Today’s reading is an instruction from the apostle Paul to the evangelist, Timothy. However, we can apply this message to every Christian, because we are required by God to confess our belief in Him and our belief in His Son Jesus to other people. God’s purpose in this is to help us grow as Christians and to help others that are lost in sin to come to know Jesus Christ and the gifts He can bring to their lives. This is part of God’s plan of salvation; He has chosen us to be the vessels that spread His word to the world (Matthew 28:18-20). Jesus used a parable to describe the word of God as a seed. We as Christians are to sow that seed (Matthew 13:3-23).

Paul charged Timothy to “do the work of an evangelist”. This example is followed today by gospel preachers throughout the world. Both sermons and personal evangelism will contain messages that: “Convince” people that Jesus is the Son of God, “rebuke” people who are living a sinful life, and “exhort” fellow Christians. Certainly a minister must be patient or “longsuffering” with people and they must be good at “teaching.”

If we want to be “Fishers of men in 2010”, we should use this model. It has been used effectively for nearly two thousand years.