Charlie Kirk showed us the lie at the heart of progressive culture

Franklin Graham recently reminded us of something I’ve always admired about Charlie Kirk: He stood firmly on biblical truth, but he did it with compassion. He debated boldly, yet never with malice. He modeled what it looks like to stand on God’s word while still loving those who disagreed.

That’s what struck me most about Charlie’s ministry.

Standing on God’s word is the most loving thing we can do.

When culture calls biblical truth hate speech, Christians must remember that speaking God’s word is the highest form of love.

Charlie Kirk's legacy of truth with compassion

Charlie never treated debates like a chance to humiliate others. He approached them as opportunities to present God’s truth. Franklin Graham said it best: Charlie stood unapologetically on scripture, but he did it in a way that reflected Christ’s compassion. That’s rare today.

I’ve seen unbelievers circulate memes and half-quotes trying to paint him as harsh or hateful. But when you look at the full conversations, the truth is clear: Charlie’s goal wasn’t to win arguments at all costs — it was to point people back to God’s word.

That’s the real lesson for us. The world will twist, clip, and distort, but what matters is faithfulness before the Lord.

When biblical truth is branded hate

We’ve reached a point in culture where entire sections of scripture are now considered “hate speech.” If you affirm God’s design for marriage, gender, or life in the womb, you risk being censored, mocked, or even punished.

Isaiah warned us: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil” (Isaiah 5:20). That’s exactly what’s happening. The world has inverted God’s standards — light is called darkness, and darkness is celebrated as light.

And let’s be clear: Speaking the Bible is not hate. The Bible itself says, “Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth” (1 Corinthians 13:6). True love tells the truth, even when it’s unpopular.

As Desiring God on speaking truth in love explains, love without truth isn’t love at all — it’s indifference. And indifference leads people straight into destruction.

Culture's shifting morality vs. God's unchanging word

Here’s the problem with cultural morality: It shifts constantly. What’s praised today is condemned tomorrow. It’s built on feelings, not on facts.

I’ve seen it myself — murder excused in some cases but denounced in others, sexual ethics redefined with each generation, and “compassion” used as an excuse to break laws. But morality without scripture is just a moving target.

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God’s word doesn’t shift with feelings or politics. Jesus said in Matthew 24:35, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” That’s why Charlie’s stand mattered — he anchored everything in the Bible, not in popular opinion.

Out of context: The attack strategy

One thing that frustrates me most is how often Charlie’s critics ripped his words out of context.

Take his comment on the Civil Rights Act. Critics spun it as racist, when his point was about federal government overreach — not opposing equal rights. Or his remarks on the Second Amendment, where he said liberty comes with a cost. Opponents twisted that into indifference about human life, even though he also called those deaths tragic.

Even scripture itself has been twisted this way for centuries. Satan quoted Psalm 91 out of context when tempting Jesus (Matthew 4:6). Why should we expect the world to treat modern truth-tellers any differently?

That’s the real playbook: Rip words from their setting, slap on a label of “hate,” and dismiss the speaker entirely.

Why truth is love — not hate

Jesus didn’t say, “Stay quiet so you don’t offend.” He said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32).

The world says truth is "hate." But in reality, the absence of truth is the cruelest hate of all.

The apostle Paul reminds us that love rejoices in truth (1 Corinthians 13:6) and that we must speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). To stay silent while people remain in sin is not love — it’s indifference.

Even this week, a Reuters report on a law professor suspended over posts about Kirk shows how fiercely culture now polices speech around controversial public figures. That should wake us up. If even scripture is branded as hate, then we must be prepared to face the same hostility.

Standing firm in a world turned upside down

The culture may label us “haters,” but the truth is this: Standing on God’s word is the most loving thing we can do.

Charlie Kirk lived this out boldly. And Franklin Graham’s defense of him reminds us that true Christianity is not about silencing sin or watering down truth. It’s about proclaiming Christ with courage and compassion.

Like Charlie, we are called to hold fast to biblical truth — no matter the cost.

This article is adapted from an essay originally published at Arch Kennedy's blog.