The term “living the gospel” has become a popular one in the past few years, being used by people such as Tim Keller, J.D. Greear, David Platt, and many others. Many variations on the term exist: “living out the gospel,” “living in light of the gospel,” “being the gospel,” and so on. While most people probably hear the terms and skip right past them without a second thought, there are others who have repeatedly and loudly declared opposition to all such uses of the term.

Michael Horton is perhaps the best known opponent of such terms, as he connects his view strongly to his stance on Law and Gospel in the Scriptures. Here is a representative quote:

For instance, we often hear calls to “live the Gospel,” and yet, nowhere in Scripture are we called to “live the Gospel.” Instead, we are told to believe the Gospel and obey the Law, receiving God’s favor from the one and God’s guidance from the other. (http://bit.ly/hortonlivethegospel)

And another, cited by Frank Turk from the White Horse Inn radio broadcast:

The Gospel can’t be lived. It’s the Law that’s lived. We obey the commands that we find in Scripture, we do not—the Gospel is not anything for us to do. The Gospel is an announcement for us to take to the world, and on the basis of that Gospel we do live differently in the world, but that isn’t itself the content of the Gospel: it is the effect of the Gospel. (http://bit.ly/turkhorton)

I quote those not to involve myself in the whole Law-Gospel distinction discussion (though I would encourage reading Frank Turk’s open letter to Horton in which he discusses the subjunctive mood as falling in between the indicative and the imperative). That discussion is beyond the scope of this post.

Here’s what I do want to discuss in this (longish) post: how does Scripture itself use the word “gospel” (euaggelion)? In particular, what verbs accompany “gospel” in the New Testament? What does that tell us about the validity (or lack thereof) of phrases like “living the gospel”?

The Data

Before talking about any conclusions from my study, I would first like to simply lay out the different verbs that the New Testament uses to accompany “the gospel.” Certainly, there is more that could be put together than what I will do below, as I am specifically restricting it to verses that use the word euaggelion and have an accompanying verb. There may be other relevant verses that don’t fit that criteria, but I am mostly concerned with how Scripture uses the word “gospel” itself, not other closely related words. Rather than having a gut reaction either way on this issue, I think it’s crucial that we look through what Scripture actually says.

κηρυσσω (usually translated “preach”): This verb is used in conjunction with euaggelion in 12 verses in the New Testament: Matthew 4:23, Matt. 9:35, Matt. 24:14, Matt. 26:13; Mark 1:14, Mark 13:10, Mark 14:9, Mark 16:15; 2 Cor 11:4; Gal 2:2; Col 1:23; 1 Thess 2:9.

πιστευω (usually translated “believe”): This verb is used in conjunction with euaggelion in 8 verses: Mark 1:15; Acts 15:7; Romans 1:16, Romans 10:16; Gal 2:7; Eph 1:13; 1 Thess 2:4; 1 Tim 1:11.

ευαγγελιζω (usually translated “proclaim the good news”): This verb (the most closely connected to euaggelion in form) is used in conjunction with euaggelion in 5 verses: 1 Cor 9:18, 1Cor 15:1, 2Cor 11:7, Gal 1:11, Rev 14:6.

ακουω (usually translated “hear”): This verb is used in conjunction with euaggelion in 3 verses: Acts 15:7; Eph 1:13; Col 1:23.

‘υποκουω (usually translated “obey”): This verb is used in conjunction with euaggelino in 2 verses: Romans 10:16; 2 Thess 1:8.

ερχομαι (usually translated “come”): This verb is used in conjunction with euaggelion in 1 verse: Philippians 1:12.

λαλεω (usually translated “speak”): This verb is used in conjunction with euaggelion in 1 verse: 1 Thess 2:2.

ορθοποδεω (often translated “walk consistently”): This verb used in conjunction with euaggelion in 1 verse: Galatians 2:14.

απειθεω (often translated “disobey”): This verb used in conjunction with euaggelion in 1 verse: 1 Peter 4:17.

μεταδιδωμι (often translated “share”): This verb used in conjunction with euaggelion in 1 verse: 1 Thess 2:8.

πολιτευομαι (often translated “live”): This verb used in conjunction with euaggelion in 1 verse: Philippians 1:27.

γινομαι (often translated “became/came”): This verb used in conjunction with euaggelion in 1 verse: 1 Thess 1:5.

