Summary: We examine the tricky problem of church finances and what is paid to pastors and church workers. Who are those who genuinely do the work of the Lord? I quote from an excellent sermon on gospel support as well.

25 THE BOOK OF GALATIANS – CHAPTER 6:6 - Message 25 – SHOULD ANY OR ALL PASTORS BE PAID? A LOOK AT PAYMENT OF PEOPLE IN CHRISTIAN MINISTRY AND SHARING GOOD THINGS

[A]. INTRODUCTION:

The last chapter of Galatians is very practical as we have seen already. Before we move to verse 6, I want to share something that ended the previous two studies in this chapter. This is from a former missionary to China, Willis -

{{Galatians 6:5 “for each one shall bear his own load.”}}

[[One of the best Christian soldiers that I ever knew used to say, “My life’s motto is ‘travel light’”. Do not put anything in that pack except what the Captain of our salvation has put in it and then we may be sure our load will be, as he promised, light.

That soldier of Jesus Christ of whom I have just spoken, had learned to travel with a very light pack and perhaps that was the reason that she “for she was a lady soldier”, was able to bear more of the burdens of her sisters and brothers than any other person I knew. If we have filled up our own private load that we have to bear for ourselves with all sorts of things of our own, then we cannot expect to bear one another's burdens.]]

Another has written in clarification of the passage – {{Verse 5. - FOR EVERY MAN SHALL BEAR HIS OWN BURDEN for each man shall carry his own pack.”}} A man's business is with his own pack; and all depends upon his carrying that, not putting it down. This "pack" is the whole of the duties for the discharge of which each man is responsible. It is thus that the image is employed by our Lord in Matthew 11:30 - "My yoke is easy, and my pack is light." The phrase literally means "the pack which is individually his own," and implies that men's responsibilities vary, each one having what is peculiar to himself. This "pack" is to be carefully distinguished from the "heavy loads" of verse 2. Christ makes our Christian obligations LIGHT to them who serve him well, but our burdens of remorse, shame, grief, loss, which are of our own wilful procuring, these are the HEAVY ones. One part of our "pack" of obligation is to help each other in bearing these "heavy loads" and we shall find our joy and crown of glorying in doing so.”]]

[B]. A MODERN DAY MINEFIELD

{{Galatians 6:6 “Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with him who teaches.”}}

Before we advance any further here, I want to say something about why I used the term “minefield”. The money that is paid in support of Christian workers, or church ministers, church positions, and the hanging on, support staff, quite frequently causes friction. My purpose here is not to open up that can of worms but to look into it the way Paul established the function of ministry in the Apostolic Church.

Paul refers here to the support of those who genuinely labour in word and teaching, and I have opinions on that with a lot of qualifications here I could make. However we must go back to Paul’s own time to see how it would all be applied. There were those who laboured among the believers and Timothy and Titus come to mind. They needed supporting. There was no church hierarchal structure then; nor “clergy”, nor paid staff on a regular basis. Support was from gifts. There was no government social security.

The big question was, who were entitled to this form of gift-sharing”?

The Christian church over the past 1900 years has moved right away from the support by gifts and utilise a huge financial support for church staff. In some churches, there are the clergy, and bishops, archbishops, cardinals and right to the top. It is like in a lot of places, the people feeding on the giving in churches, is way out of hand. I think that is not what is meant; in fact, I am sure of it.

[C]. THE BIBLICAL PRINCIPLE OF SUPPORT

(a). Right back in the days of the Exodus God established the support of those ministering in God’s work. The Levitical priests were supported by tithes and offerings and by some of the sacrificed animals. {{Hebrews 7:5 “Those indeed of the sons of Levi who receive the priest’s office have commandment in the Law TO COLLECT A TENTH FROM THE PEOPLE, that is, from their brethren, although these are descended from Abraham,”}} The priests served in the Tabernacle and Temple.

(b). It was to the Corinthians Paul had things to say about this issue. There were those saying Paul had no right of support because he was not an Apostle. Here is his reply –

{{1 Corinthians 9:3 “My defence to those who examine me is this:”

1 Corinthians 9:4 “Do we not have a right to eat and drink?”

1 Corinthians 9:5 “Do we not have a right to take along a believing wife, even as the rest of the apostles, and the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas?”}}

He declared this was his defence he was presenting, and it takes up most of chapter 9. In verse 4 his right was to eat and drink as he was fully in the Lord’s service. In verse 5 he states that he would have the right to have his wife accompany him (Paul was unmarried) as did the other Apostles and the Lord’s own earthly brothers. They would have been supported by the saints in the churches.

{{1 Corinthians 9:7 “Who at any time serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard, and does not eat the fruit of it or who tends a flock and does not use the milk of the flock?”}}

Paul raises a practical principle here, one of the soldier, and the other of a farm worker (vineyard and shepherd).

