One of the fundamental responsibilities that a man has is to “provide for his own,” or else “he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Timothy 5:8). Those who preach the gospel are certainly not exempt from this responsibility. But how is a preacher to make a living?
Paul explained to the brethren in Corinth that God has a plan for preachers to earn an income: “So also the Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:14). This is God’s design – a man devotes his life to proclaiming the gospel and he receives support for his labor. But how does he receive this support? In the New Testament we read of three different ways in which a man can receive support for his work of preaching.
- He can receive support from the congregation where he is laboring – Paul explained to the brethren in both Corinth and Thessalonica that he had the right, even though he did not use it, to receive wages from them for his work among them (1 Corinthians 9:11-12; 2 Thessalonians 3:8-9).
- He can receive support from other congregations in different places – Part of the time he was working with the congregation in Corinth, Paul “robbed other churches by taking wages from them” (2 Corinthians 11:8) in order to continue the work there.
- He can receive support from individual Christians – Paul wrote, “The one who is taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him” (Galatians 6:6). Not only can churches support preachers, but individuals can support them directly as well.
These are the different ways that one can receive support for preaching. It is important to note though that this support is not benevolence. Paul referred to his support as “wages” (2 Corinthians 11:8), implying the fact that he was paid what he had earned for his work, not because he was in need of benevolent aid for choosing to preach instead of working a regular job. Therefore, when a congregation or individual is making an evaluation to determine whether or not to support a preacher – or what amount that support should be – the primary factor should be his work in preaching the gospel.
But what if the support is not there for a preacher to make his living from the gospel? Perhaps brethren would like to help support a man, but the ability does not exist to do so. Or the opposite could be true – the ability to help pay a preacher is there, but the congregation or individual is unwilling to send support for whatever reason. What is a preacher to do then?
Remember the verse we cited earlier: “If anyone does not provide for his own…he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Timothy 5:8). What if, due to unwillingness or lack of ability, little or no support is sent to the preacher? He must still provide for his own, even if it means working with his hands to do it.
Does this mean one should give up preaching when there is a lack of support? Certainly not! Preachers are to preach whether they receive wages for their preaching or not. Remember the example of Paul. When he was not receiving wages for preaching, he did not give up preaching. He worked to support himself while also preaching the gospel in the time he had available (Acts 18:1-4; 20:34; 1 Thessalonians 2:9; 2 Thessalonians 3:7-9). If necessary, we can do the same thing today – preach while supporting ourselves through secular work. Later, if wages for preaching are present, then we can do as Paul did – devote our time more fully to the word (Acts 18:5).
Preachers, continue to faithfully carry out the work of an evangelist, whether you get paid for it or not. Brethren, “we ought to support such men” (3 John 8).
