Loving Others While Standing By My Beliefs

One of America’s greatest freedoms is the right to worship God.

The 1^st Amendment of the Constitution reads:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Sadly, many of the freedoms assured us by the 1^st Amendment are threatened or challenged in the culture.

Case in point is my friend, Jack Phillips, founder of Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood, Colorado. After opening in 1993, Jack decided not to bake cakes that conveyed messages he felt conflicted with his Christian beliefs, including support of Halloween, anti-American sentiments, racist language, insults against people, or same-sex weddings.

In 2012, Jack was accused of violating the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act – which makes it illegal for businesses to deny service based on sexual orientation – after he refused to bake a cake celebrating a same-sex wedding.

Jack chose to take a stand for religious freedom, even though doing so opened the floodgates of hatred against him. He received angry phone calls, hateful emails, death threats, and he risked losing his business. Jack’s case progressed through the court system for five years, and on June 26, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. On June 4, 2018, the Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in Jack’s favor.

Throughout his journey, Jack found encouragement through the words of 2 Timothy 1:7, “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

Jack Phillips is with us on our Focus on the Family Broadcast “Loving Others While Standing By My Beliefs” to share how he courageously stood for Christ in a progressive culture that increasingly positions itself against religious freedoms.

You can hear my full conversation with Jack on your local radio station, online, on Apple Podcasts, via Google Podcasts, or on our free phone app.

Jack’s book The Cost of My Faith: How a Decision in My Cake Shop Took Me to the Supreme Court is available for a gift of any amount. Visit our website or give us a call at 1-800-A-FAMILY (232-6459). If you can’t afford it, we’ll find a way to get it to you.