June 5, 2018 

If you are like me, you have been eagerly awaiting the Supreme Court’s ruling in the case of Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. This is the case of Jack Phillips, the Christian baker and owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop, who refused to bake a wedding cake for two gay men on the grounds that doing so would violate his religious beliefs.    

After Phillips refused to bake the cake, the gay couple filed a complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights commission alleging that Phillips violated a Colorado anti-discrimination law that prohibits business open to the public from discriminating against their customers on the basis of race, religion or sexual orientation. Phillips argued that his cakes were an artistic expression and subject to free speech protection under the first amendment, and that requiring him to bake cakes for gay couples violated his right to free speech and free exercise of religion.  There is much procedural history that can be summarized by saying that Phillips lost at trial and on appeal. The courts ruled that the making of a cake was the expected conduct of Phillips business, and not an expression of free speech or an exercise of religion, and therefore his refusal to bake the cake violated the anti-discrimination law.

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Jack Phillips yesterday.  This is wonderful news for Phillips and for those who believe that business owners should not be forced to violate their consciences and beliefs by being required to use their creativity to endorse same sex marriage.  But we should look at what the Supreme Court actually said and didn’t say.  The Court ruled in favor of Phillips because it said that the Colorado Civil Rights Commission violated its obligation to apply “religious neutrality” to its hearings and therefore overturned the ruling by the Commission.  The Supreme Court found that the Commission was unduly biased against Phillips and had shown open hostility toward his religious beliefs.  In other words, Phillips didn’t get a fair hearing before the Commission because the Commission was hostile to Phillips religious beliefs and overturned the ruling on those grounds.  What the Supreme Court did not say was that Phillips or anyone else in a similar situation has a right to deny providing goods or services to a gay couple. The court basically kicked the can down the road, choosing to decide the case on a very narrow issue, rather than dealing with the big issues in the case.

So, even though Phillips won the case, he did not hit a home run.  He won on a much narrower issue than what he was hoping, i.e., that the Court would declare that his rights to freedom of speech and freedom of exercise religion trump the anti-discrimination law. This case establishes no legal precedent and will be of no use to the next Christian business owner accused of violating anti-discrimination laws by refusing to sell goods and services to same sex couples. That issue is not resolved and I doubt it will be very long before another case makes its way up to the Supreme Court. 

In the meantime, let’s not be part of the problem.  God loves people who are practicing homosexuality, although the Bible is clear that homosexuality is an abomination to God.  We need to love them too, yet not be afraid to speak Biblical truth to them IN LOVE.  I emphasize IN LOVE because this issue has been so clouded by hate.  We ALL have sin in our lives.  God hates ALL sin.  Jesus died for ALL sin.  Let’s show practicing homosexuals the same grace, mercy and love in their sin that we want for ourselves and our own sin. Let’s find the proper balance between loving the sinner and not endorsing the sin.  Let’s point them to Christ.  That’s where forgiveness for ALL sin is found.