Is this teaching biblical?
A gospel without sin is no gospel at all. If there is no sin, there is no need for a Savior. If people have merely 'made mistakes,' they need advice, not atonement. Joel Osteen's refusal to use the word 'sinners' removes the very foundation upon which the gospel stands. Jesus came specifically to call sinners to repentance (Luke 5:32). Paul declared that 'all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God' (Romans 3:23). A preacher who cannot diagnose the disease cannot prescribe the cure.
What did Joel Osteen say?
"I don't use it [the word 'sinners']. I do believe that everybody's made mistakes, but I don't focus on that. I focus on the fact that God's got a great plan."
Speaker: Joel Osteen
Source: Larry King Live, CNN, June 20, 2005
What does Scripture actually teach?
Romans 3:23
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
— NKJV
Scripture does not say 'all have made mistakes.' It says all have SINNED. Sin is not a mistake — it is rebellion against a holy God. By softening the language, Osteen softens the severity of humanity's condition before God.
Luke 5:32
"I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."
— NKJV
Jesus Himself used the word 'sinners.' He came specifically to call sinners to repentance. A pastor who refuses to use the word Jesus used has placed himself above his Master.
1 John 1:8-10
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us... If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
— NKJV
John warns that denying sin makes us self-deceived and makes God a liar. Osteen's avoidance of the word 'sinners' is not pastoral sensitivity — it is a denial of reality that leaves people comfortable in their sins and unaware of their need for Christ.
Related False Teachings
"99.9% of all people are good people."
— Joel Osteen | Denial of Sin
"I don't think anything I've said has offended someone of a different faith."
— Joel Osteen | People-Pleasing Gospel
"I believe there are many paths to Jesus. You don't know how Jesus would reveal Himself to somebody, ..."
— Joel Osteen | False Gospel