Expert: Mr. McClellan - 8/26/2009

Question
QUESTION: Mr. McClellan

 Hello sir. I am excited to resume dialog with you once more. This is a question I have pondered for quite sometime now, and have not received an answer yet. I pray you are able to help me better understand this particular question. Does Gal 6:6 commission the saints or anyone for that matter to pay the preacher for his gift in servicing the body of Christ? I have also heard pastors quote Paul in saying " If you reap from our spiritual things, is it not right hat we should reap your carnal things " and again, do not muzzle the mouth of the ox or something similar to that, as well as the workman is surely worthy of his reward. Now, I am not against supporting a pastor for their service in laboring in the gospel, but am I commanded to pay them for their service? That just doesn't sound right to me. I don't recall ever seeing Jesus saying anything like that in the gospels. Thank you in advance.   



ANSWER: Hello again Zacchai,

Paying a preacher is not a legal requirement. It's an expedient. I mean that it just makes it possible for a preacher to spend more time preaching and doing related work. It's a common sense thing to do and not a commandment. Try to keep in mind that the most important thing is that the difference between right and wrong is in the reason you do something. For example, if you don't want to pay a preacher because you are selfish and greedy it's wrong. If you don't want to pay a preacher because you have no money there's no problem. If a preacher is demanding to be paid, that is wrong too. These things are to be done by mutual consent on the basis of good and sound reasons. Understand?

Sincerely,
Mr. McClellan

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I really appreciate your response, but I posed the same question to another of my sources and this is what he had to say "There's more to the NT than the gospel.  We are commanded to give each week (1 Cor 16) and the elders of the church are commanded to manage the funds as the see appropriate for the benefit of strengthing the congregation and spreading the gospel.  So, you may not be commanded to give directly to a preacher, but if the elders deem this is appropriate, than there's no problem with it." Are we commanded to give each week? My understanding of that part of the gospel is that Paul was administering a direct request, that is why he said if you are able, if I am not mistaking. I don't ever recall Jesus saying the Apostles were commanded to pay every week. I do understand he commanded them to help provide for the poor. What does the bible say?  

Answer
Hi Zacchai,
I'm adding a comment to my last post.
Very carefully read Matthew 15 thru 25. I'd read both the ASV and the NIV. There are a number of important things that you need to be clear about concerning the questions you've asked me. If you are a very astute and careful student of the Bible, you will recognize what I'm getting at. It won't be very easy due to things you've already assumed to be true, but it has to be done. If you really treasure the truth above even life itself, you'll find it.

Hi Zacchai,
You are correct. There is no commandment in the New Testament telling Christians to regularly and unceasingly contribute to a common fund and then the elders do with it as they see fit. Of course, this would not be wrong but it is not demanded. The context of the "laying by in store" was specifically for the purpose of gathering up money that Paul could get when he got to Corinth and take to other Christians who were in serious need. The very fact that he said what he did is proof that they were not in the habit of doing such on a regualr basis already. Again, doing this kind of thing would not automatacally be wrong or right. Remember, right and wrong is in the motive for doing what you do. It's like, "murder is always killing but killing is not always murder, and murder is always wrong." This is why it's perfectly OK to kill a person in certain situations and not in others. This goes for other kinds of things that people often just catagorically think are wrong. Those who think legalistically get cought up in keeping laws for the sake of keeping the laws and never really consider the original purpose for the law. People like this are guilty of abusing the law and enforcing it to the letter rather than keeping the spirit of the law. Read the book of Galations again.
So, those who hold the position of the person you quoted are taking Paul's words out of context in order to support one of their pretexts, or prejudices. They are twisting the meaning of what Paul obviously intended people to understand. It's really quite a common thing for people to do this. In fact, it's probably done more often than keeping things in context and it's the cause of all kinds of errors and abuses of the Bible.

I hope this helps.
Mr. McClellan