Charlie Kirk and the Misunderstood Christians

Regarding the Charlie Kirk assassination, there has been some interest in Christianity, Christian churches, and the Bible by folks who, in some cases, would typically not be interested in such things, at least not outright. This, of course, is a good thing.

I have read things about, and spoken with people who, have been agnostic or even atheistic in their belief system, who are questioning or at least have a curiosity about God and Christian things. Again, this is a good thing.

But it’s not a simple thing.

Many Christians might argue that point and say, “But it is simple, just preach the gospel to them and that’s it.” Well, it is not that simple. The gospel is simple, but the circumstances of people are not simple. The approach it may take with some people is not simple. The level of empathy and sensitivity of many professing Christians is not a simple matter.

And this is why, for many years in our American society, Christians have been misunderstood. Or have they?

Many an atheist, or agnostic, or someone somewhere in between, have characterized Christians as hateful, judgmental, mean, and holier-than-thou. Now, most Christians would dismiss those assessments and deny that they fit those descriptions. But the sad truth is, those descriptions fit more often than not.

Yes, the gospel is simple. Yes, sin is still sin. Yes, there is a real hell and real people are going there every day. But also yes, there are different approaches to deal with different people, different ways to talk to people. Yes, many professing Christians absolutely lack any empathy for the lost and have no problem with them entering an eternity in hell. Many times the way some Christians talk to people about sin and God’s judgment actually pushes them away from God’s love and mercy.

Again, the Bible is very clear that sin is sin, and there is a penalty for sin: “For the wages of sin is death...” (Romans 6:23a). This is speaking of eternal death in the Lake of Fire, according to Revelation 20:14-15. But for some reason it seems as though many forget the second half of the verse, “...but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23b).

Many Christians, especially good, solid fundamentalists, are great at harping on the hellfire and brimstone. They have a solid message about the coming judgment. But they forget that the gospel is not a message of JUDGMENT as much as it is a message of MERCY. Christians forget to have mercy. They forget to preach about mercy and so they do not format or adjust their message to be delivered in a merciful way. Delivering a message in a merciful way is not changing the message. It is adjusting the way it is delivered.

For example, if I order a carton of Grade A eggs, it could be delivered by a catapult that launches from the store into my yard (from several miles away), or it could be delivered on a pillow by a gentle driver. Either way the order is the same, but it is how that order is delivered that makes the difference.

When folks order a brand new laptop computer from Amazon, they would like for it to be delivered with care and gently placed in front of their door, not thrown into the truck at the warehouse then tossed into the yard by the driver. It is the same laptop, but delivered in two different ways.

Well, some folks live in a city apartment complex, some live on 10 acre farms, some live in high-rises, some in large subdivisions, some live on boats, and some live garages. In each of these cases, if they order eggs or laptops it will require slightly different ways to deliver the order. The delivery method must be adjusted, to deliver the order with care and to make sure that the order arrives to its destination safely, without compromising the order.

But when it comes to Christianity, it seems there are two very wide extremes.

One extreme is what I call the “pharisee.” This is the hellfire & brimstone messenger, who has the right message, maybe the right doctrine, maybe the right desire to see people saved by Jesus. But they have little or no empathy, little or no love in their message. They hate the sinner as much as they hate the sin. They are self-righteous and do a really good job of making sure everyone knows that they are following their P’s and Q’s.

They have a lot of truth, but very little or no love, mercy, or patience. They will swallow a camel, but strain at a gnat. They are quick to point out sin and tense up into a ball at the mere mention of compromise.

These are the folks that Jesus called a generation of vipers (Matthew 12:34; 23:33). John the Baptist had much the same to say about them (Matthew 3:7; Luke 3:7). Jesus called this religious crowd a bunch of hypocrites (Matthew 23). He called them out on them making sure they looked good while on the inside they were rotten.

Many of the fundamentalist Baptists from the 70’s to the 2000’s had this attitude. And they did tremendous damage to the Baptist name and to the cause of Christ. Many people today are turned off at hearing the phrase “Independent Fundamental Baptist” because of the attitude of a bunch of immature, noisy hypocrites from that era.

