Now I must admit that the thought of living off suport is not a comforting one. For starters, it completely strips me of self-reliance. That innate desire I have to provide for myself and my wife by working hard and earning what I get has been shattered. With this internship, what I receive will wholly rely upon the providence of God and the generosity of others. Although this concept will be difficult to warm up to, I know that any step that takes me closer to full dependence upon the Lord is sure to be a good one.
The second aspect of raising support that makes my stomach churn is that there are many people who do not think highly of living off the support of others. On the surface, it makes complete sense, especially in light of Western culture . We live in a culture where people believe that if you work hard enough you can earn whatever you desire. In a self-reliant society such as this, the thought of someone "earning" nothing and living off the generosity of others is not always welcomed. Those who I am most concerned about are Church-going, Bible-confessing, practicing Christians who think this way. They are the ones who I will be seeking support from, and it is by their generosity that full-time ministry will live or die.
So we must ask ourselves, is raising support biblical? In order to answer this question I will pull from both the Old and New Testament and also deal with a common argument opposed to support raising.
Let's take a look!
Old Testament
When the nation of Israel was established in the Old Testament, every tribe except one was given land on which to live and farm. The one exception was the tribe of the Levites, of whom God said, "You shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the people of Israel."(Numbers 18:20 ESV).
God set apart the Levites as the first group of vocational ministers. It was their full-time job to protect the Temple, care for and interpret the Law, and intercede between Israel and God through sacrifices. The other Israelites made their livings through agriculture and trade, but the Levites could not make their living in these ways because God had given them different, not greater, responsibilities.
In order for the Levites to live and provide for their families, God ordained that they have a portion of the sacrifices for food and collect an allotment of the tithe for wages. This allowed the Levites to dedicate their lives to serving God in the capacity He had called them to on behalf of the people.
We can gain a few points of insight from the Old Testament precedents made by God for the Levites
- God sets certain individuals apart for full-time ministry.
- Those who God sets apart for ministry He also provides for financially through the generosity of His people.
- The Levites were dependent upon the rest of the Israelites and the rest of the Israelites were dependent upon the Levites. Each group had different responsibilities and one was not more important than the other.
Needless to say, the Old Testament alone sets a strong Biblical precedent for those in vocational ministry to live off the support of other believers.
Now let's look at the New Testament.
New Testament
There are many places we could look in the New Testament, but for the sake of brevity let's look at two in particular.
In 1 Corinthians 9, Paul goes on a tear about ministers of the Gospel living off support. In verse seven, He compares ministers to soldiers, vineyard planters, and shepherds. Each of these vocations involve hard work and are pursued in order to earn a living. Paul argues that it is no different for a minister. This passage further confirms that being a minister is no better or worse than any other vocation. Each of us are called to certain vocations during certain parts of our lives, and each of those vocations are important to God and can be done to His glory.
3 John is a letter from the Apostle John to his friend Gaius. In this letter John praises Gaius for his support of multiple missionaries, some of whom Gaius did not even know! John encourages Gaius to continue this and claims that all Christians who are able to support those who have been called to full-time ministry should do so. John undoubtedly recognizes that the success of ministers is inexorably tied to the generosity of other believers!
From the New Testament, we can easily see that the three precedents we discovered in the Old Testament continue to serve as precedents for full-time ministers.
Now I will address a common argument opposed to raising support.
An Opposing Argument
Maybe you have asked yourself this question already, but if not, I will state it here:
Did not Paul work as a tentmaker and earn his own living while engaging in ministry?
The answer to this question is a resounding "yes!" But let us also consider the context of the passages in which Paul speaks of his tent-making profession. Paul refers to working as a tent-maker in 1 Corinthians 9 and 2 Thessalonians 3.
(1 Corinthians 9:14-15). Paul proclaims that he has every right to claim support for his work in the ministry, but chooses in this situation to waive that right. The reason behind this decision was his desire to set himself apart from other teachers in the area who charged for the services
In 2 Thessalonians Paul once again refers to his decision to work as a tent-maker during his time as a minister in Thessaloniki. In the closing of his letter he encourages them not to be lazy but to follow the example he set for them. This example and the reason behind it is stated in verses 7-9: "For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, 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. It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate."(2 Thessalonians 3:7-9 ESV). Once again, Paul refers to the fact that he has every right to ask for support, but chooses in this situation to waive that right in order to give them an example of what it looks like for a Christian to work hard in their living and flee from idleness.
The common theme we see in each of these situation is that Paul makes a conscious decision to give up his Biblical right as a minister to receive financial support for his work in order to deal with a particular, contextual issue he was faced with in a particular place. Each of these situations are exceptions to the Biblical precedents stated beforehand, not replacements of them.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we fail to see a strong Biblical argument that opposes full-time ministers seeking support from other Christians. It is only because God has blessed particular individuals financially that other individuals can pursue full-time ministry.
What I want to emphasize here is that each and every one of us are living together as the body of Christ! No single part of the body is better than another part, and each part is dependent upon all the other parts. Some people are called to be full-time ministers, others are called to be electricians or bankers or farmers. The list goes on and on, but God has adopted each of us His children through the blood of Christ. The Kingdom of God is here! All are called to proclaim it! It may be in another country, or on a college campus, or at high school, or in a small business. Regardless of where we are called, we are all working together. Maybe you are one who is called to support those in the ministry, maybe you are called to live off support as a minister. Either way, we need each other.
God has and will continue to providentially provide for all His people for the good of His Kingdom.
How has God provided for you in the past?
