by David R Cox
For most Christians this is not even a question that they consider worthy of discussion. In some circles such as the Brethren, Mennonite, Anabaptist, some Bible churches, and in some cults, they teach that ministers that receive financial recompense are "hirelings", and that this practice is highly unbiblical.
Really this issue does have a great broad interest in that all those churches that do recompense their ministers have the burning question of how much should they give these ministers? What is fair? What is their biblical obligation?
Clarification of people and ministries - We need to begin with a clarification. Not every person who works for the Lord in some kind of ministry should receive a financial recompense. On one hand, some carry things to an unbiblical extreme of not paying anybody anything, and others want everybody that does anything to get "a piece of the pie". My personal evaluation as a missionary that often I am in a mission's conference with dozens of other "missionaries" that just simply have a business that they are peddling among churches, and at other times, I talk to pastors who give me the bad news that their mission's budget has no room for another missionary. I see their mission's board in the back of their church, and see to whom they are giving, and I really don't understand how so many things get slapped with a "missions" label, and they are things that should be a very low priority, or should receive no money whatsoever.
How do we separate between those who should receive remuneration, and those who should not? - First of all, we must lay a clear foundation that the people of a church should pay the expenses of that church and ministry, including the minister's salaries or remuneration. When the people of a church are paying the bills, then they should not necessarily transfer money from one pocket to another. We quickly add, that the Old Testament understanding is that believers honor and respect God by giving a tithe of their income, and then beyond that, they give offerings. We are not under the Old Testament Law, but the principles of God have not changed (much). If under law God demanded 10%, then under Grace God demands much more, not less.
This is where we start. God's principle is clearly stated when He gives it to Adam. A result of the fall is that man must work to live.
Genesis 3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
In other words, God's curse on Adam is that only through hard work, toil and labor, sweat, will he live. There are a lot of people today that do not do that. They live through scams, cheating, stealing, lying, etc. But if a man is to please God, he must submit to God's law in this matter. Therefore, a Christian should not be a person who is "shy" when it comes to hard work. He should be very well acquainted with it, and he should dive into hard work simply as a way of life for him now that he is obedient to God.
Ephesians 4:28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.
1 Thessalonians 4:11 And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; 12 That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.
2 Thessalonians 3:10 For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. 11 For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies.
God's principle for the obedient Christian is that he work "at his business" (whatever that may be), and that from the fruit of his hands (his own labors) he should sustain himself and his family. The person who refuses to work a hard honest day's labor should also be denied food. In other words, our charity stops short of helping lazy people who are not doing everything possible to live through their own labors.
This rule of God applies equally to the man of God as it does to everybody else.
Galatians 6:6 Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things.
1 Corinthians 9:14 Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel.
God lays a biblical obligation upon the hearer or receiver to economically sustain "his" preacher or teacher. Simply put, the person sitting under the hearing of the gospel has a biblical obligation from God to give financially to that person. We should also put some comments here. The television and radio preachers do not substitute for being a member of a local church. There is an issue of publicly confessing Christ, and identifying with a local group of believers in order to be saved. To not "confess" Christ, is paramount to denying Christ. Matthew 10:32-33. It would seem only too obvious that this assembly into local groups called churches is exactly what happened in the New Testament. Those who would refuse to identify with the redeemed as one of Christ's saved, would be placing great doubt upon a person's salvation. You do not need to be a member of a church to be saved, but the Bible assumes that every true Christian will seek to assemble with others of like faith in their locality. Those who refuse to do this are marking themselves as rebellious people, standing against what God commands. After salvation, the person then is baptized, which in the New Testament would seem to carry with it an inclusion in the membership of that local group of believers that baptized the person. This means that the person becomes part of that local assembly (that congregation or that church).
Here I would like to insert that the end or purpose of a group of believers organizing into a church is not to just exist. God has set its purpose as being that those believers are to organize themselves IN ORDER TO DO THE WORK OF GOD. Question: What is the work of God exactly? It is to reach the world with the Gospel message. The sequence of events is that the church by means of its individual members go out into the world (where the unsaved live and work), witnesses to the unsaved, and any conversions are immediately channeled back into that local church where they are discipled, taught, trained, and pushed out into the work of the Lord to increase the number of workers. Teaching, training, edification all feed back into the cycle.
This local assembly that a person belongs to or congregates with will always carry greater financial obligations for the believer than would missionaries, evangelists, or roving preachers that come and go from time to time.
Having said that let's examine these two verses. Galatians 6:6 puts a burden on the hearer or receiver of teaching or preaching to cooperate financially with the person who gives that preaching or teaching. The New Testament had a clear context of this being in a local church. When it is not in a local church, then the character of the teaching or preaching changes to be more evangelistic, and there is no correspondence per say of unsaved to cooperate with the preacher.
In other words, all the ministries of a church is "staffed" by church members which do not receive recompense from their labors. They are free will labors for the Lord. But when we speak of the preaching and teaching ministries (later we will see the ruling or governing ministry), then God authorizes a financial recompense.
Should Sunday School teachers be paid? - This is a good thing to consider. Sunday School was invented in England around 1800 and something. Best I remember by a man named Raikes. But when we consider the biblical principles involved, they are a class of teacher and so the students should cooperate financially with them. Being that their ministry is very limited (the material is usually already studied and prepared by the pastor and given to them in a form very easy to teach), perhaps their remuneration should be limited also, but it should still be there. The principle is that if a person goes to the trouble, effort, and energy to prepare and present a class, lesson, or sermon, he or she should financially receive something. My personal opinion is that although a salary per se is not necessary, some kind of compensation would be in order. For example, the class or the church should stock the Sunday School teachers with some Bible reference books to help prepare their classes. If the Sunday School lesson is on Matthew, a commentary on Matthew would be in order. Perhaps a yearly offering for the teacher or taking the teacher out to eat at the expense of the class every quarter are other extras that they can do for the teacher.
