Question
Have someone here that believes that the money given can only be used for preaching the gospel or helping the poor.
That a church cannot own a building. The preacher can only use his support for preaching, not personal use.
1 Corinthians 16:1-2 was a special offering only for the needy saints in Judea. So we have no command to lay by on Sunday.
Answer
1 Corinthians 16:1-2 is the only passage that reveals how the local church is to raise its money, by a free-will offering of its own members each first day of the week. But it’s not the only reference that reveals how the congregation may spend its money. The church is specifically authorized to use its money to assist needy Christians (Acts 2:44-45; 4:32-35; 6:1-4; 11:27-30; Romans 15:25-26; 1 Corinthians 16:1-4; 2 Corinthians chapters 8-9; 1 Timothy 5:3-16) and to support preachers of the gospel (2 Corinthians 11:8-9; Philippians 4:15-16).
But the Lord authorizes (gives permission) to do things without specifically mentioning those things. The Lord commanded to “go… preach the gospel” (Mark 16:15), but He didn’t say how to go. When Philip ran and rode in a chariot to preach (Acts 8:30-31) and when Saul and Barnabas sailed in a ship (Acts 13:1-4), they were obeying the command to go. Their means of travel were authorized though not specifically mentioned in the command to go.
The church is authorized to assemble to worship (1 Corinthians11:18; 14:23, 26) as a means of edifying the church (1 Corinthians14:26). The Lord has not specified where the church is to assemble. It might be in a public building (Acts 2:46), an upper room (Acts 20:7-8), a house owned by one of the brethren (Romans 16:3-5), or any other convenient place. Thus, the church is authorized to own its own building to do its authorized work, though the New Testament does not specifically mention a local church owning its own building.
The Lord specifically enjoins “that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:4-14). Since preachers are specifically authorized to receive support from churches (2 Corinthians 11:8-9; Philippians 4:15-16), I fail to see why anyone would deny a preacher the right to use money the church gives him as pay for his work in any way any other Christian could use money he has earned.
