Should Pastors Be Cared For?

8/6/2019 Should Pastors Be Cared For?

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SHOULD PASTORS BE CARED FOR?WARNING: NOT FOR THE TIMID

A Scriptural look at another unbiblical cherished doctrine of manThe following quote in regards to 1 Timothy 5:17, is just another example of the evil,manipulative practices that are abounding in many local institutional churches.

..In other words Timothy, you are to BIND THE CONSCIENCESof Gods people to care for their pastors..

Pastor Albert N. Martin, in reference to 1 Timothy 5:17

The devils favorite place to trap people and bring them into bondage is not your localwatering hole or whore house or the local drug dealer, nor is it with religions likeHinduism, Islam, etc. No, the devils favorite place to render powerless Gods people isa pulpit in a church that advertises itself as a God glorifying and Christ-centeredchurch.The following is from a variety of contributors. It is to be presented in the clearestpossible terms, without mincing words, just like the Apostle Paul would have done if hewere alive and witnessing whats happening in the churches today. He would hit the nailright on the head.

Last Sunday, as the announcement was made: Let us continue to worship God in thegiving of our tithes and offerings, (or words to that effect) many of you gave yourmoney away to the church to help support the income of some of your church leadersbecause you were told that this is what the Scriptures command. Dear friends, you werea victim of extortion. This is the dictionary definition of extortion: Illegal use of one'sofficialposition or powers to obtain property, funds, or patronage.

What do the Scriptures say about extortioners? If you believe the Scriptures, then youalso believe that anyone who extorts shall not inherit the kingdom of God. 1 Corinthians6:10: Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners,

shall inherit the kingdom of God. (KJV).Those church leaders who took your money are extortioners, plain and simple. Theyhave twisted the Scriptures, and then emptied your pockets.


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help those being weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, it ismore blessed to give that to receive.(Inter.Grk/Eng. NT)

Commenting on this passage, the New Testament scholar F.F. Bruce writes:

Returning once more to the examp

le which he had set them, he reminds them fina

llythat those who take care of the people of God must do so without thought of material

reward. As Samuelcalled allIsrael to witness when he was about to lay down his officeas judge (1 Samuel 12:3), so Paul calls the Ephesian elders to witness that all the timehe spent with them he coveted nothing that was not his; on the contrary, he did not evenavailhimself of his right to be maintained by those whose spiritualwelfare he cared, butearned his living--and that of his colleagues--by his own labors: "these hands," he said(inevitably with the attendant gesticulation), "ministered unto my necessities, and tothem that were with me" (v.34). Let those to whom he was speaking likewise labor andthus support not only themselves but others as well--the sick in particular (The NewInternational Commentary on the New Testament: Acts - Grand Rapids: Wm.B.

Eerdmans, 1986 - p.418).

In 1 Thessalonians 2:1-12, the Apostle Paul says some revealing statements. I willquote it here in its entirety in order that you can see it for yourself.

1 You know, brothers, that our visit to you was not a failure.2 We had previously suffered and been insulted in Philippi, as you know, but with

the help of our God we dared to tellyou his gospel in spite of strong opposition.3For the appealwe make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are

we trying to trick you.

4 On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with thegospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts.

5 You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover upgreed God is our witness.

6 We were notlooking for praise from men, not from you or anyone e lse.

7As Apostles of Christ we could have been a BURDEN to you,but we weregent

le among you,

like a mother caring for her

litt

le chi

ldren.

8 We loved you so much that we were delighted to sharewith you not only the

gospelof God but ourlives as well, because you had become so dear to us.9 Surely you remember brothers, our toiland hardship; we worked night and

dayin order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospelofGod to you.


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10 You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we

were among you who believed.11 For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own

children,

12 Encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthyof God, who calls

you into his kingdom and glory. (NIV)The Apostle Paul comes right out and says that if the church is paying someoneto do the teaching and the preaching, that this is a burden to the church, not ahelp.

This, of course, runs contrary to what youve been told all your life by paid pastorsand eldersin the church. They tell you the exact opposite - of how much a church is

hurt by not having a hireling like themselves.

They will convince all who will listen of how much they are needed by the church, ofhow much they help the church, and how essential they are to the well being of thechurch, and of how all of this is Scriptural and to the glory of God!

The Apostle Paul will say, "these men are a burden, not a benefit, to a church,weighing it down, stunting its growth, and making it harder to minister to the

people."Or, as someone else has said,

"The pastor is not a necessity. He is a fungus growthupon the church, the body of Christians, dwarfing its growth...

and until the church gets rid of him it will never prosper."

In verse nine of 1 Thessalonians 2, Paul points out that in addition to working DAYS,he also worked NIGHTS. And he is talking about REAL work - working with his handsbuilding tents.

And as if that wasnt enough, on top of working nights AND days HE ALSOPREACHED to the Thessalonians- month after month after month. He did all this so

that the church there wouldnt have to pay a cent as he ministered the word.

Now, contrast THAT behavior with the modern church today with the teachingelder or the pastor with their nice hair cuts, and nice business suits. Even if he wantedto, there are some pastors that are not allowed to mow their own lawn! Too "degrading".Too "blue-collar". And too "humble".


