The Dorean Principle in Five Minutes

Selling Jesus

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Have you ever thought about what things are too sacred to be sold? For example, why would it be wrong to charge an admission fee for a

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Sunday church service? The Bible actually has a lot to say about that topic and this video will be a quick, broad overview.

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The Dorian Principle is the simple biblical teaching that accepting support as anything other than an act of co -labor compromises the sincerity of Christian ministry.

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Ministry should be supported but never sold. In other words, ministers of the gospel should be supported by co -labor, that is, people freely choosing to work with the minister in a shared mission under God.

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This also means that ministers should not be funded by reciprocity or a reciprocal exchange that says, you give me ministry if I give you money.

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This framework helps us make sense of two things Jesus told the twelve when he was sending them out in Matthew 10.

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1. Give freely. 2. The worker is worthy of his provisions or wages.

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Here's the passage. As you go, preach this message. The kingdom of heaven is near. Heal the sick.

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Raise the dead. Cleanse the lepers. Drive out demons. Freely you have received. Freely give.

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Do not carry any gold or silver or copper in your belts, for the worker is worthy of his provisions.

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Whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy there and stay at his house until you move on.

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So, he says they should give freely or without pay what they have freely received. But he also tells them to accept support, and this is in the context of doing ministry.

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They're instructed to give their message and their spirit -empowered service free of charge, but they are to accept the support of co -laborers who are aligned with God's purposes.

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In other words, God will provide what they need through the free generosity of certain people so that the disciples can give ministry away without charging for it.

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The worker's wages come from the Lord of the harvest through his people's willing offerings, not from the harvest being directly charged by the worker.

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Now, let's look briefly at Paul's writings and example. In 1 Corinthians 9, he makes a comparison with how the priests were provided for under the old covenant.

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Do you not know that those who work in the temple eat of its food and those who serve at the altar partake of its offerings?

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In the same way, the Lord has prescribed that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.

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How did the old covenant priests get their food? God provided for them through the people's offerings.

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It would have been wrong for them to directly charge a fellow Israelite for their work. This can be seen in Micah 3 .11

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where he indicts Israel by saying, her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets practice divination for money.

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Similarly, those who proclaim the gospel and offer Christian teaching are not permitted to charge for it, but rather should be supported by the free gifts of believers who want to partner with them in the work.

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In that same context in 1 Corinthians, Paul says that he has a right to be supported in his work.

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But we did not exercise this right. Instead, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ.

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Paul was concerned that if he accepted support from them for his work in Corinth, the Corinthians in their immaturity might give to him as a way of paying him back for his preaching, which would be a situation of reciprocity rather than freely supporting him as co -laborers.

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However, Paul did intend to accept support from the Corinthians in being sent by them elsewhere, in 2

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Corinthians 1 .16 for example, since in that case, it would be clear that they were working with him, not paying him back like customers.

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So, in his work, he accepted and commended co -labor, but he rejected reciprocity.

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Another New Testament text that points us to this ethic is 3 John 5 -8 where the saints are told to support those who have gone out for the

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Lord, accepting nothing from those to whom they spread the message. They rejected reciprocity, but rather were to be supported by co -laborers.

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Now, it should be acknowledged that there are specific situations where it won't be clear how to properly apply this principle.

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We've been talking about ministry, but what exact kinds of service fall under this category of things that should be given freely?

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But the ambiguities shouldn't lead us to conclude that the principle itself is invalid. There are definitely some clear applications.

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The good thing is, most pastors and missionaries are already supported through co -labor rather than reciprocity.

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But the principle will also have wide application with regard to Christian teaching in books, ministry training, worship music, biblical counseling, and more.

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If you're inclined to say that charging directly for some of these things is permissible, ask yourself if the same reasoning could be used to justify charging for a

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Sunday sermon, or the Lord's Supper, or prayer. There's a lot more that can be said about these matters, so please consider checking out the resources linked in the description.

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Our prayer is that as recognition of this biblical principle spreads, believers in Jesus will be inspired to generously support ministry, truth and blessing will abound, and together we will better reflect the abundantly generous heart of our

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Creator and Redeemer. For a more thorough explanation of what we've covered in this video, please read or listen to the free book,