Oprah Winfrey asked Bishop TD Jakes his views on homosexuality and same-sex marriage. The Bishop wisely answered, "I'm not called to give my opinion. I'm called as a pastor to give the scriptural position on it." 

            His answer explains, in a nutshell, the role of the church: It is to speak the truth where God has spoken. Truth is a rare commodity. Fortunately, Jesus established the church to be the "pillar and foundation of the truth" (1 Timothy 3:15). The church's purpose is to guide people to salvation and holy lives by telling them the truth. Society has a place to turn to when they want this kind of truth.         

            There are three basic reasons why the church is reliable to tell the truth concerning salvation and morality:

            Reason 1: The church has received Jesus Christ as Lord and He is "the way, the truth and the life" (John 14:6). Jesus said, "Everyone on the side of truth listens to me" (John 18:37).

            Reason 2: The church has received the Holy Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, as God's reliable, written revelation of Himself. "Let God be true, and every man a liar" (Romans 3:4). The Bible is God's written Word and, therefore, is reliable in matters of salvation and morality.

            Reason 3: The church has received the Holy Spirit Who will "guide you into all truth" (John 16:13). New moral issues, not directly mentioned in the Bible, crop up all the time, so the Holy Spirit takes the principles of Scriptures, and He reveals the truth to the church, so she can speak it to the world.

            The church is the only institution that Christ personally established in the world to tell the truth. Other institutions have their purposes and graces from God, but none are gifted with grace, quite like the church, to speak the truth. Here are their purposes:

• The media is to factually report current events.


• Government is to govern citizens.


• Education is to prepare students for careers.


• Business is to create wealth for society.


• Arts and entertainment is to amuse and inspire people.


• The family is the most important of all: it is to procreate and provide a moral, stable and discipline environment for children to become productive adults.

            I have written this article for two reasons:

            First, to show you where to turn when you seek the truth.

            Don't look to a Hollywood actress or pop singer or politician to tell you the truth about what is right and wrong. They are not gifted and graced by God to speak moral truth. Look to the church for the truth. On the other hand, the church is not called to govern or entertain society. God did not set up a theocracy, putting the church in charge of governing. And if you get bored at church, don't be surprised, because the church is not to entertain you, but to tell you the truth.

            The second reason I write this is to help those in other institutions relate better with the church.

            The church, by its nature, cannot change the truth of God. Right has always been right. Wrong will always be wrong. The church should not get "blown here and there by every wind of teaching" (Ephesians 4:14). So you should not expect a bishop, pastor or priest to change their teaching. On the other hand, you do expect a politician to change his position. If a politician does not change with the winds, then he may not get elected to govern. But the church's purpose is different; she does not look to cater to society's whims of change. The church must be counted on to tell the truth.

            The greatest asset of the church is to speak the truth. Sadly, a small number of churches that have acted more "politically" correct than "truth" correct have lost millions of members, because people understand that the church cannot change morality to fit political correctness. The church must remain as a pillar and foundation of the truth.

            Regarding the original question that Oprah asked Bishop Jakes about concerning homosexuality and same sex marriage. The Apostle Paul clearly answered the reason why "women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones" (Romans 2:26) and why "men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another" (v 27). Paul says the reason is because "They exchanged the truth of God for a lie" (v 25).  Today's, gay activist justify their behavior because they reject the truth of God and believe their own lie.