1 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. John 10:1-2 (NASB)
Just because a person claims to be a Christian does not mean that he or she is Regenerate, Justified, Sanctified, or Adopted into God’s family. Many base their standing as a Christian on religious acts they have done. Others claim salvation based upon their good words plus their religion. Tragically, there are also many, and more each day it seems, “Christian leaders” who preach and teach things that they portray as the Good News, but are, instead, only the result of marketing techniques.
I listened to part of a “sermon” by Joel Osteen several years ago. My wife had left the room as I came in. I had to wait for her to come back so I could run an errand for her. She had been in the process of changing channels when I came into the room and for some strange reason it stopped right on Mister Osteen drawling out his feel good message of doing good works and being positive about everything. While there was nothing wrong with what he was saying, the message was not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. There was an absolute value of zero of any theological value in what he was saying. He did not tell anyone that without God’s grace they were hopelessly lost in their sins. No, there was no preaching of the Good News. Sadly, the “church building” he uses now that used to be a basketball arena was packed full of smiling people eating up everything he was saying.