The Eternal Gospel

Revelation 14:6-7

Reformation Day

Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ amen.  The sermon text for Reformation Sunday is our first reading from Revelation 14.  Let me read to you a portion of our text.  “Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people”.  Today is a special day.  Today we are celebrating the Reformation.  The Reformation is very significant because Luther and the other reformers proclaimed God’s Word to a world that needed to hear it.  They proclaimed the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  It is the eternal Gospel that is mentioned in our reading from Revelation.  It is the Good News about Jesus Christ that gives to us life and salvation.  The eternal Gospel is the light that shines in this dark world.  It is good news that is never outdated because it speaks to all people of every age. It is the eternal Gospel of Jesus that Luther proclaimed.  It is the same eternal Gospel that has been handed down to us.

The eternal Gospel is a heavenly message that comes from God.  Already in the Garden of Eden God made a promise to our first parents, Adam and Eve, that He would send a Savior to free humanity from sin and give them eternal life.  Throughout the Old Testament God pointed people to the coming Messiah.  There was the Passover Lamb and priestly sacrifices that foreshadowed the coming of Christ.  There were the Old Testament prophets who promised the people that a Savior would come.  The promises of God are always true.  Jesus did come into the world.  Jesus Christ the Son of God came into the world to save us from sin and death.  Our Lord died on the cross to bring forgiveness and rose from the dead to defeat death itself.  Jesus Himself called His apostles to proclaim the message of life and salvation through Him to the rest of the world.  It is the eternal Gospel, leading to eternal life and eternal praise. 

It is the eternal Gospel that comes from God that gives to us great comfort. But why is it such a comfort? Because in every age our enemies, Satan, the world, and our sinful nature will try to extinguish this message. The great enemies of God want to destroy our faith in Christ.  In Revelation 13, the chapter preceding our text, two unholy beasts emerge, one from the sea and the other from the earth.  They want to deceive the inhabitants of the earth so that they would forsake their faith in God and instead worship the false idols of this world. These beasts represent powers in every age that attempt to extinguish faith in Christ by religious deception or by the sword and intimidation.  

We see opposition to the Gospel in the time of the early church.  Believers were attacked by forces outside the church and inside the church.  There were many times in the history of the early church that the Roman Empire persecuted Christians.  Many were martyred because they would not renounce their faith in Christ.  That is an example of an attack from outside the church using the sword.  There were attacks from within the church as well in the form of false teachings.  The Christians in the early church had to deal with false doctrines from Judaism and the pagan religions that tried to pull them away from the Lord.  Under attacks from both the sword and false doctrine, Christians must have been asking, “Can the church continue?  Can the Gospel endure?”  The answer is yes.  The eternal Gospel kept flying high.  The Gospel of Jesus Christ spread throughout the ancient world. 

We see opposition to the Gospel in the time of the Reformation.  Muslim armies threatened to overrun Christian Europe. Their lives were in danger from the sword.  Christians also faced false doctrines within the western church.  The Papacy, aided by the emperor and civil magistrates brought forth the teaching about indulgences and purgatory.  Doctrines that would obscure the Gospel.  Under attack from both the sword and false doctrine the faithful must have been asking, “Can the church continue?  Can the Gospel endure?”  The answer is yes.  The eternal Gospel kept flying high.  God raised up Martin Luther and other reformers who pointed people to the Word of God.  Luther and the other reformers proclaimed the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  What Luther taught was not new.  He pointed us to the eternal Gospel that comes from God.

The two beasts mentioned in Revelation who oppose the Gospel of Jesus Christ through deception and intimidation, are not difficult to see in our day.  We know that there are terrorist groups all around the world who do not hesitate to use violence and to murder.  In our country we see the use of cancel culture to intimidate people and to try to force them to affirm what God forbids. We see examples of our own government infringing on religious liberty, especially when it comes to Christians. There are also several false teachings in our own day that our trying to pull us away from God.  We live in a world that wants us to deny the clear teachings of Scripture.  We live in a time when people are being taught to embrace and affirm sin.  There is a spiritual war that is going on.  And with this spiritual war going on around us we will be tempted to be apathetic to the Word of God.  We will be tempted to be loveless.  We will be tempted to be self-centered and seduced by the idols of the day.  The church is under attack and so we too must ask the question.  “Can the church survive?  Can the Gospel endure?  The answer is yes.  The eternal Gospel keeps flying high.  Remember what was said in our reading.  “Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on the earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people”. 

God keeps sending the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  He did so in the Garden of Eden.  He continued to do so throughout human history.   He continues to do so now.  He will continue to send the good news of Jesus Christ until the world ends.  It is the eternal Gospel that comes from God Himself. It is the eternal Gospel that has prevailed over all our enemies. 

It is good that we come together and celebrate the Reformation.  What happened many years ago is not just a footnote in history.  It has had a profound effect on all of us.  Martin Luther did not invent anything new.  He instead pointed us back to the prophets and the apostles.  He pointed us to the Word of God.  He did not proclaim a new teaching.  He proclaimed the eternal Gospel of Jesus Christ. God worked through Luther to do many things.  The Bible was translated into the langue of the people.  Today we are able to read God’s Word anytime that we want in our own language.  What a blessing.  Never stop rejoicing that we can hear and read God’s Word.  We have inherited the wonderful writings of Luther, especially the catechism.  The catechism is a summary of the teachings of the Bible.  It has been used by the Lutheran church for centuries to help instruct people in the Christian faith.  God used Luther to cut through the spiritual darkness of the world and bring the light of the Gospel to sinners who need to be saved. 

The Gospel has been given to us.  The Gospel has been given to you.  It is the wonderful message that God is gracious to you.  It is the wonderful message that you have received the gift of life and salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  It is the marvelous message that you have been justified by God through faith in Jesus Christ.  It is the eternal Gospel that has been given to you.  It is the eternal Gospel that we now are able to pass down to others.  To give to our children and our grandchildren to our friends and neighbors.   It is the eternal Gospel that brings forgiveness and creates faith in Christ. The reason that we celebrate the Reformation is that Luther pointed us to Jesus.  The Reformation was always about the eternal Gospel.  It is the same for us today.  We are justified by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ.  The angel is still flying with the eternal Gospel. And though threats and enemies continue to surround God’s flock, God is still sending His eternal Gospel and by His grace He will continue to do so.  Amen