Much has already been said about the assassination of Charlie Kirk. By any righteous measure, what happened to Charlie was horribly wrong. Satan's demons worked through a deeply deceived person to murder him. The demons thought they could stop the move of God that Charlie represented. They were wrong.
The move of God through Charlie's Turning Point USA is about far more than politics and civil discourse. It's about the war between good and evil in the spirit realm and the corresponding battle between right and wrong in this physical dimension. It's a battle for the souls and eternal destination of real people, young and old.
Charlie's assassination is only one gut-wrenching page among the uncounted stories of God's martyrs killed by people who thought they were doing God a favor. That battle is still going on. Today, I want to think with you about that larger battle.
As always, if you don't like what I'm saying, take it up with the Bible.
In John 16:2 (NIV), Jesus said to His disciples
...the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God.
Since the early days of the Church, there have been countless Christian Martyrs. Between now and Judgement Day, there will be many more. It's reported that more followers of Jesus are being murdered worldwide today than ever before in history. Charlie Kirk is maybe the most well known martyr in these times, but he is nonetheless just one of many.
In this larger battle, we ask another question: Was this God's plan all along for Charlie Kirk? Or was it pure evil operating outside of God's perfect will? My conclusion is that ALL evil things happen outside of God's perfect will.
God gave mankind the ability to choose between good and evil. Because He gave us free will, He doesn't always get His way. For example, He wants everyone to be with Him forever in heaven.
1 Timothy 2:3-4 (NIV)
God our Savior...wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
But it's clear in Scripture that won't happen. Many, many people reject God’s offer of salvation through Jesus.
For now, evil is still present and active in this world. That evil is embodied in Satan's wicked spirits and is lived out through compliant, deceived people. But remember this: people that choose evil now will have to answer to God for those choices.
Here's another important fact: Though God doesn't always get His way, He is never hamstrung by evil.
For example, Joseph's brothers treated him despicably and sold him into slavery. Years later, Joseph told his brothers
Even though you planned evil against me, God planned good to come out of it. This was to keep many people alive, as He is doing now.
That's found in Genesis 50:20 (GOD’S WORD Translation).
A well known New Testament verse that expresses the same idea is found in Romans 8:28, (NIV):
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
So, even when evil makes temporary headway as it did with Charlie Kirk's murder, God will somehow bring good out of the situation.
Some very foolish and deceived people are saying that Charlie Kirk was a purveyor of evil, that he brought this on himself and that he deserved to be killed. They couldn't be more wrong. They have become mouthpieces for Satan.
1 Timothy 4:1, NIV
The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.
As Scripture says in Isaiah 5:20 (NIV),
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.
No matter what garbage, lies, hatred and distortions they spew, the fact is that Charlie was speaking God's truth into their darkness.
Many Pastors and others in Christian circles are afraid to offend people, especially certain groups of people. They should fear God, not man. It's well past the time for all Believers to be
- Clear,
- Bold, and
- Unafraid when speaking the truth.
Here's what the Lord said to Ezekiel about being clear, bold and unafraid:
Ezekiel 3:18-19 (NKJV)
When I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand.
Yet, if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul.
Ephesians 4:15 admonishes us to "speak the truth in love." In today's culture, that has been twisted to mean "speak only those things that don't offend anyone." These days, if you offend someone or some group, you're called a hater, a misogynist, a racist, a Nazi or worse.
But that's not at all what Scripture means when it says to "speak the truth in love." It doesn’t mean to be careful so you don’t offend anyone. Follow this logic: If I see someone about to drive off the edge of a high cliff, shouldn't I warn them even if they’re offended by my warning?
In this day and age, many people and groups are looking to be offended. They're even sensitive about what they call "micro-aggressions". I say it's time for them to get over themselves and get right with Jesus.
Charlie Kirk was martyred for warning those captured by evil. The Bible makes it clear that there will be many more martyrs before God wraps things up. In Revelation 6:9-11 (NKJV), John wrote
...I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held.
And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”
Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.
Let's understand one thing before going any further: Charlie Kirk was an unashamed, unabashed, born again follower of Jesus. Charlie was clear, bold, and unafraid. Each of us in our own way should be like him.
The moment Charlie's body died, his spirit and soul went smoothly into the loving presence and arms of Jesus, his Savior and Lord. Only Charlie's body was killed.
In Luke 12:4-5 (NIV), Jesus said
“I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more.
But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear Him."
The justice God metes out will be unassailable. He will judge everyone with perfect fairness. Here's what I mean.
