Tony Campolo has breathed his last. On November 19, 2024, at the age of 89, the man who spent decades bending the gospel to the will of culture passed into eternity—an eternity that his teachings betrayed. On that day, Campolo heard those dreaded words from the Lord, “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.”

Yet, the eulogies will flood in from those who called him a trailblazer, a man of social justice, a compassionate voice for the marginalized. But no amount of flowery tributes can erase the reality of what his work truly accomplished, the erosion of biblical truth, the elevation of human desire above God’s law, and the leading of countless souls further away from Christ.

Campolo has now met the Judge whose Word he spent his life reshaping, and there is no clever rhetoric, no reinterpreted Scripture, no appeal to culture that can save him.

Deception was the hallmark of Campolo’s ministry, though it was dressed in the language of love and progress. His “Red Letter Christianity” movement, which sought to elevate the quoted “red-letter” words of Jesus above the rest of Scripture, was a subtle yet devastating assault on the unity of God’s Word. By slicing and dicing the Bible to create his own gospel, Campolo offered a version of Christianity that was easier to digest but utterly devoid of truth.

His teachings invited people to follow a false Jesus who wasn’t Lord over all but simply an advisor whose words could be selectively applied. And in 2015, when Campolo publicly endorsed same-sex marriage, he made it clear where his allegiance lay—not with the unchanging commands of God but with the ever-evolving moral impulses of the culture.

But Campolo’s descent into heresy is not a lone tragedy. He now stands alongside multitudes of others who exchanged the gospel of Christ for the applause of man. Sarah Young, the author of Jesus Calling, claimed divine revelations that added to God’s Word, leading many to trust her fictional “conversations” with Jesus over the Scriptures themselves. Her death in 2021 came after a life spent convincing her readers that God’s voice could be accessed apart from His revealed Word and through new-age spirit channeling—a deadly lie that continues to lead many astray.

Then there is Rachel Held Evans, the progressive voice who championed the LGBTQ movement, abortion, and every other cause that set itself against God’s design. Her life’s work was not to proclaim Christ but to undermine Him, twisting His teachings to fit a pagan script. Her sudden death in 2019 sealed her fate, a fate she had spent her life ensuring through her open rebellion against God’s truth.

And then there is Beni Johnson, the former co-pastor of Bethel Church and a leading voice in the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR). Her false teachings turned the gospel into a sales pitch for physical health and miracles, twisting the promises of Scripture into a transactional relationship with God.

Johnson’s life was a case study in the dangers of equating faith with guaranteed healing, leaving countless followers disillusioned and guilt-ridden when their prayers went unanswered. She promoted a false Jesus—a genie in a bottle, ready to grant wishes to those with “enough faith”—all while ignoring the biblical truth of God’s sovereignty and the purpose of suffering in the lives of His people.

Johnson’s death in 2022, after years of promoting this destructive theology, is a tragic testament to the consequences of distorting God’s Word for personal gain.

And now, Tony Campolo joins them. He may have claimed to follow Christ, but his teachings denied Him at every turn. By affirming sin, he denied Christ’s power to save from it. By undermining Scripture, he denied its authority. By seeking the approval of the world, he rejected the approval of God. Campolo’s legacy is not one of faithfulness but of compromise, and his death is a sobering reminder of the eternal consequences of such a life.

The words of Jesus in Matthew 7:21 ring louder than ever—“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” Sadly, Tony Campolo’s life was a demonstration of what happens when the will of man supersedes the will of the Father. His teachings, however well-intentioned they may have seemed, led him and countless others away from the saving grace that leads to life.

Let this not be forgotten. God will not be mocked. The legacies of Campolo, Young, Evans, and Johnson are a warning to all who would tamper with the truth of God’s Word. Their fame, their influence, their ability to captivate and persuade—none of it mattered when they stood before the throne of judgment.

Their teachings, which diluted the gospel and glorified human rebellion, have been exposed for what they truly were: lies crafted to appease sinful hearts.

Tony Campolo’s death is an occasion for lament. Lament that a life once full of potential for God’s glory was spent leading others into darkness. Lament that so many followed his example, believing the false promises of a watered-down gospel. And most of all, lament that his story, like those of so many others, ends in the outer darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.

May his fate be a warning to us all that the truth of God cannot be compromised without eternal consequences.