“THE SUFFICIENCY OF GOD'S AMAZING GRACE”
2 Corinthians 12:7-10

It seems that there is not a Christian denomination today that hasn't been rocked by the scandals that have taken place among some of their clergy. Whether you're talking about the Evangelical churches, or the Roman Catholic Church, or even our own Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod, the negative publicity which is generated from the immoral and illegal behavior of some of the pastors and priests has left many people, both on the inside and outside, skeptical of the church.

It has always been the perception that the shepherds of God's Church should be held to a higher standard than others. And, indeed, the Scriptures say that an overseer, in other words, a pastor, should be , “above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,” and so on, (1 Tim. 3:2). And yet, the apostle Paul also notes that he and his fellow servants of the Word, “have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us,” (2 Cor. 4:7).

“In jars of clay.” He means to say that those who preach the word of God are fragile men. We are sinners, no different than any other sinner. And while we might strive to live a life that is an example of what God would have us to be, we must confess right along with the apostle that, “I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate,” (Rom. 7:15b).

The only hope that a preacher has is the identical hope and message that that preacher has been called upon to proclaim—the message of the grace of God. Through Jesus Christ, God has bestowed His unmerited love upon us. We are loved and we are forgiven, even though we deserve nothing of the kind. That is the message of grace.

If, however, a pastor were to preach a message of trying harder and harder to live an upstanding and holy life, with the expectation that such efforts would win us a place of favor in God's eyes, then that preacher would only be preaching a message of false hope and damnation. For, God is not moved by our good efforts. The Bible is very clear that God's expectation of mankind is nothing less from us than complete holiness. That is what is clearly spelled out in the Ten Commandments. And so, the book of Psalms says, “If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?” (Psalm 130:3). Meaning, one transgression—one single sin marked against us—is more than enough to earn us eternal damnation.

But then comes the assurance of grace in the very next verse of that Psalm, “But with you there is forgiveness.” Forgiveness! On what account? Because we have earned it? Absolutely not. Rather, forgiveness from God is a free gift, already earned by the once and for all sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. As St. Paul declares, “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified,” (1 Cor. 2:2). That was St. Paul 's message. That is what he said was the foundation of his missionary work. “We preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God,” (1 Cor. 1:23-24).

Therefore, as disturbing as the immoral behavior might be among those who are in positions of spiritual leadership in the church, it is even more reprehensible for any of those preachers to substitute a man-made teaching in place of the message of God's pure Gospel. They are those wolves in sheep's clothing of whom Christ warns. And their audience is more than willing and eager to hear what they have to say; “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions,” (2 Tim. 4:3).

But, people, the genuine Christian Church is not founded upon a message of sanctimonious boasting and spiritual arrogance. It is founded upon Jesus Christ, and upon Him alone. And as the message board out in front of our church reads, quoting the fifty-first Psalm, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise,” (Psalm 51:17). Only those who recognize their poverty of spirit can benefit by the riches of God's grace.

And God can use a variety of circumstances to bring us to that broken, contrite position. St. Paul spoke of his own circumstance in today's text. He says, “ a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.” St. Paul , you see, had been granted some spectacular visions of heaven. And he could very well have become boastful and arrogant over his experiences. But God gave him a “thorn in the flesh,” to keep him humble. Just what that thorn was, has been the cause of much speculation over the centuries. Some think Paul had a certain physical malady. Others think it might have been some kind of demonic harassment. But, in any case, it was something that caused him to have to depend upon the strength of God whole-heartedly.

You probably know something similar in your own life. Maybe you suffer from a debilitating physical condition. Or perhaps, it's the helpless you experience in having in watching a loved one struggle with some problem that you're unable to relieve them of. Maybe you suffer from an addiction. Or maybe you are continually tempted with a certain sin, so that you find yourself continually backsliding into the same guilty behavior.

Whatever it might be, people, the answer is not going to be found in pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps, in making the conscious decision to improve yourself, or in any other self-determined thing. Because if you can't even get rid of the speck in your own eye, then you're certainly not going to be able to overcome any other thorn in the flesh which has been placed upon you.

Besides, it is God's will that you would buckle under the weight of its pressure—because that's the only way that you're going to turn helplessly to Him in faith. Don't buy into that silly notion that God never gives us more than we can handle. He most certainly does burden us that way—to His glory and for our good.

And today's text is a case in point. St. Paul pleaded with God three times that his thorn in the flesh could be removed. Whatever it was, it was something that the apostle could not tolerate and he implored God to take it away. But God said, “no.”

Did that mean that Paul didn't possess enough faith? Hardly. For—listen carefully—the power wasn't found in Paul's faith but, rather, in God's grace. “And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

It takes a big gulp of humility to accept the true Christian message on God's own terms. Once again, there are many preachers out there today who are more than willing to build a ministry based upon catering to people's own egos. And, admittedly, it is a deeply moving thing to hear a message that says that, somehow, you have the ability to become Joe or Jane Super-Christian. Or that the answer to the guilt of your sins is to buy your way into the good standing of the church. Or that, in the end, God will welcome you into His kingdom because you lived such a good life here on earth.

But don't be fooled into believing that any of those notions have anything to do with Christianity. Such talk flies in the face of grace. Because the focus of grace is never about our own strength; rather, it's the acknowledgement of our unworthiness in the face of God's bountiful goodness. And, it goes without saying that that's not always going to be the kind of thing that people want to hear.

Like Ezekiel in the Old Testament reading, some would heed is message and others would reject it. Like Christ Himself in the Gospel account, there were those who rejected his message and those who, by faith, gladly received it

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