The gifts of the Spirit are for the spread of the gospel

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What should Christians do?

The Equalities Commission will not have its cake, nor will it eat it.

In a rare win for freedom of expression, Belfast bakers Daniel and Amy McArthur have been exonerated by the UK Supreme Court of any liability, after refusing to bake a cake promoting gay marriage.

Four years of this high-profile legal battle have exposed the gross injustices of Britain’s ‘hate laws’. Well done to these two steadfast Christians for refusing to give in to the state bullies who have wrongly accused them. This is a real victory!

It is frightening that this case had to go all the way to the Supreme Court to get a verdict that plain common sense should have delivered instantly. It has also exposed the bias of the so-called ‘Equality Commission’ in Northern Ireland (ECNI) – a supposedly ‘independent’, publicly-funded body dedicated to promoting ‘equality’ and ‘human rights’. Here, effectively, is an arm of the state colluding with the LGBTQ+ lobby to punish ordinary citizens and small businesses for failing to affirm LGBTQ+ ideology, wasting £250,000 of tax-payers’ money in the process.¹

But despite these things, the verdict should still be a real cause for celebration. It is not an ‘offensive’ win, taking legal ground back for ‘Christendom’, but it is a landmark ‘defensive’ win, ensuring Christians’ continued freedom to refuse to partake in and affirm the sinful beliefs and practices of this generation.

Freedom for Conscience

Had it gone the other way, it would effectively have spelled the end of freedom of conscience, especially in the sphere of trade, setting a legal precedent for the state to enforce independent businesses to affirm values with which they disagree profoundly. It is therefore a win that should benefit everyone, not just Christians, as Daniel McArthur emphasised to the press after the judgment was given:

The judges have given a clear signal today. In fact, it couldn’t be clearer. Family businesses like ours are free to focus on giving all their customers the best service they can – without being forced to promote other people’s campaigns.

I know a lot of people will be very glad of this ruling today, because this ruling protects freedom of speech and freedom of conscience for everyone.²

By contrast, the ECNI revealed its contempt for the idea of individual freedom of conscience in its post-judgment statement, saying “There is a concern…that the beliefs of business owners may take precedence over a customer’s equality rights, which in our view is contrary to what the legislature intended”.³ Those in charge of equality law enforcement obviously consider their own brand of morality to be incontrovertible; they brook no dissent- and they don’t think that the courts should, either.

Had the judgment gone the other way, it would effectively have spelled the end of freedom of conscience, especially in the sphere of trade.

The Battle Underneath

Underlying the Ashers case is a deep conflict between the freedoms brought about by Judeo-Christian values – the vestiges of which still linger in Britain’s institutions and culture - and the secular humanist values of equality law, which promise freedom but tend towards tyranny.

This latter worldview has been encroaching on Britain for decades, helped along by the commandeering of positive-sounding words like ‘justice’, ‘freedom’ and ‘equality’. Instead of ‘equality’ meaning the dignity that should be afforded to all humans because they are made in God’s image, regardless of their personal beliefs, ‘equality’ has been co-opted to mean enforced compliance with an atheistic, sexually licentious worldview.

This kind of ‘equality’ is grounded in a rejection of the God of the Bible and his created order, and a devaluation of individual freedoms for the ‘greater good’.

Behind this again are spiritual forces of darkness aiming to thwart the salvation of millions by (a) promoting and seeking to compel ungodly beliefs and behaviours, and (b) working to shut down and punish godly behaviours and responses. In the Ashers case, both of these spiritual strategies have been in play. The McArthurs have come under enormous pressure to compromise their own convictions and bow to the spirit of the age.

But – praise the Lord – this time, the attempt to shut down Christian witness has backfired spectacularly. The Supreme Court’s verdict shows that there may yet be hope for our institutions. Even more deliciously, the case has afforded Daniel and Amy many opportunities to testify in front of national reporters and TV cameras to God’s goodness and truth, which they have done with grace, dignity and evident faith:

Victoria Jones/PA Wire/PA ImagesI want to start by thanking God. He has been with us during the challenges of the last four years. Through the Bible and the support of Christians, He has comforted us and sustained us. "He is our rock and all His ways are just.”

We're delighted and relieved at today's ruling. We always knew we hadn't done anything wrong in turning down this order. After more than four years, the Supreme Court has now recognised that and we're very grateful. Grateful to the judges and especially grateful to God.⁴

Praise the Lord – this time, the attempt to shut down Christian witness has backfired spectacularly.

The Light Shines

The victory and the witness are both enormously refreshing. The McArthurs have tasted the truth of Isaiah 54:17: “’no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me,’ declares the Lord.”

But just as heartening is the amount of public support the couple has received, including from surprising quarters such as gay activist Peter Tatchell. Tatchell does not agree with the McArthurs’ beliefs, but vehemently defends their right to hold them without fear of punishment, understanding that vital freedoms are at stake. Tatchell joins a growing crowd - like the lesbians protesting trans ideology, and the students rejecting an inherited university culture of alcoholic excess (see last week’s editorial) - who seem to be realising that Britain’s culture change has gone too far. Though they may not understand fully, they can see that society is risking self-destruction and the loss of many hard-fought, hard-won freedoms.

Perhaps (I certainly hope) we are seeing the beginnings of a backlash against the seemingly relentless erosion of Judeo-Christian values in Britain. The war is certainly not over - God apparently still stands ready to intervene for his precious saints, granting continued freedom to the whole nation in the process. Who knows, we may yet see some unlikely characters joining the fight for freedom before long.

Meanwhile, we can pray that the McArthurs’ testimony bears abundant spiritual fruit. When believers stand their ground, graciously but firmly, against the attacks of the enemy, sometimes they are granted worldly victory and vindication - sometimes not. But God will never let their witness go to waste:

Look, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. But beware of men; for they will hand you over to their councils and flog you in their synagogues…But when they hand you over, do not worry about how to respond or what to say. In that hour you will be given what to say. For it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you…

…Therefore, everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in heaven. (Matthew 10:16-33)

Notes

1 DUP MP Ian Paisley has written to the secretary of state for Northern Ireland in the aftermath of the Ashers ruling, calling for a review into the ECNI’s funding.

2 Watch Daniel’s full statement here (1 min 50).

3 Read the full ECNI statement here.

4 See note 3.