Peddling Christ

I’ve seen the headlines for several news articles the last couple of days that talk about a prominent ‘Christian’ organization’s leader and how much money he is paid by the non-profit organization he runs. I haven’t read the articles but did see just a few sentences in one of them where it actually told the amount this man is paid. I know a lot of non-profit organizations pay the people that run them but I have to question how any company that pays someone to run it can truly be labeled non-profit. If someone’s being paid by that organization…doesn’t that make them a for profit company?

Someone, an individual, is making money off the funds that are given for the purpose of whatever that organization stands for. In this case it is the very man that claims to do so much for others that is making such a high salary from the money given to help those in need.

I think of all the ‘church’ buildings and how they have non-profit status. Some of those ‘church’ buildings pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to their pastors. And they don’t stop there. Many of them pay that same pastor’s living expense, they pay their vehicle expenses, some even pay their vacation expenses. Many of those same ‘church’ buildings also pay music leaders, youth pastors, secretaries, janitors, landscapers… Is that truly non-profit? Can they truly be not making a profit when those in charge of the ‘church’ are being paid…sometimes huge amounts…to run the ‘church’ that is supposedly not making a profit?

My husband and I have talked about preachers and their paychecks before. We’ve discussed it as it’s portrayed in Scripture. I can’t think of any better preacher than Paul. He is who gave us a good part of our New Testament teachings and it’s his teachings that I turn to time and again. I’m not a preacher, will never be a preacher, have no desire to be a preacher, cannot be a preacher per Scripture, but if I was a preacher I think I would look long and hard at Paul, not just his teachings but him, as a man, as a preacher. How did he live? What did he do?

It would take me pages and pages to summarize all of Paul’s life so I’m not going to try and do it in any detail but if we look to Paul what do we see? Of the man? Of the preacher?

He was a man with a powerful job. He was important. He was educated. And he gave it all up for Christ.

For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 1 Corinthians 2:2

All his knowledge wasn’t taken away, he gave it up. He decided to know nothing among men but Christ. Do we see that in preachers today? When was the last time you went to a ‘church’ building and heard the preacher say…I have decided to forget everything I’ve ever learned and teach you nothing but Christ.

I’ve never heard a preacher say that, not even a reformed preacher.

Let me ask you…what does that statement… For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified…say about Paul? Here he was, a man that gave up his powerful job, a job that gave him a lot of control, a job that most likely boosted his ego, his self-esteem, and he gave it and all else up to teach Christ, and he said I have decided to know nothing but Christ. Paul lived in a time when teaching of Christ was a serious offense. People were dying for doing what Paul was doing and yet he still said ‘I have decided to know nothing but Christ’.

I don’t know of a single preacher today that has done that or one that would do that. They know what they were taught in seminary. They know what they learned in high school or college. They know what they learned in the army. They know what they learned with their families. They know lots…but do they know nothing but Christ?

When was the last time you heard a preacher preach and knew he wasn’t getting paid for what he was doing? How much does a preacher make for giving a single sermon?

The preacher of the ‘church’ building I sometimes go to has said that he makes about $33,000.00 a year to be the preacher there. As I understand it that’s a pretty low amount for a preacher but it’s still a decent amount of money. This ‘church’ building doesn’t have Sunday evening services and the Wednesday evening services are preached by a rotation of lay pastors. Since I’ve never been to a Wednesday evening service I can’t say whether or not the main preacher ever preaches in them but let’s just assume he preaches one Wednesday service a month. That gives us 52 Sunday’s a year…104 services because there are two services every Sunday…and 12 Wednesday services a year. That’s 116 services this preacher delivers. With those numbers this preacher makes 284.48 per sermon delivered. That’s sermons that last about 30 minutes each. That means he makes over 500.00 an hour.

