Cheryl Schatz

Mark #116,
You asked:

The key phrase is ‘do the work (ergon) of an evangelist.’ Here Paul instructs Timothy to do a work (note same word as 1 Tim 3:1 used of elders- ergon). So the question has to be raised. Is an ‘evangelist’ a gift or a work? Perhaps both? Or are we all evangelists (in fulfillment of the great commission- Matt 28) which is a ‘work’ but the gifting of an evangelist is different?

Here is my answer: An evangelist is a gift. At the same time one needs to “work out” that gift just as we are to “work out” our salvation. Yet the key point is that it is a gift first because God is the Sovereign one who gives the ability. We can sit on our gift and do nothing or we can “work out” the gift that has been given us. Does this make sense?