As we celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ in this season, we know that he came into this world to die on the cross. The shadow of the cross is seen even in the manger of Bethlehem. He came to die as our substitutionary atonement, to pay the full penalty for our sins.
Now when Jesus called His disciples to follow Him, do you recall how he made that declaration? Matthew 16:24 “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” He didn’t invite you to relax in a lazy boy recliner. He didn’t say come follow me to the spa for a day of ease in the lap of luxury. He invited disciples to take up the cross, an instrument of torture and death. He never promised His disciples an easy road. So we should not be surprised when we encounter suffering on the road as we follow Christ. This is increasingly true in America.
Jack Phillips, the Christian baker, has experienced this because he simply refused to use his artistic skills for the celebration of a sodomite unmarriage ceremony. His case was heard before the Supreme Court this past Tuesday.
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My friend Peter LaBarbera wrote, “the ADF lawyers for Jack Phillips are arguing that he should not be compelled to back the pro-gay-‘marriage’ cake due to his ‘artistic’ freedom. But what about non-artists–say, a woman who rents chairs for events, or bed-and-breakfast owners who don’t want to rent to homosexuals on their ‘honeymoon’? Do they LOSE their right to dissent from homosexuality-celebrating culture because they are not ‘artists’?” I agree.
What we see now is the destruction of freedom. Isn’t the Freedom of Contract an essential, God-given right? Shouldn’t you be free to choose who you will work for and who you will not? Unless you are a slave you cannot be compelled to work for someone you choose not to work for.
In Stuart White’s book, Freedom of Association and the Right to Exclude, White states, “Call it freedom of association, the right of association or the right of exclusion. It boils down to the same thing: it is a fundamental human right to decide who one deals with, works with, lives with or otherwise interacts with, provided the dances are voluntary. Waltzing into a cake shop is pretty voluntary. It’s high time the right of association asserted itself in American jurisprudence…”
The paganization of America was on full display this Tuesday at the U.S. Supreme Court. Consider what has happened regarding persecution of those who hold to the Biblical, moral standards.
First, the sodomites told us that they only wanted to be left alone. They proclaimed, “You do your thing we’ll do ours, just ignore us. You leave us alone and we will leave you alone. This was a lie, they had no intention of leaving our God-given rights undisturbed. This lie however was easily sold in America as keep your nose out of other people’s bedrooms.
The next stage was, “You must accept us as we are. You must not say what we do is sinful abomination, it must be called a lifestyle choice.”
Next it was, “You must declare our abomination legally protected activity for which no one can be prosecuted.”
Then came the so-called hate crimes – a legal demand that no words be used to in any way criticize or denigrate that abomination.
And now we have the legal demand that you must celebrate their perversity with them – and if you do not, legal punishments will follow. Punishments such as being driven out of business, required to take indoctrination/re-education courses, or ruinous fines imposed upon you. You are not permitted to choose not celebrate this abomination. By the way, Jack Phillips and his employees were forced into indoctrination classes by the government of Colorado.
How did they accomplish this destruction of morality in America so quickly? They told us in their manifesto, After the Ball. “At least at the outset,” say Kirk and Madsen, “we seek desensitization and nothing more. You can forget about trying up front to persuade folks that homosexuality is a good thing. But if you can get them to think that it is just another thing — meriting no more than a shrug of the shoulders — then your battle for legal and social rights is virtually won.” www.thenewamerican.com
Far too many American’s who call themselves Christians have backed away from all of this because they don’t want to be attacked and vilified for upholding God’s Holy Standard of morality. They adopted the somodite’s language, rejecting what the Bible calls this abomination. They seem to lack the courage necessary, or perhaps they didn’t really hear what Jesus said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” But those who stand with God’s Holy Standard earn a great eternal reward.
We have examples in our day, a Jack Philips and a Chief Justice Roy Moore – willing to stand for what is right regardless of the cost to themselves. Biblically we have a multitude of examples as well.
We must never forget what Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount…
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:10-12)
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