- Love and Liberty
Freedom to Discriminate
How bad do things have to get before people realize that we have been backed into a corner by the world’s Government rulers? We are being forced to bow down as Government laws threaten us with a loss of our jobs, and in some cases even imprisonment, for not complying with the evils they claim are for the public good. People are fine with building up Government power if they are the ones who get to control others, but when the shoe is on the other foot they want to complain. Christian business owners are being forced to comply with immoral edicts, or they must pay hefty fines for refusing. Christians have believed the lie that all discrimination is bad, and they have been willing to support anti-discrimination laws that are now being used against them. As Christians, some types of discrimination are immoral, while others are good. To discriminate against a person because of the color of his skin or because of where he was born is sinful. To discriminate against certain behaviors and lifestyles is not only good, it is commanded by God. We are told to “come out from among them and be ye separate”, and to “have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.” I have no illusions, unlike some people, that the US is or ever has been holy, but it is just as laughable to say that the US is a free country. As for all the talk about freedom and spreading democracy, for one thing, democracy is not freedom, and for another thing, the US Government’s professional military is an unholy institution and it is harming the world, not helping it.
There is no freedom of association in the US. If you stand on what the Word of God teaches in the workplace, chances are someone is going to file a complaint against you, and the organization’s Human Resources Department is going to bow to Caesar and reprimand, discipline, or terminate your employment. If you say the Bible commands wives and mothers to be keepers at home, you are discriminating against women. If you say that the State does not decide what marriage is, and that the only union that constitutes marriage in God’s eyes is between a man and a woman, you are discriminating against "LGBTQI" people. If you claim that there are only two genders, male and female, and that people don’t get to choose their gender, you are discriminating. The list goes on, and the truth is plain to see: the State penalizes people for making biblical decisions when it comes to who we associate with. If I had a business and refused to hire a sodomite, or support sodomy by providing him with a service that promotes his sin, my actions would be considered illegal. I do not wish ill on these individuals. I am not saying we should not seek to reach them morally, or that we should not show kindness, I am simply stating that we should not be forced into legal associations or transactions that contradict our beliefs. I have witnessed to people that were living in sinful homosexuality, and I truly had compassion. I do not say that to pat myself on the back, just to point out that I have no room to speak in a self-righteous manner to anyone, even though my sins have been different sins. I too have sinned and have had to call out to God for forgiveness. I too have had to repent. Thankfully there are Christian people that speak and write the truth and that call people to repentance (even if they seem to be few nowadays). But if they do it and offend someone at work, or in business, or in politics, or in public, they can be punished, and they certainly will be ridiculed.
Discrimination is not a bad thing. God discriminates. He says that those who follow Christ have fellowship with him and the Son, but fornicators, drunkards, homosexuals, liars, and other sinners are not his people. But some people, including some professing Christians, think they are nicer than God and they practice a permissive form of so-called Christianity. They are blind leaders of the blind. They like to read the passage that states “judge not that ye be not judged”, but they overlook the verse where the Lord says to “judge righteous judgment.” The Lord warned against hypocritical judgment, which certainly happens with many professing Christians, but he also commands us to be clean ourselves so we can help others remove sin from their lives (Matthew 7:1-5).
In a free society, all forms of discrimination would be legal, as long as one is not committing violence against another person and his property. I am willing to fellowship with anyone and everyone that is following Christ, but no one should be forced to be associated with me, and I should not be forced to associate with anyone either. In a free society, the Church would be able to overcome unrighteous discrimination and be the light that God wants it to be. Sadly, even many churches have succumbed to the threats of Caesar, and instead of obeying God and facing the consequences from an evil State, they kneel to Caesar and appease him. We are not free. The State tells us we are free to believe what we want to believe, but when it comes to actions, we must do as the State says, or else. Be that as it may, this does not cancel our obligation to obey the Lord by having no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness and reproving them. Believing in a free society, I am willing for the people I disagree with to have their associations, because that means I can have mine without the Government punishing me because it thinks it is a god.
1 Corinthians {6:14} Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? {6:15} And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? {6:16} And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in [them;] and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. {6:17} Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean [thing;] and I will receive you, {6:18} And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. {7:1} Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.