The Church Must Confront Rather Than Coddle the Culture - In Memory of Charlie Kirk - Part 3

            Imagine with me that you lived several hundred years ago in a much younger United States, and you’re a soldier for the Continental Army ordered to do some scouting in the Ohio frontier. As you make your way through the rolling hills and forests forming the face of this western land, you come upon a group of British soldiers doing their own bit of scouting, and it becomes quickly obvious that they will overpower you in any sort of skirmish. Quickly, you recall the location of a local American fort and make an urgent beeline for it. Why? Because you know one of the purposes of this fort is to protect the soldiers fighting for American freedom.

            As you get closer to the fort’s gates, you begin shouting to the guards ahead that you’re one of their own. Consequently, you can hear the wooden gate creaking open as your allies prepare to let you in. You sprint through the opening, breathing heavily with your hands on your knees, when you turn around and see the British soldiers waltzing right in, following the same path that you did. Not only that, but they also begin shaking hands and hugging the other Continental soldiers as if a family reunion had been convened. Mouth agape, you start sputtering and stuttering as to why the two factions aren’t fighting each other.

            “Yeah, we’re enemies, but we think the other side is really popular, so why not invite them in?” Says one soldier.

            Another soldier declares, “All of this fighting has made me feel uneasy, so let’s just get along. Who cares if we lose the fort? At least I’ll feel better.”

            Of course, these notions would be ridiculous because enemy factions fight each other, not embrace each other like loving siblings. Likewise, the church ordained and led by Jesus Christ is in direct spiritual conflict with the lost world and its systems. Ergo, Jesus did not make the church to embrace the world, but to confront it, call it to repentance, and to preach that it submits to the lordship of Christ. And we the church must be faithful to this call, regardless if it makes us feel uncomfortable.

This is why Paul warns the church at Ephesus in these clear terms: “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12). Consequently, if churches aren’t feeling the grind of wrestling against sin in their communities and amongst their own members, then, according to Paul, they’re not engaged enough. For why would you need the armor of God if you’re not fighting the devil and his spiritual cohorts (Ephesians 6:13-18)?

Furthermore, Jesus makes clear that when His people engage the trying difficulties of conflict against the lost culture, they will find victory in Him. He says, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Why would Jesus overcome the world if it were in perfect agreement with Him? Why would He promise tribulation for His church if the world and the church were to get along in perfect harmony? Because the world directly opposes God. Christ declares, “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you” (John 15:18-19). God has made it clear: the world and the church are not on the same team.

Though Charlie Kirk was not a pastor, he understood the biblical purpose of the church and publicly encouraged local churches to confront sin and call people to repentance in Christ. I’ll share this longer quote from Charlie as it encapsulates his views on the matter: “What is the church? The church is not a place you go to be affirmed. The church is a place where you learn why you need the cross. The church is a place where you go to be corrected, not told how awesome you are. The church is a place where you learn what sin is and what the law of God is. You want to know why church rates have been going down the last 30 years? Most of America says, “I don’t need a Savior. I’m the most important person ever. And then walk into your regular, modern church, and they’ll be told how great they are, and they’ll be told that you’re the greatest person ever… No, (this view is wrong). Instead, He saves you from your sin. And you must bring yourself to repentance in front of the Lord of the heavens and the earth.” Ergo, Charlie challenges us in the church that we are not to be the culture’s teddy bear that gives “good vibes” for an hour on Sunday morning. Rather, we are to be those declaring salvation from sin found in Christ’s saving work alone.

Finally, Charlie understood that the Bible is to be the primary message and rule of the church in relation to the culture. He says, “Church is a place where you go to be saved and corrected. It is not a place to be told about how your lifestyle is the greatest thing ever. You go there to be reminded that you need a Savior and that your life is currently in error but people don’t like that… Church in its proper context should be unafraid to go against the culture and not conform to the world but preach the Word.” Ergo, the Word, not the culture, is to shape, guide, and correct the church.

Christians, we are to stand up against the sinful systems of the world. It may not make us popular, liked, celebrated, or applauded, but that’s not our purpose. Our purpose is to glorify Christ as we are conformed into His image, as we spread the Gospel, and as we disciple others to follow Jesus (Romans 8:29; Matthew 28:18-20). It is these truths that allow Christians to lead with biblical conviction, to stand courageously in the face of harsh criticism from the culture, and to be at peace as we undergo tribulation for our pursuit of godly living. Let us then stand boldly as we declare the Gospel to lost and dying people, knowing that the gates of hell will not prevail against it.

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