Now I know his job entails more than just delivering a sermon and so those numbers are affected by everything else he does. How many hours does he spend writing his sermons? How many hours does he sit beside someone’s hospital bed? How many other tasks does he perform? But even if we say he works 60 hours a week…he’s still being paid for a job that Paul described as…

Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness… Titus 1:1

1Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God… Romans 1:1

Paul described himself as a servant of Christ more than once. Time and again he said he was an apostle of Christ. He said he was set apart for the gospel, that he was a servant for the sake of the faith. Here was a man that lived to further the faith of the elect. He willingly became a servant, a slave, for Christ in order to serve others.

And he did it without being paid. In fact he worked as a tent maker to support himself and when he wasn’t working he taught Christ. He had a job, a profession that wasn’t preaching. He was a tentmaker.

I have no idea what people said about Paul in his day but if I imagine what it may have been like I would think that those that knew him, or knew of him, might have said something like ‘Paul’s that tentmaker that gave up being a soldier so he could teach about Jesus’. Depending on who was saying it or how they felt about Jesus would probably have affected their tone of voice, the derision they displayed toward Paul and his teachings, how excited they were or how crazy they thought he was.

But that was what Paul was…a tentmaker…it was his job, his profession. It was how he put food in his belly, how he bought the things he needed, how he supported himself. He worked with his hands and provided for himself. Then he preached. Then he taught. Quite possibly he taught of Christ while he worked, while he earned a living, but he didn’t make teaching of Christ his way of making a living. Christ wasn’t his paycheck.

He didn’t go out and preach expecting to make 500.00 an hour, he didn’t expect to make .10 an hour. His preaching and teaching wasn’t about money. He made that clear when he said he was a servant of God for the sake of the faith. But he didn’t stop there…he said he was a servant of God for the faith of the elect. For God’s people.

That wasn’t what he did…it was who he was.

Christ wasn’t something he did in order to put money in his pocket. Christ wasn’t Someone to be exploited so he could buy a bigger house, a fancy car, or fund his vacations. He didn’t make Christ’s name serve him…he served Christ.

Paul, himself, told us in 2 Corinthians 2:17…

For we are not, like 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.

Paul made a distinction between the preaching and teaching he was doing and that of others of his time. He said… we are not, like so many, peddlers of God's word, but as men of sincerity. Apparently there were those that were peddling God’s word not from sincerity but out of some other reasoning. The definition of a peddler is that of someone going from place to place selling something.

From that it would seem that there were those in Paul’s time that were literally selling the word of God. Today we think of the Word of God as the Bible but we must remember that in Paul’s time there were no Bibles. So he couldn’t have been speaking of Bible salesmen. These were people that were selling the story of Christ. They were using Christ to line their own pockets and Paul clearly said He was not like them. He said that he…and the others…were men of sincerity. And he told us that these peddlers weren’t just a handful of people but that there were ‘so many’. I find the next part particularly meaningful. Not only did he say they were men of sincerity (showing that the peddlers weren’t) but he went on to say they were commissioned by God. As meaningful at that is it’s the last part that really stands out to me…we speak in Christ.

He said ‘we’re sincere men, not selling the word of God, but commissioned by God to speak in Christ.’ They had no bigger purpose for teaching and preaching than to teach Christ. They weren’t peddling Him. Weren’t selling Him. They were sincerely speaking ‘in Christ.’ Teaching out of a sincere belief, not out of self-motivation. Not from greed or self-gain.

Paul was preaching and teaching for nothing but the purpose of giving a message, of furthering the faith of the elect. He chose to know nothing but Christ and therefore taught nothing but Christ and in so doing he became a servant, a slave, that expected nothing in return for the teaching and preaching he was doing.

He didn’t pass an offering plate. He didn’t deliver a message to a group of people and then make them feel like they needed to give him money at the end. He didn’t tell them that God required they give him a percentage of their earnings. He simply taught them of Christ. And in so doing he was never afraid that the message he delivered might offend them into not giving him money. He didn’t have to play a game, work within certain rules, to keep the pocketbooks of his supporters happy because he had no financial supporters. He was able to preach and teach Christ and nothing else.

