The Fragrance of Christ

Bottom line

May your fragrance overpower that of the world

Opening Line

Have you ever noticed how powerful a smell can be?

Introduction

The right smell can create a welcoming atmosphere, where the wrong smell can really disrupt the feeling of a place, or the moment between two people.

I remember when Michelle and I were first dating. Once it become serious and official, the one thing I learned was that I was always going to be down a bunny hug. Yes, that’s right, bunny hug, not a hoody.

Why was I always down a bunny hug? Because Michelle would steal one, usually the one I was wearing when I came to visit. She said it was because it had my smell on it and she liked wearing the big baggy bunny hugs when she was at home. Inevitablly what would happen is the smell would wear off and then she would have to trade it for the next one that had my smell on it.

To all the single guys in the room and online, I want you to hear what I just said. The lesson for you is that you need to shower regularly so that when you find that special girl, she likes what she’s smelling, and it isn’t driving her away. If she steals your bunny hug, you’re doing something right. If she doesn’t want it, take a shower.

OH, and stay away from Axe, don’t buy into all the hype. That’s not from God, that’s just my own personal opinion.

Main Point

The reason I start there is because smell or fragrance is going to be major analogy that Paul is going to use in today’s passage, and I’m going to use it for the duration of the message. If smell has just a powerful effect on us in the physical world, why would we think it would be any different in the spiritual world.

Why it matters

Except in the spiritual sense, we would replace the word smell with influence. Each and every one of us has more influence in the world then we realize. Even the most introverted person in the world will still have an impact on multiple people in their life. So what kind of an influence are you having? What is the fragrance of your life?

Scripture

So with that, let’s dive into 2 Corinthians 2 this morning. We left off last week on verse 4, talking about the tearful letter Paul wrote after the painful visit.

2 Corinthians 2:5–11 NLT

I am not overstating it when I say that the man who caused all the trouble hurt all of you more than he hurt me. Most of you opposed him, and that was punishment enough. Now, however, it is time to forgive and comfort him. Otherwise he may be overcome by discouragement. So I urge you now to reaffirm your love for him. I wrote to you as I did to test you and see if you would fully comply with my instructions. When you forgive this man, I forgive him, too. And when I forgive whatever needs to be forgiven, I do so with Christ’s authority for your benefit, so that Satan will not outsmart us. For we are familiar with his evil schemes.

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So remember that between 1 and 2 Corinthians there was a painful visit that Paul had with the church. The source of the pain in the visit was a person who had tried the stir up the church against Paul. Paul acknowledges that despite his best efforts, most of the church opposed him. It is safe to say that he had been removed from their gathering. But now Paul is encouraging them to forgive the man and bring him back to be comforted. Now that seems counterintuitive in many ways. If he was a trouble maker before, what’s to say he won’t be again?

But Paul is trying to encourage the church to have a fragrance of forgiveness. Just as Christ forgave each of them of their rebellion, they should also be willing to forgive this individual of his rebellion.

But the reason Paul gives for being forgiving actually has a bigger implication; forgiveness is actually a tool to combat the schemes of Satan.

What schemes is Paul talking about? Well one of the schemes of Satan is to get you to give into sinful temptation. But the follow up scheme is to make you feel guilty of giving in, or to use Paul’s words, to make you feel discouraged or disqualified. The third scheme is to create division of the church. There would no doubt be those who wanted to forgive, and those who didn’t, thus division would emerge.

As uncomfortable as it may be to say, OneChurch has a little experience in this department. In our history, we have a story very similar to the one Paul is alluding to. Someone did something wrong, which impacts some in the church, not all, and there was mixed feelings about how to handle it. The result is that even today, there is still division within the church. There are some people who will not walk through those doors because of what has happened in the past. Which was part of the reason I kind of liked the idea of changing buildings and having different doors.

But what is Paul’s solution to this? Forgive and comfort. It is the reason that the By-Laws of OneChurch, as given to us by the PAOC, have redemption as part of our discipline process. Discipline in the church is not meant to end in giving someone the boot. It is meant to end in the forgiveness and restoration of the person. Some of you need to hear what I am saying. You have given the devil a foothold in your life because you still haven’t forgiven. You have instead decided to hold on to offense and bitterness, and you can’t understand why your walk with God isn’t progressing. You want to combat Satan’s schemes? It starts with forgiveness.

2 Corinthians 2:14–16 NLT

But thank God! He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ’s triumphal procession. Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume. Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this?

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So I need to set a little context here. In the days of the Roman empire, when a general had conquered a city in the name of Rome, he would bring back some of the men and women as a show of strength. He and his soldiers would parade through Rome in victory, with the captives in tow behind. All along the street where the parade was happening, incense would be burning. For the soldiers, the incense was the sweet smell of victory that lined the path of their celebration. For the captives, it was the devastating smell of defeat and their impending doom. What was waiting for them at the end of the procession was the arena, where they would have to fight for their lives against wild beasts.

Same smell, very different response created in the hearts and minds of each group.

Paul is saying that you, as a believer in Christ, will have the same effect on the people around you. When you enter into a room with fellow believers, there is a fragrance of unity, love, and a shared victory over sin in each of your lives. When you enter a room of unbelievers, there is sense of guilt or shame because your very presense makes the sin in them uncomfortable.