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From the book entitled, The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse, in Chapter 11, theauthors convey the folly of the pastor always trying to maintain his image:But, [the false leaders] do all their deeds to be noticed by men Matthew 23:5-6"Y

our wife and children must address you in pub

lic as pastor.This wou

ld serve tocommunicate reverence and respect for your position, which would be helpful in

maintaining the proper image. Sitting on the platform appropriately is vital. Wear theright socks, never cross yourlegs in such a way as to show the people the soles of yourshoes.More advice: Youre working on your car on your day off, and you discover that a trip tothe parts store is necessary. Always change your clothes before you go out in public.Never let the people see you in a context other than pastora l dignity. Image iseverything.

And the voice:W

hen you ascend the platform, remember you are the voice of God.Soundlike it! So we open our mouth and it sounds like were playing a part, an actor on

a stage. Material for stand-up comics..Can you picture Jesus giving this kind of training to the disciples? Verily, verily, I sayunto you, how you look is what really matters. Create thou a good impression. Forgetwhat I said earlier to you concerning having only one coat. Bringest thou two in casethou mayest be seen in public by those who payeth their tithes in great measure. Andnever, neverlet them smell the fish!

"Do we really believe that how we sit on the platform has the power to discreditthe message and short-circuit the power of God?(The Subtle Power of Spiritual

Abuse, Chap. 11 pg. 131-132)

You know what would be nice to see?

One day, it would be so nice to see a dirty, sweaty, smelly, haggard Apostle Paul walkinto the Sunday worship serviceand go up to one of these self-righteous, smug, over-paid, egotistical pulpit-pounders engaging the audience in their public performance,and "publicly"expose them for who they are.

Also, notice this: The Apostle Paul does not equate "working" with preaching thegospel.

Did you get that? The Apostle Paul does not equate working with preachingthe gospel.


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The two activities are clearly and distinctly separate in Pauls mind. You know what thisdoes? This pulls the rug out from under those pompous windbags who are alwaystelling you that their preaching is work. Not only that, but that its hard work! Why,they say, its one of the hardest working jobs that anybody can have!, and so he istherefore entitled to be paid for his working.In 2 Thessalonians 3: 6-15, the Apostle Paul says the same thing, except with evenmore emphasis.Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keepaway from any brother who is living in idleness and not in accord with the tradition thatyou received from us.

For you yourselves know how you oughtto imitate us; we were not idle when we werewith you, we did not eat any one's bread without paying, but with toil and labor we

worked night and day, that we might notBURDENany of you.

It was not because we have not that right, but to give you in our CONDUCT anEXAMPLE TO IMITATE.

For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: Ifany one will not work,let him not eat. For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies,not doing any work.

Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do theirWORKin quietness and to earn theirOWNliving. Brethren, do not be weary in well-doing.

If any one refuses to obey what we say in this

letter, note that man, and have nothing todo with him, that he may be ashamed. Do not look on him as an enemy, but warn him

as a brother. (RSV)

Again, the key word here is "burden".

The Apostle Paul has clearly labeled the paid pastors or the teaching elders,in other words, the paid professional clergy, not a benefit, but rather a burden;not a help, but rather a hindrance.

Imagine 25 pound weights tied to your legs in a race. Thats a paid pastor to achurch. Whatever you think the benefit that might arise from having him minister theword to your church every Sunday is,according to the Apostle Paul,far outweighed bytheBURDEN HE PLACES UPON THE CHURCHby doing so.This is what the Scriptures say; not what Ive said.


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Once again, Paul hits the nail right on the head. In this section, he condemns theiracting like "busybodies." They think that its their job to busy themselves sticking theirnoses into the business of others. And why not. Aren't they always propping themselvesup with the false notion that they are Gods duly-authorized overseers?

They act like self-appointed "moral police", busying themselves with the private affairsof others. The root definition of "busybodies" sheds even more light on this: To bustle about uselessly, to busy ones self about trifling, needless, uselessmatters. Used apparently of a person OFFICIOUSLY inquisitive about othersaffairs.(Thayers Dictionary)Remember, the Apostle Paul worked not just one, but TWO jobs, whileon top of that continuing to teach and preach, never once complaining ortaking even a nickel from them for this.

In light of this, I tend to laugh at some church leaders publicly complaining they donthave enough time for this or money for that. Let them try to get some sympathy from theApostle Paul! Paul suffered all these troubles for just one purpose and one purposeonly: to leave an example to imitate.

He even clearly labels it: " but to give you in our CONDUCT an EXAMPLE TOIMITATE."

Paul goes out of his way to make it clear that there are NO exceptions to this rule; that itapplies to "anyone"which certainly means all pastors and elders as well. But what do

modern church leaders do today in response to that?

Not one rotten thing! They totally ignore applying Pauls example to themselves.Why?

Because they have a vested interest in NOT applying it to themselves. As one notedauthor has said,"It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary dependsupon his not understanding it."

So they will look at clear passages like this, and pretend to not understand how it couldpossible apply to them. They make themselves completely blind to this whole section ofthe New Testament, as if it doesnt exist.

And if they do happen to speak on these texts, they are very careful to apply it to thepeople sitting in the pews and not to themselves. Many times, I have actuallywitnessed this from a pew, listening to the pastor dance around this section, careful to


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gifts... The Ephesian elders had observed Paul's ministry and physical work during histhree-year stay. They were able to testify that he had never exploited anyone (2Corinthians 7:2), but had always set an example of diligence and self-sufficiency, in thegood sense of the word. He was a model to the believers and taught the rule: "If you willnot work, you shall not eat" (2 Thessalonians 3:10)... It appears that Paul generated

sufficient income to support not only himse

lf but even his companions...

