It has been 64 days since the assassination of Charlie Kirk who was shot in the neck at Utah Valley University during a speaking event. At 12:09 p.m. (MT), Charlie was throwing hats into the crowd. Finally, he sits down and gives a welcome, telling the crowd that “we’re gonna be here for a couple of hours” and a challenge: “bring the best libs that Utah has to offer.”
When the questions began, a member of the audience asked Kirk, “Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?”, to which he replied, “Counting or not counting gang violence?” That’s when the fatal shot was fired and Charlie slumped over in his chair. At 2:50 p.m., the White House sent out the message that Charlie had died.
As we’ve processed these events, I’ve been surprised at how polarizing it has become. Many have extolled Charlie as a hero and patriot. Others have vilified him, even being so callous as to say that “he deserved to be shot.” Whether or not you agreed with Charlie, to say such hateful things is despicable and revolting. However, something has happened that I find particularly troubling.
The death of Charlie, some calling him a martyr, has sparked many churches to declare that a “revival” has broken out. People are flocking back to church, especially in his hometown in Arizona. We get all excited about this and say that it is wonderful. If it were genuine revival, I’d be jumping up and down with you. But I don’t think it is.
The same thing happened after 9/11. Churches flung their doors open for people to pray. Thousands went back to church – for a little while. Eventually, the buzz of emotion wore off, and the church attendance has returned to “normal.”
What has troubled me is a national attitude expressed in an msn.com article. The article stated, “The assassination of Charlie Kirk changed Danika Meyerson in a way that, at first, made her deeply uncomfortable.
“She wanted to develop a relationship with God. She couldn’t stop thinking about it. But Meyerson, a 45-year-old mom of two boys, wasn’t a Christian. She worried about what it would mean to identify as one.
“She thought about “judgmental” Christians who stand outside abortion clinics “harassing women who are making some of the hardest decisions in their lives,” she said.
“Meyerson also worried about being accepted. She refused to condemn the LGBTQ community. She refused to support taking away other people’s rights, such as same-sex marriage. Also, she was tattooed, loved punk rock and horror. She identified as “a pretty hard-core feminist” in her youth.
“So she called a church in Gilbert to ask questions. She said they told her people are called to “love, forgiveness, understanding, patience, gentleness. And that people have their own relationship with God, and that’s between them and God.”
“Meyerson liked that answer. So she went to church, and she hasn’t stopped since.
“Meyerson is part of what several evangelical pastors in Arizona are calling a Christian “revival” and “renewal” spurred by the assassination of Kirk, who, beyond being a political influencer, was also vocal about his Christian faith. They also said that, unlike previous surges, this one hasn’t dropped off after a few weeks.”1
Wait a minute! Charlie believed the Gospel as it is given in the Scriptures. He spoke AGAINST abortion. He spoke AGAINST the LGBTQ movement. What exactly did she glean from Charlie’s message?
More importantly, the stands Charlie took on these issues came from the Bible, the Word of God. The BIBLE teaches that life begins at conception and that abortion is the shedding of the blood of the innocents. The BIBLE says that homosexuality is an abomination and that God’s intent was that one man would be married to one woman for one lifetime.
Revival intimates that a person has life. You don’t revive that which has never been alive. Where is Ms. Meyerson’s testimony? Where is the evidence of 2 Corinthians 5:17. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” By her own admission, she found someone who was saying what she wanted to hear and “liked that answer.”
Proverbs 16:25 warns, “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” With nothing more to go on besides Ms. Meyerson’s own words, this is neither a testimony of salvation OR revival. It’s a statement that fulfills 2 Timothy 4:3. “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears.” It’s also a sad commentary of many in our world who are “Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (2 Timothy 3:7)
Listen, I would love for massive amounts of souls to come to know Jesus as Savior and for a revival to break out in God’s church. But it all has to be according to the Scriptures and not an emotional reaction to something that has happened in our world. The Bible has to define salvation and revival, not churches looking to increase their attendance and using an event like Charlie Kirk’s murder to accomplish the goal.
All that calls itself revival and evangelism is not revival and evangelism as defined in the Bible. Be discerning, dearly beloved, and “believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1)
1https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/charlie-kirk-killing-fuels-revival-reservation-at-evangelical-churches/ar-AA1OYeoP?ocid=msedgntp&pc=LCTS&cvid=68f8d2562999492d85e9b270ec79ba47&ei=62#interstitial=2
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