The world is broken. I think we know that. We experience it every day, but it was especially clear on September 10, 2025, with the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Many words have been shared about Charlie’s 31 years of life. Many people are in shock and grief, but others are joyful that his life on earth has ended. Social media will take you from sadness to anger with just a few swipes of your finger. Most people’s views about Charlie come from their view of his politics, which is an important topic and a crucial part of the ongoing conversation. But I want to take a look at his faith and ours.
When we see a tragedy like the murder of Charlie Kirk, we face two options. We can stop talking and stop engaging in conversation. This may be due to fear of what may happen. We may not fear getting shot, but we don’t want to experience the hatred and awfulness that is all too often directed at Christians. The other option is to be bold and speak up. We can decide that we don’t care about the consequences or problems that may arise from sharing our faith. We can cast aside the chains that hold us back from proclaiming God’s truth to a broken and hurting world.
As I look at Charlie’s life, I see a man who was bold in proclaiming his faith and bold in proclaiming his politics. I have been wrestling with an ongoing thought: If Charlie could come back and share one more message with the world, what would he say? If he could have one more opportunity to proclaim a message, what would that message be? I would dare say that it would be a message that he already shared. I have seen a number of videos of Charlie speaking, and one caught my attention more than the others. I’m not sure of the context of the video, but he said that we all will die and stand before the judgment seat of God. Then Charlie spoke of justice as getting what you deserve, which, as sinners who fall short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23), is judgment. But before we are judged, Jesus steps in and takes our place. Charlie said that the gospel can be shared in four words: “Jesus took my place.” Then the gospel in three words: “Him for me.” Then, in two words: “Substitutionary atonement.” And finally, in one word: “grace.” He explained that grace is something that you do not earn; it is something that you do not pay for. It is a gift for all humanity that you cannot do enough to get. It is given by a good and loving God. He said, “It [responding to the gospel] is the most important decision that you can make in your life.”
It is the most important decision that you can make in your life, which means it is the most important message to share. And I think that Charlie would take one more opportunity to share that message. But he can’t. His time here on earth is over, but the time of the proclamation of the gospel message is not over. It is a message that each and every believer has and is meant to share. We see this in Acts 1:8, where it tells us that the Holy Spirit will come upon us and give us power to be his witnesses to the world.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
All believers are to be witnesses of Jesus Christ, the Jesus Christ who is revealed in the pages of the Bible. It is my prayer and hope that Christians see what happened to Charlie and are not dissuaded from sharing the message of the gospel hope that is found in Christ alone.
The Sunday after Charlie was murdered, I shared a story of the Apostle Paul with my church. In Acts 14, Paul was preaching the gospel in Lystra, and men from other nearby cities came in and agitated the people of the city, and they stoned Paul.
But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead.
Acts 14:19
They didn’t like what Paul was preaching, and they stoned him. When they thought he was dead, they dragged him outside the city. But what we see next is amazing:
But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city, and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe.
Acts 14:20
Paul goes back into the city! His proclamation of the message didn’t stop because of being stoned. Read that again: Paul’s proclamation of the gospel message didn’t stop because he was stoned. He didn’t even take a break. He gets back up and goes back into the city. Paul was determined to proclaim the message of the gospel, and even stoning wouldn’t stop him. While he had breath in him, he would proclaim Christ.
Paul could get up and continue with the message for many more years. Charlie Kirk does not have that option. Videos of him will continue, but he no longer gets to proclaim that message. But we can—you and I can step up, step into the arena, and engage people boldly with the gospel. The message of the gospel doesn’t end with Charlie, but I am praying that his example stirs up a boldness for Bible-believing Christians. That we would see Charlie’s example and determine not to hold back, but to speak the truth in love to a fallen world.
Let me finish with a passage of Scripture that is found in 2 Corinthians 2:14-17:
But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.
