On Wednesday afternoon, shortly before we all received the bad news, Charlie Kirk received good news from his saviour. Jesus said to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master (Matthew 25:23).”
Most people are mourning the death of the leader of the conservative movement in America, but heaven is rejoicing over the life of a faithful Christian.
It’s important to understand that. Charlie Kirk wasn’t just assassinated for his political beliefs; he was persecuted for his faith. He is a martyr for free speech and conservatism, but more than that, he is a martyr for faith in Christ.
Progressive “Christians” are shamefully disputing his martyrdom. For example, John Pavlovitz said:
“The Right has worked tirelessly to turn Kirk into a modern-day martyr; a supposed unabashed lover of Jesus whose brutal murder proved he lived and died for the Lord, violently taken by the Godless Left, and crystallizing the righteousness of the MAGA movement…Conservative Christians need to stop pretending he was doing God’s work here, because Kirk’s actual words and the actual words of Jesus are compelling testimony that he wasn’t.”
If Pavlovitz and the demons who ghostwrote those words for him really believed that Kirk’s words didn’t match Jesus’ words, he would have mentioned at least one scripture in the article. But instead of assessing Kirk’s life according to Christ’s standards, he is attacking him based on his own Satanic standards. According to him, Charlie Kirk wasn’t a Christian because he hated DEI, feminism, Islam, illegal immigration, and LGBT ideology. In other words, progressive “Christians” want you to believe Charlie Kirk wasn’t a Christian because he hated sin.
But do not be dismayed. People who do not know what it looks like to live for Christ also do not know what it looks like to die for Christ.
But it’s not just progressive “Christians” who hesitate to call Charlie Kirk a martyr. Some sincere Christians have developed a narrow view of persecution and martyrdom. They seem to believe it’s only justifiable to use the labels if the perpetrators explicitly say that they are motivated by animosity against Christians. But from the early church until now, persecution against Christians has rarely been instigated by explicit and specific opposition to Christianity.
Actually, politics has always been a factor in persecution against Christians. After all, Pontius Pilate ordered the crucifixion of Jesus for political reasons. He crucified Jesus to prevent political unrest (Matthew 27:24). In the same way, the Roman Empire’s persecution of Christians under Nero was for political reasons. These politically motivated persecutions ultimately led to the martyrdom of the apostles Paul and Peter.
The Apostle Paul said, “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted (2 Timothy 3:12).” For some, that godly life will be through pastoral ministry; for others, it will be through political activism. Satan hates them both.
But do not be discouraged. As the church father Tertullian once said, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” Augustine later expanded on that when he said, “The earth has been filled with the blood of the martyrs as with seed, and from that seed have sprung the crops of the church. They have asserted Christ’s cause more effectively when dead than when they were alive.”
In other words, when a Christian dies for Christ, thousands more become alive for him. Martyrdom is one of God’s most powerful growth strategies for the Church.
Some early church fathers suggest that the apostles Paul and Peter were killed in the same year. Imagine how discouraging that may have been for Christians at the time. Yet, the Church didn’t decrease in size. That shouldn’t surprise us: our faith is based on the death of a man.
When Jesus was dying on the cross, he prayed for his enemies. He asked God to forgive them (Luke 23:34). The most transformative thing we can do in our culture is to love our enemies. That is how Jesus saved us, and that is how we can save our culture.
Yes, we should abhor evil (Romans 12:9), but it is also our Christian duty to love our enemies. Some people think that is weak. They will call us all kinds of names. Which means they will persecute us. But the Apostle Paul said, “For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:10).
We should stand firm. We should be strong and courageous. We should continue to fight for Christian and conservative values even as leftists threaten to shoot us in the neck. If we suffer death, it’s alright. The Head of the Church is still Jesus, and his kingdom will never die.
So, we should love and pray for our enemies, including Tyler Robinson. We should pray that he would hear and believe the gospel before he is executed. Wouldn’t it be amazing grace if Tyler Robinson became a believer? Wouldn’t it honour Jesus if Charlie Kirk and his assassin were on the same side in eternity? Wouldn’t it add to Charlie Kirk’s legacy if, after Tyler Robinson is executed, he is welcomed to heaven by Jesus and Charlie?
That is what martyrdom can do for sinners. That is what Charlie Kirk’s martyrdom can do for his killer.
The world is not worthy of martyred saints (Hebrews 11:38). The world is not worthy of Charlie Kirk.