Paul clearly was one of the first or best known of the New Testament missionaries. What most people do not understand or realize is that the term "apostle" comes from a verb meaning to send on a mission to accomplish, getting that person the authority to represent and the wherewithal to perform the task. This corresponds to our modern concept of "missionary". Few would dispute the fact that Paul was a missionary. This was his primary and principal job. Anything else he did was incidental to his being a missionary.
In 1 Corinthians 9, Paul puts forth his defense of his ministry as a missionary ("apostle"). The context is that Paul founded the church in Corinth, and after having founded this church, false teachers moved in and turned the church against Paul, probably during the same time that he was establishing it. Paul did not get support from this church, but Paul's teaching is that the Corinthian church clearly had a biblical obligation to support him because of his preaching and teaching ministry among them.
2 Corinthians 11:8 I robbed other churches, taking wages of them, to do you service.
Here Paul describes his situation with the Corinthian church, making note of the fact that because of their unspiritual, carnal attitude, their being babies in the Lord, Paul refused or passed over taking recompense from them, but clearly they had that obligation towards him. In stark contrast to the Corinthians, the Philippi church supported Paul from the outside of his ministry, and Paul appreciates them for this.
1 Corinthians 9:10 Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. 11 If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things?
God's principle is that the worker who works a field has a right to receive of the fruit of that field. Involved in this principle is the point that according to the dynamics of the situation, (1) how well the field is prepared, (2) how good is the ground, (3) how well the worker works, (4) how God blesses that field, that crop, that year, etc. these are the things that decide how is the yield, and these are things that would affect how much the worker would receive. The steward that is over a field that yields very little, he himself gets a minimum acceptable salary. But the worker that puts in extra effort, likewise will see a recompense that corresponds or reflects that extra effort.
1 Timothy 5:17 Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine 18 For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward.
God's principle is that a worker should receive of the fruit of his labors, and "double honour" in the context of preaching and teaching. The principle that a laborer is worthy of his reward means that according to the labors of a person, so should their recompense be considered.
1 Timothy 5:18 For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward.
Matthew 10:10 Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat.
Luke 10:7 And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house.
From these passages, we see more support for the paying of ministers a just salary for their labors. In Matthew 10 and Luke 10, we note that the context of these passages is that Jesus sent out his disciples to minister as short term missionaries. Very simply, they raised no money, but they lived by faith. Apparently one of the basic or foundational teachings of the early church was something to the effect that the minister should be supported by those he ministers to. This is a rule. Therefore, the people that receive the direct teaching and preaching of that minister should financially support him. This is a principle that should not be passed over lightly. The only exception to this principle is that of missionaries, and yet we see very clearly that Paul taught this principle even so among the churches he established.
As an aside, we study Paul's ministry, and we note that the church in Antioch sent Paul and his group out (literally they divorced themselves or fully cut themselves off from having any further dealings or obligations with Paul). When Paul mentions the faithfulness of the Philippian church in giving since the beginning of his ministry (Phil. 4:15), they regularly gave to Paul as they had opportunity (somebody passed through their church going to Paul that could take a donation to him). This means that the church in Antioch apparently did not regularly send money to Paul. Indeed we have no record of them ever giving to Paul. Perhaps they did, but the Scriptures do not mention or record it.
Therefore the mention of this financial obligation must have been very quickly after the disciple saw saving faith in the person he was evangelizing. Very definitely three points come to bear here on these verses: (1) begging is not part of the plan of God in world evangelization, (2) those very people who accept the gospel are quickly supposed to be taught and start corresponding in kind or in payment with the minister of the gospel, and (3) there is a donation by established churches towards the ministers that are "on the front lines", the missionaries. These ministers are the people who are evangelizing the lost, and organizing them in local churches, and establishing these churches. No other kind of missionary ministry is seen in the New Testament. Medical missions was first evangelists and church planters, then as the opportunity presented itself, they did medical work. Most medical missions have that backwards, they present medical help as their primary ministry, and they witness and very, very seldom plant churches as an add on if they have time. We see no other kind of ministry among the missionaries (those supported by distant churches). We also see that all of the charitable type ministries were local in character as a ministry of the members of that local church to local people in need. This means that they were not supported in respect to salaries, and their labors and time was voluntary, not a full time job.
(1) Pastors and missionaries are biblical ministries, in which, they work full time for the Lord, and in turn they are given a salary, or just recompense for their labors.
(2) Such ministers should receive according the expertise of their ministry. Those who study diligently over long periods of time, those who put forth a lot of energy and effort at what they do, those who do what they do especially well, should receive more than others who are mediocre.
(3) It is incorrect to support just any minister or ministry. Our "missions dollars" should go to true missionaries, those who are actively and principally involved in evangelism and church planting. Other types of ministries should be local under a local church which supplies its workers and pays its budget if it is needed. The idea that other churches should subsidize a ministry our church is active in is not biblical (unless it is a true missionary ministry of evangelism directing the results into a church plant).
(4) Whether the church or minister refuses to give that just recompense to the minister, the biblical obligation of the hearers to give it is still there, and the hearer should go outside of the church structure to recompense the minister, i.e. a direct contribution.