In everyrespect, says Paul to the elders of Ephesus, I taught you to work hard and with your

earnings to help the weak... He exhorts them to follow his example and to labor hard.(New Testament Commentary: Acts - Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1990 - pp.737,740).Dont we believe that the gospel is Gods free gift? How do you think the Lord sees theevents of today where we have the paid professionals; the pastors,the teachingeldersturning around and selling the gift so freely given them - a gift that cost the lifeof Gods Son to acquire? Some of these church leadershave taken what was freelygiven them, slapped a price tag on it, and sell it week after week.. for a pay check!

The Apostle Peter condemned one who tried to buy it (Acts 8:18-24); how much morethose who sell it week after week!

Of course, there might be some die-hardmen worshiperswho are reading this andthinking to themselves "Oh no! Not our pastor.

Our pastor isnt in it for the money!

Our pastor is so humble; hes so godly; he just looooves the Lord!"

Lets try this experiment: stop paying him. Thats right. Stop paying yourpastor.

See how long he remains being unpaid like the Apostle Paul!!

See how much he "looooooves the Lord"when he isnt getting paid to "love theLord!"

Tell him he can still minister the word week after week, but also, he will have to get areal job like the Apostle Paul did.

I guarantee you, him, along with 99% of all other so-called pastors will be out of there,searching for a new pulpit to fill. "Looooves the Lord?" Yeah, right. Its that weeklypaycheck that he loves, and if the church won't pay him, hell pack his bags and sellhimself off to some other church that will! Guaranteed !!!

Rest assured, most of the so-called men in the ministrytoday live according to thisprinciple:


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"No Pay, No Play"1 Timothy 6:5-10"......and wrangling among men who are depraved in mind and bereft of the truth,IMAGINING THAT GODLINESS IS A MEANS OF GAIN. There is great gain ingodliness with contentment; for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot takeanything out of the world; but if we have food and clothing, with these we shall becontent. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into manysenseless and hurtfuldesires that plunge men into ruin and destruction.For the love of money is the root of all evils; it is through this craving that some havewandered away from the faith and pierced their hearts with many pangs..." (RSV)The Apostle Paul, once again in plain language, condemns those who haveturned the ministry of the word into a full-time paid job.

He condemns those that have made a living out of it. He condemns those that haveturned the gospel into "a means of GAIN". In short, he condemns EVERY SINGLEPAID PREACHER THAT EXISTS TODAY.Why havent you heard this before? Why hasnt this teaching of the Apostle Paul beenbroadcast widely and proclaimed from pulpits across this land? Why is it that thechurch leadershiphas consistently avoided teaching and preaching on verses likethese?

Well, to even ask such questions is to answer such questions. The reason why the

leadershipkeeps quiet on this issue is because they themselves are the target ofPauls wrath.

They are the ones guilty of having turned the ministry of the word,i.e. preaching, intoa full-time job.

For them to preach this from their pulpits would be the end of their livelihood.

They have been forced to choose between God, and mammon and guess what?Theyve chosen mammon. They have been faced with the choice of picking what theylove more - their salaries, or the truth; and truth has lost out.

OR


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The very people who are in the best position to inform their congregations of the truth ofthis matter, turn out to be the same people who have avested interest in keepingquiet.

Indeed, the wolves have been placed in charge of the hen house, and are doing their

best to keep the hens ignorant of the slaughter of truth going on.

There are many, many in church leadership today that have turned religion into a"means of gain".Remember. A pastor is a professional religionist - one who gets paid to teach; topreach; to minister the word. And, as weve seen, is clearly and distinctly condemned byPaul.

Anybody who can read the verses of Scripture above, and go away with any otherconclusion is either:#1) a lazy Christian who refuses to think for themselves or#2) a pastor/elder with a vested interest to protect.

Its just like the tobacco lawyers from a few years back - trying to blind others to thedangers of cigarettes;so also these church leaders have blinded their congregations to verses like the above.The day they start to deal honestly with verses like the above, will be the day they quittheir jobs.

So again, dont hold your breath here either.2 Corinthians 2:17

For we are notlike so many,peddlers of God's word; but as men of sincerity,as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ. (RSV)For we are notlike many,peddling the word of God, but as from sincerity,but as from God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God. (NASB)For we are not as the many, hawking the word of God (Grk/Eng. NT)F

or we are not as the majority.... (CL

T)

ANY church leader, pastor, elder, preacher, - regardless of how popular he is, howhandsome he is, of how good an orator he is, and regardless of "how many decades"he has been in the ministry,- ANY preacher that makes his living from a church isnothing but a crook.

And be not deceived, there ARE many that have been at it for decades!


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Another occupational trait Paul brings up is the fact that many paid professionalministers are full of hot air. They can just go on and on spinning a yarn. It doesseem to make sense that an empty talker; a deceiver; a mind-deludercould really profitin this profession.1 Thessalonians 4: 11,12"...to aspire to live quietly, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as wecharged you so that you may command the respect of outsiders, and be dependent onnobody."1 Corinthians 4:11-12"...To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are ill-clad and buffeted and homeless,and we labor, working with our own hands."Acts 28:30, 31"...And he lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed allwho cameto him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ quiteopenly and unhindered."2 Corinthians 11:6-15"...Even if I am unskilled in speaking, I am not in knowledge; in every way we havemade this plain to you in all things.

DidI commit a sin in abasing myself so that you might be exalted, because I preachedGod's gospelwithout cost to you?

