Sermon Tone Analysis

We Are The Aroma Of Christ

II Corinthians 2:14-17

 

Introduction

     I have attended a number of different churches over the summer and have noticed that a lot of preachers are not wearing a tie these days and so as I was preparing to come here, I was wondering if I should leave my tie at home.

Then I remembered that your pastor even wears ties to picnics and I realized that my suit and tie would be in order.

+ or some other ice breaker comment + It is a privilege to share the Word of God with you this morning.

We recently completed our ministry in Manitou and moved out of the house we lived in for the past 12 years.

I miss the yard because of all the beautiful trees and bushes.

In spring when the lilacs were in bloom, I was drawn to the lilac bush in our yard.

I would go out almost every day just to smell the flowers.

I am attracted to the smell of beautiful flowers.

My mother lived in Arizona for a number of years and during spring break one year, we as a family went to visit her.

It was the season of orange blossoms and we were walking at night in the golf course which was close to her place.

Every once in a while, we could smell the blossoms on the orange trees.

They also have a beautiful smell which draws you.

Beautiful smells attract us and give us a pleasant experience.

II Corinthians 2:14-16 says, “read.”

September is a time of beginnings as school starts and church programs begin.

My intention this morning is to challenge you at this time of year to make a new commitment to be the aroma of Christ – in school, at work, in relationships in the community and through the ministry of the church.

I.The Fragrance Of Christ In The World

     The world in which the New Testament was written was a world dominated by the Roman empire.

The armies of Rome had conquered all of the world in which Christianity had its birth.

When Roman armies conquered a nation, it was their custom to take some of the people who had been captured and lead them through the city in procession.

The purpose of this was to display to the public that Rome was now in power and these captured people were subject to Rome.

They were displayed as the trophies of victory.

This is the picture which is behind the phrase, “God...always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ.”

God took us captive when we yielded to Him by faith in Jesus.

We could say that He parades us around in the world as the trophies of His victory.

We are the evidence of the power of God which is able to take a person and redeem them from the grip of sin and death and free them to be a person who belongs to God.

In this world, we are the evidence, the display of the redeeming, grace giving power of God.

One writer puts it this way, “from justification to glorification the redeemed sinner is on exhibition as a trophy of divine grace.”

God has left us in the world to show the world His gracious and amazing handiwork.

Some have suggested that in these Roman triumphal processions it was customary to release sweet odours from burning spices in the streets.

It is possible that this is the reason for the introduction of the language of scent.

Several times in this passage, Paul uses this language to convey a similar idea.

We read in vs. 14, “through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him.” Again in verse 15 we read, “we are to God the aroma of Christ.”

And the imagery appears again in verse 16.

The context of this paragraph is Paul’s discussion in 2:12-13 of the different directions which his ministry had taken recently.

He speaks of going to Troas to preach the gospel.

There was an open door there, but he went on to Macedonia because Titus wasn’t in Troas.

But it didn’t matter where he was, whether in Troas, or Macedonia, God displayed him as a sweet fragrance of the power of the gospel.

God’s grace was powerfully evident in Paul who had been taken from being a persecutor to being a faithful witness.

Everywhere he went God demonstrated His power and love through Paul.

Have you ever thought about this?

Wherever we are, whether in Elm Creek or Winnipeg, at school or work, God has left us in the world to demonstrate the gospel to the world.

Like a beautiful scent, we, by our lives and our words, spread the knowledge of the power of God for salvation to everyone we meet in every place we go.

This is not a command, but a reflection of truth.

We have not changed ourselves or redeemed ourselves, but God has done all of this and we are the evidence of what He has done wherever we go and the witness of what He has done in the world.

What are the implications of that for us?

II.The Fragrance of Life~/The Smell of Death

     The scent of flowers and the scent of perfume is intended to be attractive and to draw us.

For many people, that is exactly what it does do, but there are some people who are allergic to this scent.

It causes them to have allergic reactions like sneezing, stuffy noses or headaches.

To them, it is not the pleasant experience it is intended to be.

As we go around in this world being the aroma of Christ, it does not invoke the same reaction in everyone.

We consider the knowledge of the gospel to be lifegiving and a word of peace and hope.

For some people it is and they are attracted to the scent of Jesus and are saved, but for many it is quite the opposite.

This is what the text says in verses 15, 16.

“read”

     That has an impact on us whether we want to admit it or not.

Because we know that some people will hate what we represent and hate what we say about the gospel, we sometimes become shy about speaking about and representing Jesus.

We want to hide the aroma of Christ.

Because I know people who are allergic to the scents in perfume and after shave, I have stopped using after shave and just use rubbing alcohol after I shav.

I don’t want to be a cause of someone having a headache on Sunday morning because of my aftershave.

When it comes to the gospel, we can’t do that.

We can’t back off from being the aroma of Christ just because people are offended by the gospel; just because, as Paul says, it is the aroma of death to them.

Yet sometimes we do that in our lifestyle.

A few weeks ago, I was in Illinois with a friend and we toured an area where there are Amish people.

You can recognize who they are by their outward appearance.

It is hard to recognize us as Christians by our outward appearance because we look like everyone else.

I do not advocate that we try to look different outwardly, and yet in our lifestyle and our values, people should be able to smell the aroma of Christ on us.

We must not hide the aroma of Christ.

Every aspect of our lifestyle – our values, our deeds and our attitudes must clearly smell like Jesus Christ.

No matter how people treat us because we belong to Christ, I want to challenge us to be open and to allow the fragrance of Christ to eminate from us at all times in our lifestyle.

Sometimes, we hide the aroma of Christ by failing to speak about Jesus because we don’t want to get people angry or offend them by the words of the gospel.

I know that I have had this fear many times.

Even recently when community people in Manitou asked me why we were leaving, I sometimes failed to tell the truth that we believe, after prayer and consultation, that God lead us in this direction and instead I simply said, we think it is time.

We can’t do this, we must allow the fragrance of Christ to eminate from us by the words of witness we speak with beautiful words that proclaim the power and grace of what God has done for His people.

As God’s people, you are the fragrance of Christ in this community.

You have a tremendous opportunity.

You are known as believers, you are the aroma of Christ.

I want to challenge you not to hide that aroma, but to allow it to emanate from you as the beautiful scent of the life giving gospel.

I want to encourage and even urge you to not allow the fact that people may reject the gospel to hinder you from proclaiming Jesus.

Let people smell Jesus on you!

 

III.Who Is Equal To Such A Task?

     As we read on, we read a very relevant and challenging question when Paul asks, “who is equal to such a task?”

     God called us to a high and holy when He called us to be the aroma of Christ in the world.

Do you and I always give off the pleasing aroma of Christ?

A.Sometimes We Stink!

Not every odor is a pleasant one.

This is the season of dead skunks in the middle of the road.

I must admit that I am not attracted to that smell.

Nor am I attracted to the smell of someone cleaning out a pig barn, even though pig farmers claim it smells like money, frankly, it stinks.

As Christians, who are the aroma of Christ, we don’t always smell beautiful, frankly, sometimes we stink.

Paul accuses the Jews in Romans 2:24, “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”

It is sad that sometimes the name of Jesus is blasphemed because Christians stink.

We stink when we lack integrity in our business dealings in the community.

My brother works in accounts receivable for a construction related business.

He tells me that many businesses make it a practice not to pay a bill until he phones and asks for it to be paid.

This, of course doesn’t happen until it is past due.