παρειμι (often translated “be present/come”): This verb used in conjunction with euaggelion in 1 verse: Col 1:5b-6.

γνωριζω (often translated “make known”): This verb used in conjunction with euaggelion in 1 verse: Ephesians 6:19.

μεταστρεφω (often translated “turn/distort”): This verb used in conjunction with euaggelion in 1 verse: Galatians 1:7.

καλυπτω (often translated “covered/veiled”): This verb used in conjunction with euaggelion in 1 verse: 2 Cor 4:3.

τιθημι (often translated “put/present”): This verb used in conjunction with euaggelion in 1 verse: 1 Cor 9:18.

μαρτυρομαι (often translated “testify”): This verb used in conjunction with euaggelion in 1 verse: Acts 20:24

Now if you are aware of Greek (and looked up these verses), you’ll know that I did include participles as well in this list. I did include any verses where euaggelion appears by itself or in conjunction with a noun or a direct prepositional phrase. Again, my focus is on the verbs that we use in connection with “the gospel” and what Scripture itself communicates about that.

Breaking the Data Down

Of the 19 verbs that I found accompanying euaggelion, I believe we can break them down accordingly:

Verbs Referring in Some Explicit Way to Verbal Proclamation:  Eight of the verbs (kerusso, euaggelizo, laleo, metadidomi, gnorizo, tithemi, kataggello, marutromai) refer in some explicit way to the proclamation, announcing, or declaring of the gospel, the good news. This is by far the largest subset of the verbs associated with “the gospel.”

Verbs Referring to Receiving the Gospel:  Five of the verbs (pisteuo, akouo, erchomai, ginomai, pareimi) refer in some way to the reception of the gospel, covering at a minimum such glosses as “believe,” “hear,” or “comes.”This is the second largest group of verbs associated with “the gospel.”

Verbs Referring to Distorting or Hiding the Gospel:  Two of the verbs (metastrepho, kalupto) refer to the converse of proclaiming the gospel. I.e., they refer to either distorting/turning from the gospel, or of the gospel being veiled/hidden from someone. This particular use is perhaps less relevant for the purposes of this discussion, though it does also fall under the general category of having to do with the content of what is being proclaimed.

Verbs Referring to Obeying/Disobeying:  Two of the verbs (hupakouo, apeitheo) refer to obeying and disobeying respectively. In the three instances of this use , the idea is negative, i.e., that there are those who “do not obey” or “disobey” the gospel.

Verbs Referring to Manner of Life in Connection with the Gospel:  Two of the verbs (orthopodeo, politeuomai) refer to living life in connection with the gospel. both of these have other words that go together with euaggelion and the verb. In the former, the phrase connecting the two is pros ten aletheian tou euaggeliou (“with the truth of the gospel”). In the latter case, an adverb connects them: axios (“in a worthy manner/worthily”).

Thinking through the Data

With all of that data in mind, here are some things that I think follow from the biblical texts on this issue:

First, the gospel is something that is proclaimed verbally. It is clear that the majority of verbs used in conjunction with euaggelion in the New Testament have to do with verbal proclamation (13 out of 19). This ought to suggest to us not only something about the nature of the gospel itself, but also something about the church’s mission: the proclamation of the gospel of Christ is the priority.

Secondly, the New Testament does use a few verbs with euaggelion that might make us as Protestants a little nervous. Two verbs mean either obey or disobey the gospel, and so perhaps a few of Horton’s comments are overzealous in that he would seem to want to keep all talk of obedience with the law rather than with the gospel, whereas Scripture does (though admittedly only in 3 verses) speak of “obeying” or “disobeying” the gospel. But having said that, it would be good to note what this “obeying” actually means. To do that, I will need to cite the verses.

2 Thessalonians 1:8, “…in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

1 Peter 4:17, ” For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?”

Romans 10:16, “But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, ‘Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?”

The quote from Isaiah in Romans 10:16 does clarify what the lack of obedience means. It means that they did not believe, not that they didn’t do a certain set of good works in order to get into heaven. This suggests two things: (1) our responsibility is certainly not to do something to gain favor with God, and (2) when it comes to verbs we use in relation to the gospel, there can be misunderstanding, even when using Scriptural words. We must labor to make sure we explain what we mean, as Scripture itself does.

Thirdly, we can live in a way that either distorts or supports the message of the gospel. Let me cite the two examples that relate to this.

