What is simony? And where do you draw the line? Here at Remnant Radio, we do sell courses and conferences teaching people about the gifts of the spirit. We want to be honest and upfront about that, and it's exactly why we're discussing simony in this episode. We want to examine whether what we do holds up under Scripture.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE:
The word "simony" comes from Acts 8, when Simon Magus tried to purchase the power of the Holy Spirit and Peter answered him: "May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money" (Acts 8:20, ESV). That confrontation gave the body of Christ an important category for thinking about money and ministry that we're going to explore.

What did Peter actually condemn, and what didn't he condemn? Scripture is more specific than most people realize, and the early church, as documented in the Didache, wrestled openly with where the line sits between legitimate support for ministry and exploiting the gifts of God for personal gain.

This episode takes a hard look at that line. There are things that should never carry a price tag. Prayer ministry and deliverance ministry are on that list, and we'll walk through why Scripture draws that boundary so clearly. But the conversation doesn't stop there. What about seminary or Bible college? Christian books and music? The Bible itself?

Join us for a biblical exploration of simony and where Scripture draws the line.

0:00 – Introduction
0:21 – Ethics of Charging for Ministry
8:53 – Scripture on Giving Freely
12:20 – Isaiah 55 and Matthew 10:8
17:47 – Payment for Healing Prayers?
18:55 – Compensation for Itinerant Ministers
23:12 – Honorariums and Speaking Fees
27:18 – Bibles, Seminaries, and Simony
32:03 – Simon the Sorcerer in Acts 8
37:37 – Suggested Donations for Deliverance?
51:38 – Didache on Itinerant Prophets
56:02 – Dangers of Full-Time Itinerancy