On Wednesday, September 10, 2025, at 12:23 PM, Charlie Kirk was shot. He was assassinated by another human being, by being shot in the neck with a long rifle while he was speaking to college students at Utah Valley University.
This was a homicide. Specifically, it was first-degree murder. Every first-year law student learns that a homicide in the first degree requires the willful intent to take another human being’s life, and deliberation, in that the killer was acting with a cool mind, out of reason rather than passion. Also, the first-degree murder was committed with premeditation in that the killer reflected on the consequences and weighed the pros and cons of the killing.
The assassin admitted to the assassination before and after the killing, and also indicated why he killed him. He clearly knew what he was doing, that it was against state law, and the consequences of his deed.
He is currently held in the Spanish Fork, Utah, county jail. He was formally charged with aggravated murder and several other charges on September 16, 2025.
The killer was raised a Mormon conservative like his parents, but recently he had moved hard to the left. He lived with a man who was male from birth but who was supposedly transitioning to the female side. The killer claimed that he assassinated Charlie because of his hatred of transgenderism and homosexuality.
Charlie was killed for his political views, which were colored by his Christian views. Namely, he was killed for his Christian view of the transsexual movement in this country. Charlie was killed because of what he thought and what he said about this. However, he was not violent at all in what he said.
The arrangement of his thoughts developed his Christian worldview: God first, family second, and his country third. Charlie stated that he wanted to be remembered for his courage in his faith, not because of his political views, but because of his faith. He was a Christian first, a husband and father second, and a citizen of the United States third. And he spoke that way.
Nowhere in the Bible does it teach Christians to murder anyone for any reason, and Christians and Charlie believed that (Gen. 9:6; Ex. 20:13; Matt. 5:21, 22; 1 John 3:15). Charlie was a nonviolent person who wanted to talk to people who disagreed with his thinking on several issues. His talks were often a question-and-answer session. He encouraged those who disagreed with him to talk first.
So, if all Charlie wanted to do was talk to people, specifically young people of college age, then why was He assassinated?
In the United States of America, in the last few years or even in the previous few decades, people who believe in specific left-wing issues have been encouraged to respond violently. Politicians, celebrities, and others who influence these people have encouraged them. This is unfortunate.
The Bible teaches Christians that we are not to commit first-degree murder (Ex. 20:3). God gave life to every person. We do not have the right to take that life except in exceptional circumstances, like self-defense, defense of others, the military, etc. A non-Christian who teaches that anyone should take others’ lives who disagree with them is speaking contrary to biblical truth and the American system of government.
The perpetrator of this criminal offense should be tried and punished accordingly. No one has the biblical or civil right to murder anyone.
Unfortunately, there are people in this country who believe that committing a homicide is okay if a person thinks differently from them. But it is not!
Many people will replace Charlie Kirk. Maybe even thousands or millions. Killing one person does not stop a movement. The people who want to murder people who think differently from them are not Christians.
Christians know that when they die, there is a better place they will go. Christians should understand that they should continue if they are already public with their beliefs and, if they are not, start being public about them so that the benefits of the biblical truth can become known to those not Christians in this country.
Every Christian, like Charlie, should state their biblical (and, for that matter, political) beliefs to others. In this country, they should be comfortable expressing their Christian or political beliefs or beliefs about anything, without violence or without the threat of violence being visited upon them. The government of the United States of America should make it clear to everyone that anyone can state their opinion about anything without the fear of violent retribution. It is called Free Speech! It is in the U. S. Constitution. The American government should uphold the law to address this issue.
Charlie and all Christians love and respect other people. He believed in nonviolence as taught by the Bible (Is. 26:3; John 15:12); Matt. 5:9; John 15:12; Rom. 12:8; Jas. 3:18). The assassin believed that it was fine to kill Charlie Kirk because of what he said. The Bible in no place authorizes the murder of anyone for any reason. Therefore, the assassin was wrong!
Charlie Kirk was killed by another human being for what Charlie said, not because of what he did. The killer should be convicted of murder under the laws of Utah and any federal laws that apply. More importantly, the killer should be considered guilty because he violated the Bible. If he remains unrepentant of this murder during his life, in the end, Jesus will judge him and send him to hell forever.
In closing this article, I’d like to discuss the most critical issue for Christians. The first thing we should do is forgive the killer of the assassination of Charlie Kirk. We cannot determine who is guilty or whether he has repented to forgive him. Our job as Christians is to forgive him without any contingencies. We forgive the killer for killing Charlie Kirk. We as Christians. Once we have done this, we have done what is necessary for us as Christians to walk with God during our time of sanctification.
The forgiveness we give to others for sinning against us is not necessarily for the other person but is, in fact, for us (Matt. 6:15; 2 Cor. 2:10). It is unconditional because we can’t know if the person is guilty of sinning against us or has repeated that sin. The Bible tells us that we have to forgive others who have sinned against us as Christians (Matt. 6:14; Luke 11:4).
God’s forgiveness is conditional upon our repentance and belief. These are internal changes that we must make in ourselves to be saved. We can’t DO anything to save ourselves, but we can repent and believe with God’s help.
But make no mistake about it, despite our forgiveness, if we are witnesses, law enforcement officials, lawyers, the media, etc., we should do whatever it takes to bring the killer to justice in this world. It’s up to God to bring justice to the killer in the hereafter.
