Question:
What is the Scriptural teaching regarding pastoral support? Should ministers of the gospel receive wages? Some claim that because Christ did not accept payment in the form of money, ministers now shouldn’t either.
Answer:
According to the apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians 9:7-14, the believers in the gospel should support the ministers. “Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock?” Or, as the Revised Version states, “What soldier ever serveth at his own charges?” The minister is spiritually a soldier (2 Timothy 2:3), a vinedresser (1 Corinthians 3:6-8), and a shepherd (1 Peter 5:2, 4), and as such, has a right to remuneration.
In 2 Corinthians 12:13, Paul shows that he had not allowed himself to be a burden to the church in Corinth; and from his admission that he had done wrong in refusing the same support from the Corinthian brethren which the others had given, we see that he regarded it as the legitimate means of sustenance. God Himself instituted the Levitical system of support by tithe. Leviticus 27:30-32; Numbers 18:21, 24.
While we have no record of Christ’s receiving remuneration for His ministry, we know that He received various support at the hands of those who had accepted Him. In the nature of things, He could not obtain direct pay because there was no organization from which to receive this yet. Nevertheless, the fact that Judas, the treasurer for the group of the twelve disciples and Christ, carried a moneybag from which he drew for their necessities shows that they received financial support from some source.
