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“St. Paul Had a Problem” 2 Corinthians 12:7 *Click for Audio* Pastor Kevin Vogts Trinity Lutheran Church Paola, Kansas Fifth Sunday after Pentecost—June 28, 2015 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Next to our Savior himself, one of the most revered characters in the Christian faith is the great Apostle, St. Paul. ST. PAUL wrote more books of the Bible than any other person. Out of the 27 books in the New Testament, God used ST. PAUL to write 13 of them, almost half of the New Testament, written by this one man. And ST. PAUL is also the greatest missionary and evangelist in the whole history of the Church, the first to take the Gospel of Christ to the Gentiles and to Europe, meaning that it is ultimately through his missionary labors that the Gospel eventually came to our forbearers and to us. Considering how great St. Paul’s faith was, considering all the wonderful things God did through St. Paul, the theme of this morning’s sermon may seem surprising, even shocking if we stop to think about it: “ST. PAUL Had a Problem!” Our text is from today’s Epistle Reading in the 12th chapter of 2nd Corinthians. St. Paul writes: “To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’” An elderly shut-in once told me that she had asked her grandson why she must suffer so with so many health problems. I was absolutely shocked at the cruelty of her grandson’s answer. He told her, “God must be punishing you for something you did. That’s why you’re sick.” As cruel as that answer is, isn’t that how we ourselves often think when we have problems in our lives: Is God angry with me? Is this happening because God is punishing me? The Good News is your problems are NOT a punishment from God. One of my favorite verses from the Bible in Psalm 103 puts it so beautifully: “He does NOT treat us as our sins deserve, or repay us according to our iniquities.” As a Christian, you don’t ever have to wonder, “Is God punishing me? Is God paying me back for something I have done?” God simply doesn’t work that way: “He does NOT treat us as our sins deserve, or repay us according to our iniquities.” Because, the punishment your sins deserved has already been paid on your behalf, paid in full, for you, by your Savior. Isaiah 53 describes Christ suffering as your substitute, taking your place and suffering God’s punishment for you: “Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows. We observed him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Jesus took upon himself all the punishment your sins deserved, and not only yours, but the sins of the whole world. Paul says in Romans, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Trust in Jesus as your Savior. Through faith in him, all your sins are forgiven and forgotten. God is never angry with you, for you are at peace with God through your Lord Jesus Christ. That is the unique message of the Christian faith, which you will not find in any other religion in the world. For, all other religions in the world stop with the bad news of our sins and failures: “You have not measured up! God IS angry with you, God IS punishing you.” Only the Christian faith has the ANSWER to that bad news. The answer is the Good News of the Gospel. As Paul says in Colossians, “God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not counting men’s sins against them.” What wonderful Good News! He does not count your sins against you! God is not angry with you, and your problems are never a punishment from God. All the other religions in the world say, “If you first get your act together, then maybe God will love and help you.” But Jesus said, “I have come to seek and to save the lost . . . It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” God loves people with problems. Jesus came into this world to help people with problems. First of all, to take away the problem of our sin by taking all our sins upon himself and earning us God’s forgiveness. And he also promises to help us and bless us in all the problems and struggles of our everyday lives. St. Paul writes in 1st Timothy, “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service. Even though I was once a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and a violent man, I was shown mercy . . .” As St. Paul confesses, he certainly didn’t have his act together. But, on the road to Damascus, God reached down into the life of this “blasphemer, and persecutor, and violent man,” converting him from an enemy of the Gospel to the Gospel’s most powerful preacher—giving him faith to TRUST in the Savior he once persecuted. Just as God reached down into the life of St. Paul, in the same way he reaches down into your life with the Good News of his love and forgiveness. In Holy Baptism, he reached down into your life to make you “born again” as his child. Through his Word he reaches down into your life to give you faith in Christ and guidance for living. In Holy Communion he reaches down into your life, to strengthen you with spiritual nourishment for your soul. “To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’” We don’t know what St. Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” was. It might have been some kind of painful illness or disease. Whatever it was, St. Paul explains that his problem was for a purpose. God allowed him to be afflicted, not as a punishment, but for his good, as he says in our text: “To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh.” Like when we pinch ourselves to see if we are dreaming, St. Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” was a pinch, a reminder from God that though he had done great and mighty things, though God even revealed so much of his written Word through him—nearly half the New Testament—yet he was still a flesh and blood human, also in need of God’s grace and forgiveness. God promises that he works all things together for your good, that his grace is sufficient for you, that he gives you strength in weakness. But, often we cannot understand God’s purpose and God’s plan. St. Paul could see the purpose for his “thorn in the flesh.” But, most of the time we don’t understand why things happen the way they do in our lives, or how God is working all things together for our good. We will not fully understand God’s purpose and design and plan for our lives until we get to heaven. As one of our hymns says, in heaven “all things mysterious shall be bright at last.” St. Paul puts it this way in 1st Corinthians, “Now I know only in part; then I will know fully.” Yet even now there are times when we maybe get a glimpse of God’s plan, when we see how God works everything, even our problems, for the good. In my first congregation there was a young man who was injured very badly in an car accident. It took him almost two years to recover. The only permanent disability was that he couldn’t do arithmetic. That wouldn’t have been such a problem except that he was vice-president of a bank. And so he lost his very good job and it was a great struggle for them. But, his wife once told me something very surprising: “Actually, Pastor, I’m glad it happened. You see, we were on our way to a lawyer that day to start the process of getting a divorce. But, after the accident we realized how much we love each other and how much we need each other. Now we know we don’t ever want to be apart. So, I’m not sorry it happened. The accident was bad, but because of it we’re still married—and a lot happier. I think maybe I understand now why it happened.” “To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’” When you experience problems in your life, remember that even the great Apostle St. Paul had a problem. Just as God was surely not punishing him, but was somehow working all things together for the good, when you face problems in your life God is not angry with you, God is not punishing you. There is nothing left for him to punish, there is nothing left for him to be angry about, because your punishment has already been paid in full for you by your Savior. In his heart, God knows for you nothing but love, and he is working all things together for your good. Your problems are not a sign of God’s anger or punishment, because even “St. Paul Had a Problem.” Amen. Return to Top \| Return to Sermons \| Home \| Email Church Office

