The Commerce Bank Review

Unfortunately we have also slighted the ministering brethren. It is somehow believed that those in full-time Christian service should live on less than those in the secular world. Why shouldn’t a pastor have a comfortable salary? Why shouldn’t an evangelist, for instance, live as will as someone who is in business? Do we believe that God’s worker is not worthy of an adequate wage?

Review what God says in 1 Corinthians 9:9, “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?” And in 1 Corinthians 9:14, “So also the Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel.” And in 3 John 6-7, “And they bear witness to your love before the church; and you will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. For they went out for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles.” Those references tell us:

1. The requirement of every Christian is to supply the needs of those ministering God’s Word.
2. We are to send them out in a way worthy of God, not second class. I believe a good principle to observe is to pay a pastor as much as the average member of this congregation. If he feels he is overpaid, let it be his responsibility to distribute the surplus.
3. Christians are ad monished by God to accept nothing from non-believers but to receive their support from the believers. That admonition must hold equally true of the church; the church should not borrow money from a non-Christian source. Christian organizations should fund their work within the Body of Christ, as John said, “Accepting nothing from the Gentiles” (3 John 6-7). How can those needs be met unless Christians accept this responsibility to supply the ministering brethren?