Be Comfortable With Who You Are’.

So if he believes Jesus is the only way to salvation how come Osteen has a message with such a title? How come the same old rhetoric was preached by a woman who sounded like she was simply trying to massage the egos and the prideful, sinful natures of the 42,000 blind sheep lapping up her words? No, his ‘repentance’ was nothing of the sort and he is still the accursed (Galatians 1:8) false prophet he’s always been.

Sadly they are not on their own. Many other popular preachers belong to the Word Faith Movement. In essence The Word Faith movement is a mix of Christianity, Christian Science, and New Age thought. At it’s root, it promotes a theological system that deifies man, diminishes God, and virtually puts Him in subjection to man. And of course, as we have seen, it distorts the Gospel. Or as Paul so aptly put it in Galatians 1: Another gospel:

“Not that there is [or could be] any other [genuine Gospel], but there are [obviously] some who are troubling and disturbing and bewildering you with a different kind of teaching which they offer as a gospel] and want to pervert and distort the Gospel of Christ (the Messiah) [into something which it absolutely is not]. (v7 AMP)

There are other false teachers pretending to be shepherds and we will cover those in Part 2