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We've been watching a beautiful revival of sorts of the gospel of Jesus Christ, but we've also been watching some pretty evil and pretty vile things right alongside it. What is our role as Christians? What's our responsibility to be witnessing in a world that's hostile to God?
Gramster Rant: The Credibility Crisis
It's time for us to start looking at credibility. There is a credibility loss that is so extreme, and why conservative platforms still show these losers and then try to give them—they show them so they can say, "Look at how bad they are," but they're still getting their message out. It's just annoying.
Take Don Lemon. People like him watched Charlie Kirk's memorial and came away saying, "Well, that's just religious nationalism," calling the speech that was going on there "language of dominion." Here's what I don't understand about Don Lemon: how can you get fired and still try to just do your shtick? Who's funding him?
Then there's Steve Bonnell II—he's known as Destiny online. He's what they call an influencer, and he should have been arrested. He got into an argument with Pierce Morgan and literally refused to condemn the shooting. This got him booted off of Twitch, which was the platform where he was making all his money. So he then goes on to X to complain and say conservatives got him banned, now he doesn't have any money, and now he threatened all conservatives that they should be shot in the streets.
He should have not just been deplatformed. He should have been arrested for incitement.
But here's what happens: they take that and they flip it so that they're the victim. They're the ones that are being limited. They're the ones that are being banned. They're the ones that are losing out. And we just have to weep for them. Much like Jimmy Kimmel, whose ratings were so low that when he came out with such abhorrent statements about the shooting and literally lied about it, when his show was cancelled and networks said, "We're not playing it anymore," he made the twist. He's now the victim. This is an attack on free speech.
When was free speech an issue? When Trump got deplatformed as the president of the United States. He cheered when Tucker Carlson was let go. Roseanne Barr, same thing. They did less than what these people have done. So it's very hypocritical.
They don't have any ideas. They don't have any agenda. They have one agenda and that's to try to crush the right and Trump derangement syndrome. And we're seeing it on full display. They don't have an argument. They don't have a point to make. It's just crying and whining and complaining and making themselves the victim.
Finding the Genuinely Open Hearts
Those people will always exist. Those people will always be around. And what you have to remember is there are other people.
For instance, there's a woman, her name is Sana Ibrahimi. She's a former Muslim and she escaped from Iran, and she now lives in the US and she is an advocate for the Iranian people and the regime that they're living under. She wants to see that change. She loves America. She loves that she's able to now speak her mind and do the things that she was never able to do in Iran.
She too watched the Charlie Kirk memorial and it was very interesting. She saw a very stark contrast between what she grew up with under Islam and what she was witnessing in the Charlie Kirk Memorial. And it was striking to her. She recalled how under Islam, funerals are very different. They're very dark. They're very heavy. There's a lot of anguish and crying and words of mourning, and they talk about that first night in the grave. But this memorial that she watched with Charlie Kirk, she said it was so different. They were talking about God's love and it was light and there was a sense of celebration and hope and joyfulness.
That's what we really have to focus on. Her comments and her observations have not made headline news, but they are there and that's what we have to remember.
JK Rowling, also the famous author of the Harry Potter series, was obviously doing some reflection and evaluation as she saw the events unfold, the shooting particularly, and she also made a post. JK Rowling is not exactly a portrait of Christianity, but she contemplates and she tries to deal with things honestly, apparently. And that's what we don't have in our society anymore, especially on the left. The left is so far gone that they cannot look at things objectively and honestly anymore.
Deep Dive: Abdu Murray's Masterclass in Gospel Engagement
Abdu Murray posted a beautiful response directly to JK Rowling in response to what she wrote. The way that he did it and what he said was absolutely brilliant. When JK mentioned, "I'll probably go to my grave with this unresolved," you get the sense that maybe that was the kicker that made Abdu think, "I need to respond to this," because how can you not care about her when she says something like that?
Her authenticity is quite refreshing. It takes real humility to say publicly, "I have a god-shaped vacuum inside me, but I don't quite know what to do about it." That kind of transparency deserves our respect.