I robbed other churches by accepting support from them in order to serve you. Andwhen I was with you and was in want, I did not burden any one, for my needs weresupplied by the brethren who came from Macedonia. So I refrained and will refrain fromburdening you in any way.

As the truth of Christ is in me, this boast of mine shall not be silencedin the regions of Achaia. And why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do! And what I do I will

continue to do, in order to undermine the claim of those who wouldlike to claim that intheir boasted mission they work on the same terms as we do.

For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves asapostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel oflight. So it is not strange if his servants also disguise themselves as servants ofrighteousness."


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Here, the Apostle Paul implies that it is mostly the "ministers of Satan"who are gettingpaid to preach the gospel.

Paul also is explaining to the Corinthians the reason as to why he refused to accept anymoney from them for preaching. Remember, this was so disconcerting to the

Corinthians that they thought theA

postle Paul was a phony!

Ministering the word for free? Even they were scratching their heads. Some of theCorinthians were reasoning that the Apostle Paul must not be a real Apostle, or at leastnot on the same level as the otherApostles.

Paul explains the reason he refused their money (not to be a burden to them), andalso says hell continue to refuse their money, more or less daring their (false) Apostles(the "ministers of Satan") to follow suit.

He knows they wont - just like the professional paid pastors today also wont. They will

all refuse to "put their money where their mouth is"and instead will continue to pocketmoney that doesnt belong to them.

2 Corinthians 12:12-18"...The signs of a true apostle were performed among you in all patience,with signsand wonders and mighty works. For in what were you less favored than the rest of thechurches, except that I myself did not burden you? Forgive me this wrong!

Here for the third time I am ready to come to you. And I will not be a burden, FOR I

SEEK NOTWHAT IS YOURS BUT YOU; for children ought not to lay up for theirparents, but parents for their children.

I will most gladly spend and be spent for your sou ls. IfI love you the more, am I to beloved the less? But granting thatI myself did not burden you, I was crafty, you say, andgot the better of you by guile. DidI take advantageof you through any of those whom Isent to you? Iurged Titus to go, and sent the brother with him. Did Titus take advantageof you? Did we not act in the same spirit? Did we not take the same steps?"Here again, Paul is explaining his actions to the Corinthians. He also lays down aprinciple that destroys the modern day paid professional clergy system.

The Apostle Paul says that he does not seek what is theirs (i.e. their money), butrather seeks them. He then backs it up with an analogy, showing that if anyone is to bepaid, the people in charge of a congregation ought to be paying the congregation!

Children, he says, are not the ones who are to "save up" for the parents. Lets seesome pastors in the pulpit try that shoe on for a change!


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1 Timothy 5:16-18"...If any believing woman has relatives who are widows, let her assist them; let thechurch not be burdened, so that it may assist those who are rea lwidows.

Let the elders who rule wellbe considered worthy of double honor, especially those wholabor in preaching and teaching; for the scripture says, "You shall not muzzle an oxwhen it is treading out the grain," and, "The laborer deserves his wages."

From the context, you will notice that the main emphasis of the Apostle Paul hereis to not burden the church down with unnecessary financial obligations.

With such an emphasis, it is surprising that some church leaders (like the onequoted at the beginning of this article) point to this verse as a " proof text"to justifythemselves bumming off the church. This only shows their utter desperation and

blindness. Theyve totally missed the point of the passage!

In fact, Paul is being so fussy with even poor old destitute widows being supported bythe church, it would be strange in the same breath for Paul to be opening the flood-gates wide enough forable-bodied church leaders as well. And, in case the clergyhasnt noticed, Paul isnt even talking about them here - they are not even underdiscussion. Paul is talking about widows, and elders. He is not talking about anyoneelse.Some Greek lexicons define "honor", in this passage alone, as meaning money. Whatwould you expect? The hired professionalswho wrote the lexicons, as we all know,

have a vested interest in preserving their jobs.

But there is no excuse for their inconsistent translation of the word honor inother passages.

If"honor" really means money, as they claim, lets be consistent and "translate" it assuch in the other passages where its used, to show these men that "honor" means"honor", and not money. You will see that these verses, using their logic, make nosense at all. Likewise, neither does rendering "honor" into money, in 1 Timothy 5:17.Romans 2:10 "(honor) money, and peace, to every man..."Romans 13:7 "...fear to whom fear; (honor) money to whom (honor) money..."Mark 7:6 "This people (honors) monies me with their lips..."Hebrews 13:4 "Marriage is (honorable) moneyable in all, and the bed undefiled..."


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The Scriptures say that elders should, when deserving, be honored twice as much. Butcertain theologians say that "honor" means "honor" in all passages EXCEPT in1TImothy 5:17, where the word magically turns into money, which ends up in theirpockets.

Which do you believe?

And, in reality, what do the pastors and preachersreally believe about this verse? Ifthey really believed that elders should be getting paid, then elders would begetting paid. Do they get paid? Many elders that I know dont. Therefore, by theiractions, by their refusing to pay the church elders, pastors and preachers agree withme on this verse. Their actions speak louder than their words - as usual.

Again, heres Lenskis comments on this matter:"It is generally assumed that the elders were paid for their services in the apostolicchurches. We are convinced that this assumption is not tenable. The probability is thatnone of them were paid. The elders of the synagogues were not paid or sa laried. Eachsynagogue had a number of elders, too many to have a payroll that would be largeenough to support them. The apostolic congregations imitated the synagogue in thisrespect. Our passage speaks of "twofold honor," not of twofold financial pay or salary.Paul's two quotations support the injunction relating to according due honor to diligentelders; such honor is to be their reward just as the ox treading out grain is accorded the

privilege of eating as he tramped along, just as the worker is accorded his pay.

