Jim Cymbala, senior pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle, denounced the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk as an act of hate and criticized some Christians who have been celebrating his death as anti-Christian.
“I want to say this to you: If you took some joy or some satisfaction or you somehow justified the killing of Charlie Kirk, you're a very sick individual and you should, you really got to get along with God and check yourself because something's really wrong with you,” Cymbala told his church on Sunday morning.
“And don't tell me how long you've been in church. You're more ethnic, racial or political than you are a Christian. A Christian doesn't rejoice in anyone's death,” he added to applause.
The 31-year-old Kirk, a Christian conservative activist who also founded TPUSA Faith, was fatally shot in the neck at 12:20 p.m. last Wednesday while speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem.
In his preamble before criticizing Christians for celebrating or finding satisfaction in Kirk’s death, Cymbala presented a biblical thesis on the roots of division and conflict in the world. He said that it is hate that is driving these issues, and the Church must respond with Christ’s message of love.
“We live in a very ugly, hateful world right now. … We have churches being burned, Christians being killed in different places. Hate. … We have it in our country. It's political. It's racial. It's ugly,” Cymbala stated.
“So, what are we to do with that? So let's step back for a moment. Jesus said, ‘Go into all the world and preach the Gospel.’ Why? Because people in the world need to be saved. They need to hear the Good News of Christ, get a new heart, and see their lives changed. … The people that are supposed to do that are the Church. We're the light of the world. Not a country, not a political party, the Church, born-again believers like us.”
But “instead of evangelizing the world," Cymbala argued, "the spirit of the world" often "comes in the Church.”
“So we have haters in the Church, and that, of course, is just overwhelmingly sad, tragic. So you have people who go to church and sing surely goodness, surely mercy. But if someone opposes them or they have opposing factions against them, they hate. ... They're not about to discuss anything,” he claimed.
Citing Scriptures from 1 John 3:11-15 and 1 John 4:19-21, Cymbala emphasized that anyone who does not demonstrate love is not truly reflecting Christianity.
“Whoever does not love their brother and sister whom they have seen cannot love God whom they have not seen. And He has given us this command. Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister,” Cymbala said.
“If five years ago you somehow rejoiced or took satisfaction when George Floyd was killed, you're a very sick individual because Christ died for George Floyd. Christ died for Charlie Kirk. Christ died for everyone. How can we rejoice over the death of someone that Jesus loves?” he challenged.
“I'm not giving you my opinion. I'm giving you the Word of God. And there are some people now — and it's more and more in churches — they are ethnic, racial, political first, Christian second. My last word is this: Do not identify yourself first as anything but a Christian. We are Christians first,” he concluded.
