Charlie Kirk’s assassination hit many God-fearing Americans very hard. It is a tragedy of massive proportions. I first learned about it at 2:35PM when a mutual friend texted, “I’m hearing Charlie Kirk has been shot or shot at please pray.” Along with countless millions of others, I did pray. I asked the Lord to spare his life. The Lord did not grant that petition. As I communicated with other pastors in our church and learned that we all shared a similar mixture of sorrow, anger, and disgust, it became apparent that the members of our church would need to be carefully shepherded through this horrific tragedy. Because of that we changed our plans for our regular midweek prayer meeting and I jotted down a few points that I hoped would be helpful for the church. The following is summary of the comments I made before we prayed.
The murder of Charlie Kirk is a tragedy of massive proportions. It has dominated most of the conversations I have had this afternoon with family, pastors, and friends around the United States, some of whom were close to Charlie. I did not know him well but have been with him a few times at events and shared a meal with him once. He was a brilliant young man and a great apologist who has done a lot of good. He was intentionally murdered because of his devotion to Christ and determination to speak for Christ. His assassination is another reminder of the kinds of evil that Christians are up against in our nation today. And we need help to think clearly about these realities because, quite honestly, so many of our erstwhile Christian leaders are completely untrustworthy and unhelpful on these matters. I hope that they will simply remain quiet because I don’t think they have anything to say that will be of help to us. But God’s Word has much to say to us.
Today’s horrific event feels like a pivotal moment in the history of our nation. I do not pretend to know which direction that pivot will lead. God knows, and His people can take great comfort in that. So, it is very appropriate and even necessary for us to go back to His Word and remind ourselves of what God has said to help us think rightly about this murderous act.
In 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, Paul tells us how we can not only persevere through trials but be spiritually renewed through them. The key is to “look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen.” Paul is not telling us to close our eyes to the trials and tragedies of life. He is not telling us just to pretend that reality is other than it is. That’s never right for a Christian. God always calls us to be honest. He calls us to live in truth. He calls us to speak truth, to understand truth and never to shortchange the truth no matter how wonderful it might be or how horrible it might be. We must never deny truth, but we must always fight to remember that there is far more truth available to us than we can experience with our senses. It is that unseen truth, those unseen realities that have been revealed to us in God’s Word on which we must build our lives. To do that requires faith. It necessitates taking God at His Word by simply believing what He has said.
There are seven truths from God’s Word that I want to remind us of tonight as we grieve and continue to process the murder of Charlie Kirk.
1. This world is a fallen world.
We’ve recently studied through Genesis 3. Sin has corrupted the good world that God created. Paradise was lost. Previously everything was right in the world. But after our first parents disobeyed God, everything became stained by sin. Nothing is left untouched. All our thoughts, words, and actions are tainted with sin. Our very best efforts need the righteousness of Christ to be accepted by God. Apart from the grace of God in Christ sin would still dominate us. Because of His grace, sin no longer reigns but it does remain in us.
In addition, this fallen world is, to cite the line from Luther’s hymn, “with devils filled” who “threaten to undo us.” Though he is a defeated enemy and the Lord has him on a leash, Satan and his demons are nevertheless active in the world doing as much as God will allow to wreak havoc and promote wickedness in God’s good creation. The murder of Charlie Kirk should not be seen simply as an unfortunate event of a deranged man. Whatever else might be true, this was a demonically inspired act.
Never forget that there is a devil in the world who hates God. He hates God’s people, which means he hates you. He hates this church. And if we forget that even for a moment, then we set ourselves up to be easy prey for him. He is the thief who comes only “to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10). And he will use whatever or whomever he is able to employ for that purpose. You may forget about the devil and his demons. They will never forget about you. They hate you. They hate Christ. They hate this church. They hate every good thing that’s done in the name of Christ and for the sake of Christ.
2. Evil exists.
That’s a second truth. One of the realities that comes in the wake of these kinds of events is that we begin to hear people who do not really believe in evil start to mention the word. That is a good consequence, but it comes at a great cost. Isaiah 5:20 says, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” Evil exists, and judgment is pronounced on those who would try to pretend that it is good or that good is evil. Think carefully about this. We are bombarded by messages every day that call evil good and call good evil. Who is it that continuously broadcast these messages? Leftists. Marxists who want to undermine biblical Christianity and destroy our nation.
Never forget that there is a devil in the world who hates God.
