I'm unsure what the question or accusation was to Paul in the letter he received from the Corinthians. You know, the letter they wrote to him which, in part, prompted the response we know as "1 Corinthians". We aren't given the letter to Paul, only his letter of response.
From the context here, it seems that the Corinthians had been criticizing Paul and other missionaries because the local body of believers had been asked to help support their ministries. Warren Wiersbe, in his commentary, points out that the Greeks (this included the Corinthians) were a society of "haves" and "have nots". The "upper" tier disdained manual labor, hiring people to do it for them so that they could devote themselves to more intellectual pursuits. The Jews, in counterpoint to that, esteemed manual labor so much that even the priests learned a trade to support their families. (You may remember from an earlier blog post that priests served in the Temple for only a few weeks a year. The rest of the time, they were working to earn their living.)
Paul did not refuse financial gifts from churches. This is plain from his other letters. (See Philippians 4:15-16, for example.) However, he did not require it. His trade was that of tentmaker. In 1 Cor. 9, he defended his right to take support (vs. 3-7) or to refuse it (vs. 15-18). Earlier, he had been talking about refraining from behaviors that would "trip up" others. I wrote about this last week.
Paul emphasized that he was willing to "become weak" in order to more effectively spread the gospel. Look at verses 19-23 (NKJV):
19 For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; 20 and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; 21 to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law; 22 to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. 23 Now this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I may be partaker of it with you.
What he is talking about here is modifying his behavior, giving up his freedom in order to build up someone else. Here's an example that all women will understand, (haha)! You are out to dinner with a friend who is on Weight Watchers. The two of you are at your favorite restaurant, where the caramel layer cake is simply divine! You long to order dessert, but you don't, because you love your friend and don't want to cause her to "fall off the wagon". It is the same thing here with Paul. Paul is not saying that he compromises doctrinal truth in order to make the gospel more palatable to unbelievers, not at all! He was a "stickler" for truth and sound doctrine. He is talking about individual preferences concerning non-doctrinal matters, as each individual is led by the Holy Spirit.
Now, moving on... Some people abuse this passage by saying that all pastors should be bi-vocational. Or, they criticize the pastor's schedule and so forth. Many begrudge paying their pastor because they don't think he works very hard. I know that, although in any profession, there are always some "slackers", this is not usually the case. Most who make these kinds of criticisms are uninformed, making assumptions from limited (and often also erroneous) information. Most who make these kinds of arguments do not tithe. How is that for unvarnished truth?
One thing we have to remember is that, in those early days, the churches were very small, often meeting in each other's homes. A bi-vocational pastor or even having no single pastor, instead letting various men of the church lead....was appropriate to that day. Today, churches range in size. In my home church, the pastor IS bi-vocational; but, that is because the church is so small (less than 100 people). I'm not a fan at all of "mega churches". But, when the local church gets to be several hundred people, it is unreasonable for there not to be a church staff.
We need to adequately compensate our ministers and church employees, many of whom work long after their legal "workday" is over. Here in 2015, we have endured several years of economic recession in America, and many pastors have not had a raise, not even cost-of-living, for many years. Meanwhile, inflation has increased exponentially. That is not right. A spiritually healthy church is a church that has accurate Biblical truth preached from the pulpit (and in its discipleship classes) and also gives generously. The two should go together. If a Christian hears the truth from God's Word, he or she will want to respond generously by opening his or her hands and giving back to God what is rightfully His in the first place. All good and perfect gifts come from Him (James 1:17). This is not an area in which we should ask our pastors to "become weak". Godly ministers won't abuse their finances and buy multimillion dollar "evangelistic team jets". (You know I am not talking about that!)
Paul was a humble man. He presented this scenario, this personal testimony, as an illustration of what he began to talk about in the previous chapter, and what he will continue to speak on in chapter 10 - - - individual preference and individual license.
Father, help me to carefully consider my individual preferences, praying to be sure that they are sanctioned by Your Holy Spirit. These include how I spend my time and my resources, how I treat others, how I care for what you have entrusted to me in this earthly life. May I be "weak" when I need to be, for the sake of Your kingdom, for the sake of the gospel. My life is yours. I lay it down again today. Use it, to bring glory to Your Son, my Savior, Jesus. In His name I pray, amen.
Source:
Wiersbe, Warren W. The Wiersbe Bible Commentary. 2nd ed. Colorado Springs: David C Cook, 2007. 478-479. Print.
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