The artists object to the MESSAGE being sent, not the person. They have routinely served gay people. But they do not want to endorse a message that is sinful or violates their religious convictions. These merchants (bakers, florists, photographers) were often targeted by gay couples who knew they could find services at a dozen other locations, but sought to publicly shame the Christian’s stance and close down their business. They wanted to make an example of them and to instigate cases that could go to the courts, which they knew would generally side with them.

The Supreme Court’s recent decision in the Masterpiece Cakeshop Case held that a government cannot punish a baker for refusing to make a cake for a same-sex marriage ceremony if that government has also shown hostility toward the baker’s religion. While hardly a resounding defense of the Christian’s right to both own a business and not celebrate sin, I suppose that it was better than finding against the baker.

This kind of case demonstrates the ever-increasing tension for Christians to decide if they are going to accommodate the public’s desire to embrace the LGBTQ movement or not. Refusing to cater gay weddings gives rise to charges of discrimination—never mind the fact that these same bakers regularly served gay customers. They only objected to doing something that would affirm same-sex “marriage” contrary to their conscience. This is why Justice Kennedy, who voted in favor of same-sex marriage, stated in the recent ruling that, “creating a wedding cake for a same-sex wedding would be equivalent to participating in a celebration that is contrary to his own [Jack Phillips’] most deeply held beliefs”).  

The artists object to the MESSAGE being sent, not the person. They have routinely served gay people. But they do not want to endorse a message that is sinful or violates their religious convictions. These merchants (bakers, florists, photographers) were often targeted by gay couples who knew they could find services at a dozen other locations, but sought to publicly shame the Christian’s stance and close down their business. They wanted to make an example of them and to instigate cases that could go to the courts, which they knew would generally side with them.

Role Reversals

Yet, when the situations were reversed, say, when a Christian went into a gay baker’s establishment and asked for a cake that stated, “We do not support gay marriage,” it was the Christian who was threatened with a lawsuit. Tolerance and freedom of speech seems to be a one-way street with the LGBT community, and indeed a misguided judicial system which prizes LGBT “progress” over religious convictions (and over bedrock truths which have been the foundation of Western civilization, not to mention most of recorded history).

In a New Mexico case, photographer Elaine Huguenin declined to participate in a same-sex wedding, not wanting to use her artistry to participate in that which violates her biblical faith. The two lesbian women decided to report Elaine for not endorsing their ceremony (so much for their tolerance), filing a complaint with the New Mexico Human Rights Commission. The Commission found Elaine guilty of “sexual orientation discrimination” and ordered her business to pay nearly $7,000 in fees to the couple (and cost her much business).

“One of the [New Mexico Supreme Court] justices said that the Huguenins are ‘now are compelled by law to compromise the very religious beliefs that inspire their lives,’ and he declared that this compulsion ‘is the price of citizenship.’”

However, when the roles were reversed, the New Mexico Human Rights Commission didn’t care. A homosexual hairdresser named Antonio Darden refused to cut Governor Susan Martinez’s hair because she opposed same-sex marriage. Both refused services, but the homosexual was applauded, while the Christian was fined. The media hailed the hairdresser as a hero, but when the roles were reversed, the Christian was a bigoted, intolerant, hateful, discriminatory, 2nd class citizen who opposed equal treatment. Yet, this was never said about Mr. Darden. And indeed, when the tables were turned, nothing happened to the gay coffee shop owner who refused service to Christians who were pro-life advocates. An outstanding article on the rampant, intentional double-standard and hypocrisy can be found here.

As James Hamilton notes in his commentary on the Song of Solomon:

“Our time is notable for massive sexual confusion, distortion, and perversion. Pornography is pervasive. Adultery is celebrated in the culture at large, the devastation of divorce normalized, the fiction of same-sex ‘marriage’ legalized—all satanic attempts to make immorality moral through the permission of the legislature. In this subverted moral universe, those who adhere to morality as the Bible asserts the Creator intended it are regarded as bigots, or worse.”

So, don’t be surprised if our sexually confused culture calls on you to compromise your biblical standards. If that happens, don’t do it. Let me help you, by asking the question this way: If Jesus was a baker, and He was asked to make a cake for a same-sex ceremony, would He do it? Various actors, journalists, and political pundits are sure that He would.

Here are three reasons why He wouldn’t:

1. Jesus attested to the truthfulness of the Scriptures, which unanimously condemn any sexual relationship outside of heterosexual marriage.

Homosexuality is a sexual sin like adultery, fornication (pre-marital sex), prostitution, and incest, and all condemned by Jesus. See more on this below). Would Jesus bake a cake and write on it “Happy Adultery Day!”? Of course not. And in the same way He would never bake a cake which endorses the sin of homosexuality (the root) and same-sex “marriage” (the fruit). Anyone who says that Jesus would simply bake the cake is either totally deceived, politically motivated, or is completely ignorant of Jesus and the Bible.

For instance, Jesus said in Mark 7:21-22:  

“For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, sexual immorality, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.” (Mark 7:21-23)

Now, the word that’s translated “sexual immorality” [porneia] is a very broad word. If you look in any Greek dictionary, it will say that porneia refers to any sexual sin. It can refer to prostitution, adultery, incest, homosexuality, or other sexual sins.

Jesus didn’t need to list every possible sexual sin, because He simply upheld God’s original design of sex within marriage. But the very fact that he used porneia would no doubt trigger in the Greek reader’s mind that homosexuality was sinful or evil as Jesus said in verse 23. Jesus assumed Old Testament morality, and did not need to repeat what the Hebrew Scriptures said about incest, or bestiality, or a host of other sins, including homosexuality. They’re all captured in this term and in a host of other verses on sexuality throughout the Bible.

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