Stop Saying “Live the Gospel”
To our knowledge Bernie Sanders never said this exact line. Rather it is just a funny internet meme going around. As God-fearing, Bible-believing historic Christians we also wholeheartedly reject the vast majority of Sander's unbiblical worldview. We hope and pray Sanders hears the gospel, is convicted by the Holy Spirit concerning his sin and is led to repentance for his sins and turns to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.
“Preach the gospel at all times, if necessary use words.” Like many this quote is one that as a young Christian college student I once thought was profound. But a moment’s reflection makes it clear that it is not and another moment’s reflection makes it clear that it is in fact not possible. This is akin to saying, “Feed the hungry at all times if necessary use food.” Nonsensical. No words no gospel. A few years ago while serving as one of the pastors of an evangelical free church, a zealous pastor friend loudly and proudly proclaimed from the pulpit, "Friends, we must be those who proclaim the gospel yes and amen but we also must be those who live the gospel!" This line was met by number of "mmmmms", "amens" and "yesss's" among the congregation. The line was also met by at least one face palm, one head shake and one groan (all from yours truly).
Yet across denominations and traditions, many self-professing historic and orthodox Christians use the phrase. It is not limited to faithful congregations—even liberal mainline and other more blatantly heretical groups have use the phrase "live the gospel" (for example Mormon leader Bruce McConkie). Take a look below and notice these are liberals and conservatives but they all seem to share agree one can “live the gospel.”
"The best apologetic of the Gospel is a church that believes it, lives it, and proclaims it." -Lesslie Newbigin
Living The Gospel in Relationships by Tara Klena Barthel
“Living the King Jesus Gospel: Disicpleship and Ministry Then and Now.” -by Nijay K. Gupta, Tara Beth Leach, Matthew W. Bates and Drew J. Strait
“The gospel must be lived out in everyday life.” -Michael Foster
“If we proclaim the gospel and don’t live it, in essence we deny it.”-Miguel Nunez
“The Power of Example: Living Out the Gospel at Home” -The Disciple-Making Parent
“For Janet Chilcote and Rev. Gaston Warner Who live the gospel before us on a daily basis.-Paul Chilcote, The Study of Evangelism: Exploring a Missional Practice of the Church
“My friends leaving ministry haven’t given up on the gospel of the body of Christ. But they also believe that the gospel is only good news if it is lived in the lives of those who claim our shared faith.” -Glenn Kreider
“UPPC is a unique, grace-filled community, where you can be yourself. Our all generations community tries to intentionally live the gospel.” -University Place Presbyterian Church
“…seeing the needs of the community as a window to live out the gospel and frame spiritual conversations.” -Ed Stetzer
“In other words, as the church faithfully preaches and lives the gospel, the Holy Spirit would be poured out upon the world and a time would come when the diffusion of the gospel would be so widespread in the earth that Isaiah 11 would be made manifest.” -Joe Boot, The Mission of God
“Whatever will help us to more deeply live the gospel needs to be embraced, and we need to go deep into it. And I want to just suggest two things that we can learn so deeply from Marx’s insight…” -Brian Froehie
“Christians who seek to live out and promote the saving gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, especially proclaiming Jesus as the one and only way to the Father.” -Ian Hamilton, Ephesians Commentary
This is a but a small sampling. Many others could easily be produced. People love the phrase “live the gospel” and use it often today. Even Puritan John Owen once said, “Holiness is nothing but the implanting, writing and living out the gospel in our souls.” Even so, is the phrase “live the gospel” actually helpful? Should we say it? And can we make sense of if we are in fact those who are "living the gospel?"
What does the Word of God teach us?
Perhaps the closest thing in the Bible to "live the gospel" is found in book of James where the Lord through James calls Christians to be those who "prove yourselves to be doers of the word and not merely hearers who delude themselves (James 1:22). But this is not the same as "living the gospel". In 1 Thessalonians 2:8 the Lord through Paul makes it plain that the gospel can also be shared: (“So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.”) But the gospel biblically defined is a message. It is an announcement that has deep roots in the Old Testament (Genesis 3:15, Isaiah 52:7) so much so that the gospel is said even to have been preached to Abraham according to the Apostle Paul (Galatians 3:8). The gospel is a message. And it is God’s message. A message with particular content that God has revealed. Namely that the Lord is God alone and there is no other. He is the Holy God, the triune God, the creator God, the sustainer and King. The Lord is the judge of all the earth and the only Savior. The Lord Jesus comes full of grace and truth to dwell among us (just as was promised repeatedly in the First/Old Testament). And through the promised coming, perfect life, wrath-bearing, sin-taking death, the victorious resurrection and the risen Lord Jesus now has sat down on his throne forever interceding for forgiven sinners the Lord has graciously called and chosen for himself to be a people for his own possession. The gospel is good news or glad tidings about the reign of Jesus Christ and in the gospel the greatest message of hope now and forevermore is given to sinners who were made in God's image and for his glory. Sinners are invited to repent of their sins and idolatry and agree with God that He is Lord and there is no other. It is a message and it is God's message concerning his Son the work and person of the promised Messiah Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 15:1-4, Galatians 1:6-9). Some like Greg Gilbert have urged thinking of the gospel as God, Man, Jesus, Response. Others like some Australian brothers and sisters in Christ have urged us to think of this as "Two Ways to Live" (check the website out but the model is 1. God the good ruler and creator 2. Our rebellion against God, 3. God's justice 4. God sent Jesus to die for us 5. Jesus the risen ruler and savior 6. Two ways to live-God's way or our way).
Scripture also tells Christians to act on the words of the Lord (Matthew 7:24-27). The Lord through Paul to Titus called on slaves in their work to "adorn" the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect (Titus 2:10). On the topic of "Adorning the Gospel" see this excellent sermon by Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
Scripture mentions apostles getting their living from the gospel (1 Cor. 9:14) but this has nothing to do with how all Christians are to “live the gospel” and in context is about the support of the apostles (unlike how most use the phrase). The Lord calls us as his followers in Scripture to let our light shine before men that they might see our good deeds and praise our heavenly Father (Matthew 5:16) and certainly we must care far more about how we think, how we live. We cannot minimize the importance of being holy as God is holy especially today. The Word of God also mentions Peter's sin of excluding Gentiles that was inconsistent with the truth of the gospel (Galatians 2:14). The Apostle Peter speaks of living that can winning someone over without words through reverent respectful behavior of a wife (1 Peter 3:1-2). So yes indeed and amen-- let us live lives that adorn the gospel. Herman Bavinck even speaks of Christians as those who “live under the gospel” (Bavinck, p. 21)Let us live lives that commend the gospel. Let us live lives that are consistent with the gospel. And let us preach and proclaim the gospel and let us share the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ without shame and with a fearlessness and boldness throughout all our days. But let’s drop the phrase “live the gospel” which is unhelpfully ambiguous and frankly not possible even for forgiven sinners according to the God-breathed Scripture.
"Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God " ( 1 Pet. 2:12 ).
So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “bBut the righteous man shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:15-16)