The tertium of the analogylies in the worthiness and not in the identity of what the threeare worthy of: the elders worthy of what naturally should go with their office--honor; theox worthy of what naturally goes with the task for which he is employed--wisps ofgrain; the workman worthy of what naturally goes with his work-- pay for his work."(Commentary on Saint Paul's Epistles to Timothy - Minneapolis, MN: AugsburgPublishing House, 1937 - p.683).

Atkerson and Svendsen write:"The word "honor" in this verse means just what it is trans lated as--honor, not pay(unless we want to conclude that we should give some elders "double pay"!). If Paulhadintended to teach that elders are to be paid, he could have used the Greek wordmisthos, which means "wages" (which he used in v.18). In v.18, Paul simply says that,

just as an oxdeserves to eatbecause of his work, andjust as a workerdeserves tobe paidbecause of his work, so an elderdeserves honorbecause of his work (v.19gives an example of such honor--see also 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13). This same word(time) is used in 1 Timothy 6:1; are slaves to "pay" their masters?"(The Practice of the


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Early Church: A Theological Workbook Revised - Atlanta, GA: New TestamentRestoration Foundation, 1995 - p.42).Russell Kelly writes:Verses 17 and 18 have been quoted by many commentaries as texts in Gods Word that discuss payfor gospel ministers. However, this author strongly disagrees with such conclusion for the followingreasons:

(1)..The context of"double honor" in 5:17 is that of rebuking wrongdoers in the church, and not"salary."Verses 1-16 and 19-20 are clearly discussions of discipline. Immediate context must bethe primary determining factor..(2) If "wages," or "salary," were the intended meaning for "honor" in verse 17, then the inspired writerwould have certainly used a better word than "honor," timees..(3) The Greek word for"honor,"as used in verse 17 and in the rest of the New Testament, doesNOT mean "salary" or "wage." As just mentioned, the noun in 5:17 is timees (Strongs 5092). It

occurs 38 times in the KJV New Testament: 28 times as "honor," 8 times as "price," once as"sum,"and once as "precious,"but NEVER as "wage."When used as "price," it does not mean "wage" or "salary," but"value."

Timees is the "price of blood" (Matt. 21:6, 9), the "prices of things sold" (Acts 4:34), the "price ofland" (Acts 5:2-3), the "price of Sarahs sepulcher" (Acts 7:16), and the "price of books" (Acts 19:19).Redeemed believers are "bought with a price" (1 Cor. 6:20; 7:23). In NONE of the occurrences istimees "pay" for work performed. Timees is the "price,""worth," or"value" of a person orthing bought or sold.The verb form of "honor" (Strongs 5091) occurs 21 times in the New Testament. With the loneexception ofMatthew 27:9, when Judas received the "price" (noun) of Jesus according to the way

Israel "valued" (verb), the word merely means "honor" or "respect."Of the 59 total occurrences ofthis word in the KJV New Testament, it is never translated as "wage" or "salary."Therefore, it isinaccurate to teach that it must be interpreted as "salary"or"wage"in First Timothy 5:17.(4) .Concerning the immediate context, the Greek word for "honor" is not used e lsewhere inTimothy to mean "pay" or "wage." Timothys Greek name is a combination of "honor" and "God."God and Paul saw Timothy as very honorable and valuable to God. In his pastoralletter to Timothy,Paul used the noun, timees, four (4) times. "Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the onlywise God, be honor and glory forever and ever" (1:17). "Let as many servants as are under the yokecount their own masters worthy of all honor, that the name of God and his doctrine be notblasphemed" (6:1). "Who only has immortality dwelling in the light which no man can approach to;whom no man has seen, nor can see; to whom be honor and power everlasting" (6:16). The verbform is used once in 5:3, "Honor widows."(5).. if the writer ofFirst Timothy had wanted to clearly express the meaning of "wage," or "salary,"there are much better words he could have used. The Greek word for "labor" in 5:17 is the verbkopiao (Strongs 2872) but it does not implicitly mean "labor for a living." The word merely means"grow tired, become weary." Ergazomai (Strongs 2038, 2039, 2040) is the common verb for "work toacquire" and occurs 41 times in the New Testament. Without a modifier, such as "hired," even itsnoun form forlaborer, ergates, does not necessarily mean one who is paid. Again, misthos (Strongs


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3408) is the more common word for "reward, wages, hire" and would have been the preferable wordto use in 5:17, if "salary" were intended.(6) Why would Paul tell the church to give Timothy a double salarywhen he himself refused any atall(1 Cor. 9:12, 15; Acts 20:33-35)? Was not his companion, Timothy, included in the injunction, "Ihave shown you all things, how that so laboring you ought to support the weak, and to remember the

words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35)?(7) Why were the two examples of 5:18 given? We must remember that the context in Timothyrelates to discipline, while the context ofFirst Corinthians 9 relates to being worthy of the honor ofreceiving some sustenance (which he refused). In 5:18 the ox is being honored while it is treadingthe grain. The emphasis here is on the fact THAT it is being honored, and not HOW! The quotes areincluded to remind the church of the HONORof the elder about to be disciplined.

