Jack Phillips, owner of the Masterpiece Cakeshop, is now facing a third lawsuit. Phillips made headlines for his refusal to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding, a case which eventually went to the Supreme Court. He won that case, but it was not the sweeping victory for religious liberty that some had hoped for. Instead he won on narrow grounds. The Court determined that the prosecution, the Colorado Civil Rights Commission, had violated his civil rights in the process. This set him up to be sued again by the Commission on behalf of Autumn Scardina, who requested he bake a cake to celebrate his gender transition. Although the Commission later dropped the case, Scardina is now suing Phillips directly for discrimination.

Phillips’ endless gauntlet through the courts that leftist totalitarians have forced him into has critical relevance for us as Christians as it relates to where we place our trust and what we should expect as Christians while living in a sinful world.

#1: Expect Persecution

It is clearly evident by the fact that Phillips is being sued for the third time that those who hate him for his Christian faith intend to ruin him by any means that the courts will allow them to get away with. Phillips stood firmly for the truth of God’s Word, and for that the world hates him. 

By living in a historically Christian nation and being “protected” by the First Amendment, it is very easy to forget that the ungodly forces in this world, including in America, are hostile to those who believe.

We must all remember Jesus’ words to his disciples, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.  If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” (John 15:18-19 ESV).  The world has hated God from the beginning, so we must expect that if they will war against God, they will war against us as well, as is seen with Phillips.

#2: Our ultimate hope is in God, not in a conservative Supreme Court

The very fact that Philips is on his way to court for a third time should be a lesson to all Christians that our faith cannot rest in any human institution, even a conservative Supreme Court. 

Many Christians rejoiced in President Trump’s Supreme Court nominations, but the Court’s narrow ruling in Phillips’ first case led him to being attacked again. Thus, even a conservative Court cannot be fully relied upon to rule in a manner that is completely just, as it only provided a brief reprieve to Phillips’ situation.

In the Psalms we read, “Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation”, and further, “Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God” (Psalm 146:3, 5 ESV).

In light of this, as Christians, we must realize that our ultimate hope should never rest in any human institution, as even the best of them will fail us.  We must place our hope in God, who will never fail His people. 

#3: Have a hope that rejoices in suffering

Not all may suffer the vicious attacks that men like Phillips have suffered, but Scripture tell us that persecution is anything but pointless suffering.  In Romans we read, “We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope” (Romans 5:3-4 ESV).  Suffering, when done as a Christian, does not have to be purposeless, but is instead an opportunity to grow in Godly character and draw closer to Him.  If we rely on a God who will not fail, we will obtain a hope that can withstand anything, no matter what persecution we may suffer.

What will happen with Phillips and his third trip to the courts is anybody’s guess. It should be the prayer of every Christian that those who suffer for Christ’s sake would endure this persecution well and place their hope in God, and that we all would be ready for whatever persecution may come.