Christians know that the only one we fully seek to follow, emulate and be true to is Jesus Christ. However, Scripture makes it clear that heroes of the faith can be looked upon as examples and as mentors. The Apostle Paul for example said this in 1 Corinthians 11:1: “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” Or as he put it a few chapters earlier: “I urge you, then, be imitators of me” (1 Corinthians 4:16).
So there is a place for following other godly believers. Given that this is my ninth piece in a row on Charlie Kirk, some might think I am holding him up on a pedestal, or engaged in hero-worship. Not so. Kirk would be the first one to say that he is a sinner saved by grace, and he would want us to always keep our eyes on Christ.
But we can be challenged and motivated by other Christians, and Kirk is certainly a case in point. Because of his murder, many believers have now been inspired to become better Christians and to be bolder in proclaiming biblical truth.
Some may want to do the sorts of ministry that he was involved in and follow his willingness to go into the lion’s den and debate anyone. But even if not, there is still so much we can learn from Kirk’s life. The Christian apologist, patriot and conservative champion was known for his life of integrity, his strong faith, his courage, his love of truth, and his love of his family. We can all emulate those qualities.
Following in his footsteps
Satan, Kirk’s assassin, and the radical left all thought that by killing Kirk, his ministry would come to an abrupt end. They could not be more wrong. It is now greater, more numerous, and more active than ever. Just hours ago his team sent out this message:
As of this afternoon, in the past 6 days, TPUSA has received 54,000+ requests from high school and college students nationwide to start a chapter or get involved with an existing chapter.
This is just the beginning.
There is no question that the ministry will continue, and the great work Charlie started will thrive and spread. Of course not every believer will feel called to join something like TPUSA. And we know that no one will fully be able to fill his shoes, although many can join in with his vision for Christ and America.
As Matt Walsh recently put it: “There’s a lot of discussion about who will ‘replace’ Charlie Kirk. The answer is that nobody will. There won’t be a new Charlie, any more than there was a new Rush Limbaugh. These men are irreplaceable. One of a kind. All we can do is continue the fight in our own way. Which we will. But there will never be another Charlie Kirk.”
Yes, few of us have the skill set that he had. But still… We all have the Holy Spirt like he did. We all have the Word of God like he did. We all have the full armour of God available to us like he did. We will not all be called to a very public ministry of debate and apologetics, but we all can be more bold, more courageous, and more engaged as Kirk was.
Debate
A few words about being an effective debater. This is again not something all believers can do. But many can seek to become more potent in this. Since I have done my fair share of debates for nearly a half century now, I can share a few quick pointers.
If you want to be involved in public debate and the like, you will need a few things:
-You need to read like mad.
-You need to study like mad.
-You need to know what your opponent is saying.
-You need to be quick on your feet.
-You need a bit of lateral thinking.
-Having a good memory helps.
That last point is certainly crucial. I have just an average memory, and sometimes in an upcoming debate I will have to bone up a bit, and maybe even take some notes. I have a lot of facts and stats in my memory, but the better your memory is, the better prepared you will be for any sort of debate. And of course the more debates you do, the better you will become at this.
Ordinary Christ-followers
But for the majority of believers, the imitation we might strive for is to be a great Christian, a great husband, and a great dad like Charlie was. And we should also pray for boldness and courage to stand up for the things that matter.
And one final thing that our following or emulation of Kirk will entail: a willingness to give our very life for the gospel if it should come to that. Charlie was willing to do this, and thus he died at a very young age. But HIS role model and primary example, Jesus Christ, also was willing to give up his life, which he also did at an early age.
And one further point about this: Some rather clueless Christians are saying Kirk was not a martyr. Of course he was. Everything he said about politics, culture and society was fully and intimately based on and connected to his Christian faith. All he said came out of his fully biblical worldview. And the older he got, the more he preached basic gospel truth. He still did the culture war stuff, but at heart he was a Christian evangelist. He WAS a martyr for his faith.
So there is nothing amiss in holding up Kirk as a terrific example of Christianity in action, and of a dedicated disciple of Jesus Christ. No, we do not worship Charlie. No, we do not believe he was perfect. No, we do not regard him as being impeccable.
We simply look to him as a great example of a young man who was fully sold out to his Lord, fully committed to sharing the gospel, fully committed to helping make America greater, and fully committed to his wife and children. That is a pretty good example for all of us to imitate.
2 Replies to “Kirk, Christlikeness and Truth Speaking”
Thank you, Bill, for the valuable commentaries you’ve posted in the aftermath of the slaying of Charlie Kirk.
I especially like the six-point guide you provide above for would-be culture warriors.
Your first two items (i.e., “You need to read like mad” and “You need to study like mad”) reveal an important truth about what motivates Christians to engage in public life.
Our passion is to ensure at all times that public discussion should be based on evidence and reason.
By contrast, the revolutionary Left have no such desire to edify the public with the truth.
V.I. Lenin in 1907 — a decade before he came to power in Russia — spelt out how Communists should give priority to traducing the reputations of their enemies. He wrote:
“My words are calculated to evoke hatred, aversion and contempt … not to convince, but to break up the ranks of the opponent, not to correct the mistake of the opponent, but to destroy him, to wipe his organization off the face of the earth. This wording is indeed of such a nature as to evoke the worst thoughts, the worst suspicions about the opponent.” [V.I. Lenin, Collected Works, 45 vols., English edition, (Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1960–70), Vol. 12, pp.424–5.]
Thank you, Bill, for the valuable commentaries you’ve posted in the aftermath of the slaying of Charlie Kirk.
I especially like the six-point guide you provide above for would-be culture warriors.
Your first two items (i.e., “You need to read like mad” and “You need to study like mad”) reveal an important truth about what motivates Christians to engage in public life.
Our passion is to ensure at all times that public discussion should be based on evidence and reason.
By contrast, the revolutionary Left have no such desire to edify the public with the truth.
V.I. Lenin in 1907 — a decade before he came to power in Russia — spelt out how Communists should give priority to traducing the reputations of their enemies. He wrote:
“My words are calculated to evoke hatred, aversion and contempt … not to convince, but to break up the ranks of the opponent, not to correct the mistake of the opponent, but to destroy him, to wipe his organization off the face of the earth. This wording is indeed of such a nature as to evoke the worst thoughts, the worst suspicions about the opponent.” [V.I. Lenin, Collected Works, 45 vols., English edition, (Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1960–70), Vol. 12, pp.424–5.]
Thanks so much John.