But watch thou in all things, endure affliction, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry (2 Timothy 4:5).
The Second Epistle of St. Paul to Timothy is called a “Pastoral Epistle,” along with First Timothy, Titus, and Philemon, because St. Paul is writing personally, as a chief pastor and friend, to explain to his former assistants the doctrine of pastoral ministry. Additionally, Second Timothy is a farewell letter. As the explanation added by the editors of the King James version of the Bible states:
The second epistle unto Timotheus, ordained the first bishop of the church of the Ephesians was written from Rome, when Paul was brought before Nero the second time.
When St. Paul wrote this letter, he knew what was coming. Shortly thereafter, he was condemned to death and beheaded, in about AD 64.
Because St. Paul was an intelligent man, we can be sure he wrote only what he considered vitally important in his last words to his friends. He commends them, like St. Luke the evangelist, to one another, and he warns them against Christ’s enemies, those like Alexander the coppersmith who had stood against the Word of God. Paul is such an overwhelming presence in the early church that it is good for us to have this reminder of his ability to experience loneliness, anger, and fear, just as the rest of us do.
Equally important for us to recognize, however, is Paul’s command that Timothy watch, endure, and do the work of an evangelist. We know through Biblical and historical study that the early church was not as divided in its efforts as the modern Church. St. Timothy, as the chief pastor of Ephesus, was being ordered by the Holy Ghost, through Paul, not to go it alone, but to lead the whole Church at Ephesus in its common work of watching, enduring, and evangelizing. Since we Anglicans have promised to follow the example of the early Church in our faith, teaching, and acting, this Epistle is a warning to us and a corrective against false ideas about the Church and its work. Watching, enduring, and evangelizing are jobs that all Christians are given to do, whatever their other vocations and work.
We can all understand the significance off “watching” and “enduring:” the need to be aware and well-informed, educated in the faith through personal and corporate Bible study, and patient in enduring the follies or mischiefs of others, even sometimes, the hatred and persecution of others. But maybe “evangelism” is harder to understand. Much of the talk in the churches and broader culture today about evangelism is confusing, mostly because those speaking are confused themselves.
An “evangelist” is literally “a messenger of good news.” The good news of Christianity for the whole world is that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died for our sins; rose again from the dead; established a Church to be his Body; ascended into heaven; and will return to judge the living and the dead. The reign of Jesus Christ has begun; a new way to be human has begun. Yet we hear of famous “evangelists” all the time, supposedly great “preachers” with a message of their own, who have large followings, who speak to large audiences around the world. And most people think of evangelism as preaching, regardless of the content, whether in churches, on street corners, or in football arenas. We also tend to think that evangelism is someone else’s job. A job for clergy or super Christians or “gifted” public speakers or anyone else who isn’t us. One is reminded of Moses and Jeremiah informing the God of the universe that they would be unable to be his messengers because they didn’t think they were accomplished speakers. Fundamentally, their trepidation, and ours, is a statement not of our ability to speak, but of our ability to trust that God will give us the word: both in the moment we are called to share it and through the perseverance necessary to study his Word so we know it well enough to confidently share it. But, in any event, this limiting definition of evangelism, as charismatic football stadium preaching, is misleading, both too narrow and too broad.
Consider, for example, the Four evangelists: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. There’s no record of them being great preachers. Instead, they were content to watch, listen, and spend long hours putting down in writing the teaching of our Lord and his Apostles. This work of evangelism called for great skill and perseverance, but not much preaching. They left that work to those given that calling.
Or again, St. Timothy and all his congregation were charged to be evangelists, but we have no record of them being great street corner preachers. What we do know is this: Timothy was torn to pieces by a mob for witnessing to Christ during a festival in honor of the goddess Diana. We have that, and we also know the patient witness of God’s people under such persecution was so great that eventually the Ephesians turned to Christ, tearing down their pagan temples, including the vast temple of Diana, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
Thus, evangelism as preaching is too narrow because evangelism is a corporate act: the witness by its way of life of the whole Body of Christ in any given place. The Church must function as a Body allowing each member, lay or ordained, to do his or her own job as well as he can, supporting all other members in doing their job as well as they can. Any other program for the Church will make it sick, and a sick Body cannot be successful or evangelical.
From these facts it follows, too, that evangelism as a personal message is too broadly defined. There is no personal or private Christianity. No prophecy of the Scriptures is of any private interpretation, and it is only the Scriptures that are the message of evangelism or the content of Christianity. The Scriptures do not contain the Word of God, they are the Word of God, perfect and inerrant, not because of the men who wrote them, but because of the Holy Ghost who moved them to write (2 Peter 1:20-21).
The true definition of evangelism explains the careful rules our Lord laid out for his evangelists in today’s Gospel. He sent them by twos, and never alone. He sent them to prepare the way for himself, and not for themselves. When he told them to greet no man along the way, he wasn’t telling them to be unfriendly, but that the Kingdom of God has a different culture from the world’s, that his Kingdom shapes local cultures and isn’t shaped by them, and that the ornate greetings of the ancient middle east were a distraction from the business at hand. This message is an urgent one. When he told them to bring no scrip or purse, he wasn’t telling them to be irresponsible, but to trust that Providence would provide for them, not the least by moving the hearts of the saved to support God’s work. Finally, he warned them that they would not be accepted everywhere, but that they should enter those houses where they were invited and welcomed, in order to bring them peace with God. Thus, it is always God who makes converts, and we are only his instruments.
We well know that from the chaos in much of the Western world today that many who claim membership in Christ have given up the work of evangelism in favor of other things, in favor of partial or false doctrines they can call their own, unhappy with sharing the common life we can share with Christ only on his terms. From TikTok preachers turning confident ignorance into clicks, to that old serpent prancing around Joel Osteen’s televised stage, to the many, many false teachers in our own community hell-bent on building their personal brand while failing the Body of Christ and leading people astray.
And that is what makes the calling of Trinity Anglican Church so important to so many of us, not only to those within our mission, but also to those without a church or even their salvation. Just as St. Timothy’s little mission in Ephesus was called to great things, to leading a life of Christian evangelism and Christian discipline, our church is called to that same great life. As we remain faithful to Christ and to his teaching; as we remain steadfast in the Biblical worship of Christ’s church; as we refuse to accept dark nonsense, our own or anyone else’s, in place of the truth; we prove our Gospel ministry and the truth of the Gospel itself. Therefore, brethren, Christianity lived as a whole life chosen for us by God is the evangelism God has given us to do: Watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.
That is our duty, that is our calling, that is our share of the victory of Christ.