Christ-followers are a Special Fragrance of Death

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 2:14b-16

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us 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. And who is adequate for these things?

Insights: The second unique attribute of Christ-followers is that we are special.  We are special in two ways.  The second way we are special is that we are a special fragrance of death to those who are perishing.  I understand why a lost world does not always want to be around Christ-followers.  The reason is we are an aroma of death to them.  Everything they do and say is, at the end of the day, in contradiction to what we believe.  We believe, and know by faith, that Jesus Christ is the ONLY way to the heaven.  We believe that if anyone does not receive the gift of eternal life found in Jesus, they will spend eternity in the Lake of Fire.  We believe, because of the life transforming power of God, that there are activities and lifestyles in which we ought not to participate.  As a result, we are a reminder, whether the lost world is willing to acknowledge it or not, that they will one day spend eternity separated from the love of God in a place of torment.  If you were lost and you had to be around people with such rigid beliefs, would you want to hang around them?  The answer is an obvious, no.  We are a constant reminder as to what a life apart from the Lord will ultimately be like.  Now, here is our side of the equation.  Even in the midst of such reminders, we need to be a source of hope to those who are perishing.  We need to constantly remind them there is life in Christ.  If they repent and come to the Lord, then our fragrance will change to them and we will be a fragrance of life.  Their noses can be transformed.

Questions:

1.  Do your lost friends not understand the way you live your life?

2.  Is there a visible difference as to the way you live your life and the way your lost friends live theirs?

Prayer: Father, may my life reflect Your glory and grace.  May the lost world recognize the difference of life as compared to theirs.  May it, coupled with my words of grace, lead them to You.  Amen.