Also, although Paul concluded in First Corinthians 9:12 and 9:15 that he and others had certainlegitimate "rights" of compensation for their work in the ministry, he did not say that he meant doublesalaries for all. That would have been the very last thing Paul would have said about wages!Remember that, although in Second Corinthians 11:8 Paul admitted to receiving "wages" (opsonion;

Strongs 3800), this Greek word merely means "a so

ldiers ration," or dai

ly bare necessities of

life,while continuing his trade as a tentmaker.

The real emphasis of 5:18 is on the "double worthiness" of the ox. While it was normally unmuzzledwhile not working; it was double-worthy of not being muzzled while working. Thus the ox "plowed inhope" that its needs would be met. If Paul had wanted to teach tithing at this point, he would havequoted Numbers 18:20-26 and compared Christian workers to the Levitical system instead ofreferring to a grinding ox.(8) "The laborer (ergatees) is worthy (axios) of his reward (misthos)," again, in its context, refers todouble honor, and not double pay. Think this through. Why would a discussion of honorablediscipline (vv. 1-16 and 19-20) be interrupted by a reminder of how much salary a minister shouldget (vv. 17-18)? Such an idea is absurd!It is true that, even the word "wage" is not the only definition

which can be assigned to misthos in verse 18 (Strongs 3048)!Of the 29 occurrences, only 5 couldpossibly be "wages," or "salary," while the remainder simply mean "reward." In fact, Paul usedmisthos twice in First Cor. 9:17-18 as "reward" in his refusal of a wage!Misthos is the believers"reward" in heaven and the "reward" which Christ brings with him.In the context of First Timothy 5:17-18, the ministering elders "reward" is the "double-honor," ordouble-cautious discipline due him! The minister is first worthy of single honor while being disciplinedbecause he is a elder Christian, and he is worthy of double honor while being disciplined because heis a laborer in the church.

(9) If Paul had meant "double-pay" in First Timothy 5:17, then why did he quote references topaupers who owned or accumulated nothing? How can one refer to penniless paupers to prove that

one should receive double salary?(10) 1 Tim. 6:1 "Let as many servants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of allhonor, that the name of God and his doctrine will not be blasphemed."If "worthy of double honor" in5:17 means "worthy of double pay," then what does "worthy of allhonor" mean only nine verses laterin 6:1? Certainly Paul is not saying that a Christian slave should give his master ALL the money heaccumulates! Thus the context and word usage in First Timothy does not support the translation of"double pay."


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concerning 1st Timothy 5:17-19. So-called "ministers of the gospel," who have probablynever really worked a day in their lives; who have bummed off the church for decades,siphoning money week after week from unsuspecting sheep for nothing else but to gaintheir own ends, are being exposed for what and who they truly are and will continue tobe exposed.

Read on!!!

Acts 3:6

But Peter said, (to the beggar) "Ihave no silver and gold, butI give you whatIhave; inthe name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk."This is an amazing verse. Here we have the Apostle Peter - a leader of the church inJerusalem. By the time Peter was confronted by this beggar, the church had grown to

over3

000 members (A

cts 2:41).

It would be very unlikely for a modern day pastor/preacher of such a largecongregation to have no money, to be flat broke. Yet this is one of the things thatseparates the pastors, elders, preachers, in other words, the professionalministryof today from their forefathers.

A pastor of such a church in our day would certainly have apocket full of money.

He would also probably have a new car, possibly a nice pension plan, health insurance,

a nice mortgage-free house in a nice neighborhood - where such beggars as Peter raninto are not even allowed.The Apostle was flat broke because he was not siphoning off church money intohis own pockets.

The church supported those that were truly in need (Acts 4:35, 6:1), and not thosewho put themselves in need by refusing to get a real job, such as a pastor.

Matthew 11:5"...The blind receive their sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deafhear, the dead are raised up, andTHE POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TOTHEM."(KJV)When it lists these miracles, did you notice what was saved for last?


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It appears that the greatest miracle of all these miracles is that the poor will have thegospel preached to them! This even out-ranks resurrections!Incidentally, the poor that are mentioned here are not the American poor; you know, the"poor" that have a house, a car, indoor plumbing, electricity, TV, heat. No, we are

talking 1st century poor - no house, no food, no welfare, and zero money. Starvation isa daily possibility. And the miracle in that someone would preach the gospel to thesepeople is the realization that someone would minister the word for free, with no chancewhatsoever of making any money out of it!Even in our day, someone preaching without getting paid is such a rarity as tocount as a true miracle.Even the most pathetic of churches seem to always burden themselves with a full-timepastor/elder, regardless of the financial load it places upon the church. Oh no, cantlive without that!We cant have the pastor go out and get a real job like the "laity" of

his church!

He cant stoop to their level - or to the level of the Apostle Paul, who supportedhimself with a real job.Matthew 7:15Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly areravenous wolves.(RSV)Be on your guard against false religious teachers, who come to you dressed up as

sheep but are really greedy wo

lves."(Phillips)

But beware of false prophets who come to you in sheeps clothing but inside they areplundering wolves.(Grk/Eng. NT)Note the terms throughout the Scriptures: ravenous wolves, greedy wolves,plundering wolves, burdensome wolves.Do you see a common theme here?

Jesus and Paul both warn against a professional clergy.

Note that Jesus compared these false teachers - as did the Apostle Paul - to wolves. Hedid this because wolves, like the clergy, make their living by feeding off flocks of sheep -except the wolf has more honor than to hide its true mission under a religiouscloak.


