Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. 1 Timothy 5:17 In my conversations with brothers over the years, the passage that has been presented to me as most foundational to support the tradition of paying pastors is 1 Timothy 5:17. For a couple of years now, I've had my doubts that 1 Timothy 5:17 means what we've traditionally come to believe it means. And over the last couple weeks I've become more convinced than ever that the traditional reading of this passage has misunderstood what Paul is trying to communicate. The following article comprehensively deals with the passage in relation to the topic but below I will focus on point two only, which was to me most insightful: http://tithing-russkelly.com/id35.html The context of "double honor" in 5:17 is that of rebuking wrongdoers in the church, and not "salary." Verses 1-16 and 19-20 are clearly discussions of discipline.
As the people of God, we must hold to apostolic tradition (2 Thessalonians 2:15, 3:6) but reject human tradition (Colossians 2:8). Jesus criticized the religious leaders of His day for making void the word of God for the sake of their tradition (Matthew 15:6). And He said they did this in many ways (Mark 7:13b). We are not immune to this error today. This blog exists to test (1 Thessalonians 5:21) our modern Christian traditions against Scripture to discern where we might have done the same.