OPINION:
On Sept. 21, the world watched as people gathered in Phoenix to honor the memory of Charlie Kirk. Anyone claiming to be a Christian who chose to be critical or even to remain silent in the subsequent days should be ashamed.
If you are among those “progressive believers” so clouded by your politics and Trump derangement syndrome that you can’t join in celebrating perhaps one of the most consequential calls to Christ in world history, you need to check your soul.
Hundreds of millions of people just heard the Gospel. Untold numbers were called to give their lives to Jesus. Worship songs full of Scripture were sung by well over 100,000 people. Multitudes around the world heard one testimony after another of Christ’s atonement and resurrection. Speaker after speaker testified to the biblical promise that those who “confess with their mouths that Jesus is Lord and believe in their hearts that God has raised him from the dead will be saved.”
If you’re criticizing rather than celebrating this, what is wrong with you?
At the service, pastor Rob McCoy preached to the entire globe that Jesus is the “savior of the world” and that his “death upon that cross was sufficient for all the world’s sins, but only efficient for those who, like Charlie, would receive him as their savior.”
Vice President J.D. Vance spoke of the “truth of Scripture” and the “unshakable belief in the Gospel.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio proclaimed that all men and women are “created by the hands of the God of the universe. … But then sin entered the world and separated us from our creator. And so God took on the form of a man and came down and lived among us, and he suffered like men, and he died like a man. But on the third day, he rose unlike any mortal man” so that all who confess their sins can be saved and join with him in the “great reunion” in heaven.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared that “only Christ is king,” that he is our only “Lord and savior,” and that “our sins are washed away by the blood of Jesus.” He went on to declare, “There is a God, and as Charlie would say, it is not us. We’re sinners saved only by grace and in need of the Gospel.” He finished by calling everyone to “put Christ first at the center of your life” so that you, too, might hear at the end of days, “well done, good and faithful servant.”
Frank Turek made it clear that we don’t end up in heaven because we sacrifice ourselves for our savior, but rather because our savior sacrificed himself for us. He went on to say that “there are only two things” available to us in the afterlife: We either “get justice, or we get grace,” and the only way to get grace is by repenting before the God who allowed himself to be tortured and killed for our sins. If we “trust in him, every one of us can be forgiven and be given his righteousness.”
The beauty of marriage, family and children was exalted.
Romans 13 was preached as the model of good government.
Spiritual warfare was declared against the forces of evil.
Promises to endure for the sake of Christ and his church were made, no matter the cost.
People were called to repentance.
The Bible was quoted over and over again.
Jesus was repeatedly declared Lord and God.
And Erika Kirk publicly forgave her husband’s killer.
Hundreds of millions of people, from Saudi Arabia to San Francisco, from Myanmar to Memphis and from Portland, Oregon, to Washington, saw the stark contrast between those who riot in the streets and those who bow before Christ.
My goodness, the nations of the world just heard from the secretary of defense, the secretary of state and the vice president of the United States that Jesus is the only way, the truth and the life.
If you can’t set your politics aside and simply say, “Amen! Thank you, God,” you need to check your soul.
It has been said that “Not to speak is to speak” and that “Silence in the face of evil is evil itself.” If you claim to be Christian but have remained silent these past few days because of your critical spirit, your silence screams, and it should terrify you.
If you didn’t join in thankfulness and praise, for what you saw at Charlie Kirk’s memorial you might want to stop acting like you’re better than everyone else, pray: “It is me, Lord. I’m the one who needs to repent.”
• Everett Piper (dreverettpiper.com, @dreverettpiper), a columnist for The Washington Times, is a former university president and radio host. He is the author of “Not a Day Care: The Devastating Consequences of Abandoning Truth” (Regnery). He can be reached at epiper@dreverettpiper.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.