Introduction

In Paul’s second letter to the church in Corinth, he makes a rather odd statement that, without proper study, might be misunderstood by the casual reader or novice bible student.

In chapter 11 the apostle writes, Did I commit sin in humbling myself that you might be exalted, because I preached the gospel of God to you free of charge? I robbed other churches, taking wages from them to minister to you. (2 Corinthians 11:7-8)

Was Paul actually stealing money from other congregations? Or does this mean something else? We’ll explore the answer in this article.

The 8^th Commandment

Going back to the Old Testament, when the children of Israel were given the commandments by God, the eighth one stated, You shall not steal. (Exodus 20:15) Naturally, Paul knew this being a pharisee (Acts 23:6; Phil. 3:5) and would not break this, or any, commandment.

If he was a thief, then his comment to the church in Ephesus would make him a hypocrite. He wrote to them saying, Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. (Ephesians 4:28)

Working with His Hands

Although Paul was a pharisee, he was taught a trade. As chapter 18 in Acts begins, we read this passage, After these things Paul departed from Athens and went to Corinth. And he found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla (because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome); and he came to them. So, because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and worked; for by occupation, they were tentmakers. (Acts 18:1-3)

There are times when a preacher has to take on a secular job to help make ends meet. This doesn’t mean that he isn’t worthy of his hire. Jesus said, “And remain in the same house, eating and drinking such things as they give, for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not go from house to house.” (Luke 10:7) Paul confirms this in his first letter to Timothy, For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain,” and “The laborer is worthy of his wages.” (1 Timothy 5:18)

However, Paul also stated, Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel. (1 Corinthians 9:14) This is not a contradiction of the previous verses listed above. What Paul is getting at is that if someone is hired as a preacher, he should be paid to be and be well-compensated for.

If a congregation is unable to pay him enough, the preacher either takes on a secular job or seeks support from other congregations. As we see, in Paul’s case, he has done both.

Why didn’t the Corinthians Support him?

With all this in mind, it begs the question as to why the church in Corinth didn’t support him. They were very capable of doing so, but they didn’t. The answer is that some of the brethren there did not see consistency in him. First, he announces that he was going to make a second visit to them, then changes his mind (2 Cor. 1:15-24).

Beginning in chapter 3, Paul has to defend his apostleship even though they’d seen the miracles when he established the church there (Acts 18:1) and was with them for 18 months (Acts 18:11).

Given that he was already receiving support from the church in Philippi (Phil. 4:15-16; 2 Cor. 11:9), he didn’t need support from them. This way, they can’t accuse him of simply preaching for money. Further, he wasn’t a burden to them as he was preaching to them for free (2 Cor. 11:7).

Conclusion

When it comes to paying the preacher, it should be done out of respect from both sides. An agreement of the amount should be made and it’s to be done out of love for the work.

This goes hand-in-hand with the offering. As Paul wrote, So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Corinthians 9:7)