{{1 Corinthians 9:9-10a for it is written in the Law of Moses, “YOU SHALL NOT MUZZLE THE OX while he is threshing.” God is not concerned about oxen, is He or is He speaking altogether for our sake?”}}

Paul moves from practical issues to a biblical instruction as further support of his position.

{{1 Corinthians 9:11 “If we SOWED SPIRITUAL THINGS in you, is it too much if we should REAP MATERIAL THINGS from you?”}}

Here then is the conclusion of what has just been done. Paul and Barnabas were engaged in spiritual ministry and warfare for they suffered so many deprivations. They were the ones who brought the gospel to Corinth in this spiritual ministry. The other side of the coin is that the Corinthians are obligated to support the Apostles in practical living.

{{1 Corinthians 9:12 If others share the right over you, do we not more? Nevertheless, WE DID NOT USE THIS RIGHT, BUT WE ENDURE ALL THINGS THAT WE MAY CAUSE NO HINDRANCE TO THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST.

1 Corinthians 9:13 Do you not know that those who perform sacred services eat the food of the temple, and those who attend regularly to the altar have their share with the altar?

1 Corinthians 9:14 SO ALSO THE LORD DIRECTED THOSE WHO PROCLAIM THE GOSPEL TO GET THEIR LIVING FROM THE GOSPEL,

1 Corinthians 9:15 BUT I HAVE USED NONE OF THESE THINGS. I am not writing these things that it may be done so in my case for it would be better for me to die than have any man make my boast an empty one.”}}

In verse 12 Paul had every right to receive support from the Corinthians but he refused that obligation from them. Verse 13 is the biblical principle again that those who preach the gospel in a full time capacity are entitled to be supported by the gospel (by the church believers). In verse 14 the Apostle states it outright that those who proclaim the gospel, get their living from the gospel. Verse 15 is where Paul repeats his position of not receiving from the Corinthians. However he spelt out the underlying principles to be applied to the genuine worker.

[D]. THE ABUSE OF THE BIBLICAL PRINCIPLE OF SUPPORTING PASTORS

Often Christians are easy beats. People take advantage of them and in finance this also is true. We have just looked at what Paul wrote in Corinthians and the principle is strong for THE SUPPORT OF COMMITTED CHRISTIAN WORKERS. However the great difficulty is this – Who is a genuine worker, and the opposite, who has manipulated himself into a favourable niche with a superficial work of the Lord?

In our day there is another problem with this paid ministry I have seen. It was not present in the early church. Back then, a man ministering in the work of the Lord was not tied to one church but was often travelling from church to church. He would minister the work, maybe do evangelising but was not tied to one church. After 100 A.D. things began to change and eventually led to bishops being appointed to churches, then to whole towns. We know even in A.D. 96 the church at Rome was under the supervision of elders as was every Apostolic church, not a single man declared as bishop or anything else. There was a plurality of elders and men worked at secular jobs. That comes from the letter of Clement, an elder at Rome. Bishop was another word for the office of elder.

The problem I was referring to in the paid ministry of a fixed church minister, pastor or whatever you want to call him, is this. Because his finances and “his living” come from the church, I know the ministry of that man (even woman these days!) can be influenced by his support. There are some pressing issues the man will not teach on because if he spoke the biblical truth, then some might take offence in their sin and leave the church. That would affect his “career move”.

In the matter of missionary support there are very great differences here, ranging from free will donations and giving, to applied levies being in place. Generally speaking the Brethren movement supports their missionaries by gifts being made from different churches and by love offerings. I still remember a wonderful man who used to be my Sunday School teacher, Don Adams by name, and I speak of the 1950s, who later went out as a missionary to Kerala in India. The assembly he came from supported him periodically with offerings as did other churches.

In my State, the Baptists used to have per-capita levies on churches to raise money which is why they were fanatical sometimes in pushing for official membership in the churches. The Baptist missionary activity was supported partly by that means and by other collections. I think most churches throughout, provide money to the denominational body who controls the missionary support. Sadly I have seen the Baptist Union position abused sometimes in my State and I call into question if there should even be a Union. The stewardship of the Lord’s money in my mind is not well managed in such a Union.

I will share with you something I came across from a site called “THE TWO JOURNEYS” -

[[“Paul defends the right of ministers and teachers to the financial support of the congregation as well as his right to refuse the pay.

Turn in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians 9. This morning we’re going to be looking at verses 1-15. And as you do that, I’m very well aware that one of the common accusations about preachers from people who perhaps don’t usually go to church is that all they ever talk about is money. Well, I understand that. The stories of famous preachers and their abuse of ministry funds is well known.

I was watching a documentary on the Word of Faith movement, and the health and wealth, what is commonly called the prosperity gospel, and there was one individual who was focussed on, and this individual has an estate outside Fort Worth, Texas, water-front estate worth $6 million. And he has a private jet - listen carefully, a Cessna Citation. It’s a really good jet, so keep that in mind. I’m just kidding; I don’t want a jet. I have no interest in an airplane. I’m just telling you what this individual has, again, through ministry money. Price tag over $20 million with an operating cost every year of $1.1 million to keep it in the air. So I may, and you all may together with me, be feeling a little awkward this morning as I get up to do precisely that, which is to talk about money, and to make a case that local churches should pay their pastors, and say that it’s a biblical case, but however much awkwardness we may feel, this is the word of God.

