The scent of the Gospel: The Life and Death Fragrance of Christ

Text:  2 Corinthians 2:12-17

Main Idea:  God is spritzing the earth with the fragrance of Christ, and each of us are His dispensers.

When the Lord washed away our sins, He also placed within us the fragrance of Christ and He made each one of us a dispenser of that heavenly fragrance.

The triumphal procession consisted of the conquering general leading a processional of two types: the soldiers who fought for the general and the soldiers who fought against him.  We were His enemies (Romans 5:10), but we were captured by His grace, and we discovered that instead of being captured to be oppressed, we’ve been captured to be freed to experience His love and to be dispensers of it.

But there are some important things we need to understand about our roles as influencers and our text points them out to us:

I.  God always Leads

The Lord opened a door.  Paul didn’t go through it.  He didn’t have Titus.  So he left.  Confident that God’s planning ability was greater than Paul’s decision-making.  Don’t beat yourself up over what appear to be lost opportunities.

God wants to use me, but He can get it done without me.

II.  We are the fragrance of Christ

 Though it appears that our lives are simply a progression from one set of routines to another, behind the scenes of the everyday, God is executing a plan that transcends the ordinary.  He is building His kingdom by spreading the fragrance of Christ through us as we go about our daily activities and routines.

 We are a fragrance of Christ.  We don’t have to try to be a fragrance.

The fragrance of Christ is not what we do; it’s who we are.

As you and I continue to cultivate our relationship with Christ, abiding in Him, depending on Him and getting to know Him better, God will make Christ known through us in His timing, in His own infinitely creative way and in His measure.

Even if nobody ever says a word to you or asks a single question of you about Jesus, it doesn’t change the fact that if you belong to Christ, you are a fragrance of Christ.  And it’s up to God how He dispenses it.

You may never know until you get to heaven the influence of His fragrance through You.  But that’s not important.  He knows!

III.  It’s a Life and Death Fragrance.

It is a biblical fact that you smell like death to some people.  It’s not coming from your body.  It’s coming from the Spirit within you.

Don’t be surprised when others turn away from you because of the fragrance of Christ coming from you.

IV.  And who is equal to such a task?

Being couriers of the most important message in the world is an awesome thing to consider.  It’s not a matter of life or death; it is THE matter of life and death

The gospel is the power of God, who is adequate to handle it wisely and properly?

We are to feel the weight but allow the Lord to bear it.  He is the one making it happen.

V.  Contrast of profiteers versus sincere gospel-bearers

Neither financial profit nor to groom our ego.  Some preach the gospel from false motives. To impress others.  To boast about it.  To groom our egos.