The True Dividing Line: Making sense of the death of Charlie Kirk

The evil and tragic murder of Charlie Kirk in the U.S last week was a shock to everyone. Charlie, who confessed to being a Christian and argued against “trans rights” and “gay marriage” etc, was shot and killed while speaking at an event at a university in the state of Utah. The news brought a strong outcry from many across both the political and religious worlds. Politicians, not just in the U.S, called the act “senseless” and “disgusting” and insisted that violence has no place in politics or public life. 

The conversation on social media has swung wildly between grief and anger, accusations and blame from one side of politics to shameful and evil celebrations and joy from the ‘other side’ over the death of a man they saw as dangerous to their worldview. 

It's natural to feel sorrow, shock, and anger when the world around us seems so evil and wicked. How do we as Christians deal with all these strong and intense feelings coming from both sides? Where do we, as Bible believers, stand among this mass of pain and anger? 

Firstly, we affirm the sovereignty of God over all things. We know that God ordains, “whatsoever comes to pass”.  (Westminster Confession of Faith 3.1), “Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases” Psalm 115:3. He is never surprised by evil. This, of course, does not make God the author of sin, but it does mean that no tragedy, no matter how terrible and shocking, lies outside his sovereign control and providential purposes. 

Second, we need to acknowledge that violence such as this, political violence or assassinations, is not merely the result of the mainstream media, the universities, the rhetoric of the other ‘side’, but ultimately it is the result of the fall. It is the breaking down of the image of God in the hearts of mankind. 

Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”

In the face of this tragedy, it is natural and normal for people to want to take sides in the political debate. We all feel the desire to align with one side or the other, assign blame, gather allies around us, and divide ourselves along political lines of left and right. 

But scripture tells us that there is only one thing that divides all humanity. The only division that we as Christians should ultimately focus on. Those who are regenerate and those who are not. Those who trust in Christ and have been made alive by the Spirit of God, and those who do not believe and do not know the saving work of Christ. 

When Jesus spoke of the final judgement in the parable of the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25:31-46, he did not describe the separation of the two groups based on political lines but on those who know Christ and those who do not. “When the Son of Man comes in his glory … He will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.”

Jesus also makes this same point in the Sermon on the Mount: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day, many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name…?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness’” (Matthew 7:21-23).

The division then is not between political groups, but between those who know Christ and those who do not.

The true evil in this world is not only found in one side of politics that is celebrating the death of Charlie Kirk, but rather it is the fall and sin that have so deeply corrupted the hearts of men and taken us far away from the image of God that was intended for us at creation. 

As Christians, we must remember that our message to the world is not divided into the categories of left or right, conservative or liberal. It is between those who are in Christ and those who are still in their sins, between the regenerate and the unregenerate. Jesus’ parables consistently remind us that the final separation will not be drawn along political loyalties but by whether we know Him or not. 

We are nowhere commanded to conquer our political “opponents”, but instead we are commanded to preach the good news of Jesus Christ to all men. The gospel alone is the power of God for salvation (Romans 1:16), and only the Holy Spirit can make alive sinful and dead hearts. Our task is to share Christ with love, trusting that our God will bring in his elect at the perfect time he chooses. 

Charlie Kirk’s death has been an emotionally difficult time for many people, not just in America but around the world. If you are feeling anger toward the other ‘side’ of politics, I pray that you remember that before the Holy Spirit raised us to life, we were all sinners and deserving of the just punishment of God. Preach the gospel to those who are dead in their sins and are behaving wickedly and pray that the Holy Spirit will remove their hearts of stone and replace them with a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26-27). 

Soli Deo Gloria