How to Respond to the Assassination of Charlie Kirk

The realities of living in an evil and fallen world have been vividly on display once more this week. The assassination of Charlie Kirk on Wednesday, affected the world in ways that we do not yet fully realize and likely will not see the full extent of for some time.

More than merely dominating the news cycle of the past week, Kirk’s death has initiated shockwaves across the lives of individuals as well as the social and political landscape nationally and internationally. One reason for this is because he was not a politician; he was a citizen engaged in the fight for Truth. Because he was Christian citizen, his work took on a specific shape. It was for these very reasons apparently that he was gunned down. Most significant in the killing of this husband and father has been the open door for the genuine Gospel witness. Charlie’s clear Biblical witness in public has been amplified far more in his death than had been in his life. 

Though many questions are yet unanswered, it seems clear that Charlie Kirk’s murder was carried out because of opposition to the ideas and beliefs that he represented. Kirk’s beliefs and views were the outworking of his Christian faith. He was unmistakably, unabashedly, and characteristically Christian in his beliefs and efforts as a political activist. He was battling the pagan forces and destructive ideologies espoused by the wicked. This is why it is significant for us as believers. This attack is felt by those who share Charlie’s faith. 

This has left many in our congregation and across the world wondering, how should we respond to the murder of Charlie Kirk?

Most clearly, as believers, we cannot respond in a worldly way or by worldly means. Our primary task has never changed: do what God has commanded. We are His church, which means we obediently make disciples, beginning first in our own homes.  We are to live our faith publicly obediently shaping everything by the dictates of God’s Word. We do not make peace with evil, compromising by redefinition calling and naming that which is evil good. As we faithfully gather together as God’s people we must never forget that we do so to celebrate our Lord’s death and His victory over the grave. We rejoice in heavenly realities for Charlie Kirk and we remember that it was Christians armed with the Gospel that brought about that hope in his life. As we gather, it is to celebrate that truth and the One Who secured that victory over the grace. This is our singular task as the church and none other can carry it forward. 

As one pastor has well said: 

“That means laboring to be the best lawyers, mechanics, teachers, and business owners we can be. It means showing the ugliness of culture of death by displaying the beauty and wholesomeness of family life. It means calmly dismantling lies with the truth of God’s Word. It means telling our neighbors the gospel and inviting them to worship. It means being involved in our communities, including politics. It means refusing to back down.” (Michael Foster, letter to East River Church) 

We need not trouble ourselves with how others may respond to this wicked tragedy. We must not forget that we are indeed at war: we have an enemy. It is a spiritual war fought with spiritual weapons of which our armor and weapons are best. This battle and the suffering that it will entail is not new, Christians are and will suffer for their faith. This means there will be a cost to obedience. Count it and estimate Christ as more worthy than all that may be lost. The purpose of the church and its most effective labor in every circumstance confronting a fallen world is the proclamation of the Gospel and the living out of its effect.

We are called to be faithful believers. Labor diligently to be the kind of man or woman, who upon your death, the testimony of your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and how it shaped all in your life is impossible to avoid when speaking of you. This is a sure and steadfast way to combat the forces of darkness that seek to devour our lives, homes, and land. Above all, we remember that Christ reigns: He was not unprepared for any crisis that has surprised us. The Lord reigns and will be glorified. 

The Elders of Community Baptist Church