Do you know where the leftists find a safe haven in our nation? In the Democratic National Convention (DNC). Make no mistake, the Republican party is not righteous. There is plenty of evil within the Republican party (GOP). But compared to the Democrat party it is a paragon of virtue. The Democrat party is evil and boastfully promotes evil from its platform. I want to be clear—there is no moral equivalency between the GOP and the DNC. For too long evangelical leaders have tried to convince us otherwise. They have done it with cute soundbites like, “God is neither Democrat or Republican” and “you can be a faithful Christian and vote for either party.” Such bromides are calling that which is evil (the DNC), good. And the Lord speaks a word of “woe” to such false prophets.
The same indictment falls on nearly every mainstream media outlet in our nation. Do not rely on any major news outlet to provide you with trustworthy information. Fortunately, due to the democratization of information, there is a growing number of alternative news services available. Be discerning and do not let anyone, no matter how polished their delivery or careful their makeup try to convince you that good is evil and evil is good.
3. There is a time for anger.
Ephesians 5:26 says, “Be angry and do not sin.” That means it is possible to be angry without sinning. I don’t know if I have ever done it, but I aspire to it! You can be righteously angry. You do that when you are angry about the right things and in the right proportion. So, be angry, but do not sin. Sinful anger can feel righteous at times. When you see wickedness and the kind of vile violence that we witnessed today, it is right to respond with anger. But if the devil cannot keep you from being appropriately angry by downplaying or morally whitewashing the evil, then he will tempt you to sin in your anger. So, we must guard our hearts. It is right to be angry at the right things in the right ways. But it is never right to sin.
Sometimes our anger and sense of justice can make us want to pursue vengeance. But Romans 12:19 says, “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’” So, it is never right to seek personal revenge. Vengeance belongs to the Lord. But the Lord has servants who execute His vengeance on the earth. Romans 13:1–4 identifies those servants as civil authorities. The magistrate is “an avenger (same root word as “vengeance” in 12:19) who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.”
The imprecatory Psalms can guide us to deal righteously with our just anger. I spent a lot of time today praying Psalm 58 for that very purpose. Verse 10 says, “The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked.” So, yes, vengeance belongs to the Lord, but those who are righteously angry can rejoice when the Lord finally executes it on His enemies. Pray that the Lord will give us law enforcement officers, judges, mayors, legislators, governors, and presidents who will take their roles seriously to execute the Lord’s vengeance against evil in the world.
4. God is always sovereign, wise, and good.
An outbreak of evil does not catch God off guard. Neither does it diminish His wisdom or goodness. We may not understand it, or have all our questions answered, but everything God has revealed to us about Himself remains true. We must remind ourselves of His goodness, wisdom, and His sovereignty. It is these attributes more than others that fuel our faith. We can trust Him even when we do not understand what He is doing or why He is doing it. And we can ask the questions of “why” with humility. Our Lord Jesus asked that question from the cross. But He asked it in faith.
An outbreak of evil does not catch God off guard. Neither does it diminish His wisdom or goodness.
An old friend used to remind me regularly, “Never question in the dark what God has taught you in the light.” Learn deeply all that He teaches us about His infinite wisdom, His immeasurable goodness, and His unmitigated sovereignty. When dark trials come, then your faith will have a sure foundation on which to rest.
5. God always uses events like this to call us to repent.
What should we do in the wake of such a horrific crime? If we are going to obey Jesus, we will repent. Luke 13:1–4 teaches us this lesson. Some people told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifice. What a wicked, violent act! Here is this evil man who murdered people and mixed the blood of those he murdered with the sacrifices they were offering in worship. When asked about it, the only point Jesus makes is to press home the need for repentance. “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (2-3). Jesus goes on to make the same point about a natural disaster that had occurred in Siloam. Every outbreak of evil in this world is a call from God to repent.
Brothers and sisters, we must examine ourselves and repent of our own sins when evil breaks out in dramatic ways around us. Why? Because we need not only to see the reality of sin’s wickedness “out there” but come to see it more clearly, and feel it more deeply, in our own lives. One of the humbling, shattering truths the Bible reveals to us is that the same sin that motivated those who assassinated Charlie Kirk remains in even the holiest Christian. That is why we need our Savior just as much today as we did the moment we first trusted Him. Apart from God’s grace to us in Jesus Christ, we would be capable of committing vile atrocities.
6. Jesus Christ has suffered once for all.
We must remember Jesus Christ and His crucifixion. Consider not only the fact of His execution but also contemplate what happened on the cross. What took place on the cross? Jesus took our sins on Himself. He endured God’s wrath against us. The wrath that we rightly deserve has been forever carried away from us so that we are now and forever free. Brothers and sisters, full atonement has been made for our sins. Our salvation was secured at the cross.
