Introduction

In the first letter to the church in Corinth, the apostle Paul had this to say, We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are distinguished, but we are dishonored! To the present hour we both hunger and thirst, and we are poorly clothed, and beaten, and homeless. And we labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure; being defamed, we entreat. We have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now. (1 Corinthians 4:10-13)

Looking at verses 12 and 13, Paul stated that they were reviled, persecuted, and defamed. He even went so far as to say that they were the filth of the world. People today see Christians in the exact same way; that when we speak, we tend to bring about an unpleasant odor to those who do not want to hear the truth of the gospel.

Sweet Smell or Foul Odor

In Paul’s second letter to the church in Corinth he writes, For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things? (2 Corinthians 2:15-16). Paul likens the gospel to the burning of incense in the temple. When you do the commandments of God (Jn. 14:15), it is a sweet-smelling aroma.

By the second letter, the congregation was still divided and primarily over Paul’s apostleship. There were some who didn’t recognize him as a true apostle but more as a “preacher for hire”. That’s why he didn’t take money from them to do the work but, rather, received from others. He used the phrase, “I robbed other churches…” (2 Cor. 11:8).

His words would be both a sweet-smelling aroma to those who believed the gospel, and a foul stench to those who rejected the message. It’s almost like a paradox that one message can create both results.

They prefer the Darkness

Jesus said, “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” (John 3:19) Those who don’t want to hear the truth prefer to live their lives in a worldly manner; the light of the gospel would shine on their wickedness and show people who they really are. Therefore, they can’t stand when someone quotes scripture to them as it has a foul stench to their ears.

That why Paul wrote, And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. (Ephesians 5:11) Those of the world prefer the darkness and, to them, the gospel is wrong. They know it’s the truth, but they don’t want to be told that. They’d rather wallow in their daily lives of unrighteous behavior than to have someone upset their “balance of normalcy”.

Conclusion

If you abide in Christ (Jn. 8:31-32), it is a pleasant odor to God and it should be a sweet-smelling aroma to you. However, if you reject His Word (Lk. 10:16) it will be a horrible stench to God and to you. Even rejecting one little part of the gospel can become a stench to you. Embrace all of God’s word!