Paul gave us some wonderful insights into this very topic in 1 Thessalonians 3: 6-10…

Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us. ⁷ For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, ⁸ nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. ⁹ It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate. ¹⁰ For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. ¹¹ For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. ¹² Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.

Where in any of the above teachings is there mention of making money off sharing the gospel? Where does it say that it’s okay to charge others to talk about Christ? It doesn’t. In fact Paul teaches exactly the opposite. In verse 6 he says…

Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us.

That single verse gives us a lot of insight into the message Paul is delivering. First of all with the second word he says, he shows that it isn’t just him that is saying this. He says…We…so there was more than just Paul being talked of here. One word later he makes it clear that he isn’t making a suggestion. He isn’t simply implying something or setting a guideline. He straight out said…we command you… This is a commandment. An order. It’s not a suggestion but a ‘this is what you are to do’ statement. He’s saying exactly how things should be.

And who is he saying it to?

Brothers. He is speaking to anyone that is in Christ. Anyone that is claiming the title of ‘Christian’. We command you, Brothers. This is a commandment, an order, given to Christians.

That first verse not only tells us who he’s talking to but it tells us why… that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us… Here he sets out the why and gives an example. How much plainer can he say it? Basically he’s saying…Listen up, Christians. Stay away from anyone that claims to be a Christian and doesn’t follow the example we have set for how a Christian is to act.

He’s set the foundation for the lessons he’s about to give. We command you, Christians, to stay away from any Christian that is idle, that doesn’t follow the example we have set for you.

Then he goes on to say…For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you,

He says here…you know how to act because we showed you through our actions. We weren’t idle. We set the example.

⁸ nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it,

This part sure goes against what is expected by the preachers and teachers of the modern ‘church’. When was the last time you saw any preacher doing anything not only with no expectation of being paid for it but by handing over his hard earned money…from a job outside his position as preacher…to pay for what he does while in the midst of the church? And before you think that you see it all the time, remember that every time a preacher sits with someone in the hospital, visits the home of a ‘church’ member, or witnesses to someone, that is part of his job description and so he’s actually being paid for what he’s doing. And if he spends money at a ‘church’ function…something he and his family are generally able to participate in, or partake of, free of charge even when everyone else has to pay…it’s money he made off the ‘church’ through the salary they pay him.

…but with toil and labor we worked night and day,

Paul not only says they paid for what they ate with money they made through their own work…toil and labor…but that they worked night and day to earn that money. And why did they work for their money instead of taking money from others?

that we might not be a burden to any of you.

They didn’t want to be a burden, a hardship, to those they were teaching. The next part of those verses tells us he did it out of his own choosing and not because of anything required of him. And remember it wasn’t just Paul that was doing this. The men that were teaching and preaching with Paul were also living off the wages they earned outside of their teaching of Christ.

Paul makes clear why they did what they did and the position they were in when they chose to teach of Christ without taking any payment from those that they taught.

  ⁹ It was not because we do not have that right,

He clearly says they had the right to accept payment from those they taught. It would have been okay, would have been acceptable. But they didn’t do it. Why? …that we might not be a burden to any of you. If that wasn’t enough of a reason he gave them another one…

but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate.

They not only didn’t ask for payment but they paid their own way, supported themselves, so as not to be a burden and to give others an example of how they should act, of what they should do.

¹⁰ For even when we were with you, we would give you this command:

This is the second time Paul has said…we…command… This was in a very short time, in a short message. We command you… It wasn’t a suggestion. Wasn’t an if-you-want-to-do-this-do-it. He’s saying we are telling you this is how you are to do this and we’ve set the example for you to follow. Here it is, pay attention.

If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.

Here’s his order…do not do for those that won’t work for their keep. If you won’t work…you won’t eat.

¹¹ For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work,  

Some of you will not work, you won’t do anything to provide for yourselves.

¹² Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.

Go to work. Get a job. Earn a living. Either work…or go hungry.

Paul has clearly shown us in his teaching and by his example that a preacher is to work aside from the preaching and teaching he does of Christ. Serving Christ is to be just that…service to Him. We aren’t serving someone when we’re being paid for our works. We are simply exchanging what we do for compensation. We are furthering ourselves through what we are doing.

Through the example that Paul set we can clearly see that a preacher or teacher of Christ is to serve Christ through his slavery to Christ. There is no pay for a slave. There is no pay for a servant.

Some will say that 1 Timothy 3 says that it’s okay to take money for Preaching.

The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. ² Therefore an overseer^[a] must be above reproach, the husband of one wife,^[b] sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, ³ not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. ⁴ He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, ⁵ for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church? ⁶ He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. ⁷ Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.

⁸ Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued,^[c] not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain. ⁹ They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. ¹⁰ And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless. ¹¹ Their wives likewise must^[d] be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things. ¹² Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well. ¹³ For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

But if you read over those verses carefully…nowhere in it does it say that it’s okay to make your money teaching and Preaching Christ. Nothing in the above verses actually encourage the receiving of money for preaching or teaching. I’m not going to go through those verses individually but point out just a few.

If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task.

It does say it’s noble to be an overseer but then it goes on to give a long list of requirements for that position. None of which include payment for the task. It does in fact say…

not a lover of money.

Now that doesn’t tackle payment for preaching one way or the other. It just says a man must not love money. How many preachers today would fall into the category of not loving money? How many of them receive salaries and compensation that makes a very lucrative income? If that’s not enough to point us away from the idea that those verses make it okay to accept money for preaching this one should…

not greedy for dishonest gain

How many of the messages preached in ‘church’ buildings today are done so straight from the truths of Scripture? How many of them are teaching nothing but Christ as Paul said he was? Do the preachers in those ‘church’ buildings meet this qualification… They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. And if they don’t…Are they not dishonestly gaining from the message’s they’re teaching? Are they not teaching false doctrines in those ‘church’ buildings and gaining from it? Even in ‘churches’ that are reformed and teach Truth…do their preachers not encourage giving money…tithing…to the ‘church’?

I know that many point to 1 Timothy 3 to dispute most, if not all, of what I’m saying here. But I don’t see anywhere in those verses where it says the preacher is to be supported by the congregation. I don’t see where it says its okay for him to take money for teaching and preaching Christ. What I do see in those verses is a long list of requirements that I’ve never yet met anyone that meets them.

How many people, whether preachers or not, meet these qualifications… sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, ³ not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money…if they somehow meet those, do they meet these… manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive.

Just one example…the preacher at the ‘church’ I sometimes go to says often that he ‘has world war 3 in the living room’ with his wife. Does that sound like a man that can manage his household well?

And although I see nowhere in 1 Timothy 3, or elsewhere, where it says a preacher can’t be paid for preaching and teaching, I do see where it’s not encouraged. And I see that the greatest preachers did not receive a salary for preaching or teaching.

What I do see strongly is that men that ‘peddled’ God’s word were not described in the same manner as Paul.

For we are not, like 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. 2 Corinthians 2:17

And if we remember…Paul did not take money for preaching even though he said he had the right to, he didn’t. He worked just the same as everyone else and preached out of service to Christ. And he said he was to be the example that others used.

I don’t see that example being put into practice today. What I do see is the meeting of ‘churches’ in all manner of things that don’t come close to being what Paul did.

I also see where we are told how worship is to be held when groups of believers get together.