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2 Peter 2:14,15They have hearts trained in greed; accursed children. Forsaking the right way, theyhave gone astray; they have followed the way of Balaam"(RSV)Titus 1:7For a bishop, as Gods steward, must be b lameless; he must not be arrogant orquick-tempered or addicted to wine or violentor greedy for gain..."(NRSV)Matthew 21:13.He said to them, "It is written, `My house shall be called a house of prayer'; but youmake ita robbers den."

2 Corinthians 11:20

For you bear it if a man makes s laves of you, or preys upon you, ordevours yoursubstance, or puts on airs, or strikes you in the face...

Isaiah 56:9-11..The dogs have a mighty appetite; they never have enough...The shepherds also have no understanding; they have all turned to their own way,eachto his own gain, one and all.Jeremiah 6:13"For from the least to the greatest of them, every one is greedy for unjust gain; andfrom prophet to priest, every one deals falsely."Ezekiel 34:1- 4"...Thus says the Lord GOD: Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been feedingyourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep?

You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fatlings; but youdo not feed the sheep.

The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the crippled youhave not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have notsought, andwith force and harshness you have ruled them."


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Micah 3:11

The heads give judgment for a reward, its priests teach for hire, its prophetsdivine for money;yet theylean upon the LORD and say, "Is not the LORD in the midstof us? No evilshallcome upon us."Exodus 18:21(Jethro's advice to Moses) "...And you, you shall look out men of ability out of all the

people, who fear God, men of truth, haters of unjust gain....."Exodus 20:17You shall not covet your neighbors house; you shall notcovetyour neighbors wife orhis male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey orANYTHING thatbelongs to your neighbor.Does your pastor/elder or church leader covet, i.e. desire to have for his own, yourmoney?What about your tithes and offerings? Does your pastor/elder or church leadercovet (desire) these? Does he try to make you believe that your love for God and Hischurch is measured in the dollars and cents you give to your pastor and/or church?The Apostle Paul, unlike the preachers of today, did not desire your moneyActs20:33.

Some have asked about the passage in 1 Corinthians Chapter 9.

....Doesnt this support the idea of pastoralsupport or paying your minister?....If you read the passage very carefully, ABSOLUTELY NOT !! 1st Corinthians Chapter 9does not contradict the Apostle Pauls example of "not being a burden" ( 1 Thess. 2); ofnot desiring silver or gold (Acts 20); of working days and nights at real jobs (1 Thess.2;2 Thess. 3); warnings of peddling the Word of God; signs of unruly, rebellious men;Peters example; the true meaning of 1 Tim. 5 and Gal. 6; Jesus warnings andpractices and policies; etc., etc., etc.Many people read the scriptures (1 Corinthians 9 for example) with their already pre-conceived notions already imbedded in their hearts and minds. pre-conceivednotions that are very, very difficult to break, apart from the help of Gods Spirit. The typical notion to 1 Corinthians 9 goes something like this:

So if a congregation wants to pay a pastor a salary, there is certainly nothing wrongwith that. They have the right to do so. .a common sense rule would be to support


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the pastor in a comparable way and to a comparable degree experienced by the rest ofthe congregation..Whether or not this means a salary is besides the pointWHAT! THIS IS THE POINT!!!!!

This individual is expressing a feeling that is all too common in the rank and file of thechurch. That is: "S-U-P-P-O-R-T equals M-O-N-E-Y.

IT DOES NOT!!!!He is expressing the common feeling that its ok to pay your preacher or pastor, butdont pay him too much.... (pay him in a comparable way to the rest of thecongregation)Do you know what this sounds like? It sounds like this: It's ok for someone to extort hisneighbor out of $50.00, but not $50,000.Which reminds me of the old story which perhaps many of you have already heard of:This one fellow was at a dinner party. He turned to the woman next to him anddiscussed prostitution. He asked her if she would go to bed with him for a million dollars,and she said of course. He then asked if she would do it for $5. She got ticked-off andsaid "What do you think I am!!!" To which he replied, "We've already established WHATyou are. Now we're just quibbling over the price."WHAT a pastor or preacher is who gets paid for preaching is a spiritual whore. YOUare just quibbling over the price.A PAID PASTOR OR PREACHER IS WRONG. PERIOD!

Personal thoughts and feelings do NOT have much weight. Maybe if thepastor/preacher had a J-O-B like everyone else, then he'd HAVE some income!

The Apostle Paul was very specific about leaving an example that preachers shouldwork secular jobs to support themselves, and that ANY one in the church thatREFUSED to work a secular job should be left to starve to death: "if ANY will not work, neither let him eat"

The Apostle is at times VERY specific about this, to the point of being condescending,but perhaps for some, not "condescending" enough.Most people that I know when they quote 1 Corinthians Chapter 9 leave off verses 1 & 2as well as verses 15-18.


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Verse 1: Am I not an A-P-O-S-T-L-E? Am I not free? Have I not seen ourLord JesusChrist? Are you not my work in the Lord?

Verse 2: If I am not an A-P-O-S-T-L-E to others, yet am I indeed to you; for you are theseal of my A-P-O-S-T-L-E-S-H-I-P in the Lord.The Apostles were a very unique group of people. Read the article, Authority inChurch Government.Yes, the Apostles were unique. At that time, everyone knew that; even up to the earlychurch years. The church at Corinth wasnt sure of Pauls qualifications.The ApostlePaul had a hard time convincing the Corinthian church that he was enough of anApostle to be worthy of the right ofApostolic support, even though he had no intentionat all of using that said right.So why the concern of proving his right to Apostolic support? Because if Paul could

prove his right to support, he also proves at the same time his Apostleship. This isthe only way this chapter makes any sense and once understood, it becomes very clearat what the Apostle Paul is trying to do.

