Light…Or Proselyte?

Two Kinds Of Evangelism

Publication: Pastoral Letter, October 2000

Dear Friend in Christ:

I have been led to focus on personal evangelism for the past several years. I am deeply
concerned about the number of Christians who have never lead anyone to Christ. In the
past few years, my primary emphasis has been upon building personal relationships
with non-Christians, which eventually cause the non-Christian to accept Christ. What I
want to discuss here is the motive and method of that relationship: what it is not, and
what we want it to be.

PHARISEE EVANGELISM
Jesus was full of goodness and mercy (see John 1:14, 16). He was forgiving toward tax
collectors and sinners of all kinds. His most harsh words, however, were reserved for
the Pharisees. And those words were often very harsh. He held them up as examples of
what “not to be.” Ironically, they were very religious and gave serious attention to every
detail of the Law.

Matthew 23 is the prime example of Jesus’ denouncement of the Pharisees. Here are
some of Jesus’ criticisms:

They claim to be Moses’ successors_however, they don’t practice what they preach.
They add burdens to people’s lives, but offer no help.
They are concerned with their image.
They love honor.
They love titles.
They exalt themselves.
They oppose those who are seeking the Kingdom.
They go to great lengths to make a proselyte, or convert_but when they get through with
their converts, these converts are like sons of hell.
The Pharisees were not on a Moses-like journey helping others into the Land of
Promise. They were “status seekers” concerned only with themselves.

This is tough talk from Jesus; indeed it was accurate, as history proves.

I was struck by their motive for “evangelism.” They felt superior and wanted others to
be like them. Jesus used the word “proselyte” to describe their converts. The root of the
Greek New Testament word means to “come near” or “give assent to.” Proselyte means
one who has arrived from a foreign region. In other words, a proselyte is one who has
come to us.

Close examination of this chapter reveals a group of religious people who worked very
hard at being right, but had no compassion. Jesus likened them to those of past
generations, who had murdered the prophets (see Matthew 23:31-36). Not only were
they malicious, but their idea of evangelism was malignant. These people seemed to win
the day at the Crucifixion, just as Jesus prophesied. But also just as Jesus prophesied, all
that they stood for was soon destroyed (see Matthew 24:2).
The Pharisees’ notion of “evangelism” was “Come to us and be like us!” They made
proselytes. The proselyte’s journey was toward title, image, correctness, self-exaltation,
and contention. The Pharisees drew people who wanted that.

My purpose here is not to suggest that most Christians want that, but to remind us of
what Jesus said about their approach and to re-examine His own approach.

LIGHT
Genesis chapter one and John chapter one have several things in common. One thing is
they begin with light. Light and life are inseparable agents of creation. Life and light
both speak of energy. The Bible is the story of the travel of life and light through
history. Life and light are always outward bound.

The New Testament word for light means to shine, radiate, or manifest. Noah Webster
defines light as “bright and clear, breaking out, to throw, dart, shoot, or break forth.” He
says, “it is the agent that makes objects perceptible as in the rays that come from the
sun.”

It would be too much to attempt a biblical study of light. But let me list some of the
biblical references to light:

God created light and said it was good (see Genesis 1, 3, 4). Light is the substance of
the day, and the absence of it causes night. (Note that darkness is not a substance_it is
the absence of it.)

God led Israel out of Egypt with a pillar of fire that gave them light and warmth at night
(see Exodus 13:21-22.) They camped around the light.

God gave Moses the pattern for the tabernacle and included a continually burning light
in the Holy Place (see Exodus 35:14; Leviticus 24:1-4).

David declared, “The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?” (Psalm
27:1).

David declared “Thy word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm
119:105).
Solomon stated that the path of the righteous is like the bright light of the sun that
shines brighter and brighter until the full day. But, he also noted that the way of the
wicked is like darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble (see Proverbs
4:18-19).

Isaiah warned, “Woe to them who exchange light for darkness” (Isaiah 5:20).

Isaiah promised that generous people would become known and their light would break
forth (see Isaiah 58:6-12).

Isaiah further prophesies that a time will come when the light of God will be upon His
people, while darkness is upon the earth, and that nations would come to His people for
light (see Isaiah 60:1-22). The following chapter, Isaiah 61, is a great chapter on real
and radiant evangelism.
Jesus is declared “The Light of Mankind” (see John 1:4,9), and “The Revelation of the
Father” (see John 1:18).

Wherever Jesus went, people saw a “great light” (see Matthew 4:14-16).

Jesus said that His disciples would be the light of the world (see Matthew 5:14-16).

Paul was overcome by a light brighter than the noonday sun (see Acts 9:3; Acts 26:12-
13).

John says that heaven will need no light, because the glory of the radiance of God will
illuminate it (see Revelation 21:22-23; Revelation 22:5).

LIGHT OR PROSELYTE
I believe that we need to review the Scriptures continually, and study in the presence of
the Holy Spirit, in order to allow Him to reveal God’s ways to us more clearly. God
wants to use us for His purpose. But often it is the previous mindset that hinders the
new understanding. This is certainly true in the area of evangelism. I have tried many
ways with some success_but I have never been personally satisfied in this area. I
applaud every effort by anyone that exalts Christ.

Some things are clear, however. Evangelism should not be viewed as unnatural. It is not
a heavy burden or an artificial concern. It is certainly not a matter of exalting ourselves
and enforcing our thoughts upon someone else. It is not getting people to join us or
manipulating them in some way. That is “Proselyte Evangelism,” rather than
evangelism by light.

The biblical metaphor for God’s people is light. It starts with life, energy, fire, and
warmth that reaches out naturally. We call that love. Love is not an effort, though it may
cause us great effort. Life, light, and love shine outward. They illuminate and cause
things to become clear.

Biblical evangelism begins with being. We cannot generate what we have not received
from God. When we receive life and light, we have it to give. It is what we are that
gives credibility to what we say.

Out of what we are comes what we do. As Jesus said, men will see our good works and
glorify God (see Matthew 5:16). So, being causes doing. Being and doing give us a
platform for speaking when the occasion arises. But to speak without the credibility of
being and doing will not accomplish the desired end.

There are times when you can speak to someone who doesn’t know you, and do so with
God’s blessing. We should be alert to those moments. Such times will come if we walk
in humility and sensitivity to the Holy Spirit. But we must not negate our success with
strangers by our failure with friends who really know us.

Light is powerful. A very small candle can be seen far away on a dark night. As
spiritual darkness covers much of Western society, the opportunity for light becomes
even greater. Don’t put the light of Christ’s life under a lid of timidity, fear, or some
other hindrance…let it shine! Let it take you outward to someone who is in darkness,
who has lost his or her way.

Don’t wait for the world to come to you; bring Christ’s light and love where it has not
been seen…let it shine!

In Christ,

Charles Simpson

P.S. As we come into this time of year, our ministry is especially active in outreach. We
have new publishing opportunities, and we are planning some new additions to our
website (www.csmpublishing.org) soon. Please remember us in your prayers and in
your budget this month, and throughout the remainder of the year.

Scripture reference: Isaiah 58:5-12; Isaiah 5:20; Psalm 27:1; Psalm 119:105; Proverbs
4:18-19; Matthew 23:31-36; Matthew 24:2; Genesis 1, 3, 4; Exodus 13:21-22; Isaiah
60:1-22; John 1:4, 9; John 1:18; Matthew 4:14-16; Matthew 5:14-16; Acts 9:3, 26:12-
13; Revelation 21:22-23, 22:5; Matthew 5:6