Without exception, everyone has fallen short of God's glory. That's every single one of us. If it wasn't for Jesus, none of us, not one, would pass Judgement Day. Jesus provides us the only escape from the wrath we deserve on that final day.
With Jesus' sacrifice on behalf of humanity, the Just for the unjust, the Righteous for the unrighteous, He paid the full the price for all sin for all time for all of humanity.
1 John 2:2 (NIV)
He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
Yes, Jesus paid the full price for all sin for everyone. But His payment isn't automatically applied to anyone's personal account. To have their personal sin debt paid off, each person must accept Jesus' payment, then turn in surrender to His Lordship, rescue and transformation. That's called faith and repentance.
You don't have to be a murderer like Charlie's assassin to go to hell. Anything that separates you from God will send you there. Many things make a person unfit for heaven and deeply incompatible with the presence and character of God. The list includes sexual perversion, all LGBTQ+ activity, sex outside of marriage, theft, lying, cheating and so on.
God also hates pride, self-seeking, arrogance and so much more. The list goes on. it includes anything and everything that is incompatible with God's nature and very essence. So don't think I'm preaching against sexual perversion only. I'm calling out everyone for whatever sin separates them from the Creator. Separating you from God is what sin does; it's sin's Big Gotcha.
But Jesus gave us what I call His Un-Gotcha. It's God's "Get out of Jail Free" card.
There's one and only one way out for any of us. Jesus did for us what none of us could do for ourselves. Since Jesus paid the price for all sin no matter how mild or how egregious, there's only one thing left to ask. That one thing can be summed up in a single question: What did YOU do with Jesus?
Did you accept His payment through faith and repentance? If the honest answer before God is YES, then whatever sins are on your account, no matter how mild or how egregious, have been paid in full.
That means that even the guy who assassinated Charlie Kirk can someday be in heaven if, while still in this life, he accepts Jesus' payment, truly repents and turns in total surrender to Jesus'
- Lordship,
- Rescue, and
- Total transformation.
So, it boils down to this: the one sin that ultimately keeps someone separated from God forever is the sin of rejecting Jesus.
It’s now time to ask why people reject Jesus.
John 3:19-21 (The Message)
This is the crisis we’re in: God's light streamed into the world, but men and women everywhere ran for the darkness. They went for the darkness because they were not really interested in pleasing God.
Everyone who makes a practice of doing evil, addicted to denial and illusion, hates God's light and won’t come near it, fearing a painful exposure. But anyone working and living in truth and reality welcomes God's light so the work can be seen for the God-work it is.
As the days go on, we must be prepared in our hearts for the conflict between good and evil to become sharper and more pronounced. We can pray that the worst of it will bypass us, but what if it doesn't?
Here's the call on your life. I've said this before:
Stand strong and take a strong stand.
I've also heard it said like this:
If you're swimming in the world's river and there's no conflict, you're going with the flow of sin, not against it.
Luke 2:14 (KJV), announcing the birth of Jesus, says
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
The angels speaking in this verse aren't describing people at peace with other people or a nation at peace with other nations. They're talking about the possibility of people having true peace with God through Jesus, with no separation from God and no condemnation before God.
In the days of Jesus earthly ministry, John the Baptist was beheaded because he stood up to evil. That's in Matthew 14.
In the days of the early church, Stephen became the first Christian martyr because he was standing up to evil. That's in Acts 7:51-58.
There's a lot of parallels to Charlie Kirk's story. But no matter what kind of temporary victory evil may claim, the bigger picture always says this:
There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the LORD. Proverbs 21:30 (NIV)
Charlie Kirk IS a winner, present tense, not WAS a winner. He's still alive and quite well, thank you, just not in this physical realm. He wasn't defeated. He's loving life with the Lord now, but the message he spread in his time on earth hasn't been defeated. Why? Because it's God's message, not a man's message.
Charlie and many others have become martyrs because they stood up against evil. Scripture encourages the rest of us to also persevere in the face of evil. Hebrews 12:4 (NIRV) says
You struggle against sin. But you have not yet fought to the point of spilling your blood.
Charlie's blood was spilled because he stood strong and took a strong stand. He spoke truth into our culture. He spoke the truth from a heart-attitude of love, caring, and compassion for his audience. But many were offended anyway.
Jesus talked about this conflict. In giving His life, He knew that His efforts to bring eternal life to as many people as He could would cause conflict with those who reject Him.
Jesus spoke clearly about the the world's hatred for Him and people like Charlie Kirk.
In John 15: 18-20 (NIV), Jesus said
If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.
If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.
Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.
If you want to know how people like Charlie Kirk can follow Jesus with no fear of death, check out my post, The Truth About Death, from June 25, 2025.
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