4 Lessons From Kirk’s Memorial Service

Some important truths emerged from this service:

Sunday’s service for Christian martyr and political activist Charlie Kirk was viewed by people all around the world. It is estimated that over 200,000 people attended the service, with worldwide livestream totals exceeding 100 million. Such was the impact of this young Christian man.

And the words spoken there by so many devout Christians really turned this event into one big church service, revival meeting, and evangelistic campaign combined. Sure, not all who spoke or attended were believers, but overwhelmingly this was a deeply Christian event.

It was attended by Trump, Vance and so many cabinet members. That is something that would NOT have happened if a Biden/Harris/Walz team was in power. That is just one major difference. Many other major differences can be gleaned from the event. Here are four lessons that spring to mind:

Forgiveness versus consequences

The most moving part of the service was when Erika Kirk said she forgives her husband’s murderer. She said Christ forgives us, and Charlie would have wanted her to do this as well. And if the killer were to turn from his sins and come to Christ in repentance and faith, Charlie would have been the first to embrace him. That is how Christianity works.

However, Erika knows – as should all believers – that forgiveness does not absolve us of the consequences of our sins. King David is just one of many clear biblical examples of this. While God forgave him for his adultery and murder in the Bathsheba incident, he and his family still had to face very real consequences in their lifetime.

Forgiveness, in other words, makes us right with God – and perhaps another person – but there are always consequences to our sins that will normally have to be played out. But see more detail on this here: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2007/10/14/sin-forgiveness-and-consequences/

Individuals versus the state

When I once was in a discussion with a fellow Christian about ethics, he made fun of me, saying, ‘Oh, you think there are two kinds of Christian ethics.’ Well, yes, of course there are. There are personal ethics, as found in places like the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), but there are also social or governmental ethics, as found in places like Romans 13:1-7.

The state is called by God to do certain things that the individual believer is not. And Christians are called to do some things that the state is not called to do. We can extend mercy, but the state exists to maintain justice. As Allie Beth Stuckey just posted this on X:

“There was a big contrast between Erika’s forgiveness speech and Stephen Miller’s ‘destroy our enemies’ speech. Exactly as it should be. It is our job to forgive, not the government’s. Christians give grace; the government wields the sword (Romans 13). We turn the other cheek; the government punishes evil.”

As I put it in an earlier article:

Suppose someone breaks into my house and steals a lot of valued property. Then the criminal is caught, brought to trial, and sentenced to spend some time in jail. The state has performed its God-ordained task of delivering justice. Now if I wish to personally forgive this robber, I am certainly free to do so.

 

But while I may extend forgiveness to the criminal, the state has an obligation to administer justice. Of course it is possible that if I catch the burglar in the act, and then the police arrive, I might decline to lay charges. I can tell the police I do not wish to press charges, but instead will forgive the robber and let it go at that.

 

While that is an option for the believer, the state does not have that option. It has a job to secure justice and maintain order. If it decided simply to forgive every criminal, or grant clemency for every criminal act, we would be living in anarchy. There are consequences for our actions, in other words, which the state must recognise. https://billmuehlenberg.com/2007/10/14/sin-forgiveness-and-consequences/

Left versus right

What the Kirk memorial service and all the other vigils and responses to his murder made crystal clear was this: when the other side does not like what is going on, they usually resort to rioting, burning down cities, killing cops, and causing millions of dollars in damage. The death of George Floyd is just one case in point.

But when our side experiences something as horrific as Kirk’s assassination, we do not loot, burn, riot, and rage. We pray. We hold candles at vigils. We sing worship songs. We look to God and his comfort. We even pray for those who hate us and persecute us. More than that, we can even forgive those who do such diabolical things.

The left and right are NOT the same here. There is no moral equivalence between the two. There is no ‘both sides are alike’ foolishness that we can run with. Political leftists, following on from the French Revolution, and imitating their Marxist forebears, routinely resort to violence, murder and mayhem when they do not get their way.

Darkness versus light

Related to this is the reality of the spiritual war that we are in. As I have said before, these social, political and cultural battles that we find ourselves in are not just a matter of right versus left, or even good versus evil, but of God versus Satan. Even Elon Musk – who presumably is not yet a Christian, but is hopefully heading there – understood some of this truth when he recently tweeted, “Charlie was murdered by the Dark for showing people the Light.”

When things get so bad with so much ugly evil and hatred, you know these conflicts are not merely intellectual or ideological, but are spiritual at root. Consider this reaction to the service: while millions of people all around the globe were deeply touched by the Kirk memorial event, some demonised haters could only smear it, attack it, and denounce it. Some even claimed it was just like a Nazi rally! Good grief.

And I have had personal experience of this very thing. I have many haters and trolls coming to my site. One long-standing misotheist has sent me numerous comments over the years. Earlier on I and others tried to reason with her. But it soon became apparent that she had zero interest in actually debating and reasoning, but just wanted to spew putrid poison at every possible opportunity.

As my commenting rules state, ‘No trolls allowed.” So her comments now go straight into the trashcan where they belong. But get this: within an hour of posting my piece yesterday on the memorial for Kirk, there she was again, letting the whole world know just how ugly and evil the God-hating left can be.

She actually said, “What a tacky charade, imitation of a Nuremberg rally and reminiscent of a Trump Maga political gathering.” Yeah, sure. People singing praise songs, praying, worshipping God, and offering forgiveness to their enemies are just like what we saw at Hitler rallies. People who actually say such idiotic and diabolical things are well beyond being able to be reasoned with.

They are just too far gone in satanic darkness and hatred – just like Kirk’s murderer. As Erika could only pray for Kirk’s vile killer and hope for his salvation, so too here. I pray for this commentator to be set free from the demonic stronghold she is trapped in and find freedom and faith in Christ before it is too late.

And by the way, I have had similar angry atheists and haters coming to attack me for years, only to finally leave all that behind, and start seeking God. So there is still hope for many of these folks chained in their demented darkness. Keep praying friends.

[1292 words]