“Do You Have B.O.?”

The Appomattox Court House Presbyterian Church Pulpit
The Lord’s Day, May 15, 2005
2 Corinthians 2:14-16
Rev. Cameron S. Smith

I want to tell you a family story from our Blacksburg days. I want you to know that I have received permission to tell this story from my wife! During Shannon's Vet school days, she loved to collect animal bones. She had a pretty impressive collection and she was always on the lookout for new bones to add to the collection. One day she was driving down the road and spotted a dead skunk. She pulled the car over and carefully placed the skunk in a couple of bags - being careful not to touch it -- and put it in the trunk of the car. On the way home, she decided to go by the video store and rent a movie. As she walked up to the counter to pay for the video, the clerk, out of the blue, said, "Boy, something sure smells bad!" Shannon also started to notice the smell. "Yeah, you're right; I wonder what it could be?" Finally, she realized in horror that she was the one who was causing the foul odor. Skunk! Trunk of car! Oh, dear! Let me tell you, it took at least a month to get that skunk smell out of our car! We tried everything, even tomato juice!

My wife walked into that video store not realizing that the way she smelled was going to affect so many people. But, that skunk story is a great illustration for the Christian life. You go about your daily business, most of the time not giving much thought, if any, to the way you interact with others; far, far less about how you behave publicly, (i.e. when driving around town; the way you talk to customer service representatives when you're registering a complaint, etc.). The words you use every day are so many that you can't keep track of them all: The jokes you tell, the irresistibility of a little gossip here and there. How about the way you do your job; what does it communicate about your character? For students, what's your reputation in school? Would it puzzle your colleagues, neighbors or classmates if they knew you attended church on a regular basis? What kind of "smell" are you giving off? Listen to our Scripture reading this morning from 2 Corinthians 2:14-16 [NASB].

The apostle Paul, writing to the congregation at Corinth launches into a doxological note during his discussion of his frustrations with this difficult church:

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?

Even though Paul is talking primarily about himself, you are included too: "Through us [comes] the sweet aroma of the knowledge of [God] in every place." You're life is to be "a fragrance of Christ to God." And so I ask, do you have body odor (B.O.)? Or, do you radiate the sweetness of Christ?

If I could put it mildly, the congregation at Corinth, quite frankly, had a bad case of B.O.! It was a church that was full of problems. Corinth at that time was comparable to New York City or L.A. in that it was very cosmopolitan - culturally, on the cutting edge. And it was this uncritical, cultural influence that was so evident in the life of this congregation. These Corinthians were a factious, quarreling bunch (1 Cor 1). They were bringing lawsuits against each other (1 Cor. 6); a son was sleeping with his father's wife and the congregation didn't seem to think anything was wrong with it (1 Cor. 5)! Instead of celebrating the Lord's Supper, they were showing up drunk, turning the love feast into a gluttonous affair. To make matters worse, the poorer members of the congregation were being excluded from the feast (1 Cor. 11). And speaking of the poor among them, these Corinthians had promised Paul that they would take up a collection for the poor saints in Jerusalem; but apparently had gotten off track with that project. And so Paul had to sternly admonish them to finish what they had started (2 Cor. 8). Worship services had degenerated into shows, with some getting up and showing off by speaking in tongues, and in addition, demonstrating that they knew very little of the nature of spiritual gifts! (1 Cor. 12-14). And then, to make matters worse, there arose some teachers who taught what Paul called a "different gospel," and again, the church couldn't even tell the difference between the true and the false (2 Cor. 11)! Is it any wonder that to be called a Corinthian at that time was an insult? (Kind of like calling someone a Wahoo!)

And so, with this wayward Corinthian congregation, Paul uses sacrificial language to describe our ongoing relationship with God. The expression, "sweet aroma" is right out of Leviticus! Remember? The various offerings were said to be a sweet aroma arising from the altar into the nostrils of God. They were pleasing to him, as you and I are to be!

To drive his point home, Paul mixes his metaphors. Along with the Levitical language, he brings in the imagery of the ancient Roman practice of the triumph parade. Here, the Roman army, returning from war victoriously, would parade through the city with their prisoners of war in tow. Sweet smelling incense was burned on a grand scale so that it filled the air to delight the senses. The climax of the spectacle was when the prisoners reached the center of the city, they were then executed. The sweet smell of incense was the smell of victory to some, while for the prisoners; it was the odor of death.

Paul calls himself a "prisoner of Christ" (cf. Eph. 3:1; Philemon. 1:1, 9). His experience is similar to the doomed prisoners in the triumph parade, except that he is "dying" every day as he preaches the gospel of life; the gospel of Christ. Paul is being used in a mighty way to display the glories of Christ in his life. Paul is a servant of Christ, being used in all circumstances. Later in the letter, Paul speaks of his journey in this "triumph" parade of life. In contrast to those who think he's cursed of God because of his extreme hardship, he says, "I speak as if insane-- I more so [a servant of Christ than my detractors]; in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death. Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches" (2 Cor 11:23-28).

And yet, through, in and by all of this, Paul's life is "a fragrance of Christ to God." God uses this frail, mortal man to impact and change the world! To those who hear and obey, it is "an aroma from life to life." To those who reject this message; it is the aroma that leads to death. Let me ask you, do you see your Christian calling through this lens of sacrifice and obedience modeled by both Jesus and Paul; indeed, the godly example of every man and woman of God recorded in the Scripture?

I think the Church has, by and large, lost this core message. Conservative Christians seem to think - and I recognize that I'm painting a picture in the most general terms -- that being a Christian is about what you can get from God. They turn the Bible into a simple cause and effect "owner's manual." It's primarily about what God can do for you! He's the "cosmic bell hop." If things are going well, you're blessed - but if things start to go wrong in your life - where are you God? Why are you doing this to me? Suffering and discipleship aren't mutually exclusive terms! Consider Paul's words to his protégé, Timothy: "Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity" (2 Tim 1:8-9).

On the liberal side of the equation, it isn't any better. Salvation exclusively in Christ seems to be an embarrassment. The sacrificial language of Scripture that finds fulfillment in one man, Jesus Christ, is edited out of the story because it's largely unpleasant and not conducive to "dialogue." They talk about good works, but rarely want to present their faith in Christ as if someone actually needed it to have a relationship with God. They don't want to offend followers of other religions. Paul's testimony to the Romans can't be brushed aside nonchalantly: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel [i.e. trust in the redeeming love of Christ], for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith" (Rom 1:16-17). And in the words of Jesus, "Blessed is he [or she] who does not take offense at Me" (Luke 7:23).

Here's the simple message and charge of the gospel: "God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God."

There's one final, important thing that I want to point out to you this morning. Speaking of this charge to be a sweet "fragrance of Christ to God", or in the language that I just read to you, "ambassadors for Christ" - the two being practically synonymous -- Paul adds this: "And who is adequate for these things?" The answer is nobody - apart from Christ! It is Christ in you and through you that works these things: In good times and bad times; in health and illness; in strength and infirmity; through liberty and in oppression. Christ makes you worthy so that your efforts are never in vain (1 Cor. 15:58).

And so, I ask you once again: Do you have B.O.? Or are you in Christ, a sweet, fragrant aroma of salvation penetrating the mundane; challenging the unbelief of life as we know it?