But thanks be to God, who always leads us in His triumph in Christ, and manifest through us the the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death; to the other an aroma from life to life.
2 Corinthians 2:14-16
How great an aroma to smell a roasting turkey this time of year? It is truly one of those great aromas in the likes of coffee brewing and bacon frying. It fills the nostrils with such a pleasing aroma.
Not so the aroma of our sin before the Holy God. It fills His nostrils with the stench of disobedience and law breaking. He can't stand to be around it and does and will eventually preclude it from reaching His eternal presence.
There is only ONE way to get rid of the stench of our sin: believing in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He took all the sin of all times into Himself and paid the price for its stench by being punished sacrifically for it on the cross.
Those who believe in this saving Gospel have their stench covered over by the beautiful aroma of Christ crucified for their sins. Those who refuse to believe this Gospel, have their sins' stench wreaking to the high heavens.
Thus, we thank God at all times and places for the Triumphal Procession which carries on in the preaching of His Gospel, a magnificent and fragrant aroma to those "being saved" but an aroma to death to those who "are perishing." We must say here further that any preaching which adds to or subtracts from the pure preaching of the Gospel stink it up to where it no longer removes the stench of sin, i.e. no longer saves. (see Galatians 1 on this)
This "scandal of particularity" of Jesus Christ being the ONLY pleasing aroma to forgive sins is offensive/scandalous to those who "are perishing" because it is Particular. But to those who are "being saved" it is the sweetest smell in all the world. And God agrees!
No comments:
Post a Comment