Rebels with a Cause

The true health of a Church may be measured in its proclamation of the dark side of the Gospel: the power and guilt of sin. It is one's doctrine of sin that provides the landscape for one's doctrine of Christ. Christ came to conquer the power and guilt of sin, so how it is exactly defined also defines the ministry of Christ and His redemptive work.

In that vein, men like the one above (Joel Osteen) may and should be considered heretics. Even a non-confrontational postmodern should be able to make this claim. As Dr. Michael Horton said on 60 Minutes, Osteen preaches a "cotton candy gospel." How dare one make this claim about a nice young man like Pastor Osteen--a man who loves Jesus so much? Because Pastor Osteen loves an emasculated Jesus. Joel Osteen defines the guilt of sin as one's inability to escape their past, and the power of sin as poor self-esteem and self doubt. Consequently, Osteen defines Jesus as the conquerer of the past and the giver of self-esteem. Jesus becomes the little string-drawn puppet attached to the fingers of an autonomous humanity, rather than the God-man who will return on the clouds with awe and terror in His wake.

There is a reason why "sin" and "Christ" are the two hardest words to speak and hear. One exposes the horrible plight of the human heart; the other reveals the exclusive way to escape the penalty of that plight. That is why it is admirable when a young Christian finds herself trying to speak those words of power when many a pastor of God's flock display cowardice of the highest rank in avoiding them.

For those looking for a rubric with which to judge the faithfulness of the preaching and teaching they receive, here is what the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church says about sin: "Sin is want of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God" (Shorter Catechism, 14). Sin is not injustice, as the socialist would claim; it is not feelings of guilt, as the psychologist would claim; it is not even bad deeds, as some Christians might think. Sin is the guiltiness of man before the law of God--the law that man definitively rejected and rebelled against in the garden of Eden and which is rejected and rebelled against in every human heart (Rom. 1 and 3:23). Every system and ideology that desires an allegiance as strong as Christianity must redefine sin and salvation in its own terms in order to claim that allegiance.

There is no excuse for ambiguity on the matter of sin by the Church--such ambiguity enshrouds the Savior in shadow. Sure, it is a painful thing to hear (especially for modern and postmodern Americans), but the the Scripture tells that the Gospel is offensive. Even so, there is such love in bringing sin to light: "For God demonstrates His own love for us in this--while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:8). The doctrine of God is here: sovereignty (absolute control and rule), revelatory (accessible to His creation), and loving (mercy toward sinners). The doctrine of sin is here: guiltiness and helplessness (in need of some supernatural act to escape God's wrath). The doctrine of Christ is here: the atonement (offering Himself us to pay our penalty, turning away God's wrath).

Lord God, please convict human hearts of their sin and pastors' hearts in their unfaithfulness in preaching and teaching this necessary message. Please teach Your people to come to terms with their disease rather than being distracted with symptoms--exposing our wounds before the salve of Your grace in Christ. We are rebels against the living God, with the cause of thwarting Your purposes. Our lives are individual towers of Babel, seeking to exalt ourselves to the highest place. Yet in our pride, we stumble. You deconstruct our baseless edifices and reveal to us the Roman cross in which the God-man connected You to Your people in one great redemptive act. In light of our need for Your grace and Your fulfillment of our need, we--the people of the broken heart--prostrate ourselves before You in reverence and awe. May You lighten our burden and our path as we walk the road of faith, giving You the glory. Only in Your Son can sinners know the love of God. We know, and we rejoice.

In Jesus' Name, we pray. Amen.