The death of Jesus on the cross becomes a paradigm for us. What do I mean by that? I mean that every horrific event in the world, including every personal trial we are called to endure, must be seen in the light of the cross. Jesus was the only righteous man who ever lived. From a mere human standpoint His crucifixion was the most evil miscarriage of justice that has ever happened in the world. What happened to Charlie Kirk was wicked and evil and unjust. But when you compare that to what happened to Jesus, we are compelled to say—and I have no doubt Charlie himself would say—what happened to him does not begin to compare to what happened to Christ. So the cross becomes our paradigm. We must bring all that happened there into our thinking as we try to make sense of other outbreaks of evil in the world.
Every horrific event in the world, including every personal trial we are called to endure, must be seen in the light of the cross.
So, we must ask, “Where was God when His Son was being executed on the cross?” Was He aloof? Was He in any way hindered from intervening? No. Our sovereign, good, wise God was right where He has always been. He was meticulously ruling and overruling every detail of the crucifixion. As Peter put it on the Day of Pentecost, “This Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men” (Acts 2:23). As the apostles later prayed, “Sovereign Lord,…truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place” (Acts 4:24-28).
God was the Master of ceremonies at the death of His Son. In that most wicked event in all of human history, God was doing his deepest work of salvation. Through that wicked event, God was working to redeem sinners to Himself.
So was God caught off guard when that assassin assumed his position and sited in his rifle on Charlie’s neck? Was He in any way helpless to intervene when the trigged was squeezed? Did the laws of velocity and ballistics somehow overrule His eternal decree? No. Not at all. In ways that are far above our own with thoughts that are above our thoughts, God was still sovereignly, wisely, and lovingly working even in the murder of His child, Charlie Kirk. Will God use this horrific murder? Yes. He will, without a doubt.
Is that also true of the tragedies that come into your life personally? Absolutely. Brothers and sisters, look at the scars of Jesus and remember that what happened to our Lord on the cross was by the design of God. He did it to bring about eternal good. Brothers and sisters, that will always be true for all of us who are in Christ. We know that because we have been called and because we love Him, He works all things together for our good. That is a promise. It is an unseen reality. We must embrace it. His cross is our paradigm. His resurrection is our hope.
We have not heard the last of Charlie Kirk. He is in the presence of his Savior. And we also who are in Christ, when we leave this life whether violently or by natural causes, we will immediately be in the presence of our Lord. That is our hope. That is the sure hope of everyone who is trusting Christ. If you are not trusting Jesus Christ as Lord, trust Him now. To trust Him is to have eternal life. To receive Him by faith is to have assurance of life after death—eternal life with our reconciled God as your Father. That is why Jesus died. That’s why God raised Him from the dead. And just as Jesus was raised from the dead, so everyone in Him will be raised from death with Him. So, we grieve, but we do not grieve like people who have no hope. We do not grieve like people who don’t know this crucified, risen Savior.
7. We must pray.
In 1 Timothy 2:1-4 Paul urges “that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” For whom must we pray? Paul specifically mentions civil magistrates: “kings and all who are in high positions.” But notice that he says, “for all people.” Whom does that include?
What we need—what this nation needs—can only be supplied by God.
Most certainly it includes Erika Kirk, Charlie’s young widow, and their little girl and boy. We must not fail to pray for the family who are left to navigate the future without a husband, father, son, and friend. But this admonition also includes the assassin and his family, and all who design and perpetrate such violence. It includes the miscreants at MSNBC and TMZ who ridiculed and even cheered news of this assassination. We must remember that our sovereign Lord has even their hearts in His hands and He can turn them to bow before Him in worship.
Brothers and sisters, our only hope is God. What we need—what this nation needs—can only be supplied by God. There is no political solution to the crisis our nation faces. There is no sociological fix. There is only an answer, and it must come from heaven. That is why for the last three years we have been setting aside the first Wednesday of every month for prayer and fasting. We cry out to our sovereign Lord for revival and reformation in our land. If anyone has been tempted to think that these days of prayer and fasting are no big deal, that this is simply one more activity on the calendar, I plead with you to ponder these seven truths and duties that I have just mentioned.
I do not know where we are as a nation. But my judgment leads me to believe that we have passed a tipping point in our society. If God does not come, if He does not arise to help us, then we will continue to spiral into greater godlessness with the all the attendant divine judgment that we justly deserve.
The good news is this: God has done it before. He has come in the darkest moments of human history and revived His work. He is willing and able to do it again. How dare we not pray! How dare we not plead with Him to come and to help us!
Article image used from Turning Point USA.