She goes on to say, "I could probably list at least 20 more things I've changed my mind about. I don't currently have a single belief that couldn't be altered by clear, concrete evidence. And in all but one case, I know what that evidence would have to be. The exception is the God conundrum because I don't know what I'd have to see to make me come down firmly on either side. I suppose that's the meaning of faith, believing without seeing proof. And that's why I'll probably go to my grave with that particular personal matter unresolved."
From a Christian perspective, biblically, faith is not blind belief. The Greek word in the New Testament for faith is pistis, which means trust. It's not a leap into the dark. It's a step into the light of what we have good reason to believe is true.
There's philosophical evidence that God must be the necessary uncaused cause behind everything that exists. That's science. There's scientific evidence the universe is finely tuned in astonishing ways so that life like ours could exist. And there's historical evidence that Jesus not only died on a Roman cross, but rose again, showing that God cares personally and deeply for the people he made.
None of this is proof in the sense that it leaves no room for doubt. But it is enough to move us past reasonable doubts. And it's exactly why the God-shaped vacuum JK Rowling speaks about is so important. It's a longing that points to something real. It's a hunger that points to true food.
She said she'll probably go to her grave with this personal matter unresolved. But here's the good news: The one who rose from the grave offers to resolve it. Not just for her, but for all of us. Jesus doesn't only give us reasons to believe. He gives us himself. And he alone satisfies the deepest longings of the human heart.
Faith isn't belief without evidence. It's trust in the God who has revealed himself in creation, in history, and ultimately in Christ.
It just shows that God has left us all without excuse. The Bible says the fool in his heart says there's no God. The evidence in natural revelation is all over the place, and the fact that we have this eternity in our hearts. We have this god-shaped hole as Pascal used to say.
Abdu Murray clearly cared. He found an opportunity and reached out to her in a very caring way. Charlie did the same. Abdu found a person who was apparently open a little bit, and that's what we have to focus on.
The Biblical Strategy: Proclaim, Don't Debate
That's why I always say proclaim and don't debate. And I had somebody say, "Chris, you always say proclaim and don't debate, but what about Charlie? Charlie debated."
Well, Charlie never debated his Christianity. If you watch his debates, he would debate and engage with people in dialogue, but then when it came time for his faith, he always just simply proclaimed it. And that's what I'm talking about.
Truth is truth, and Charlie made that clear. I have never known somebody that has been soundly saved because they lost an argument. That's what I mean when I say proclaim, don't debate. And then they might see the crack in their stone heart. Then the gospel might break through. The Holy Spirit might break through and call them.
Charlie Kirk went on to those campuses to try to find those ones that, number one, were already conservatives to let them know that they're not alone. And number two, there had to be in this vast student body those who were like—they didn't really know which side to fall on. They didn't really know how to come down on that issue, just like JK Rowling did. And that's who Charlie was out there trying to reach. Those people that might have a crack that you can get into—a crack in their defense or a crack in that stony heart that you can penetrate.
That's what we as Christians need to be looking for in people when we decide we're going to share the gospel and we're going to reach out to that person.
Understanding the Reprobate Mind
You can't be—some people cannot be reasoned with, like the Destiny and Jimmy Kimmel types. Clearly they're looking at this stuff and there's nothing that's going to persuade them.
There is a concept that we can't out-sin the long arm of grace. And nobody's beyond the reach of Jesus to save them. That's true, with the exception—there is a person that is not reachable. That is the person that God has given over to a reprobate mind in Romans chapter 1.
What that means is that there's no coming back. There's no turning back. There's no reasoning. Now you're throwing your pearls to swine. And it's time for Christians to be able to show love in a quiet, comfortable, patient way to a point. And then it has to be, "I'm sorry, we got to cut ties with you."
If you want to fight, then we have to fight back, and justice has to reign supreme. People need to lose their jobs. People need to go to jail over some of the stuff. That Destiny dude needs to go to jail for what he said. He's backtracked everything. And then when they lose their money and they lose their jobs, then it's somebody else's fault and it's, "Oh, free speech and my rights."
Where were you when Roseanne Barr got cancelled? Where were you when the president got deplatformed?
