A pastoral word from President Harrison

(LCMS/Erik M. Lunsford)

By Matthew C. Harrison

“For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” (Mark 7:21–23)

“Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.” (1 John 3:15)

Charlie Kirk was a devout Christian, murdered for his conservative religious and political views by a young man who has fallen victim to the ideological demons of our time. It is becoming clear that the man who killed him had been radicalized by “anti-fascist” groupthink and rhetoric, which pervades university campuses, circles of political extremists, and especially the internet. Fellow high school students reportedly called the shooter “Reddit kid” after a particular platform known for extremism. Indeed, the man’s very bullets were inscribed, “Hey fascist! Catch!”

In the wake of Mr. Kirk’s unjust demise, extremists now revel in his murder, even creating media, T-shirts, etc., to celebrate the death. The depth of evil knows no bounds. As Luther wrote in the Smalcald Articles, the “hereditary sin [that resides in our hearts] is such a deep corruption of nature that no reason can understand it. Rather, it must be believed from the revelation of Scripture” (SA III I 3). I’m not such a fool as to think evil is the particular propensity of but one extreme of the ideological spectrum. “None is righteous, no, not one” (Rom. 3:10). “Whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God” (Rom. 3:19).

Pundits have crafted lists of Mr. Kirk’s statements, which allegedly justify his murder. But no speech of any human being justifies his or her murder. It’s also clear to me that very few who make such accusations listened to or watched his events across the country. While I do not endorse all Mr. Kirk’s religious or other comments he made in his debates, I do not believe he was a racist, and certainly no hater. Pull his videos up on YouTube and judge for yourself.

It is ever perilous for a church leader to speak publicly into highly contentious cultural and political issues. The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) does not politicize the Gospel, nor do we redefine the Gospel as the liberation of oppressed peoples. The Gospel is God’s saving act in Christ. Love for all is our sacred response. We confess with the sacred Scriptures, “The blood of Jesus [the man] His [God’s] Son [God in the flesh] cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). Our sacred task is calling all to repentance and proclaiming the one eternal remedy for sin, the blessed life, death and resurrection of Jesus. As the church per se we are not finally about saving the state, engaging in political activity or even Christianizing the state. Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36). Our Augsburg Confession states that the Lutheran church does not “mix church and state.” Nor do our Lutheran Confessions mandate one form of government or another. “Neither does the Gospel offer new laws about the public state” (Ap XVI 55). Our forefathers came to America seeking religious freedom from tyrannical states. We treasure a well-run and ordered state because the Gospel does not prosper where chaos reigns (Rom. 13).

At the same time, we recognize the deep Christian influence in the founding of the United States, particularly in the establishment of the reasonable and ethical authority of law, which is expressed in the Ten Commandments and sound reason. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal” (Declaration of Independence). Here sound reason echoes the orders of creation and redemption. Indeed, every person is not only created in God’s image, but worth the very blood of Christ. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). We believe in healthy patriotism.

The LCMS also strongly encourages participation by its people in honorable civic affairs of all sorts, from law enforcement to the military, judiciary and all elected positions. This accords with the New Testament. Jesus never tells a soldier or an official to stop serving the state as though doing so were improper for a Christian (Luke 7:8). But He does insist they act justly in doing so (Luke 3:14). Our Augsburg Confession wholeheartedly commends service in the secular realm by Christians.

Our churches teach that lawful civil regulations are good works of God. They teach that it is right for Christians to hold political office, to serve as judges, to judge matters by imperial laws and other existing laws, to impose just punishments, to engage in just wars, to serves as soldiers, to make legal contracts, to hold property, to take oaths when required by the magistrates, for a man to marry a wife, or a woman to be given in marriage (AC XVI).

While the LCMS does not issue political directives nor insert itself in the vast majority of social and political issues of our day, we are compelled to call out evil because the Bible does so. The murder of a man for exercising his civil right to free speech is evil. Trans ideology — to which the murderer is connected — is an evil disordering of human existence, as are all matters that disorder families and individuals. It leaves people hurt and suffering. It displaces God’s design for the family with caricatures that cannot sustain society. Consider the many studies that have shown that the most progressive individuals are far less satisfied or happy in nearly all aspects of life. We are deeply concerned about and care for people who have succumbed to this disorder or are challenged by it. The church is for sinners all. We include ourselves in that number (Rom. 3:19). We do not hate. We love. We pray for the shooter’s repentance and conversion to Christ, even while supporting the administration of justice by the state in accord with Romans 13:4: “[The governing authority] does not bear the sword in vain.” Indeed, we pray that very justice — facing the death penalty — bring repentance and faith in Christ.

