The Eternal Gospel :: Revelation 14:6-7
And I saw another angel flying in midheaven, having an eternal gospel to proclaim upon those sitting on the earth, and upon every nation and tribe and tongue and people, saying in a great voice, “Have reverent fear of God and give to him glory because the hour of his judgment came. And worship the One who made the heaven, and the earth, sea and fountains of water.”
Today is Reformation Day. It’s not every year we get to celebrate this anniversary on Sunday. Sometimes it’s 11 years between Reformation Sundays. That means a lot can change between celebrations. But one thing always remains the same ...
THE REFORMATION IS ALWAYS ABOUT THE GOSPEL
This movement in history that we mark every October 31 is often attributed to Martin Luther. But that’s not true. Saint Paul was fighting Luther’s fight 1500 years earlier. So too were the prophets, as well as the patriarchs long before Paul. The Reformation, in fact, began not long after the Formation, or should I say the Creation. In the beginning it was very good. But because of the man and woman, everything went bad. So God began his Reformation ... literally, re-formation, re-creation. There, in the Garden, God covered the man and the woman and promised to re-form all things and to crush the serpent’s head and destroy sin and death (Gen 3:15).
Some would suggest that the Reformation ended in the 16th century. Others would suggest that after 500 years, it would be good to move on. But we cannot move on. We have been eternally in need of Reformation. We are sinners who sin, born in sin, steeped in sin. We are constantly turning away from God and turning inward on ourselves. We will need the Reformation until our last hour, when our Lord Jesus Christ comes again in glory and rescues us from every evil of body and soul, possessions and reputation, and finally ... gives us a blessed end and graciously takes us from this valley of sorrows to himself in the heavens (SC III 20).
1.
When Luther discovered the Gospel ... or I should say when Luther heard the Gospel ... the Eternal Reformation was rekindled in a new way. By tacking his 95 theses on the door of Wittenberg Castle on this date in 1517, Luther wasn’t declaring that he thought we should reform ALL church traditions because he thought they were too Roman. He wasn’t calling on us to create a new church ... a Lutheran church. He was calling all of us to reform our theology and remember the eternal Gospel (No. 62). As Jesus said, Whenever we keep this truth, we will know the truth, and the truth will set us free (Jn 8:31). The truth is the eternal Gospel.
Scripture proves that we are ... and always have been ... in constant need of this Reformation. That’s because we are in constant need of hearing and receiving the Gospel. You can never hear and receive the Gospel often enough. And I know that you who have faith in Christ ... all of you blood-bought saints of God ... that you will never grow tired of hearing and receiving the Gospel. It really is that important to the sanctified and satisfied life that began with the Eternal Gospel.
2.
So what is the Gospel, this eternal truth? The Sunday School answer is Jesus died for me. And that’s OK. ... But you know ... the Gospel isn’t that simple. There is so much more to this eternal Gospel than that. A fuller definition could be given this way: Jesus lived for you, died for you, was buried for you, was resurrected for you, and then ascended into heaven where he is preparing a place for you before he comes again to reunite you with him in paradise forever. But that’s more like a Gospel in a walnut shell: It has many pockets of goodness.
In a similar way, when we speak of the Gospel, we are not merely speaking of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. They are rightfully entitled Gospels, and they do contain many pockets of Gospel, but they are not The Gospel. They are like the epistles and the Old Testament, in that they also contain the Gospel. But one could argue the epistles announce the Gospel like no other books. Paul explicitly defines the Gospel in 12 of his 13 books ... Philemon being the exception. So too do Peter, James, John, and the writer to the Hebrews. All of these scriptures were written to prepare you for and to announce the eternal Gospel ... the Gospel of peace, the eternal truth.
3.
The Holy Spirit does that by first showing us the Law. We are unnerved by the Law. It is constantly showing us how we have gotten off track, how we have sinned, where we have failed to live the sanctified and satisfied life into which God has called us through the Gospel.
