What Pope Francis and Joel Osteen Miss About Personal Transformation
Recent comments by Pope Francis and Joel Osteen reminded me of a 1974 conversation with Chuck Colson, whom I had known when we worked in the Nixon White House.
First, Francis and Osteen:
Pope Francis' apostolic exhortation, "Amoris Laetitia ("The Joy of Love"), issued April 8, set a new direction in the eyes of many for the Roman Catholic Church's teaching on sexual behavior, including marriage. "On Divorce and Remarriage, Pope Calls for More Grace, Less Dogma," heralded an NPR headline. "Pope Francis insists conscience, not just rules must lead faithful," bannered The Washington Times.
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The headlines show that the popular take was that Francis was de-emphasizing the importance of doctrine in guiding sexual morality and marriage, and putting a greater stress on personal subjective opinion.
Meanwhile, Joel Osteen was asked by a CBS News interviewer: "Do you feel like you're cheating people by not telling them about the Hell part? Or repentance part?"
No, replied Osteen, because "it's not hellfire and brimstone" but the problem that "most people are beaten down by life." What men and women need is hope that they "can rise higher."
Actually, men and women are "beaten down" by sin and its consequences, and what we all need is true grace and actual forgiveness that comes only through genuine repentance. That's what Chuck Colson awakened to when he trusted Christ as his Savior.
My conversation with Colson happened in 1974 not long after he had become an evangelical Christian.
Colson threw hard questions at me: In light of the fact that America seems to be a strongly religious nation, why are we in such trouble socially, morally and spiritually? If there is such a powerful pulpit in the nation, where is the passion for living by biblical principles, and societal transformation?
That brings us back to Pope Francis and Pastor Osteen. They seem to believe that genuine transformation is not as important as following one's own conscience (the Pope) and feeling good about oneself (Joel Osteen).
I thank God for the Pope's steering the conversation regarding morality toward grace. I am also grateful for Joel Osteen's passion for helping people find hope. These are important themes, and biblically solid. However, they fall easily into distortion without the whole wisdom of Scripture.
As to grace: "Don't use your freedom as an excuse to do evil…" (1 Peter 2:16). With respect to hope, the Apostle Peter urges that followers of Jesus "sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts (the core of being) and always be ready to make a 'reasoned defense' (an apologia) for the hope that is in you." (1 Peter 3:15)
These passages show that "grace" and "hope" are not based on sheer subjectivism. God's revealed truth is objective, not a matter of one's personal preferences or feelings. Letting the conscience be the guide can lead one into disaster if that conscience is not properly formed — a fact the Pope acknowledged.
As to hope, any subjective message that ignores the objective consequences of sin cannot be classified as "gospel" — good news. What meaning has "good news" without an honest confrontation with the truth about the bad news — judgment and Hell?
To understand the nature of Osteen's doctrinal subjectivism, think of a drunk man dancing on the roof-edge of a skyscraper. It most definitely "cheats" that individual if all a would-be rescuer does is encourage him to gain hope by feeling better about himself and his potential to "go higher." In fact, if the intoxicated roof-dancer goes over, the subjectivist "rescuer" would be culpable regarding the horrible consequences of the violation of the objective Law of Gravity.
Ezekiel 33:8-9 pops into mind: "If I announce that some wicked people are sure to die and you fail to tell them to change their ways, then they will die in their sins, and I will hold you responsible for their deaths. But if you warn them to repent and they don't repent, they will die in their sins, but you will have saved yourself." (NLT)
Pope Francis and Joel Osteen are right in that we need to mature beyond external rules, and embrace moral behavior from hearts and minds that have been transformed by being conformed to the mind of Christ. (Romans 12:1-2; Philippians 2:5-11)
To paraphrase Edmund Burke, people are qualified for liberty in proportion to their willingness to put chains on their own passions. That willingness arises from a heart desiring alignment with biblical truth.
Jesus' fundamental command to His Church appears in the "Great Commission" (Matthew 28:18-20). Many branches of Christianity have put more priority on the evangelizing-baptizing mandate included there than the command to make disciples. In fact, proclaiming the Gospel, making disciples, and baptizing are not separate functions, but vital parts of a unified whole.
The failure to see disciple-making as crucial to holistic evangelism is revealed by, among other sources, George Barna's disturbing data showing that large numbers of people who identify themselves as Christians often embrace a worldview little different from non-Christians.
Pope Francis rightly noted that the "conscience" must be formed. This comes through inner transformation, which is the outcome of discipleship (learning about and becoming an apprentice of Jesus Christ and biblical truth).
We cry constantly about how America is going into the gutter and needs to be changed. That is not a problem for the politicians and courts to solve. When government attempts moral revolution the result is stern legalism in the form of a theocracy.
If we want the nation changed, then the Church in the nation must change. She must become a maker, not just of baptized converts, but of disciples. A transformed church will produce transformed people who will bring social and cultural transformation.
