Were you to gather the greatest men of all the ages around a table, the Apostle Paul would be seated there. With his keen intellect, burning heart, and indefatigable spirit, few men have left as lasting a dent in the universe as he did. Had it not been for the Apostle Paul, we may have never heard of Christianity or of Jesus. It was the Apostle Paul who carried the message of the risen Christ from the narrow precincts of its infancy in Jerusalem to the far flung corners of the world. It was the Apostle Paul who authored the majority of the New Testament. 14 of its 27 books are ascribed to his hand or to his influence. Paul’s ideas have left a stamp on the centuries. As Wayne Meeks once wrote, all of Christian theology is “a series of footnotes” to the Apostle Paul. Viewed from any perspective and measured by any gauge, the Apostle Paul is an ecclesiastical, theological, historical and rhetorical brobdingnagian.

But despite his greatness, Paul still experienced failure. Or perhaps he achieved greatness because of his failure. But in any event, Paul was intimately acquainted with failure. Perhaps his most notable missionary failure is alluded to in 1 Corinthians 3:1-5. Here is what Paul says:

When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan. For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified. I came to you in weakness—timid and trembling. And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God.

This disclosure from Paul about the approach that he used to communicate with the Corinthian church must be understood in a larger historical context. Paul writes that when he shared the message of Christianity, he did not use “lofty words” and “impressive wisdom.” He says that his singular focus was on “Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified.” That is an important statement because Paul’s focus was not always so singular.

Immediately before his arrival in the city of Corinth, Paul had shared the message of Christianity in the city of Athens. Athens was the capital city of Greece, and the philosophical and cultural capital of antiquity. His presentation of Christianity there was quite different. The presentation can be found in Acts 17:22-31. What is noteworthy about his message is that Jesus’ crucifixion is not mentioned.

That omission was not accidental. As Paul would later confess, the message of Christianity was considered “foolishness to the Greeks.” To the Greek mind, the idea of a crucified Savior was cultural and philosophical nonsense. In his address at Athens, I think Paul was trying to take the “edge off” of the message to make it more palatable to the highly cultured and deeply philosophical Greek mind. But his effort was not successful. That approach generated a stunning lack of results. Acts 17:32-33 informs us that:

When they heard Paul speak about the resurrection of the dead, some laughed in contempt, but others said, “We want to hear more about this later.” That ended Paul’s discussion with them, but some joined him and became believers. Among them were Dionysius, a member of the council, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

Although some people did respond, not enough responded to establish a permanent church in the city. Paul never wrote a letter to church of Athens. And Paul never wrote a letter to the church of Athens because there was no church in Athens to write to. As a seasoned evangelist, veteran missionary, and established church planter, Paul’s tenure in Athens was a failure.

But it is clear that Paul learned from his failure. If you compare his presentation in Athens to the ones that he would later give in Corinth and in other cities in subsequent years, it is clear that Paul figured out what caused his failure in Athens. What precipitated his failure in Athens was his failure to present the crucifixion of Jesus in all of its brutality and horror. But that would never happen again. Paul would later say that the message of the cross is foolishness to men, but it embodies the wisdom and power of God. In other words, it may not make sense, but it works. LOL. And if something works, you should stick with it. Paul did. And rest is history.

Paul’s impact is inseparable from this significant lesson that he learned deep in the trenches. He learned from failure. And so must we. Everyone fails. But not everyone will learns from their failures. Most people blame their failures on their environment, on their enemies, or on the Devil. And each, or some combination of those factors may have played a role. But even if so, what are the lessons that you have learned? A preacher once told me that youn have not fully benefited from your experience until you have gained the “lessons” and the “blessings” of each one.

So here’s my question today for you today: Have you learned from your failures?

To learn from any failure, Paul teaches us that we must practice the following three habits:

Admit what happened (Hard).
Ask why it happened (Harder).
Apply the results of the investigation (Hardest).

Everyone fails. But not everyone learns from their failures. I hope you will strive to be a part of that latter group. For as Rita Mae Brown reminded us, “to do the same thing expecting different results is the definition of insanity.”

Learning From Failure