We learn in 1 Timothy 3:15 that God has called the Church of Jesus Christ to be the pillar and ground of the truth. This does not mean, as is sometimes claimed, that the Church is the determiner of the truth. This is essentially the Roman Catholic position (cf. Vatican II, Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation). On the contrary, both of these terms indicate that one of the Church's chief responsibilities is to support, teach, and defend God's truth. The Church was created by God to teach, preserve, and propagate the truth so that men might be confronted with the Word of God and brought by God's Spirit into the kingdom of God. Accordingly, truth is paramount in the Church. False teaching and half-truths are more than tragic, lamentable evidences of weakness in the Church. They are denials of the identity and responsibility we have as God's redeemed people. All earnest Christians must mourn and repent of doctrinal compromise and weakness. Regardless of how difficult certain truths of Scripture are to believe or contrary to the modern outlook, we must carefully, lovingly, and zealously defend the truths of God's Word.