This is the next text in 1 Corinthians, and I continue to put my trust in the word of God. And ironically, while Paul does in fact give scripture very carefully and clearly, five reasons why churches should pay their pastors, but at the end of that Paul says concerning himself, he is not taking advantage of any of that. He’s actually citing the opposite example for himself, how he chose to give up what was rightfully his for the sake of the gospel. So honestly, this in the end becomes in an overarching sense, a continued and lasting call for all of us to search our hearts and minds and say, “What are we willing to sacrifice of our own freedoms for the sake of the Gospel?”

Because that’s really the point ultimately Paul is making. However, along the way, it’s reasonable for us to learn the lessons. And so for me as an expositor, I think my primary goal every week is to take the central lesson of the text and present it to the church. The main lesson of the text is the main lesson of the sermon, that’s what expositional preaching is. But I think it’s wider and broader than that.

Secondary lessons are important too. And so the secondary lesson here is that churches should pay their pastors. The primary lesson is we all need to make sacrifices for the sake of the Gospel and follow Paul’s example in that.”]]

I liked a lot of what was said there, and am so pleased that that pastor does expositional preaching, which I believe, is the only way to preach. Verse by verse, not leaving out any “difficult” or “challenging” passages.

[D]. BACK TO GALATIANS 6:6

Say, for example, there was a certain elder in the Galatian area working for the churches, then there might be some financial support, and certainly support to assist his family. In those days it would have been food or maintaining the brother’s house and a multitude of practical things that meant sharing all good things. Most people think full time workers who are doing the will of God, and missionaries, are under the umbrella Paul outlines here. I might be in great disagreement with many people on this issue but I don’t think the paid clergy of churches today, ministers, priests, reverends, is what Paul had in mind because there was no such thing operating in any New Testament church when Paul wrote those instructions to the Corinthians.

There are those in the Lord’s fellowships who are engaged in more responsibility in the work, in teaching and in ministry, and some of those are at a full time secular job as well. I think those are the ones Paul has in mind. There are ordinary matters of life they may not be able to get to, like caring for their own yards and maintenance on their homes and other issues that time won’t allow because of the burden of the work. The expression in the word is {{“Don’t muzzle the ox that treads out the grain;” 1 Timothy 5:17 Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honour, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching, 1 Timothy 5:18 for the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing,” and “The labourer is worthy of his wages.”}}

I might quote again, this time from Willis - [[“By having fellowship” with God’s people really means “by sharing”. Some man has a good business or a good position and is comfortably off so that his wife and family have all their needs abundantly supplied. The apostle says share these good things with those who have given up their business or their position in order to use their time and ability to teach the word of God.

This is God’s order and arrangement, and if the Lord's people would only heed this exhortation how good it would be both for themselves and for the Lord's labourers. It is a very sad thing to see many Christians today living in good houses with money for everything they need, and perhaps the Lord's work is suffering for want of a share of this money that the Christians are using for themselves. Strange as it may seem it is generally the poor like those in Macedonia who are the most generous givers. Let us each remember that these things are not our own and that the reckoning day is not far off when we must give an account of how we have used these good things that the Lord has given to us.]]

Those in a full time ministry qualify for this support, but today I have been greatly saddened by the practice in quite a number of churches where a ministerial position is considered A CAREER MOVE, and is paid well. This is not what Paul was talking of. Where is the deep conviction of the Holy Spirit to stand with the Lord’s people with heart and soul? If anyone was genuinely qualified for that support it was Paul but he would not take advantage of that, but supported himself in tent making. Yes, it may be a controversial matter but I don’t want to make it so. I am of the strong opinion that what is said in Scripture must be understood in the context of when it was written. Making application from that is another matter altogether.

[E]. A PASSAGE FROM THE DIDACHE

[[(CHAPTER 13). SUPPORT OF PROPHETS. “But every true prophet who wants to live among you is worthy of his support. So also a true teacher is himself worthy, as the workman, of his support. Every first-fruit, therefore, of the products of wine-press and threshing-floor, of oxen and of sheep, you shall take and give to the prophets, for they are your high priests. But if you have no prophet, give it to the poor. If you make a batch of dough, take the first-fruit and give according to the commandment. So also when you open a jar of wine or of oil, take the first-fruit and give it to the prophets; and of money (silver) and clothing and every possession, take the first-fruit, as it may seem good to you, and give according to the commandment.”]]

This giving outlined in this very early New Testament document, possibly in the third quarter of the first century, is not unlike the Old Testament principle. A full time worker in the community was supported with food and essentials. Has the practice in our day of paid salaries complicated the simplicity of the early church?