I will say that I have this experience often when I hang out with people. As soon as it becomes knowledge that I am a pastor, the whole atmosphere in the room changes, because my role brings with it a sense of the almighty.

The problem is that it is not just the unbelievers who change when I’m around. Even though it happens a lot, I am often disheartened when someone who claims to be a follower of Jesus has to act different because the pastor or a good believer is around. They ‘clean up their act’ if you will. According to this passage, I would say that is evidence of someone who is perishing, not someone who is saved.

What is the justification that is given for the fallen lifestyle in a believer? “Well I’m around it all day long, it is eventually going to rub off on me.” Do you know who else you are around all day long? Jesus! There is no where you can go that he is not there with you. Not only that, he has placed his Holy Spirit within you so that you have the power to be a greater influence on those around you then they are on you. Greater is he that is in you then he that is of the world. Jesus died, ascended to heaven, and sent the Holy Spirit to become your seal so that you would be the fragrance of Christ in the world! You can’t tell me that the fragrance of Christ isn’t stronger than the fragrance of the world. The only way that is the case is if you allow it. To those who are perishing, the believer is a smell of death and doom because that is what is awaiting them. To those who are saved, a believer is a life giving perfume. Based on that test alone, which one are you?

2 Corinthians 2:17 NLT

You see, we are not like the many hucksters who preach for personal profit. We preach the word of God with sincerity and with Christ’s authority, knowing that God is watching us.

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I love the fact that the translators decided to throw the word hucksters into scripture. Kind of like in the CSB how they used the word riffraff in the Old Testament. Its just great.

What is Paul’s point? A huckster is a snake oil dealer. A huckster was the inn keeper who watered down the wine to make an extra buck off his guests. The huckster is the salesman who sells you a knockoff tablet, claiming its just as good as an iPad. Paul is saying the same thing about the preacher who waters down the gospel for the sake of the pay check. The pastor who preaches what everyone wants to hear to keep butts in the seat instead of preaching the word of God as it is meant to be.

Like Paul, I commit to you that I will try to keep my messages easy to understand, but never watered down. I know I will give an account to God one day, and that he is watching my prep and delivery. I do this because God has called me to it, and I honor him with the message, trusting that the Spirit of God will do a good work in each of you if I am faithful with my part.

2 Corinthians 3:1–6 NLT

Are we beginning to praise ourselves again? Are we like others, who need to bring you letters of recommendation, or who ask you to write such letters on their behalf? Surely not! The only letter of recommendation we need is you yourselves. Your lives are a letter written in our hearts; everyone can read it and recognize our good work among you. Clearly, you are a letter from Christ showing the result of our ministry among you. This “letter” is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts. We are confident of all this because of our great trust in God through Christ. It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God. He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant. This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit. The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life.

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Paul tells the church if anyone questions his ability or calling as a leader in the church, he shows them the work he has done in the lives of the Corinthians. He doesn’t need someone writing a puff letter on his behalf, he lets his work do the talking.

He also acknowledges that he is able to minister to the church as well as he has because God has qualified him to serve, and he has enabled him to minister.

Which brings me back to influence you have over others. On your own, it is impossible to influence the people in your life. But you aren’t called to do it in your own power. You are called to serve, to influence the culture around you because the Spirit of God has enabled you to do what is impossible on your own. I said it to my leadership group on Wednesday; God doesn’t call the qualified, he qualifies the called. This verse is exactly where that comes from. You are capable of amazing things for the kingdom of God because God has called you, he has qualified you, and he enables you to do amazing things by his power.

Transition to Application

So what kind of fragrances are you supposed to let off because of the faith that you have? You are to have a fragrance of forgiveness, the fragrance of authenticity, the fragrance of calling to do great things. To the believer, you will have the fragrance of life and victory over sin, and to the one who is perishing in their sin, you will have the fragrance of death.

The sum it up quick, you are to have the fragrance of Christ. But how do we have the fragrance of Christ in our life?

Main To Do

Remember how Michelle would steal my bunny hugs because they had my smell on them. They had my smell because I wore them. It rubbed off on them.

In order to have the fragrance of Christ in your life, you actually have to spend enough time with Jesus in order for him to rub off on you. The same way you can tell when someone has stood around a fire for 10 minutes or an hour. The fragrance is very different.

So how much time do you spend with Jesus each day? I would encourage you, as best you can, to start your day in God’s word and prayer. But this week I would also encourage you to up your average. If you spend 15 minutes a day, up it to 30 minutes. If you’re at 30 minutes, try to up it to an hour. If you don’t know how much time you should be spending, ask God what he thinks.

Why it matters

Here is some food for thought. How much time do you spend each day eating actual food? Why would you spend less time than that feeding your spirit with God’s presence? Maybe the reason you are being influenced by others more than you influence them is because you are starving your spirit. In order to influence others towards God, you need to be influenced by God more than anything else in your life.

Closing Line

Make every effort to increase the fragrance of Christ in your life.

Discussion Questions

What stood out from the message?

How does the analogy of smell help you understand your influence on others?

What practical steps can you take this week to increase your time spent with Jesus?

How can being aware of your 'fragrance' change your interactions in daily life?

In what ways can you ensure that your fragrance as a Christian is one of positivity and forgiveness?

Reflect on a time when you struggled with forgiveness; how can you apply Paul's message to that situation?