²⁶ What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. ²⁹ Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. ³⁰ If a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first be silent. ³¹ For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged, 1 Corinthians 14 26, 29-31

Those verses don’t even come close to describing what happens in modern ‘church’ buildings. In fact it doesn’t even come close to describing the much practiced once a week meeting that takes place in ‘church’ buildings. It says When you come together. There’s no distinction for that, no saying it happens once a week at a certain time, or a certain place. If we think to what life might have been like in Paul’s time, and if we think of what his schedule may have been like, it’s not real likely that he did the majority of his preaching on one day a week, in the same place, at the exact same time, week after week. And we know he didn’t because Scripture shows us how he went from one place to another. We can look to Jesus and his teachings and see that he didn’t speak only in a certain building, on a certain day, at a specific time either. Instead we see where Paul said…when you come together. That’s anytime. When you are together.

Then he tells us how those meetings are to go.

each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation.

Each person ‘coming together’ has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, to share with the group. It’s not one man doing all the teaching, all the preaching, all the song leading, all the talking. Each one shares something.

Several years ago I spoke with someone online that was going to what they called a house meeting. This person told me how each week, each person that met with them would bring a verse, or verses, that they wanted to share with the group. They would read their verse(s) and then the group would discuss it. I didn’t ask for too many details of how all that worked but from the way this person described it I got the impression that it was a group of people meeting in the home of someone and they all engaged in conversation on Scripture. There wasn’t a leader, they all shared and they all learned. That’s how I picture a meeting, or coming together, as Paul described it in the above Scripture.

Paul goes on to tell us…

Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said.

There’s nothing in that where he says there should be one man in charge of all the speaking and teaching. In fact it actually says that there is to be more than one man doing the teaching. And while one man speaks the others are to weigh what he says. Why? Could it be that it isn’t only for the purpose of the listeners learning but also so they can consider what they heard and then speak up if they have questions, concerns, or corrections?

³⁰ If a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first be silent.

Here, he says that if one of the listeners needs to speak the first should stop speaking and hear what he has to say.

³¹ For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged,

First I have to ask what happens in a ‘church’ if the preacher gets it wrong? How many people in the congregation feel like they can stand up and correct the preacher during the sermon? I’ve never seen it happen and I’ve sat through many a sermon in my life. If no one feels like they can openly speak up during a sermon…how can an error in Scripture be pointed out? How can it be corrected? And if it isn’t corrected how many people will leave that sermon having learned something that isn’t there?

But that is exactly what happens week after week in ‘church’ after ‘church’. One man leads the entire service, he is solely responsible for what is being preached and taught. Everyone else there is under his tutelage, learning what he wants taught, whether it’s Biblically accurate or not.

And what does that do for and to the man doing the preaching?

In a good number of cases it gives that preacher the puffed up ego of being in charge. He has power and authority over the congregation. Some even go so far as to tell the people in their congregations that they must follow the rules and guidelines set forth by that preacher.

We have Scripture to warn us against that very thing.

I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority. ¹⁰ So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing, talking wicked nonsense against us. And not content with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers, and also stops those who want to and puts them out of the church. 3 John 9-10

We are shown an example of what happens when one man is in charge. Diotrephes placed himself above others and did not acknowledge the authority of John or others. He would not welcome the ‘brothers’, the believers. Not only that but he put anyone out of the church that wanted to welcome them. He was exercising his control over those in his church. Refusing to let others, that might teach the truth and correct him, in and kicking anyone that opposed that out.

How many ‘church’ buildings today kick people that oppose them out of their congregations? How many refuse to listen to anyone that might try and show them where what they’re doing or teaching is wrong?

And how many continue, week after week, sermon after sermon, to teach what wouldn’t hold up to the test of Scripture?

Scripture tells us what we are to do in those cases…

 If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed. ¹⁵ Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother. 1 Thessalonians 3:14-15

We are to avoid them except to warn them for what they are doing. I don’t see that happening in the modern ‘church’ buildings either. Essentially we are told to judge anyone preaching anything other than the truth of Scripture and to avoid anyone that isn’t teaching that truth.

And a person that is using Christ to line his own pockets isn’t serving Christ but peddling Him and making Christ…or at least His name…serve him.