NOTE: This article appeared in the December 22, 2025 issue of the Adventist Review.
The Sabbath is in the news. People who have never considered the Sabbath are learning about the topic because of a new top-selling book—Stop, in the Name of God: Why Honoring the Sabbath Will Transform Your Life. Upon its release, this book—authored by the late Charlie Kirk—quickly sold out on Amazon. Kirk reportedly finished the manuscript of this new book a month before his tragic assassination on September 10, 2025. Since his death, his wife, Erika Kirk, has promoted her husband’s final book and spoken about the importance of the Sabbath in multiple media interviews.
Kirk claims his life was transformed in 2021 when he began taking a weekly break from work to focus on God and family from Friday evening to Saturday evening. Keeping the Sabbath was not an easy step for a young entrepreneur responsible for multiple companies with 1,000 employees on payroll, hosting three hours of radio a day, and traveling more than 300 days per year. The seventh-day Sabbath became a topic of great interest to Kirk, a man who was best known as a staunch conservative who debated American politics and religion on public university campuses. In recent years Kirk spoke publicly about the blessing of the Sabbath and the benefits of blue laws (state or local government laws in the United States that limit commerce and other activity on Sunday). According to Erika, her husband owned 50 books about the Sabbath and worked on his manuscript for more than a year.
In the prologue Kirk plainly states his purpose for writing: “I desire to bring all humanity back to God’s design to rest for an entire day. To cease working, to STOP, in the name of GOD” [##1|Charlie Kirk, Stop, in the Name of God: Why Honoring the Sabbath Will Transform Your Life (Clinton Township, MI: Winning Team Publishing, 2025), p. xiv.##]. His goals were ambitious, global, and yet cautious. He writes with the deep conviction of a believer whose life was transformed by the seventh-day Sabbath. And yet he is careful to remain flexible and inclusive with his theology of the Sabbath.
The Meaning of the Sabbath
Kirk presents Sabbath rest as a profound symbol of who God is and who we are. “It is a weekly, embodied confession that we are created, not accidental. That there is a Creator, and He is not us” [##2|——Stop, in the Name of God, p. 4.##]. He offers philosophical and scientific evidence for why believing in a Creator is more defensible than believing that we evolved from billions of years of evolutionary chaos. For him, Sabbathkeeping is a bold statement that we believe God created this world with purpose and order.
Throughout his book Kirk explains how knowing God as our Creator and embracing Sabbath rest transforms the way that we relate to the world around us. “In a world governed by unrelenting drive, by the mantras of ‘faster,’ ‘harder,’ and ‘more,’ the divine voice says something astonishing: Stop. In His name, cease. Cease striving. Cease earning. Cease proving. Cease buying and selling and producing. This is not a suggestion. It is a divine imperative” [##3|——Stop, in the Name of God, p. 55.##].
Sabbath, he argues, addresses a need that goes deeper than physical rest. “The Sabbath teaches us, from the very beginning, that we were not created primarily to produce, but to walk with God” [##4|——Stop, in the Name of God, p. 58.##]. In this way, Sabbath points toward life’s deeper meaning and purpose that we can find only in God.
The book also beautifully describes how the Sabbath protects and restores human dignity. “In remembering that rest, we remember who we are: not slaves, not machines, not commodities, but image-bearers called to be still and know that He is God” [##5|——Stop, in the Name of God, p. 61.##]. The Sabbath invites us to find our value and security in something greater than ourselves. “In a society where identity is increasingly tethered to output—where your worth is measured by how busy you are—the Sabbath invites you to stop, and still be loved. Still be human. It rehumanizes us in a dehumanizing world” [##6|——Stop, in the Name of God, p. 135.##].
He further highlights how the Sabbath teaches us that all people are created equal in the image of God. He writes that the Sabbath commandment “upends social stratification by declaring that every human being, regardless of status, deserves dignity, rest, and space to breathe” [##7|——Stop, in the Name of God, p. 159.##]. The Sabbath commandment embraces every human regardless of their societal status (Ex. 20:8-11). “God levels the playing field. The master and the slave, the citizen and the foreigner, the employer and the worker—all are called to rest. All are seen. All are dignified” [##8|——Stop, in the Name of God, p. 176.##].
Kirk’s vision, however, for how these ideals of human dignity and equality should be applied in society goes beyond the Sabbath. His Sabbath theology is intertwined with social theory and partisan politics.