I don’t apologize for being an Independent, Fundamental, King James Bible, sin-hating, devil-fighting, fried chicken-eating Baptist. But I also understand what that sounds like in the ears of many folks today, because of the way the previous generation behaved. I’ve called out some Baptist hypocrites in my time, and that’s why I don’t have many friends in that crowd, if any. It is phariseeism.

But then there is the other extreme. What I call the “love crowd” or the “non-judgment crowd.” Their in the other ditch. They have lots of patience and tolerance for people in sinful lifestyles. So much so that they would never dare to risk hurting their feelings by mentioning the eternal penalty in the Lake of Fire for those sins.

They make sure that they don’t look too much like separated Christians. They don’t want to “push standards” on people. They want to be friends of sinners to the point that they mix themselves in with those sinners in their sinful lifestyles just to show the world how tolerant and loving they are. Their intentions are good but they are not plucking anyone from the fires of hell with their watered down message, neither in words nor actions.

Sure, they do some good: They have large feeding programs, medical outreaches, food pantries, myriads of children’s programs. They help materially equip and heal a number of folks. But then those folks die and enter an eternity in hell because they were never confronted with the truth of it.

These folks are also hypocrites. They are the other side of the coin of religiosity.

Jesus had a problem with them too: “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” (Matthew 7:21-23)

If the first extreme was phariseeism, then this one is foolishness. Truth without love is phariseeism, love without truth is foolishness.

Christians, and by them, Christianity, are misunderstood because of these two extreme factions. I have no idea, but if I were to guess, I would estimate that 90% of Christianity falls into one of these two extremes. At least in America, but also in other parts of the world where Christians have gotten comfortable because of lack of persecution.

So when people come with real curiosity and real questions about God and the Bible, more than likely they will run into one of these two factions. If they run into the pharisee, they will most likely be turned off by the harsh attitude, intolerance, and hypocrisy of such. If they run into the love crowd, it won’t take them long to see that there is no substance there, and they will likely be turned off by the loose attitude, the shallowness, and the hypocrisy of such.

If we are to be true biblical Christians, then we need to know what the Bible says about dealing with different people, from different backgrounds, from different mindsets.

Jesus dealt with different sinners in different ways. But He always: 1. Told them the truth, 2. Showed them love and compassion. Jesus did not mince words. He was not afraid of the crowd. But He certainly did love people. Jesus was interested in anyone coming to Him for salvation. The Bible calls this a WHOSOEVER WILL salvation (John 3:16; Romans 10:13).

Jesus dealt differently with the woman caught in adultery than He did with the money changers in the temple. He dealt differently with the woman at the well than He did with the rich young ruler. He dealt differently with Nicodemus than He did with Zaccheus.

Paul the Apostle said, “For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law. To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. And this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you.” (I Corinthians 9:19-23)

Neither Jesus nor Paul compromised the message. To the woman caught in adultery, Jesus said, “Go and sin no more.” To the Romans, Paul said, “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

To be “made all things to all men” does not mean partaking in sinful behavior or tolerating debauchery. Jesus sat with sinners but He didn’t sin with sinners. Paul would stoop to the lowest parts of town to get the gospel to the lost, but he even rebuked Peter for being a hypocrite in his living. No, it means being willing to approach people on their level, to have a real Christianity to share because of a real message.

Holiness is not to be cast off, standards are not to be dismissed. Sin is to be abhorred, evil is to be eschewed. But people are to be loved. People should be touched by compassion in as much as they should be touched by conviction.

We should be able to have civilized, empathetic conversations with blue & pink haired people, and tattooed people with piercings like a pin cushion. We should be able to have conversations with intellectual people wearing business suits, and we should be able to knowledgeably and effectively communicate with religious people and irreligious people. With those who have been in cults and with those who have never seen the inside of a church.

In this time in history, in the US especially, when many of us have been praying for God’s mercy and for revival, here’s a little chance. When people come to us at Freedom Baptist Church and ask about God or what we believe, we ought to give them the truth but with palpable compassion and concern. Boy, we ought better be living the life we say we believe in! We better know what the Scriptures say and be able articulate it and explain it. But we better be willing to see eternal souls that need the redemption of Jesus Christ every bit as much as WE needed it!

It’s about time we stop being misunderstood (rightly so!) and start to, “sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear” (I Peter 3:15).

I’ll leave you with these Words from the Bible:

“But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.” (II Peter 3:18)

“That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ” (Ephesians 4:14-15).