“We need to see people as humans and not just vessels of opinions,” said a Furman college student.
The day after Charlie Kirk’s death, I decided to do “man on the street” interviews with college students here in the Upstate. I wanted to ask people what they thought about the assassination and see what their responses were.
So, I went to Furman University first, and then Bob Jones University. I wanted to hear both liberal and conservative perspectives. I am a born-again follower of Jesus Christ, who aligns with conservative values, but for the purpose of dialogue, I wanted to hear from strangers on both sides.
My heart was softened by what I heard. I sensed sadness and concern as students shared their thoughts.
I heard both liberals* and conservatives* express their disapproval over the murder.
I heard both liberals and conservatives tell me that more discourse between political parties is needed.
I heard both liberals and conservatives tell me what they think needed to change in the culture.
And as I spoke with them, I saw humanity. I sensed lost souls that needed a relationship with Jesus. I saw genuine people who wanted what’s best for the world.
I saw humanity.
Reflecting on the death of Charlie Kirk and the aftermath of it has led me to think about three biblical truths.
- Human Sinfulness is at the Core of All Evil (Rom. 3:9-20).
I asked one Furman political studies student if he thinks people have an essentially good nature or an essentially bad nature. He said humans have an essentially good nature and that we are shaped by our environment. I couldn’t help but think of Carl Trueman’s book, Strange New World where Trueman identifies this very belief as the default of contemporary society.
One way I’ve seen the fruit of this false belief is the solution that those on the left are giving for gun violence. Their solution is gun reform, or what some might call gun control. If we can keep guns out of the bad guy’s hands, then we’ll all be okay. I sympathize with those who hold this view because they have a genuine desire to protect people. They want to see change. And for them, the most obvious solution is taking a violent tool away from violent people. Makes sense, right?
Except that taking a weapon away from a violent person will never remove the violence out of that person’s heart. If they really want to murder someone, they’ll simply find a different way to do it. After all, the first murder in recorded history was Cain killing his brother Abel, and there’s no mention of a gun.
Do you see the belief hovering just beneath the surface of gun control? The blame is placed on an inanimate object and broken systems. When Jesus addressed murder, he addressed the real problem: the heart.
Matthew 5: 21-22 says, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.”
Before that man ever pulled the trigger on Charlie Kirk, he had a heart problem. All of humanity has a severe sin problem (Rom. 3:9-20).
Humans are inherently sinful. Broken systems will not stand before God on judgement day; people will.
- We must engage all people in truthful and graceful dialogue and service (Col. 4:2-6).
The death of Charlie Kirk has led to further polarization. Republicans and Democrats are pitted against each other, arguing over what needs to change, angry at one another, and slandering each other. But Christ offers a better way.
I’ve never been very involved in politics. I could not explain to you the inner workings of all the branches of government. I don’t understand a lot of political terminology. And I’ve never placed a heavy emphasis on identifying myself as a conservative.
Don’t freak out.
At the core of who I am, I’ve always identified myself as a Bible-believing Christian and nothing else. Naturally, my beliefs have led me to relate to conservatism. But I don’t base my beliefs off the Republican party; I base them on the Bible. My allegiance is not to conservatism; it’s to Jesus.
So, when the Bible places a heavy emphasis on social justice and the poor; that means I can too. And I can remember that God’s Word doesn’t fit perfectly into one political box.
This stance has led me to try to engage people like Jesus did, without fear of being falsely labeled. Because quite frankly, I think if Jesus were walking on earth today, He’d have all kind of labels because He would be hanging out with lost people.
In his day, the Pharisees questioned why Jesus ate with the tax collectors and sinners (Matt. 9:10-13)—to which Jesus responded that He came to call sinners, not the righteous to repentance.
Jesus engaged people. Jesus confronted injustice. But He also never compromised truth (Confronting Injustice Without Compromising Truth is a good read by Thaddeus J. Williams). The biblical truth that Jesus proclaimed caused political uproar. And today, biblical truths like: Homosexuality is a sin (Rom. 1:18-32, 1 Cor. 6:9-11); There are only two genders (Gen. 1:27). And wives submit to your husbands (Eph. 5:22)—are not popular beliefs. And they will be labeled “hate speech.” But we remember that they hated Christ first (Jn. 15:18).
May we always pray for open doors to share the mystery of Christ and walk in wisdom towards outsiders, letting our speech be gracious and seasoned with salt (Col. 4:2-6).
- We Must Speak the Truth Boldly and Unashamedly
If there is anything encouraging that has come from the death of Charlie Kirk, it’s a sense of boldness that I now feel about speaking the truth and being straight forward about what I believe.
Because that’s what Charlie did. And he got shot for it.
It reminds me of Paul in the letter of Philippians when he said,
“I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear” (Phil. 1:12-14).
Now, obviously the situation with Charlie Kirk and Paul happened in different contexts. Charlie Kirk was a famous political figure, Paul was an apostle.
But one thing they have in common is both Charlie and Paul spoke the truth boldly without fear and without shame.
John Piper, in his book, Future Grace, said, “In the Bible the criterion for what is well-placed shame and what is misplaced shame is not how foolish and how bad you look to men, but whether in fact bring honor to God.”
Piper later encouraged, “Don’t feel shame for something that honors God, no matter how weak or foolish it makes you look in the eyes of unbelievers.”
In Romans 1:16, Paul says that he is not ashamed of the gospel. Here, I’ll note that it is the gospel that Paul is unashamed about. And it is biblical truth that He speaks boldly. Therefore, let our boldness be centered on biblical truths, not political opinions.
Christ Has Won the Victory over Death—Let Us Be Humble
Lest we swell up with pride and gather our rifles to fight, we need to remember victory belongs to Jesus (1 Cor. 15:56-57).
The sin that led to the assassination of Charlie Kirk is, of course, not greater than Jesus’s death. Charlie would agree. Jesus died on the cross, was buried, and rose from that dead that we might have life in Him (1 Cor. 15:1-8). He is the only one who can take hearts of stone and make them hearts of flesh (Ezek. 11:19). Jesus has won the victory of sin at calvary through His death and resurrection.
Last night as I was driving home, I loudly sang along with Phil Wickham through Apple Music as he sang:
Hallelujah, praise the One who set me free. Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me. You have broken every chain. There’s salvation in Your name. Jesus Christ, my living hope.
*I did not ask any student which party they belonged to. These labels are based on inference from the responses they gave to my questions and which party their beliefs seemed to align with.