Blending Theology and Politics
Kirk’s book about the Sabbath is not just about the Sabbath. It’s also a polemic against the political left and globalism. Woven throughout the book are sharp critiques of social justice, anti-racism, “wokeism,” environmentalism, socialism, and Communism, which he believes undermine human dignity. He warns about the evils of the global elites behind the United Nations and prominent health institutions such as the World Health Organization (WHO), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
His political rhetoric is no doubt troubling to some and welcome to others. Nevertheless, he sees the Sabbath standing against these apparently corrupt movements and institutions, as the Sabbath stood against Pharaoh in ancient Egypt. “The Sabbath, then, is a political act. It is a weekly declaration of allegiance—not to Pharaoh, not to empire, not to the machine, but to Yahweh” [##9|——Stop, in the Name of God, p. 137.##].
For Kirk, the Sabbath is a political revolution. “Sabbath is our rebellion. Our resistance. Our return. It is the declaration that we are not slaves, not to Egypt, not to Pharaoh, not to modernity. We are free people. And free people rest” [##10|——Stop, in the Name of God, p. 258.##]. Thus he considered his message about the Sabbath to perfectly align with his fight for freedom in America. In this sense his message about the Sabbath complemented his political career. Notably, his book was published by Winning Team Publishing, a company cofounded by Donald Trump, Jr., to promote America First ideals [11].
The book presents the Sabbath as part of the solution needed for America’s spiritual healing. He uses his book to appeal to Americans. “Now, imagine if America began to honor the Sabbath again—not merely as a personal spiritual practice but as a national cultural rhythm. Picture Saturday (or Sundays) once again becoming a time of collective pause, when commerce slows, screens dim, and the frenetic pace of life yields to presence, prayer, and family” [##12|Kirk, Stop, in the Name of God, p. 259.##].
He pleads for America to return to its moral and political roots in the way it historically protected Sunday. “The entire week would once again be centered around the holy, the divine, the beautiful, and the sacred. Our nation would regain a core—a moral and spiritual center—that anchors it against the relentless pull of the digital age and the constant erosion of meaning” [##13|——Stop, in the Name of God, p. 260.##].
Blue Laws
Kirk idealizes Sunday laws (often referred to as blue laws in the United States) as a key ingredient to America’s past greatness. He traces the origins of Sunday laws beginning in the year 321, when Emperor Constantine made a decree making “the venerable Day of the Sun” a day of civil rest. “This edict—though partly syncretic—set the legal precedent for the sanctification of Sunday across Christendom” [##14|——Stop, in the Name of God, p. 68.##].
Kirk notes that even such Protestant Reformers as Calvin upheld the long-established precedent of laws governing Sunday rest. He argues that Puritans in America were ultimately more devoted to legislating Sunday than any other society in the history of the world. “In no other civilization had a day of rest been so deeply institutionalized. . . . In the American colonies and well into the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, these values were not merely held by isolated religious communities—they were woven into the cultural and legal fabric of a nation that broadly identified as Christian” [##15|——Stop, in the Name of God, pp. 71-72.##].
Kirk responds to those who may question whether Sunday laws threaten religious freedom by quoting Alexis de Tocqueville, who wrote, “Blue laws, then, were not an aberration, but the natural outflow of a people who believed that liberty without sacred order was hollow” [##16|——Stop, in the Name of God, pp. 72-73.##]. Despite freedom being a central theme for Kirk, he sees no contradiction with blue laws mandating rest for the good of the people. “The assumption was not merely that Sunday was different, but that it must be different—for the sake of the soul, for the sake of the nation” [##17|——Stop, in the Name of God, p. 73.##].
He argues that Sunday blue laws never violated the separation of church and state and laments the rise of secularism, when Sunday protections disappeared and “worship became optional” in America.[##18|——Stop, in the Name of God, p. 74.##]. His interpretation of America and its history leads him to defend blue laws at the same time as he promotes the seventh-day Sabbath.
Presenting Both Sides
Kirk is aware that his study of the Sabbath inevitably raises the “pressing and often polarizing question among Christians: Are we still bound to observe the Sabbath?” [##19|——Stop, in the Name of God, p. xiii.##]. Kirk agonized over this question. “I have personally struggled with the idea of whether or not Christians are bound by the Sabbath. . . . I wrestle with this greatly. . . . I’ve spent years asking these questions with my Bible open and my heart burdened, trying to reconcile what feels like a glaring tension in Scripture” [##20|——Stop, in the Name of God, p. 188.##]. After all his study, he was troubled by preachers who so easily dismiss the seventh-day Sabbath—declaring that it is now obsolete. “That feels jarring. At times, almost irreverent” [##21|——Stop, in the Name of God, p. 188.##].
For someone known for confidence and certainty, Kirk became unusually tentative about how Christians should apply the Sabbath. He describes himself as still being “a bit raw” and “tender” with his new Sabbath convictions [##22|——Stop, in the Name of God, p. 195.##]. In an effort to be fair, Kirk devotes one chapter to 10 reasons Christians should honor the seventh-day Sabbath, followed by another outlining 10 reasons the Sabbath does not bind New Testament Christians. He ultimately concludes, “As someone who now observes a Saturday Sabbath, I want to be clear. I don’t think the specific day—Saturday or Sunday—is of primary importance” [##23|——Stop, in the Name of God, p. 194.##]. Despite this conclusion, Kirk still argues for the validity of the Sabbath for Christians.
