All Our Idols Go To Heaven

by Steve Lumbley

The beautification had begun. A maudlin media mush-fest was in full swing. Worshipful crowds were gathering all over the country to wallow in grief stricken adulation for their fallen idol. Michael Jackson's body had barely enough time to assume room temperature when the internet rumors began to appear on the Christian blogs and websites:

Wonderful News! Michael Jackson prayed to receive Christ only three weeks before his death!

Someone who knew someone who knew someone reported that gospel recording artist Sandra and Andrae Crouch had prayed with Michael to receive Jesus shortly before he died.

"Last night we received some good news from Terri McFaddin-Solomon who is good friends with Sandra Crouch. Three weeks ago Sandra and Andre spent some time with their close friend, Michael Jackson. Michael asked Andre to play, "It Won't Be Long And We'll Be Leaving Here." Michael then prayed with Sandra and Andre and accepted Christ into his heart. Now he's singing in the heavenly choir! Our hearts rejoice!"

Later, the real story emerged from Crouch's Facebook page.

UPDATE - 06/28/09

"There was NO actual "sinners prayer" however, but they did talk and pray about Jesus and the anointing of the Holy Spirit. They also told him, "Michael, we consider you as our son", and he said, "Yes, yes, yes", and he gave him his latest music on a CD, and he told him, "Andrae I trust you with this", and gave him CD's of 2 songs, unpublished,...beautiful music... He definitely had an "encounter" with them, Andrae says, "he did NOT reject Jesus or the prayer when they prayed, and gladly joined in prayer." He usually doesn't touch anyone, but he touched them, and held their hands in a circle as they sang and prayed...so Andrae and Sandra explained to him about the "anointing" and about Jesus. He wanted to know what makes your hands go up, and makes you "come out of yourself", and what gives a "spirituality" to the music?... According to Andrae, who was relaying to Verdine to tell me over the phone just now, Andrae and Sandra did in fact visit with MJ 2 times, once at the recording studio, and once at his home in the last 2 months, as recently as 3 weeks ago, asking for prayer concerning the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and how he could make his music more "spiritual"...

If you can read the above account without your spirit colored glasses it is clear that reality is a far cry from the myth. There is no evidence Michael Jackson received Christ. There isn't even any evidence that he heard the gospel. His good friends Sandra and Andrae Crouch apparently never told him that he was a sinner in need of a savior.

There was no call to repentance, no call to discipleship, only some sappy sweet platitudes about spirituality, the "anointing", and a non judgmental Jesus that's easy for a worldly man like MJ to embrace. Mr. Jackson had no problem talking and praying about a Jesus who could help him sell more records.

How tragic for all involved that this sort of thing passes for evangelism today.

When I first heard the story of Jackson coming to the Lord I was immediately reminded of several previous stories, tall tales, and urban myths about other well known celebrities who God supposedly rescued at the last minute:

Kim Clement claims Anna Nicole Smith cried out to God and is in heaven today

Rock Hudson prayed to receive the Lord on his deathbed

John Wayne received Christ three weeks before he died because of a note from Robert Schuller's daughter

President John F. Kennedy prayed with Billy Graham to receive Christ only days before his assassination

I suppose at this point I should add the obligatory disclaimer. God is sovereign and can save anyone He chooses. The thief on the cross is a biblical example of a last minute conversion so it is certainly possible and consistent with God's mercy and love. To be fair enough, I should also remind you that there were two thieves crucified with Jesus. One of them repented and was received into paradise, the other did not.

Singers, actors, politicians, celebrities, all our idols go to heaven. It doesn't matter how they lived their lives. They can lie and steal. They can commit adultery and fornication. They can live debauched lives of drunkenness, drug addiction, and revelry. They can reject the God of the Bible and promote damnable lies as the truth all the while engaging in good deeds designed to make you think they are really deep down 'good' persons. In the end none of that matters.

They are our substitute saviors.

We buy their albums, go to their movies, and vote for them. We love them and give our hearts to them. While they live, we look to them for comfort, happiness, security, and love. We invest our emotional well being in these fallible sinful men. And when they die as all men do, we cannot bear to think of them tormented in the pit of hell for all eternity. In their death we come face to face with our own mortality and that requires us to maintain the illusion of God likeness with which we cloaked their lives. They brought salvation to us in this life, surely they will be with us in the next.

With our deceased idols safely in heaven we can relax. Their place in eternity serves as a surety to us that like them, we can enjoy all the world has to offer and still attain paradise. There's really no need to serve God in this life. If God offered them a last minute reprieve surely we'll get the same chance. We've finally found a way to have our cake and eat it too.

Now would you like the truth? Can you handle the truth?

Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God - James 4:4. Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him - 1 John 2:15. Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolators nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God - 1 Corinthians 6:9, 10. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death - Revelations 21:8.

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in righteousness because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made by corruptible man -- and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.

Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.

And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them - Romans 1:18-32.