The internet has erupted this week over one name: Charlie Kirk.
Charlie Kirk was killed on live television during an event at Utah Valley University. His life was taken by those seeking to silence his message. They failed. Hence, here are three things you should know about Charlie Kirk.
Charlie Kirk Was a Functional Member of the Body of Christ
Now, I know when we hear someone was a functional member of the body of Christ, the modern church has wired us to assume they had impeccable attendance and probably gave the most money for tithe and other church projects.
However, when we are tasked with defining what constitutes a functioning member of the body of Christ, we must first establish the definition and essence of the body of Christ.
What is the body of Christ? And why did God establish it?
The body of Christ is the universal family of God established on the account of each member’s belief or faith in the finished work of the cross. This family exists to establish God’s will on earth.
What then is God’s will? Why did God save us and bring us into His family?
When you read this blog, you’ll see the reason God saved us. And a part of it is so that we can bring other people into this family.
So, a functioning member of the body of Christ would be someone who is actively using his life and resources to accomplish God’s purpose of saving us – bringing more people into the family. And this is what Charlie Kirk’s life was all about.
He didn’t simply sit around in church, attending vigils so that God could give him a house or a job. He braced up and went into the world to make disciples of all nations, just as Jesus commanded before He left the earth.
Furthermore, upon his death, thousands other believers, including me, could feel the loss (deep within them), even without knowing Charlie personally. Only a spiritual connection by covenant could make people feel the way they felt.
But He Was Not Bound by Church Culture
Church culture, a.k.a. religion, tells the average Christian to be quiet at all times, so that “peace would reign.”
Religion tells the average Christian that it is sinful to join politics, as politics is the playground of sinners. Religion tells us not to “judge” sinners, but instead agree with them in public for peace to reign, but pray for them in our closets.
However, we’ve seen how, for over a decade, Charlie Kirk has done the exact opposite of everything church culture teaches.
He never kept quiet about the gospel. He spoke it with boldness, even when it would eventually cost him his life here on earth.
He was an active patriot who spoke widely on political matters, without compromising his faith. In fact, while I watched some of his videos after his death, I perceived strongly that he would have put in to run for office in the near future if he had not been killed.
Imagine having such a bold and courageous believer rule in one of the world’s most powerful countries?
Lastly, Charlie Kirk did not cower under the extremely misconstrued ‘judge not’ Bible verse to hide the gospel. No. Instead, he toured the entire U.S., debating people from all walks of life on the matters of Politics and the Christian faith.
So, do you have any idea how many millions of people would have heard the gospel through Charlie Kirk, even without his having to preach from a church pulpit? Now, that’s not exactly church culture, is it?
Charlie Kirk Died a Martyr
Not just because a bunch of us believers decided to call him a martyr. But let’s look at the dictionary definition of a martyr.
A martyr is a person who suffers very much or is killed because of their religious or political beliefs, and is often admired because of it. – Cambridge Dictionary.
But let’s go beyond Dictionary proofs, shall we?
When we look at other martyrs in the Bible, what pattern do we notice?
In Acts 7, we see how Stephen was stoned to death for his faith. The likes of Saul (who became Paul) consented to his death. However, right after the death of Stephen, the believers who were scattered were emboldened to keep preaching the gospel wherever they ran to. But that’s not all.
Did you know that the death of Stephen was the hidden beginning of Saul’s conversion? And we know that this Saul who later became Paul became very instrumental in the New Testament church’s understanding of the Christian faith.
In Acts 12:5, we also see how the church was spurred to fervent prayer after Herod killed James and locked Peter up.
When disciples were persecuted for preaching, they became glad and were emboldened to continue speaking about Jesus.
Today, we see these exact same things happening before our very eyes. Thousands of unbelievers are coming to Christ on account of Charlie Kirk’s death. Hundreds of thousands more believers are being stirred awake because someone was martyred for this very faith.
We Must Take the Baton
If Charlie Kirk defended the gospel till he took his last breath, then we must no longer be lackadaisical about our Christian faith. No more hiding behind political correctness or diplomacy to deny or tone down our faith.
A brother willingly went down for this same faith. We must no longer let Jesus be Someone we affiliate ourselves with merely in the background.
Let Jesus be seen at the forefront of our lives. Boldly identify with Him, share Him, and obey Him fully.
