Paid Pastors Biblical
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See what Jesus told his disciples concerning getting paid when they preached:
MAT 10:7-10 "And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons; freely you received, freely give. "Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts, or a bag for your journey, or even two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for the worker is worthy of his support.
Notice that the first thing Jesus told them was, "freely you received, freely give". That clearly means the gospel did not cost them anything and they could not charge for preaching it! The second thing Jesus told them was, "do not acquire gold, silver or copper (money) for your money belts. In other words, you are not to collect any money for your preaching! The third thing Jesus said was that the worker was worthy of his support. This seems strange after the first two statements until we study a little further. The Greek word used here for support is "trophe" which means nourishment as in getting to eat food. These preachers were allowed to eat food when traveling away from their homes to preach. So food was their support, not money!
Jesus also told his disciples this when he sent them out to preach:
LUK 10:3-8 "Go your ways; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. "Carry no purse, no bag, no shoes; and greet no one on the way. "And whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace be to this house.' "And if a man of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him; but if not, it will return to you. "And stay in that house, eating and drinking what they give you; for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not keep moving from house to house. "And whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat what is set before you. Again, the pay for preaching, if you travel away from home, is food and shelter.
So again, Jesus clearly tells them to carry no purse. You see they did not need a purse if they were not going to collect any money. Nor did they need a purse to pay for food and lodging if they were going to stay in somebody's house eating their food. Also, Jesus again made it clear that their wages were food, drink and lodging. Again, no money was associated with these "wages" or "support" to be received, only food, drink and lodging. In fact they were forbidden to receive money! NO LOVE OFFERINGS!
In 2 Kings chapter 5, Elisha the prophet of God refused to receive money from Naaman after he was healed of leprosy. But Elisha's servant Gehazi took two talents of silver and two changes of clothes from Naaman without Elisha's knowledge. When Elisha discovered what Gehazi had done he said:
2KI 5:26-27 Then he said to him, "Did not my heart go with you, when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Is it a time to receive money and to receive clothes and olive groves and vineyards and sheep and oxen and male and female servants? "Therefore, the leprosy of Naaman shall cleave to you and to your descendants forever." So he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.
So Gehazi was cursed for receiving money for the work of God done through Elisha. Wasn't it freely received and shouldn't it be freely given? Elisha made it clear that it was not acceptable to receive financial compensation for doing what God had called him to do.
In Numbers chapter 16, Moses a servant of God had to deal with the rebellion of Korah. Korah and several men rose up against Moses and his leadership and rebeled against him. When Moses cried out to God he said:
NUM 16:15 Then Moses became very angry and said to the Lord, "Do not regard their offering! I have not taken a single donkey from them, nor have I done harm to any of them."
As minister and leader of God's people, Moses could say with confidence that he had taken nothing from any of the people, not even a donkey. Therefore, Moses had not been tempted to please the people, but was free to say only what God was saying and some did not like it and rebeled against him. It is very hard for men to take money and gifts from their members and still please God, because they will end up pleasing the people instead. When men are paid to preach, it is very difficult if not impossible for them to be objective and preach what God says especially if the people don't like it! Moses stayed clear of any temptation to compromise what God was saying to the people, by never taking anything from them.
The faithful prophet of God, Samuel, had this to say about being paid:
1SA 12:2-5 "And now, here is the king walking before you, but I am old and gray, and behold my sons are with you. And I have walked before you from my youth even to this day. "Here I am; bear witness against me before the Lord and His anointed. Whose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed, or from whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it? I will restore it to you." And they said, "You have not defrauded us, or oppressed us, or taken anything from any man's hand." And he said to them, "The Lord is witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day that you have found nothing in my hand." And they said, "He is witness."
So Samuel spent his whole life as a preacher of the Word of God in Israel and never took anything from any man. Not a single gift or offering or benefit at all. Samuel indicated that if he had taken anything, then he would have taken a bribe and it would have blinded his eyes. I wonder how many men down through the ages have had their eyes blinded by taking money and gifts to preach.
Speaking of false teachers Jude had this to say:
JUD 1:11 Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.
If you study Balaam, he was a man who knew God, but was willing to prophesy against the children of Israel for money. The money blinded his eyes and he was willing to make compromise because of it.
Paul the apostle said this:
1CO 9:9-14 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? Yes, for our sake (preachers)it was written, because the plowman ought to plow in hope, and the thresher to thresh in hope of sharing the crops. If we sowed spiritual things in you, is it too much if we should reap material things from you? 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. 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? So also the Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel.
So Paul made it clear that according to the law, he as a minister had a right to receive material things when he had sown spiritual things. He wasn't talking about money or other valuable assets, but simply about food. Just like those who were able to eat the food of the temple. This was the living he was referring to; food, drink and shelter. But, notice that Paul did not use his right to EAT other people's food. He said that he did not want to cause any hindrance to the gospel of Christ. Could it be the concern for the bribe principle, blinding one's eyes from being straightforward to the ones whom you are receiving food from?