“St. Paul Had a Problem”
2 Corinthians 12:7

Pastor Kevin Vogts
Trinity Lutheran Church
Paola, Kansas
Fifth Sunday after Pentecost—June 28, 2015

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Next to our Savior himself, one of the most revered characters in the Christian faith is the great Apostle, St. Paul. ST. PAUL wrote more books of the Bible than any other person. Out of the 27 books in the New Testament, God used ST. PAUL to write 13 of them, almost half of the New Testament, written by this one man. And ST. PAUL is also the greatest missionary and evangelist in the whole history of the Church, the first to take the Gospel of Christ to the Gentiles and to Europe, meaning that it is ultimately through his missionary labors that the Gospel eventually came to our forbearers and to us.

Considering how great St. Paul’s faith was, considering all the wonderful things God did through St. Paul, the theme of this morning’s sermon may seem surprising, even shocking if we stop to think about it: “ST. PAUL Had a Problem!”

Our text is from today’s Epistle Reading in the 12th chapter of 2nd Corinthians. St. Paul writes: “To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’”

An elderly shut-in once told me that she had asked her grandson why she must suffer so with so many health problems. I was absolutely shocked at the cruelty of her grandson’s answer. He told her, “God must be punishing you for something you did. That’s why you’re sick.”

As cruel as that answer is, isn’t that how we ourselves often think when we have problems in our lives: Is God angry with me? Is this happening because God is punishing me?

The Good News is your problems are NOT a punishment from God. One of my favorite verses from the Bible in Psalm 103 puts it so beautifully: “He does NOT treat us as our sins deserve, or repay us according to our iniquities.” As a Christian, you don’t ever have to wonder, “Is God punishing me? Is God paying me back for something I have done?” God simply doesn’t work that way: “He does NOT treat us as our sins deserve, or repay us according to our iniquities.”

