gay-marriage-wedding-cakeA Colorado baker may go to jail for up to 12 months because he refused to make a wedding cake for a homosexual couple. On May 30th the Colorado Civil Rights Commission (a panel of seven unelected bureaucrats) ordered Jack Phillips, owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop, to make wedding cakes for homosexual couples. Mr. Phillips has also been ordered to submit quarterly reports for the next two years about any customers he refuses to serve and to provide sensitivity training for all his employees, to ensure that they don’t offend those whose beliefs are different from theirs.

There are important lessons for Christians to learn from this story that we will explore in a moment, but first, let’s take a closer look at this Christian/homosexual conflict.

Back in 2012 a homosexual couple visited Jack Phillips’ bakery and requested a cake so they could celebrate their wedding. Mr. Phillips declined their request on the basis of his deeply-held religious beliefs. Because he is a Christian, Jack Phillips believes that marriage is only between a man and a woman. He did offer to make them any other type of confectionery, but he explained that by making a wedding cake, he would feel as if he were participating in a ceremony that violated his conscience. Instead of just visiting another bakery, the homosexual couple filed a lawsuit against Masterpiece Cakeshop.

Robert Spencer, the administrative law judge who authored the original ruling against the cake shop, expressed a clear understanding of Mr. Phillips’ religious beliefs: “Phillips has been a Christian for approximately 35 years, and believes in Jesus Christ as his Lord and savior. As a Christian, Phillips’ main goal in life is to be obedient to Jesus and His teachings in all aspects of his life

[;] Phillips believes the Bible is the inspired word of God[;] its commands are binding on him[;] God’s intention for marriage is the union of one man and one woman.” He went on to say that, “Phillips believes that if he uses his artistic talents to participate in same-sex weddings by creating a wedding cake, he will be displeasing God and acting contrary to the teachings of the Bible.”

In spite of those traditional religious beliefs (and the First Amendment to the Constitution), the judge ruled against Jack Phillips because what he did “fails to take into account the cost to society and the hurt caused to persons who are denied service simply because of who they are.”

This ruling means we are free to believe what we want, as long as practicing what we believe doesn’t offend anyone. Let me be the first to agree that Jack Phillips was practicing a form of discrimination. However, isn’t the government doing it as well? The bureaucrats are openly discriminating against a Christian in favor of two homosexuals. Isn’t Mr. Phillips being discriminated against just because of who he is?

The government is now stepping in and deciding which belief systems should triumph. Are homosexuals the only ones who deserve to be tolerated? Shouldn’t Christian’s be tolerated as well? We have not asked the government to force others to change their business practices so that our feelings won’t be hurt.

In light of the governments conflict with Masterpiece Cakeshop, let me share some thoughts that are JUST for Christians.

Fellow believer, we should not be surprised when we are discriminated against. Jesus did a lot of wonderful things while He was on earth, and yet the world system hated Him and eventually crucified Him. Jesus said that His followers would suffer too:“If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you” (John 15:18).

Following Jesus is not for wimps. We love Jesus Christ because he died in our place to pay for our sins, and that motivates us to follow Him even when it is unpopular. Jesus was hated because He exposed sin, and when we stand for righteousness we will be hated, too. “This is the judgment, that the Light [Jesus] has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed” (John 3:19–20).

When others ridicule us, or even hate us because we are following Christ, we should NEVER take it personally. In fact, Jesus told us to “… love [our] enemies, [and] do good to those who hate [us]” (Luke 6:27). Let’s pray that the Lord will use us to display God’s love to those who are deceived by sin—no matter what kind of sin they are trapped in.