The bakery owners, Aaron and Melissa Klein, were happy to serve gay people at their store. The Kleins simply did not wish to participate in a same-sex wedding. When they declined a request to participate in such a wedding, they got sued. As a result, they had to close their bakery. And now, a recent court decision threatens to bankrupt them as well.

I’ve written numerous times about this case over the last two years (original report above), but this just in today: “Same-sex marriage decision forces Christian bakers’ bankruptcy.”

The bakery owners, Aaron and Melissa Klein, were happy to serve gay people at their store. The Kleins simply did not wish to participate in a same-sex wedding. When they declined a request to participate in such a wedding, they got sued. As a result, they had to close their bakery. And now, a recent court decision threatens to bankrupt them as well. From USA Today:

The owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa will have to pay up to $75,000 per person who filed the complaint, which means the same-sex couple could be awarded up to $150,000.

After the decision came down against them yesterday, the owners of the bakery posted the following on their Facebook page:

Even though it seems as if we are being thrown into the Lions den. We will continue to stand for the Lord, our faith will not waiver. We fully trust in our heavenly father. He is able to deliver us from this, but even if He doesn’t we are not going to compromise on God’s truth in order to appease man.

These stories are getting more and more common, but I am still not used to them. I cannot believe that this is happening. This couple got sued for following their Christian faith, and now their consciences are being trampled by the coercive power of the state.

This is a clear violation of their first amendment rights, but no court has yet recognized that. Let’s hope and pray that changes very soon.

Denny Burk is Associate Professor of New Testament and Dean of Boyce College, the undergraduate arm of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. This article first appeared on his blog and is used with permission.