Some of the people at Corinth thought Paul was NOT accepting support because therewas something wrong with Pauls Apostleship. Paul defends himself by showing thathe is just as qualified to these rights as the rest of the Apostles (proving his Apostleship)but decided not to make use of his said rights.

Paul is defending his Apostleship. The Lord Himself has commissioned, directed,and sent out the Apostles who are all dead now.

So-called pastors and preachers today have NO BUSINESS turning preaching into alivelihood and business. Thats how verse 14 makes sense too: So also the Lorddirected those preaching the gospel to live from the gospel.The Lord directed for the support of the preachers which HE sent out.

(And remember, the support was NOT MONEY, but food, drink, and a place to stay).Matthew 10 has the account.And again, remember, in 1 Corinthians 9, Paul is making a defense of hisApostleship not his preachership.

This whole context shows that it takes more than just being a so-called pastor or evena preacher in order to qualify for support. (And remember the support not money,but food, drink, and a roof). You must be a preacher sent by God Himself, anApostle.Notice also verses 15 18; verses that are most often left out when quoting thispassage:


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V15: ButIhave used none of these things. AndIam not writing these things that it maybe done so in my case; for it would be better for me to die than have any man makemy boast an empty one.V16:

For if

Ipreach the gospe

l,I

have nothing to boast of, forI

am under compulsion;for woe is me ifIdo not preach the gospel.

V17: For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have astewardship entrusted to me.V18: What then is my reward? That, when I preach the gospel, I may offer the gospel

without charge, so as not to make fulluse of my right in the gospel.The reward Paul talks about is to offer the gospel free of charge.

Pauls reward was not MONEY. In fact, Paul makes it clear that he would rather die thantake money from them for preaching. So-called pastors and preachers are alwaysavoiding this fact in their desire to find anything to justify their paychecks. To claim asthey do, that the only requirement to get paid is to be a pastor and preach, is to maketotal nonsense out of this entire chapter.

Thats why as I said earlier, this chapter makes no sense at all if one fails to see that theApostle Paul did not want to be a burden to the church, which shows that he wasproving his right to support in order to prove his Apostleship to the Corinthians, andNOT in order to get their MONEY.

Well, we come around full circle to where we began.We asked the question, "Should pastor's be 'cared for'?" And to answer that question,we took a Scriptural look at another unbiblical cherished doctrine of man. We quoted one pastor's interpretation of 1 Timothy 5:17:

..In other words Timothy, you are to bind the consciences

of Gods people to care for their pastors..

Albert N. Martin


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We saw that this is nothing more than a castle in the sand; another feebled attempt bychurch leaders to bring their congregations into submission - bent, broken, and theirconsciences bound in chains to the ridiculous unbiblical pronouncements of men.

Some of these so-called "church leaders" have granted to themselves more status,more power, more authority than any of the Apostles ever dreamed of!

As we have clearly seen, this text (and others like it) state absolutely nothingaboutChristians giving their money away to support a " pastor's livelihood", along with hischurch!If anything at all, it is a heresy, used by the Church, independent cults, andcharlatans of every description, as a club to beat and threaten church membersinto surrendering their salaries into the "offering plate" in obedience to some

PHANTOM LAW of God!

The audacity of some of these men is almost sickening!

And they get away with it! Some have gotten away with it for decades! "Hey, itsworked this long; might as well continue. Right?"God has a word for His people:

"...For what fellowship have righteousness and iniquity? Or what communion has lightwith darkness? Wherefore Come out from among them, and be separate, says the Lord;

And I will receive you, And will be to you a Father, And you shall be to me sons anddaughters, says the Lord Almighty."

2 Corinthians 6:14-18This whole unbiblical charade of handing your money over to the "church" in order to"support your pastor's livelihood" continues to be a recipe of disaster and destruction,leaving Christ's sheep corralled, mistreated and imprisoned by thieves and robbers.

When are we going to wake up and realize that the evil one and his ministers ofrighteousness has tricked us into squandering our time, our energies, and our resourcesfor an institutional, worldly system that is unknown and opposed to the New Testament. Just think for a minute and look at what happens on Sunday's. The members arrive onschedule, obeying the dictates of their church to be present at allof the meetings unless

providentially hindered; they sit quietly in pews and watch and listen to the pastor who isup front, center stage, whose position and presence takes over and literally dominatesthe entire service.


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If the people in the assembly began to get a vision that the church is not a formalassociation but a community; that gifts are distributed, apart from ordination to eachperson; that everyone must actively participate and contribute for the churchto work;that no ones gift is more important that anothers, and that everyones participation willensure a full, healthy church life; in short, a vision of a biblical view of church life, many

would correctly and biblically begin to ask themselves, "What are we paying ourPastor for?"Ideally, if this anti-biblical system of pastoral support and control was eventually

jettisoned, the members of that assembly would have to, probably for the first time intheir spiritual lives, stand up on their own two feet; get out of their pews; come togetherand figure out who would lead the worship, who would visit the sick, who would teach,etc., etc.

With a bit of insight and discernment, they would realize that the Bible calls the body asa whole to do these things together, prompting each to consider what gifts they have to

contribute, what role they could play to build up the body.A

nd with a little bit of courageto throw in, the people might actually take the painful steps in the direction of long-termchange.

Ken CascioWebmaster

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Should Pastors Be Cared For?