Again notice what else Paul had to say about this:
2TH 3:6-10 Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep aloof from every brother who leads an unruly life and not according to the tradition which you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example, because we did not act in an undisciplined manner among you, nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it, but with labor and hardship we kept working night and day so that we might not be a burden to any of you; not because we do not have the right to this, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you, that you might follow our example. For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone (especially preachers) will not work, neither let him eat.
Paul was a tent maker. Paul did not consider preaching to be a vocation. His vocation was making tents. He had freely receive the gospel from the Lord and Paul freely preached it. Even though Paul had a right to eat food as a minister of the gospel, he did not exercise that right. This right never was about money or being paid as a minister, but about whether or not he would eat someone else's food. In fact, Paul did not eat without paying for his food and he admonished all ministers to follow his example in this. This is New Testament instruction!
Jesus said – -JOH 10:1-2,8-12 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber. "But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. "All (pastors/shepherds) who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. "I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. "The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy; I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly. "I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. "He who is a hireling, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, beholds the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep, and flees, and the wolf snatches them, and scatters them. "He flees because he is ahireling, and is not concerned about the sheep. The shepherd (pastor) who is financially compensated for his duties as a pastor is a hireling.
The thief who came to steal, kill and destroy is not Satan in this passage as many have said, but is the paid pastor! The topic is about shepherds (pastors), not Satan. A pastor who comes into the fold of the sheep by some way other than the door (Jesus) by taking money for preaching, is a thief and a robber. This paid pastor is not like Paul, Elisha, Samuel, Moses, Jesus or any other righteous man of God. This pastor loves sordid gain (money he did not work for). These pastors rob members of their money to pay themselves and in the process steal their souls because they tickle ears and compromise the Word of God. These shepherds leave out the judgments and warnings of God and preach easy "believeism" and give a false hope of salvation to many. Every time some dies, the hireling "preaches" them to heaven, tickling the ears of everyone at the funeral. The hireling leaves the impression that virtually everyone goes to heaven, even though Jesus plainly taught that only a few will enter life. They pervert grace and make it into a license to sin. The reason they do this is because they are hirelings. Hirelings are paid preachers blinded by bribes (financial gain) and the traditions of men. Hirelings are the ones who continually preach about tithing, even though they should know that tithing never was about money and has nothing to do with the church. They preach tithing because it is the source of their income. Hirelings are not the shepherds of God. If you can be hired, you can be fired! Who could have fired Paul, Peter, Jesus, Samuel, Moses or any other man of God? It is the hireling, the paid shepherd (pastor) that came to steal, kill and destroy! He will steal your money and your soul by leaving out the warnings of God. So, you should consider whether paying preachers is a biblical Truth or Myth!
Comment by SH on Tuesday, March 26, 2019...
But what if my pastor is different? He only takes what he need and doesn't seem rich to me. And isn't he worthy of "double honor" anyway? And isn't he a personal representative of God to me?
Comment by DON BRITTON on Sunday, April 14, 2019...
Even if your pastor is "different" and only takes what he needs, he is still taking money from the very people he is supposed to be teaching, correcting, guiding and even rebuking if need be. If he is taking money from them, then it becomes very hard to do his job with complete freedom and justice. The money will ALWAYS affect the message eventually in a compromising way. When a man works at a job or has a business to earn his own living, then he can freely speak the truth from the Word of God to the people without any compromise or fear of losing any of his income or any of his disciples. The double honor you mentioned is not referring to being paid, but to the respect and appreciation and honor you give to a man who works hard at teaching and preaching the Word of God since he keeps watch over your soul. The Greek word used for honor has a noun and a verb usage. None of these have anything to do with paying a pastor.
Here are some examples——
1Pe 1:7 so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
Heb 3:3 For He has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, by just so much as the builder of the house has more honor than the house.
1Pe 2:17 Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.
1Pe 3:7 You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.
Eph 6:2 HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER (which is the first commandment with a promise),
As you can see, the usage of this word only means to give honor and respect to the others and especially your pastor who watches over you soul and has nothing to do with double financial compensation. If you go back to this website you can register for two free chapters from my book on the tithe and paid pastor which goes into much more detail about this subject.
Thanks for your question, I hope you find the truth.
Sincerely, Don Britton
Comment by DENISE on Tuesday, September 10, 2019...
You open this with the statement that Jesus made to His disciples that they should not take anything with them when they travel - that they freely received and so they should not charge for what they give. I completely agree with this. You also say that their support was only to be food and shelter and that they were in fact forbidden to receive money. If this is true, then how should I interpret what Paul says in Philippians 4:15-18? Clearly, the Philippians were not sending him food. Also, in his second letter to the Corinthians, he says that he robbed other churches so that he could preach to them free of charge (2 Cor. 11:7-9). He obviously didn't really "rob" them, but they were apparently sending him money for his support. And in his first letter to the Corinthians, he seems to indicate that he has the 'right' to be paid. If what you say is true, then can you help me understand this, because it sounds like being paid to preach is actually ok according to Paul?
