A response to the assassination of Charlie Kirk
Isaiah 5:20 (ESV) 20 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!
A Christian response to the assassination of Charlie Kirk
There have been a number of times that I found myself deeply angry over the evil that is in this world. This evil is sadly a part of the fall and the weight of the curse on creation.
Romans 8:19–22 (ESV) 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.
And, so we too, as Christians, groan and grieve over the evil that we see in this world. And now we have been subjected, once again, to an evil that strikes at the heart of who we are, with the assassination of Charlie Kirk, a well-known speaker and co-founder of Turning Point USA. His loss has wounded many of us deeply and we mourn and pray for his wife, Erika, and the children over their unbelievable loss that is beyond comprehension.
But with the assassination of Charlie Kirk, we are once again confronted with the depravity and ugliness of real evil.
We are not talking about tax policy, or capital road expenditures, but rather the normalization of evil. And incredibly in our day evil is called good and good is called evil! Charlie was assassinated because he stood squarely in opposition to that and was willing to publicly and respectfully debate leftist political issues and the deeper issues of good and evil. He showed respect to those who differed from him and all the while, stood firmly for the truth. And because of this he was accused of “hate speech.” But that hate was on the other side and was often clearly on display as Charlie respectfully and courageously debated those who normalized evil and it sadly and tragically ended in his assassination.
The Scriptures speak clearly to this normalization of evil.
Proverbs 1:16 (ESV) 16 for their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood.
Proverbs 6:18 (ESV) 18 a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil,
Isaiah 59:7 (ESV) 7 Their feet run to evil, and they are swift to shed innocent blood; their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; desolation and destruction are in their highways.
Jeremiah 9:3 (ESV) 3 They bend their tongue like a bow; falsehood and not truth has grown strong in the land; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not know me, declares the Lord.
John 8:34 (ESV) 34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.
James 4:4 (ESV) 4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
There is and should be righteous anger at this unspeakable act of evil. But for those of us who know Jesus by faith in his person and work on the cross, we must watch that our anger doesn’t creep into sin. Yes, it is right to be angry at the individual who perpetrated this evil act, as well as the act itself, and the evil forces that are clearly behind such evil. And we must also realize that this is ultimately a spiritual battle with spiritual forces that demands we engage at the spiritual cosmic level.
Ephesians 6:12 (ESV) 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Evil and darkness are a present reality until our Lord returns. And the greatest tools God has given us is prayer and the Gospel which has the power under the unction of the Holy Spirit to change hearts.
1 Corinthians 1:18 (ESV) 18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
And we need to remind ourselves that we must guard our hearts and leave justice with God-given authorities and ultimately in the hands of a righteous God.
Romans 13:4 (ESV) 4 for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.
Romans 12:19 (ESV) 19 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.”
And not to be too forward or dramatic, let me remind you, that we live in a time that Isaiah characterized in Isaiah 5:20 is one where our world system calls “evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.”
We are certainly in a new age where leftist progressives are talking about a new morality that is relativistic, standing on the whims of a new social order and in direct opposition to what the Scriptures objectively call good as evil and evil as good. This is not a political battle, although it is wrapped up in politics. It is a moral battle with a new set of relativistic “truths” authored by demonic forces in direct opposition to the objective truths of the Scriptures. And it is being propagated by those under the influences of forces of spiritual darkness.
So, what do we need to do? Become like Charlie Kirk. Stand up, be a student of the Scriptures and current events. Recognize that Jesus is Lord of all our lives including objective moral clarity in the marketplace and the Gospel and be ready with answers based on clear Scriptural objective truth.
1 Peter 3:15 (ESV) 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.