Marxism, which is pervasive on many university campuses, praises anarchy and violence because violence is the means to throw the status quo into chaos and overthrow allegedly repressive regimes. As an atheistic paradigm of human social existence, Marxism views all law and ethics as utilitarian, indeed merely a human construct — including sexual identity itself, which has always been (Rom. 1) and is again, with an intensity never seen before, the frontier of “freedom” from Divine design. Hermann Sasse, the friend of the LCMS and great Lutheran who lived through the Hitler years in Germany, was the first publicly to reject the Aryan Paragraph of the Nazi party platform. He blew the whistle on real fascism and racism, and suffered for it. His collaborator Dietrich Bonhoeffer died for it. Last week, before our very eyes, Sasse’s comment on Marxism has again been proven true: “Marxist theory has been refuted with rivers of blood.” For the radicalized Marxist, if the divine mandate not to murder interferes with “progress,” so be it. If an outspoken conservative Christian has to die for progress, then so be it.

Well, Charlie Kirk was such a Christian. I am such a Christian. And I know thousands more.

A note especially to young Christian men

“I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one” (1 John 2:14). The rise of radical ideologies has affected you deeply. Whether your ethnicity or your sex, or perhaps your perceived social status, much of your identity has been the very bullseye of radicalism’s attacks. God-given and pleasing masculinity and strength, which demonstrates itself most beautifully and profoundly in self-sacrifice (Rom. 5:7), is ceaselessly vilified. The world has been fixated on everybody else’s perceived injustices but yours. You and your culture — indeed, all Western culture — are the source of all evil, they say. Young women have disproportionately rejected traditional values, particularly with respect to the family and children. DEI has cost you academic advancement and employment. The leftist attack experienced in most universities has ridiculed your biblical faith and the very values you learned from your fathers and mothers, grandparents and your Confirmation pastor — values that taught you Christ, forgiveness, love, service and vocation.

The answer is not in opposite extremes. You are called by Christ to bear up in faith at this time. You were baptized for this moment. Do not give way to racial theories that contradict basic biblical truths of human dignity and Christ’s and the church’s love for all peoples. Peter preached, “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality.” Literally, he said, “God does not receive faces,” that is, God does not judge you on how you look, on your culture or on your skin color (Acts 10:34; see also Matt. 27:32, Acts 2:10, Acts 11:20, Acts 13:1). Our ethnic genetics are all First Article gifts. The Bible calls upon men to “honor” and love their wives “as Christ loved the church” (Eph. 5:25). Relationships with women are not about power. They are about responsibility that sacrifices self for another. Go to church. Excel in your vocations. Run for office. The biblical and Lutheran Doctrine of the Two Kingdoms does not mean you do not participate in the civil and political realm. Quite the opposite. We’ve never needed Christians more in our civic life. Volunteer at church. Talk to your pastor. Become the man God wills you to be so that, whether or not God gives you a bride, you can be a spiritual leader in your family, church and beyond. Avoid bad places on the web. Turn off the video games and engage in physical activity. Avoid isolation. Confess the truth of Christ. Seek healthy relationships with young women who share your values on children and family. Wait on the Lord. He loves you. Think about becoming a pastor. Visit the seminary. Read through the Scriptures. Or listen to the audio. Four chapters a day, and you’ll finish in a year! And devour the Book of Concord. The paperback pocketbook version from Concordia Publishing House is cheap. Revel in the Christian family and friends God has given you.

Young women: Find the young Christian man who will use his office as husband to point and lead you to Jesus, love you, rejoice in your gifts and strengths, and treat you as the precious gift of God you are (Prov. 31). Help him become the strong man of character and faith he’s meant to be in Christ. Be open to the blessing of children. If our Lord does not call you to marriage and motherhood, trust in His plans for you — “plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jer. 29:11).

Perhaps as important as anything, love those who hate you.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.” (Matt. 5:43–45)

Charlie’s debate videos are a marvelous example of this.

If you are experiencing confusing thoughts about sexuality, talk to your LCMS pastor. He loves you. Read the LCMS document on gender dysphoria: Gender Identity Disorder or Gender Dysphoria in Christian Perspective. Check out the Sixth Commandment treatment in your catechism.

“Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for He who is in you is greater than He who is in the world” (I John 4:4).

Our consolation is that Charlie rests in the arms of Jesus. He confessed Ephesians 2:8–9: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

As important as it is for Christians to participate in our national life near this 250th anniversary of our founding, it is more important that we know Jesus our Savior, and that others know Him too.

We weep for Charlie’s suffering and grieving wife, children and family, and we pray Christ and His blessed resurrection be their consolation. We weep for the devastated family of the accused, who helped bring him to justice. We weep for the accused himself, another soul lost to the lies of the evil one. We pray for repentance and faith in Christ. Come Lord Jesus quickly.

And finally, a word from St. Paul to a young man named Timothy, which speaks to all of us now:

“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.” (1 Tim. 2:1–7)

Posted Sept. 17, 2025/Updated Sept. 17, 2025