Kirk emphasizes the significance of the Sabbath commandment being at the heart of God’s moral law. He recognizes that the Ten Commandments “were not suggestions, nor were they temporary legal statutes subject to cultural shifts” [##24|——Stop, in the Name of God, p. 198.##]. Kirk sees Jesus upholding the Sabbath with His life and ministry. Contrary to popular Christian teachings, Kirk writes that Christ’s “disputes with religious leaders were never about whether to keep the Sabbath, but about how. . . . To argue that Jesus broke or annulled the Sabbath is to misread both the spirit and the text of the Gospels” [##25|——Stop, in the Name of God, pp. 200-201.##].
The arc of sacred history convinced Kirk that the Sabbath was for today. “If the Sabbath exists in Eden (Gen. 2) and again in the new creation (Isa. 66), then it is difficult to argue it is obsolete in the present” [##26|——Stop, in the Name of God, p. 201.##]. He recognizes a significant difference between the moral law and ceremonial laws. “While the ceremonial laws of Israel (e.g., sacrifices, festivals) were fulfilled and rendered obsolete in Christ, the moral law—including the Ten Commandments—remains” [##27|——Stop, in the Name of God, p. 202.##].
Quoting Revelation 14:12, he notes that “God’s people are identified as those who hold two defining marks: They trust in Jesus, and they keep God’s commandments” [##28|——Stop, in the Name of God, p. 203.##]. Though he dedicates a whole chapter to explaining why the Sabbath is no longer binding, he struggles to shake the conviction that “the Sabbath is the most ignored commandment by modern Christians to our own detriment” [##29|——Stop, in the Name of God, p. 209.##].
Practical Results
For Kirk, the Christian Sabbath is not about gathering with fellow believers for a “holy convocation” (Lev. 23:3) or a “sacred assembly” (verse 36). He did not see the Sabbath as a time for “the assembling of ourselves together” in corporate worship (Heb. 10:25). Kirk attended church on Sunday and kept his Sabbath more private. He suggests that the Sabbath is a somewhat elastic day that could accommodate kids’ sports or be rescheduled for the sake of political events [##30|——Stop, in the Name of God, pp. 231-236.##].
Kirk draws many of his Sabbathkeeping practices from Orthodox Jewish traditions. He acknowledges the contributions of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and shares research showing that Sabbathkeeping has led Adventists to live happier and healthier lives than the general population.
In the end he regards the Sabbath as both imperative and optional. By wavering between the Sabbath and a Sabbath, he leaves the reader to his or her own interpretation. Kirk’s followers fiercely debate his legacy and intentions. Even in the religious world, some Seventh-day Adventists speculate that Kirk was moving toward Adventism, while some notable Catholics have made their own claims that Kirk was moving toward Catholicism. Kirk never publicly indicated a move toward either.
The book will help many people learn about the Sabbath and the Seventh-day Adventist Church for the first time. Some will be led to honor the Sabbath. Others will use his book to champion blue laws. Many will find it difficult to separate his message of the Sabbath from his partisan politics. Stop, in the Name of God will inspire new sermons, debate, and digital media both for and against the Sabbath. At a minimum, Kirk’s book offers a significant contribution to the ongoing Sabbath discussion.
REFERENCES
Charlie Kirk, Stop, in the Name of God: Why Honoring the Sabbath Will Transform Your Life (Clinton Township, MI: Winning Team Publishing, 2025), p. xiv.
Ibid, p. 4.
Ibid, p. 55.
Ibid, p. 58.
Ibid, p. 61.
Ibid, p. 135.
Ibid, p. 159.
Ibid, p. 176.
Ibid, p. 137.
Ibid, p. 258.
www.45books.com
Kirk, Stop, in the Name of God, p. 259.
Ibid, p. 260.
Ibid, p. 68.
Ibid, pp. 71-72.
Ibid, pp. 72-73.
Ibid, p. 73.
Ibid, p. 74.
Ibid, p. xiii.
Ibid, p. 188.
Ibid.
Ibid, p. 195.
Ibid, p. 194.
Ibid, p. 198.
Ibid, pp. 200-201.
Ibid, p. 201.
Ibid, p. 202.
Ibid, p. 203.
Ibid, p. 209.
Ibid, pp. 231-236.
Joe Reeves is the editor of inVerse, the Bible study guide for young adults produced by the General Conference Sabbath School and Personal Ministries Department.