John 5:26-29 For as the Father has LIFE in himself, so he has granted the SON ALSO to have LIFE in himself. 27And he has given him AUTHORITY to EXECUTE JUDGMENT, because he is the Son of Man. 28Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29and come out, those who have DONE GOOD to the RESURRECTION OF LIFE, and those who have DONE EVIL to the RESURRECTION OF JUDGMENT.
Every time a big name celebrity passes away it gives us room to reflect on both the state of our own souls and the condition of the Gospel in our nation. This week was the tragic passing of Whitney Houston, of whom I have loved for most of my life for her amazing voice and persona. (I think the soundtrack for “The Preacher’s Wife” got wore out more than just about any other album I’ve ever owned) Her Gospel roots and seeming all around goodness endeared her to people all over the world. But this is not the point of today.
The point of today is that as a prophetic voice it grieves me when “men of God” that know the truth and preach the truth (when convenient) seem to ignore the part of the Gospel that warns of God’s judgment upon those who are in sin and unrepentant. There seems to always be the assumption that anyone who was a celebrity and loved by many surely must have been right with God and headed to heaven. This assumption is many times wrong! It is not for me to say whether Whitney was right with God or not but based on the fruits of her life in her later years it would not be hard to make a case against it. Yet, at the funeral and all week long everyone (Christian leaders) was speaking with great confidence of her sure salvation and heavenly reward. What kind of message does this send to our nation? What place does righteousness by the Blood of Jesus play in this whole thing? It seems nothing!
Now I’m sure many will misunderstand my heart on this but it needs to be spoken nonetheless. It doesn’t matter if your the prince in the palace or the lowest servant in the dungeon, if you don’t have the Blood over your life then you will be subject to the destroyer (ask the Egyptians). Being a celebrity or just a regular person will make no difference on judgment day. This is why it is imperative when opportunities arise (like this one) where men of God have the attention of the nation, they MUST tell the truth of the Gospel in love to all. There is no need to condemn or bring judgment on the deceased, but a clear message of righteousness through repentance to those STILL LIVING is the LEAST that should happen. When everyone is comforted by the false hopes of religion and emotion, the truth of sinners falling into the hands of an angry God is kept silent. The masses will suffer for this unwillingness to declare the truth of God’s Word in a moment where hearts are open to eternal things.
Lastly, I pray that dear Whitney had a personal relationship with Jesus and was pursuing holiness in the fear of God. As a minister, my heart grieves for any who may have passed into eternity without their name being firmly established in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Even more, for the masses of people who could have heard a message of righteousness and repentance but did not get an accurate picture of God’s plan for eternal life.
Exodus 12:29-30 And that night at midnight, the LORD struck down all the firstborn sons in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sat on his throne, to the firstborn son of the prisoner in the dungeon. Even the firstborn of their livestock were killed. 30Pharaoh and all his officials and all the people of Egypt woke up during the night, and loud wailing was heard throughout the land of Egypt. There was not a single house where someone had not died.