Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth–to every nation, tribe, language and people. He said in a loud voice, ‘Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.'” (Revelation 14:6-7)
The gospel is the focus of our reading from the Book of Revelation. This angel delivers the gospel to all the world, followed by the warning of God’s imminent judgment. The Lord Jesus commissioned the Church to preach the gospel of grace through faith in Him alone. Yet down through the ensuing centuries that message became eclipsed by manmade Law that transformed the gospel into a system composed of rules and precepts enforced by a cumbersome, harsh, corrupt, and elitist bureaucracy. This new law that was as difficult to keep as the Mosaic law, yet full of loopholes which allowed many to take advantage of or abuse the system. In 1517, the Lord God Almighty called Martin Luther to restore the gospel of grace back to the center of the Church. The eternal Gospel which had been obscured was once again proclaimed for all to hear.
Now this gospel is once again being eclipsed by media gurus, philosophy, lust, selfishness, hatred, and self-righteousness. The message of the Church is being silenced by the forces of darkness working through the media, the government, and the church itself. The gospel is being compromised in favor of political correctness, cancel culture, and identity politics. Instead of truth we hear lies from all sources. And yet the gospel of salvation by faith in Jesus is the only way to peace with God and peace among mankind. And so, in the midst of the chaos and the shouting, we the Church must take up our calling to preach the gospel. This good news must be proclaimed to all those hopeless and oblivious sinners to let them know of God’s offer of mercy and grace before it is too late.
In these chaotic days of war, violence, and great social upheaval, no doubt many people are confused and filled with fear. Many seek to cope by lashing out in violence or with political demonstrations which usually involves chanting some slogan or other so that others will get the message and change their ways.
This is not the calling of the church, we Christians, who have faith in Jesus as the only way to resolve all the world’s distress and ills. Our calling is to preach the gospel, the good news about salvation in Jesus alone. This is the message that all those people that we hear or see protesting or engaging in violence need to hear. These folks are bound by fear and enslaved by sin and the devil’s lies into thinking that they are in control. They are lost. They need the gospel.