Because, the punishment your sins deserved has already been paid on your behalf, paid in full, for you, by your Savior. Isaiah 53 describes Christ suffering as your substitute, taking your place and suffering God’s punishment for you: “Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows. We observed him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

Jesus took upon himself all the punishment your sins deserved, and not only yours, but the sins of the whole world. Paul says in Romans, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Trust in Jesus as your Savior. Through faith in him, all your sins are forgiven and forgotten. God is never angry with you, for you are at peace with God through your Lord Jesus Christ.

That is the unique message of the Christian faith, which you will not find in any other religion in the world. For, all other religions in the world stop with the bad news of our sins and failures: “You have not measured up! God IS angry with you, God IS punishing you.” Only the Christian faith has the ANSWER to that bad news. The answer is the Good News of the Gospel. As Paul says in Colossians, “God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not counting men’s sins against them.” What wonderful Good News! He does not count your sins against you! God is not angry with you, and your problems are never a punishment from God.

All the other religions in the world say, “If you first get your act together, then maybe God will love and help you.” But Jesus said, “I have come to seek and to save the lost . . . It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” God loves people with problems. Jesus came into this world to help people with problems. First of all, to take away the problem of our sin by taking all our sins upon himself and earning us God’s forgiveness. And he also promises to help us and bless us in all the problems and struggles of our everyday lives.

St. Paul writes in 1st Timothy, “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service. Even though I was once a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and a violent man, I was shown mercy . . .”

As St. Paul confesses, he certainly didn’t have his act together. But, on the road to Damascus, God reached down into the life of this “blasphemer, and persecutor, and violent man,” converting him from an enemy of the Gospel to the Gospel’s most powerful preacher—giving him faith to TRUST in the Savior he once persecuted.

Just as God reached down into the life of St. Paul, in the same way he reaches down into your life with the Good News of his love and forgiveness. In Holy Baptism, he reached down into your life to make you “born again” as his child. Through his Word he reaches down into your life to give you faith in Christ and guidance for living. In Holy Communion he reaches down into your life, to strengthen you with spiritual nourishment for your soul.

“To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’”

We don’t know what St. Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” was. It might have been some kind of painful illness or disease. Whatever it was, St. Paul explains that his problem was for a purpose. God allowed him to be afflicted, not as a punishment, but for his good, as he says in our text: “To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh.” Like when we pinch ourselves to see if we are dreaming, St. Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” was a pinch, a reminder from God that though he had done great and mighty things, though God even revealed so much of his written Word through him—nearly half the New Testament—yet he was still a flesh and blood human, also in need of God’s grace and forgiveness.

God promises that he works all things together for your good, that his grace is sufficient for you, that he gives you strength in weakness. But, often we cannot understand God’s purpose and God’s plan. St. Paul could see the purpose for his “thorn in the flesh.” But, most of the time we don’t understand why things happen the way they do in our lives, or how God is working all things together for our good. We will not fully understand God’s purpose and design and plan for our lives until we get to heaven. As one of our hymns says, in heaven “all things mysterious shall be bright at last.” St. Paul puts it this way in 1st Corinthians, “Now I know only in part; then I will know fully.” Yet even now there are times when we maybe get a glimpse of God’s plan, when we see how God works everything, even our problems, for the good.

In my first congregation there was a young man who was injured very badly in an car accident. It took him almost two years to recover. The only permanent disability was that he couldn’t do arithmetic. That wouldn’t have been such a problem except that he was vice-president of a bank. And so he lost his very good job and it was a great struggle for them. But, his wife once told me something very surprising: “Actually, Pastor, I’m glad it happened. You see, we were on our way to a lawyer that day to start the process of getting a divorce. But, after the accident we realized how much we love each other and how much we need each other. Now we know we don’t ever want to be apart. So, I’m not sorry it happened. The accident was bad, but because of it we’re still married—and a lot happier. I think maybe I understand now why it happened.”

When you experience problems in your life, remember that even the great Apostle St. Paul had a problem. Just as God was surely not punishing him, but was somehow working all things together for the good, when you face problems in your life God is not angry with you, God is not punishing you. There is nothing left for him to punish, there is nothing left for him to be angry about, because your punishment has already been paid in full for you by your Savior. In his heart, God knows for you nothing but love, and he is working all things together for your good.

Your problems are not a sign of God’s anger or punishment, because even “St. Paul Had a Problem.”

Amen.

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