Death is an offense against God.  God is life.  Death is foreign and alien to Him.  It stands in absolute opposition to WHO and WHAT He is.  Death should never be celebrated.   Not even when it is our enemies.  Not even at the end of time, when God judges all evil and sentences them to hell for eternal torment, should we celebrate.  We can celebrate the justice and holy righteousness of it but it should always grieve our hearts that sin has produced such death.  Thankfully, we know One who “swallowed up death in victory” (1 Corinthians 15:54-55)

I want to add my voice to those I have already seen.  Charlie Kirk’s assassination is a horrific moment.  It is the result of sinful minds that hate truth.  And when you hate truth and have no response to it, you feel threatened.  And when you feel threatened and backed into a corner, exposed by that truth, it brings out the animal, the wounded, threatened animal in you.  And that is what happened.  When truth takes a stand, our Adversary fights back.  Kirk’s assassination has the marks of martyrdom; standing boldly for truth, to the point of death.  Whether history, or heaven, will view it this way or not, only God knows.  However, it does expose the cost of speaking truth, of standing for Him in a world that is opposed to Him.  But that reality should not frighten us off from speaking.  The courage and conviction displayed to unabashedly stand for Jesus should light a fire in our souls to do the same.  

Church, we should not be surprised by this coming.  Saddened, absolutely.  Grieved, definitely!  My heart breaks for his wife and children.  Truth offends.  But we should not, need not back down from that truth. We need to stand firmly, but graciously, upon truth.  Sometimes, like Jesus, we need to speak that truth boldly.  Remember, Christ Himself died “for speaking the truth.”  Granted, we understand the bigger picture of Christ’s death.  But is that not why the religious leaders of the day sought His death?  He spoke truth, boldly and unashamedly.  And for it, they were offended and angered and sought His death.  If we plan to follow in His steps, to emulate Christ, we can expect the same.  

Men, we need more Charlies.  We need men with backbone and grit.  We need men with conviction and boldness who love truth more than applause.  Men who are not afraid to be challenged, to speak to truth, to challenge others.  We need men who are not afraid to say hard truths.  We need to speak up, speak out in the wake of these events.  We need to pick up the gauntlet that this solider of Christ was forced to put down.  We need to speak up against those who say he deserved it and who want to blame him and his rhetoric for his own death.  We can speak truth in love, in grace, but we need to speak.  

If I am honest, I question…would I be vocal and speak out if it were a liberal who was silenced; if it was someone who spouted lies and offenses against God?  Truth is, it should not matter who was assassinated.  Death is death.  Death is an offense against God.  And while God has dealt out plenty of death in the course of history, it is only HIS right to do so and He NEVER does so without first giving men opportunity to repent from their sin and follow Him.  It is never up to us to deal in death.  We may do so under His authority but only under His authority.  If He does not ask us to deal in it, we don’t.  We deal in life. In truth.  And we pray for the Spirit’s convicting and changing work in the lives of those who hear truth. 

So, yes…we ought to speak out against such death, no matter who stands at the end of the spear.  

Charlie Kirk’s death is tragic and grievous.  Some of the responses our nation is giving to his death are reprehensible.  So, church, men, let us speak up with truth, in grace and love, but in firmness and truth.  Let us stand upon the authority of God and His Word and unashamedly point the world to Jesus, the weight and worth of His glory.  Let us point the world the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Lamb who was slain, who died to redeem such death.  Jesus alone redeems death and makes it possible for us to stand in the light of HIs glory and behold it for the complete satisfaction of our souls.  May the offense of Charlie’s death turn the gaze of the world upward to Christ, to God – not to man.  May death turn our gaze to the one who defeated death and stands alive, victorious over even the inescapable reality we all face from sin’s curse.  Let us join in and speak the truth, in love, to a world who desperately needs it now.