The Gospel is not a movement designed to teach us how to be better Christians. That is the work of the law. The Gospel is not an altar call for you to accept Jesus or to make a decision for Jesus. It is not a call for you to repent, or to turn your life around. It is not about being like Jesus, or walking with Jesus, or living like Jesus, or singing to Jesus, or praying like Jesus, doing what Jesus would do. It’s not about loving Jesus and loving each other, or naming it and claiming it.
The Gospel is, in fact, not really about you ... at all.
The Gospel is for you ... God’s gift to you. It’s about God. His divine messengers deliver this good news to you. No matter how hard you try, no matter how much you pray, you can’t find the Gospel on your own. You can read the scripture daily and never hear the Gospel. You can dive deep and never find the Gospel. It happens all the time. That’s because too many people search for God in their heart, mind, work, and world. They try to insert themselves into scripture.
Again, the Gospel is a gift from God. It finds you. It calls and enlightens you. It justifies and sanctifies you. To paraphrase Luther, I cannot by my own reason or strength believe this Gospel.
4.
So what are we to do? You know now that without the Gospel, without God’s Reformation, we will be left murdering each other ... destroying each other ... condemning each other. We will idolize ourselves. When we deny the Gospel, we will deny the forgiveness of sins not only to ourselves but to others. When we withhold the Gospel, we are withholding forgiveness. Apart from forgiveness, there is no life and salvation. Apart from forgiveness, there is no fellowship ... there are only grudges against each other, jealousy of each other, anger at each other. In turn, we start gossiping about each other, destroying another’s reputation.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, this isn’t the life to which we were called.
You who have the name of God written on your foreheads in baptism, you who have heard the voice of your Lord, you who have been called to the Supper ... in the name of Jesus, repent! Return to the Eternal Gospel: the baptism God poured out upon you, the absolution your God declared to you, the Lord’s Supper that your God has prepared for you. These means of grace deliver to you the forgiveness of sins. These means are foundational to the eternal Gospel.
5.
John writes, Then I saw another angel flying in midheaven, having an eternal gospel to proclaim upon those sitting on the earth, and upon every nation and tribe and tongue and people (v. 6). Do you hear and see what is happening? One of God’s angels ... one of his divine messengers ... one of his proclaimers of good news ... is moving from here to there and everywhere in the world and this sanctuary. That is what this word flying really means. God’s divine messenger, his angel ... his herald ... is actively doing exactly what the Lord told us to do ... to preach the Gospel (1 Cor 1:17). Make disciples of all nations ... baptizing ... and teaching (Mt 28:19-20). This eternal Gospel deepens our reverence for God ... for all he has said, all he has done, all he continues to do through his divine messengers who faithfully preach his word and administer his sacraments that deliver the eternal Gospel that restores, reforms, and brings all who hear it back to eternal life.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, this good news in Christ ... all of God’s word and sacraments ... are eternally for you. They proclaim the good news that Jesus has paid the price for your sins through his death on the cross and has given you a living hope through his resurrection. And he reminds you of this through the baptism he poured out upon you, the absolution he declared to you, and the eternal feast of forgiveness he prepares for you. These means of grace are God’s good and gracious will for you. They all work together for your good and God’s glory, proclaiming the eternal Gospel of the forgiveness of sins ... nurturing you, nourishing you, refreshing you, restoring you, rejuvenating you, giving you peace of God that surpasses all understanding.
Oh, how we should long for this every moment of every day, joining the psalmist of our Introit and the saints in heaven, blessing the Lord at all times (Ps 34:1) ... giving God glory and worshiping the one who made the heaven and the earth (v. 7). God is glorified when people come to him in Jesus’ name (Jan 14:13-14) and when they thank him for what has been done to them by Jesus (Acts 4:21-22). This is the goal of the Reformation.
May God the Father finally and forever grant us to always hear his Eternal Gospel as we join the angels, and archangels and all the company of heaven, lauding and magnifying his glorious name to his glory and our good ... in Jesus’ name.