Comment by DON BRITTON on Wednesday, September 11, 2019...
Hello Denise,
Thank you for your questions. I have had the same questions myself. So, let me do my best to answer you. In the 1 Corinthians 9 Paul referred to his "right" according to the law to reap material things when he sowed spiritual things. Under the law this right was to eat the food that was brought to the storehouse for the Levitical priest. Jesus confirmed this right when He sent His disciples out to preach telling them that they could eat what was set before them and that this was their wages. Also, Paul said in 1 Corinthians that he never used this right, referring to food and crops as being the living he had a right to. There was nothing said here about money. Also, in 2 Thessalonians 3, Paul made a strong statement that he never ate anyone's bread without paying for it and the he worked day and night (tent making business) so he would not be a burden to any of them. He even called himself a model to follow his example and said that if anyone (including preachers) did not work, neither let him eat. It is not clear to me as to what exactly happened in Philippians and 2 Corinthians. It did not say exactly how Paul's needs were met. But I have a hard time believing that Paul was a hypocrite saying one thing to some churches and doing another thing with other churches. So, I will just say I don't know exactly what happened in those cases, but the overwhelming message in the Bible is that no man of God can take money for preaching the gospel. If you will look on my home page of the website there is link that will give you a download of two free chapters of my book on the myth of the tithe and the myth of the paid pastor/preacher. If you will download those and read the whole thing, you will see the big picture and I think that will clear it up for you.
Thanks again,
Don Britton
Comment by JULIAN on Thursday, February 27, 2020...
I understand that if I have been given something freely from God I should share that freely with others. I agree with this, but I also see supporting your local Church is a good thing. I believe that is part of what is going on in Acts as the disciples are pooling their funds, right? Now, I understand that tithing (I don't mean t be mixing your blog topics here, but I think it needs to be explored this way) is an old Jewish law that does not apply to the Christian Church, but the idea is the same, or at least similar - support you local Levite = support your local church. Now, in the Old Testament, Levites were not allowed to own land (I'm not sure this is entirely correct as I read in Nehemiah about how the Levites went back to their own land after the tithing stopped. I'm not sure what to make of that.
Anyway, I'll just concur that Levites were not allowed to own land. So, "paying" the pastor was providing their sustenance - their food, because they weren't allowed to do so for themselves. So if I pay my pastor, what's the real difference? I pay him so he can focus on whatever it he's supposed to do in the vein of serving God in the same way the Levites were "paid" to do whatever it was they did in the service of God.
I understand that you say taking money for preaching is wrong. I agree, but if I am paying the pastor so he can eat, as opposed to paying him to preach, I think there's a difference. I want my pastor to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, and I want to honor my Father by meeting the needs of the shepherd he has put in my pasture. Does that make sense? If the Levites were still around today (with all the modern conveniences like groceries at Walmart) we would not be supporting them by bringing them a cow to kill. No, we would be giving them money so they could go and buy what they needed from Walmart. don't really see the difference in this.
Also, it seems to me that Paul in at least one place took money for preaching. In 2 Cor. 11:8 he says that he robbed one church to preach to another. Now the hair to split will be that the church he was preaching to was not the one that paid him, but does that really matter? He was paid to preach. So I guess I just don't get why it's such a bad thing to support my pastor by paying him as opposed to bringing him a cow.
Comment by DON BRITTON on Thursday, February 27, 2020...
Hello Julian,
Thanks for your comment. I understand your logic, but it is not biblical. There is no comparison between a Levitical priest and a new testament pastor. If you read everything about Paul he said that he did not even eat anyone's bread without paying for it but kept working night and day with his own hands to provide his own needs. When he said that he robbed other churches, he did not take their money and spend it on himself. Paul even said that if anyone (preachers in context) did not follow his example of working for their own needs that we should not even associate with them. The short writing I did on the blog is not complete, so I suggest that you go back to my website and download the two free chapters of my book on tithing and paid pastors. Then you can see the whole picture with many, many scriptures that prove that it is terribly wrong for any man to receive money for preaching. I personally have been a pastor for nearly 40 years, I have traveled and preached in different parts of the country, I have discipled many people, raised a family, run my own auto repair business for 45 years and have never taken a penny from anyone for my services. The scriptures teach that pastors should serve voluntarily and not for sordid gain which is to take money other people have worked hard for. Also Jesus taught in John chapter 10 that the hireling (pastor paid for his services) was not His shepherd but was a thief and a robber. Why should a pastor be paid anyway, everyone is called by God to serve God in some way, and everyone certainly shouldn't be paid for their part should they? Anyway, thanks for your comments. I hope you get the two free chapters and I think it will be clear to you then. Sincerely, Don Britton
Comment by MONICA on Tuesday, June 14, 2022...
Thank you for breaking that down so well
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