Galatians 2:14, ” But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, ‘If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?’”

The context is very important. Peter had been eating with Gentiles, but then some Jewish men came from James. Peter then stopped eating with the Gentiles because “he feared the circumcision party” (2:12). In verse 13 Paul goes so far as to call this type of behavior “hypocritical.” In this context, Paul says that Peter’s late-coming refusal to eat with Gentiles because of the Jews was an example of “not walking consistently with the gospel.” In other words, the way that he lived distorted the truth of the gospel message. When people saw how he was living, it truly gave them the wrong impression of what the gospel was all about.

For Peter to act the way he did was to live as if the gospel wasn’t true. To extend that idea, consider this situation: someone says that he believes in the gospel, but then he refuses to accept those of a different skin color, or he refuses to reconcile with a brother. Is this not to live as if the gospel isn’t true? Certainly, he is not living the gospel in the sense that his own efforts could bring him to God’s presence or bar him from God’s presence. Nor do this man’s efforts reconcile anyone else to God. The gospel must be declared and proclaimed. But if we live in a way that communicates to the world around us that the gospel isn’t true, then we aren’t “living out of the gospel” or “in light of the gospel” or “in step with the gospel,” but are doing the opposite.

Thus while the gospel is objectively true and must be personally proclaimed, what we do is integrally connected to the gospel. Accordingly, if people mean by “live the gospel” what I think they mean, which is that we must live in light of its truth, that we must live as if it is true, then the phrase seems to be supported quite strongly with this Scripture. But “living out of the gospel” or “in light of the gospel” are clearer phrases.

In Philippians, Paul gives the flip side of his condemnation in Galatians:

Philippians 1:27, “Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel…”

Here, he seems to indicate that the way that we live can be worthy of the gospel or not. In fact, in the Greek, Paul uses a verb, not the nouns “manner of life.” So “live” is used in connect with the gospel, but with the modifier “worthy.” He is saying that the way that we live has implications for what message people hear. This is right before his injunctions in chapter 2 for the people to not be selfish or conceited, but to esteem others better than themselves, etc. Whether or not we fulfill those imperatives does reflect on the indicatives that we proclaim. I am quite sure that Horton and others would not disagree with this, but I am concerned that perhaps in the rhetoric about the gospel only being announced and never lived, we miss that Paul is saying that the way we live does communicate something one way or the other about the gospel. If we who are Christ’s followers are jerks, then they will conclude that that is who he was (well, maybe, I did see a book once entitled, Lord, Save Me from Your Followers).

If we don’t forgive, we are by our lives proclaiming that we serve a God who does not forgive. None of this of course changes the objective message of what Christ did for us, but it does mean that people can misunderstand the nature of the gospel by the lives that we lead.

Conclusions

Considering the thoughts I just provided, let me just provide my own conclusions on the question of “living the gospel.”

First, we must hold two things together: (1) We cannot preach Christ only, we must live in a manner befitting our proclamation. (2) We cannot live in a manner befitting our proclamation only, we must preach Christ. Those must ever go together.

Secondly, “living the gospel” itself does not most clearly reflect the terms that the New Testament itself uses in conjunction with the gospel. The priority in the New Testament does always seem to be on proclamation.

Thirdly, just as there are some terms even in the New Testament (“obey the gospel”) that we must be careful to understand correctly, so we must be careful to understand what others mean by the phrases they use. Trevin Wax gives some helpful thoughts on why we should be careful not to “over-police” the words of our brothers and sisters:

I think we need to be careful to keep our theological discourse from devolving into the tendency to police people’s language. Parsing of words and phrases can be a helpful exercise, but it can also lead to a sort of insider-lingo wherein we recognize who’s “on our team” by the way they use or refrain from certain phrases. (http://bit.ly/waxmotc)

Fourthly, while being concerned to not over-police as Trevin mentions, I do also think that we want to avoid misunderstanding as much as possible, and so perhaps using subtle shifts such as “live in light of the gospel,” “live worthily of the gospel,” “live as if the gospel is true,” and “live out the truth of the gospel” are ultimately clearer and would enable us to move on from the nitpicking that can reside in all of our souls at times.

Joel S is an ordained teaching elder in the Rocky Mountain Presbytery of the PCA. His ministry focus is the Arabic-speaking world, and he blogs at http://joelws.com.