Many times we're not going to get that discernment. So we have to err on the side that nobody's beyond the grace of Jesus Christ most of the time. But if they show themselves to be complete reprobate mind, just assume God's given them over and we have to then protect ourselves, protect our people, and hopefully protect this country and see this country come back.
We got women now taking Tylenol every day while they're pregnant on camera because they hate Trump. Tylenol came out and said, "We advise you don't use this product," but Trump said not to take it, so they're going to take it. That's reprobate. There's no point trying to reason and share the gospel with these kind of folks.
That's hard for the Christian ear to hear.
The Luke 16 Principle
If you think that's harsh to kind of distinguish between those two people groups, let's go to Luke chapter 16. Jesus is teaching parables throughout, mostly directed towards his disciples, but it's clear that the Pharisees were hearing these things as well. He gets to chapter 16 and he's teaching about the rich man and Lazarus and how the rich man is in hell and wants to go back and warn his brothers. And God says, "No, you don't get to do that." That too sounds very harsh. There's certain people that you don't get to go back and do that.
Why? Luke chapter 16 verse 31: "He said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.'"
This is Jesus speaking. He said those words. And so it's not about the miracles. It's not about the supernatural or anything like that. Listen to the prophets. Listen to the words. Like Abdu said, it's a rational thing. Listen to what's being said.
As a Christian, look for those people. Don't be discouraged. Know that there's people out there that are ready to hear the gospel. Look for those people and invest in those people because the people that look at that expression of faith and they still reject it, you're wasting your time.
If you're reaching out to someone like the Jimmy Kimmels of the world, you are wasting your time. God has to create that crack that then you can penetrate. The people like Kimmel, Destiny—don't throw your pearls to swine. What you need to do is what Abdu did. He's a great demonstration: find people who could possibly be open. And that's where you can invest your time and your energy and your prayer and your words.
The Source of True Strength
There's a lot of talk about the Charlie Kirk Memorial and how great it was, and Erica's words of forgiveness were just striking. Everybody could feel the power that was behind it. But then there are people that look at it and they realize this is good, this is right what she said, but their response to it is, "Well, she's just a very strong woman. She's just very strong. She's much stronger than me."
What I saw was somebody who was really struggling with that truth but knew it was truth and had to say it. It was not easy for her to say, but forgiveness is an act of the will. That's what you have to remember, and the rest will follow if you follow that. It's an act of the will. It's not a warm fuzzy feeling.
So many times I just want to tell these people that are talking about it: what you don't understand is it's Jesus. What you're looking at is not a strong woman, but a woman who is strengthened by Jesus. It's Jesus who strengthens us as women or as people to do things that really run contrary to human nature. And it only comes through a surrendered life to Christ. And so that is the missing link.
This happens a lot. She's not an anomaly. It happens with ordinary people in ordinary circumstances who find themselves in really tough situations just like Erica.
There's a video from a few years ago from a courtroom. This person, Mr. Ridgeway, was a serial murderer, and there were lots and lots of people who understandably were very angry at this man and hated this man. Once a conviction is handed down, they give the victim's loved ones an opportunity to say whatever it is they want to say.
People were hurling insults at him and telling him how much they hated him and wanted him to go to hell. He stood there, sat there stone-faced, unmoved, just didn't care what these people had to say. But all of a sudden, this older gentleman came up—and again, it was very difficult, you could tell it was difficult for him to say—"I forgive you."
The response of this man who had just murdered this gentleman's daughter: he started to break down. He started to crack, and he full-on breaks down.
That love of Jesus Christ—it is impacting people.
Final Thoughts
Don't be discouraged. We need to continue to share Jesus and remember that these people that are being impacted—it's more common than you think. Don't get discouraged by the headlines and who makes headlines and all the arguments that are going on. Follow Abdu's example and find the people who might be open and invest in there.
As Christians, get out there, live the life that God has called you to do. Even when you find it difficult, Jesus will give you strength because you will penetrate those stony hearts with your life and your words witnessing to Jesus Christ.
The God-shaped vacuum JK Rowling speaks about is so important. It's a longing that points to something real. It's a hunger that points to true food. That love of Jesus Christ, it is impacting people. You will penetrate those stony hearts with your life and your words witnessing to Jesus Christ.