1 Timothy 5:17-18: Elders That Rule Well
2021-11-13
The Spirit tells us that “elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour” (1 Timothy 5:17). Though this epistle uses the word for bishop in 1 Timothy 3:1, the use of the word “elder” here seems to reference the same office. It is the same word for elder as in 1 Timothy 5:1. The difference here is that these elders “rule well.” We are talking about leaders for sure.
These that rule well are “counted worthy of double honour.” As discussed in a previous section, we saw that 1 Timothy 5:3 uses this word honor, which does imply financial reward. These leaders who do well should be compensated extra. This is emphasized for those who “labour in the word and doctrine.” The word for labor is the same as in 1 Timothy 4:10, which is a wearying toil. These men study and teach so that the rest of the church may know the subjects of the Bible.
This proves that there is nothing wrong with pastors being paid. Depending on some audiences, some pastors or missionaries make sure to not offend people and do not accept any sort of salary, like in the case of Paul and the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 2:5) and the Thessalonians (2 Thessalonians 3:8). He often practiced tentmaking to support himself (Acts 18:3). Some may choose to do this today because some see preachers and churches as grifters and avoid paying taxes. This may be false, but depending on who you are dealing with, pastors may choose to do this for testimony’s sake. In 1 Corinthians 9:1-18, Paul has laid aside his rights to a paycheck, to get married, and to live a regular life to eliminate any barrier to the Gospel.
In other situations, a church may not be able to afford a fulltime preacher, and the preacher needs to supplement his income. There is nothing wrong with this either.
To support the claims that good pastors ought to be double honored, the Lord refers to the scriptures. The first is Deuteronomy 25:4: “Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn.” If the ox is doing all the work, he should be able to eat some of the corn and replenish himself. The same goes for the pastor. If he is doing all manner of work, support him so he can keep working. This is also quoted and elaborated on in 1 Corinthians 9:9.
The second scripture is from Luke 10:7: “for the labourer is worthy of his hire” (cf. Matthew 10:10). Notice that this New Testament quotation is referred to as Scripture. This means that by this time, the gospels were known, and were already known as Scripture. See Luke 10:1-7.
Here the 70 were sent out to preach the kingdom of God. They were to stay in the same house the whole time and receive food and shelter. They are worthy of this service because they are preaching the Word of God. The pastor should receive honor just as the 70 did, for their spiritual service deserves it.
From this passage, we see that it is acceptable for pastors to be paid. It is encouraged that good pastors should be paid well. This does not mean the extreme salaries that are paid to health and wealth preachers today are acceptable. That money would be better spent in other ways, such as in missions.