“Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you.” (Deut. 4:2]

“I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the Gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith’ ” (Romans 1:16-17).

There is a very sure way to hit a target even if you’re not a marksman. Moreover, it’s a method practiced by our sinful race in almost every area of life every day. People by nature are experts in this aiming, and the method is simple: just shoot—anywhere, anytime, any number! Then after you shoot, draw a circle around the place your shot fell. You are guaranteed to hit your target perfectly every time.

The word translated “sin” in the Greek is actually an archery term. It means to “miss the mark”. That is what sin does. It makes us miss the mark of God’s holiness. Sin is also the reason why man continually wants to make his own targets. God’s target says, “You shall have no other gods; You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God; Remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it holy; You shall not commit adultery, etc.”

Man cannot and will not by nature even want to hit God’s target. So, he makes his own—after firing the shot! Churches calling themselves Christian speak of more ways than Christ alone for getting to heaven. Hallowed be Thy Name, we pray in the Lord’s Prayer, and pastor after pastor distorts and profanes the clear Word of God in their preaching and teaching. And the laity in chasing after what tickles their ears says nothing and censures no one because it all fits in with their own distorted version of reality and self.

God’s target says do not soil the marriage bed, so man shoots his arrow and, of course, misses. A circle is drawn around the place it falls and man triumphantly claims: bulls-eye! Unrepentant homosexuality and living outside of marriage are not sin. They are said to be just alternate life-styles or expressions of love between two people. More arrows are shot at God’s target and miss, and more bulls-eyes are proclaimed. Women assume the office of pastor; open communion is promoted; evolution is taught; feelings and emotion in the here and now take the place of faith in what is not seen; and greed, gambling; gossip; sarcasm, cheating, lying, etc., are viewed as little more than character flaws with some to be actually indulged in.

The end of this month, we once again remember our Lutheran Heritage through the celebration of Reformation Day. It is a day and heritage focused squarely on the three Sola’s: Sola Fide (faith alone), Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone), Sola Christus (Christ alone).

The hallmark of the Reformation was its focus to keep man on the target of God’s Word. Left to ourselves, this is an impossible task as the examples above show. That is the very reason God gave His Church the Reformation so He could bring us back on target—and stay on target. It was through Christ alone and faith alone, not by any merit or worthiness in us, that God sees His target as full of our bulls-eyes. That is what the Reformation still proclaims today! That is why we cannot let the teachings that came out of the Reformation be lost and forgotten, as some churches still calling themselves Lutheran are doing or have already done.

You see, by nature we are incapable of hitting the target, but out of love for a creation that had died in sin, God sent someone who could hit the mark perfectly every time. He sent His one and only Son into the flesh so He could assume our nature and thereby our sin to pay off the tremendous debt that we had before God for all our missing the target in life.

Scripture alone is where we get God’s true revelation for faith and life in Christ, and God’s true church is where that Scripture is taught in truth and purity.

“Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar. Two things I ask of you, O Lord; do not refuse me before I die; keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.” (Proverbs 30:6-9).