Truth, Love, and Charlie Kirk

Charlie Kirk (Ross D. Franklin/AP)

The Death of a Truth-Teller

I don’t usually write articles tied to national headlines. Just last week, I wrote about the false apostle David E. Taylor and how hypocrisy can creep into the church. Yet today, I feel heavy-hearted and compelled to turn to a different story—the assassination of a man many recognized as a truth-teller: Charlie Kirk.

Let me be clear from the start: this is not a political article. While it appears Charlie’s death was the result of political violence, that is not my focus here. Instead, I want to look at what many may overlook.

I must also say that I didn’t fully agree with Charlie on everything he ever said or stood for. But that’s simply reality. We will never fully align with any one person, and that’s okay. He wasn’t perfect (none of us are), yet God still used him to speak and proclaim truth—and that matters.

Like all of us, Charlie had moments he likely regretted—words spoken too sharply or statements that didn’t land well. But it would be a mistake to let those overshadow what he ultimately stood for.

At his core, Charlie stood for the Gospel. He championed the truth of salvation in Christ and the authority of Scripture. He consistently pointed to a Christian identity rooted in grace and truth. He defended biblical morality: the reality of sin and grace, traditional marriage between one man and one woman, God’s order for family and society, and a pro-life stance on the sanctity of unborn life—all while standing firm amid cultural pressures, especially regarding the LGBTQ+ movement.

That is the Charlie Kirk I want to reflect on here—not the quick soundbites circulating on TikTok, but the biblical convictions underlying his voice.

What Is Truth?

When Jesus stood accused before the crowd, the Roman governor Pontius Pilate brought Him into his headquarters and asked if He had done anything wrong to be accused. Jesus declared that He was born to be a King and that His mission was to “bear witness to the truth,” adding, “everyone who is of the truth listens to My voice” (John 18:37).

Pilate, much like many in our own generation, struggled to grasp the weight of those words. His response was the haunting question that still echoes throughout history: What is truth?

Soon after, Pilate brought Jesus back out to the crowd. Convinced of His innocence, he asked whether they wanted him to release Jesus—the sinless God-Man who is Love—or Barabbas, the notorious murderer, robber, and rebel.

Love stood before them, yet the crowd demanded the release of a criminal, and Pilate washed his hands to free himself of the guilt. Moments later, Love was crucified for humanity, while humanity rejoiced over His death.

Love’s confrontation with the world’s sin provoked anger, rejection, and hatred. His experience reveals the cost of bearing truth—a cost that Charlie Kirk, and all martyrs of Christ, faced in their own ways. 

Love and Hate, According to the World

We live in a world so confused it cannot even recognize truth. Humanity, at its best—or rather, at its worst—cannot bear truth because it strips away our pretenses and exposes the darkest parts of us. Truth reveals our desperate need for saving from sin and ourselves. 

Yet we’ve been deceived into believing we are enough and can accomplish everything apart from God. We’ve crowned ourselves as our own gods, clinging to the lie that “my truth is my truth” and “your truth is your truth.” But we should know that truth ceases to be truth the moment it becomes subjective.

Truth is anchored not in opinion or experience, but in God’s Word (John 17:17). And here is my outcry to my Christian brothers and sisters: love and truth are never enemies. The world desires to pit them against each other, but when we are washed and renewed by the Holy Spirit, we realize that love and truth have always been one.

This world redefines love as tolerance and affirmation, and hate as disagreement. But the God who is Love did something radically different. He confronted sin (Matthew 5:21–26), exposed religious hypocrisy (Matthew 23), and challenged cultural norms (Luke 13:10–17). He spoke about the Kingdom of God (Mark 1:15), warned about Hell more than He talked about heaven, and did not stop those who walked away from Him (John 6:60–66).

Love came to bear witness to absolute truth—the reality of God, the reality of sin, and the reality of salvation in Him. This truth confronts, exposes, and transforms. Those who embrace the truth of Love find life; those who reject it remain in darkness (John 8:12–32).

Love was hated for being a truth-teller, and He told His disciples: “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours” (John 15:18–20).

Affirmation is not the same as love, and disagreement is not the same as hate. Though many fail to grasp this, Charlie understood it as he engaged in some of the most contentious issues of our time. In doing so, he unashamedly proclaimed the message of Love. We must not let the world distort what God has established from the beginning. Truth and love are never rivals; they remain inseparable, no matter how much the world tries to convince us otherwise.

The Message of Love

The Devil rejoices when truth-tellers are silenced. The world martyred the prophets of old and the early believers for proclaiming God’s truth. But death never has the final word. We know this because Love rose from the dead. The death of a messenger could never erase the message of Love.

Charlie Kirk wasn’t perfect, but neither are we. Yet, God uses imperfect people to point to His perfect truth. Unlike Pilate, may we not wash our hands when the world pressures us, abandoning truth and compromising our convictions just to avoid conflict or discomfort. Instead, may we proclaim the message of Love, even when it costs us everything.