1 What Is An Evangelist ? And What Is His Work?. 2 But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry

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What Is An Evangelist What Is An Evangelist ??

What Is An Evangelist What Is An Evangelist ??

And What Is His Work?And What Is His Work?And What Is His Work?And What Is His Work?

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But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. (2 Tim. 4:5)

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IntroductionIntroduction

Much is written in the New Testament about evangelists, and yet, many in the church do not seem to understand the work of an evangelist.

Thus, it becomes necessary, from time to time, to make a study of this subject.

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There are two other good reasons to preach about the evangelist and his work. 1.It is possible to drift from

the NT concept.2.We need to encourage

young men to become evangelists.

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An evangelist is not necessarily a pastor, nor is he necessarily an itinerant preacher.

Some of the responsibilities usually associated with being an evangelist are actually duties of all Christians.

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Matthew 25:31-33Matthew 25:31-33

"When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.

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"Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in;

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"I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.' "Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?

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" 'Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'

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"Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.'

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Matthew 25:44Matthew 25:44

"Then they also will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?'

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"Then He will answer them, saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

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Timothy was to “do the work of an evangelist” - whatever the bad that he may suffer as a result - do it effectively and completely.

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I. What the Evangelist Is I. What the Evangelist Is NotNot

He is not one who only holds gospel meetings. While an evangelist may

limit his work in such a way, the Bible does not so restrict him.

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He is not “the pastor,” though he may be appointed “a” pastor, if he meets the God-given qualifications.

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1 Timothy 3:1-31 Timothy 3:1-3

This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous;

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1 Timothy 3:4-61 Timothy 3:4-6

one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?); not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil.

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1 Timothy 3:71 Timothy 3:7

Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

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Titus 1:5-6Titus 1:5-6

For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you-- if a man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of dissipation or insubordination.

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Titus 1:7-9Titus 1:7-9

For a bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled, holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict.

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Titus 1:10-11Titus 1:10-11

For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain.

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He is not “the pastor,” though he may be appointed “a” pastor, if he meets the God-given qualifications.

But he is not, and should not do the work of, a pastor—or elder—just because he is an evangelist.

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II. What Is An II. What Is An Evangelist?Evangelist?

The term “evangelist” refers to a function, rather than an office.

“Evangelist” literally means “a messenger of good...denotes a preacher of the gospel, Acts 21:8; Eph. 4:11, which makes clear the distinctiveness of the function in the churches; 2 Tim. 4:5 ” (Vine, p. 384).

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Acts 21:8Acts 21:8

On the next day we who were Paul's companions departed and came to Caesarea, and entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him.

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Ephesians 4:11Ephesians 4:11

And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers

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2 Timothy 4:52 Timothy 4:5

But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

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II. What Is An II. What Is An Evangelist?Evangelist?

He is a “minister” - “one who executes the commands of another.”

He is a “bringer or bearer of good tidings; preacher of the gospel” (Webster; see also Acts 8:5,12,35,40; 21:8).

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Acts 8:5, 12Acts 8:5, 12

Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them.... But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized.

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Acts 8:35, 40Acts 8:35, 40

Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him.... But Philip was found at Azotus. And passing through, he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea.

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III. What His Work Is NotIII. What His Work Is Not

It is not to get a program of work going even if some members resist. He is not a “Party Whip.”

It is not to get the ball rolling for anything and everything. He is not a “Spark Plug.”

It is not to “rub elbows” and “hobnob” with government officials and society leaders to get the church “on the map.” He is not a “Public Relations man.”

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III. What His Work Is NotIII. What His Work Is Not

It is not to run the show, exercising “evangelistic oversight,” until elders are appointed - the denominational “pastor system.”

It is not to proclaim his opinion on matters of religion and/or politics.

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IV. What Is His Work?IV. What Is His Work?

It is to hold fast the pattern of sound words (2 Tim. 1:13)

It is to teach faithful men and women (2 Tim. 2:2)

It is to correct opponents of the truth (2 Tim. 2:25)

It is to proclaim the word of God (2 Tim. 4:1-4; Acts 8:4).

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It is to proclaim the scriptures, for the reason that they alone are profitable for the things necessary for one's spiritual development (2 Tim. 3:16-17).

It is to preach “the whole body of revealed truth” (Acts 20:27).

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It is to “be instant” - “To stand by, be present, be at hand.” “Hold oneself in constant readiness to proclaim the word” (Acts 13:13-16). “In season” - literally, “well-

season.” The word is translated

“conveniently” in Mark 14:11. The gospel was “in season” in Acts

2:37.

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It is to “be instant” - “To stand by, be present, be at hand.” “Hold oneself in constant readiness to proclaim the word” (Acts 13:13-16). “Out of season” - literally, “no

season.” As opposite to above,

“inconveniently.” The gospel was “out of season” in

Acts 7:54..

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It is to "reprove" - "To convict, confute, refute, usually with the suggestion of putting the convicted person to shame" (Acts 24:25).

It is to "rebuke" - "To charge one with wrong; implies a sharp, severe rebuke, with a suggestion of impending penalty" (Acts 8:18-23). The difference between

reprove and rebuke can be seen in 2 Sam. 12:1-12.

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It is to "“exhort" - "To admonish...to urge, one to pursue some course of conduct" (Acts 2:37-40).

"With all longsuffering" - "Forbearance, patience...with regard to antagonistic persons."

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It is to "“exhort" - "To admonish...to urge, one to pursue some course of conduct" (Acts 2:37-40).

"With all longsuffering" - "Self-restraint in the face of provocation which does not hastily retaliate or promptly punish" the opposite of anger associated with mercy (Acts

14:19-22)

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“With…doctrine" - "Sound and reasonable instruction in the truth" (2 Tim. 3:16,17).

Documents

1 What Is An Evangelist ? And What Is His Work?. 2 But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry