“In case you’re not familiar with the title of this article, it’s a quote from the well-known denominational preacher, Joel Osteen. The whole quote says: 'I don’t preach on sin. God hasn’t called me to do that. I want my people to feel good.' Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas has an attendance on Sundays of some 45,000 people.
“Wow! So, if some who attend services are liars, thieves, adulterers or other sinners, do not make them feel bad and ask them to repent. Don’t criticize them. Just make them feel good. Help them to be content in their sins.
“One wonders how Osteen can claim to be a 'Gospel' preacher when his philosophy of preaching is obviously in direct contradiction to God’s Word with respect to dealing with sin.”
(Note: I wonder how many preachers in the Lord's church have sub-consciously adopted a modified approach to Osteen's in order to not offend anyone or to keep the church from having numerical growth).
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“The story is told of a man in Rockwood, Tennessee many years ago. Wilkie was a bricklayer, and one day he caught a black snake and tamed it so that it would coil about his neck as he walked up and down the streets of his town. He then became bolder, and caught a rattlesnake and tamed it. He would stand on the streets with the venomous shake curled around his neck as the passersby shuddered in amazement.
“One day, while showing off the snake, it coiled itself around his neck. This was not what he intended at the moment, so he took his hand to unwind the snake. The snake became angry, and coiled tighter around his neck, then lifted his head and bit him, thus injecting its poison into Wilkie’s veins. The spectators were horrified as he yanked the snake from his neck and tossed it to the ground. But it was too late. The venom of death had been planted in his veins. He was carried home and died an agonizing death.
“What a picture of the man or woman who tampers with sin! Too often the youth thinks, ‘I’ll just enjoy sin for a season, and then I’ll get my life right when I get older.’ Unfortunately, I have known too many who thought this way. There are two serious problems with this way of thinking. (1) The young sometimes die too soon. Sadly, I have known teenagers whose lives were cut short in automobile accidents who were not prepared to die. And disease does not discriminate with respect to age. (2) The other problem is that I have known those who indulged in the things of this world while young, and were never able to ‘kick the habit’ when they got older. Sin had sunk its fangs so deeply within them, that they were never able to change. This does not mean it would have been impossible to change, for with God’s help, all things are possible, but it does require much effort on the part of the one mired in sin, and some just don’t have the willpower to overcome. Paul wrote that ‘The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.’ (I Corinthians 15:56-57).
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When King David committed adultery with Bathsheba, got her pregnant, and had her husband killed in an effort to “cover his tracks,” rather than trying to make David feel good, Nathan the prophet of God, confronted David with his sin (II Samuel 12).
Rather than trying to make his hearers feel good, John the Baptist called them a brood of vipers and called on them to repent (Matthew 3:7-8).
Jesus did not try to make the hypocritical scribes and Pharisees feel good, but rather sternly rebuked them, calling them hypocrites (Matthew 23).
Peter had a big crowd before him on the day of Pentecost. What a great opportunity to make a large crowd feel good about itself. But instead, Peter charged them with crucifying Christ. Instead of being made to feel good, they were cut to the heart, and cried out and asked, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” They were commanded to repent and be baptized for the remission of their sins (Acts 2:36-38). Only after they did this, did they feel good (Acts 2:41-42, 47).
For fifty verses In Acts 7 Stephen preached a good biblical sermon. Then he went and ruined it all by calling his hearers “stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears,” leading them to stone him to death. Why did Stephen not make his audience “feel good about themselves”!
Paul preached on sin and urged people to repent. He affirmed: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Earlier he had warned about the wrath of God that would come on those with a hard and impenitent heart (Romans 2:5).
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An old story that still makes a valid point: One Sunday morning the entire family was sick and unable to attend the services of the church, except for a young boy. He walked the few blocks to the church building where the family worshiped. Returning home, the family asked him what the preacher had preached on. The boy said, “Sin.” The family asked, “What did he say about it?” The young boy said, “He sounded like he was against it.”
Where do you and I stand with reference to that which is a violation of God's law? Do we need to be made to feel good about ourselves or do we need to be convicted of our sin and error?
Preacher friend, what specific sin have your preached on recently, or have you just condemned sin in a broad, general sense?
Hugh Fulford “”
(Note: I am indebted to my good friend David Tant for the first two items in this issue of “Hugh's News & Views.” The first one is from his “Thought For the Day” of November 23, 2025, the second from November 1, 2025).
