2 Corinthians 2:15-16 - For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. [16] To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?

Here’s an Odd Question

How do you smell today? That’s a strange thing to ask someone. There are times when I smell rather pleasant, if I say so myself, like when I’m out on a date with my wife. There are other times when I’m quite sure I have smelled pretty awful to anyone within a country-mile of me, like after working in the yard all day or after a long walk on a hot and humid Florida morning.

But there is another smell that every true follower of Jesus Christ has. It is the aroma of Christ himself. Indeed, we are dressed in his garments and they give off his glorious fragrance. But sadly, this aroma doesn't smell the same to everyone.

The Fragrances of Life and Death

To those who “have put on” Christ, as well as those who are making their way to him to be fitted with his robe of righteousness, we are the “fragrance of life.” Only in Christ is there life – real life – for he is the author and sustainer of life and it is he who makes all things new. Those who have eyes to see, ears to hear, and noses to smell, know the difference between life and death, and they want life.

However, in the nostrils of others there is a rotten, filthy stench about us. To those who are perishing in their own pride, wisdom, and efforts, we smell like death, for our very odor bears testimony to the One whom they have rejected, the One from whom they have fled.

The fragrance of Christ smells repugnant to them. They have grown accustomed to the foul smell of death that comes from the fallen and sinful patterns of this world and have found that fragrance normal, even pleasant. Paradoxically, life smells like death to them, and vice versa.

Love for Our Neighbors

We could sit in judgment of them, looking down our noses at them. Or, we could have compassion on them for their self-inflicted predicament. We should, of course, remember how terrible Christ once smelled to us, even if we didn’t know it and never would have said so.

I think the beauty of our own scent ought to bring forth humility, gratitude, and service on our part, for our scent is not our own, but Christ’s. Once we remember this we will know there is no time for judgmental hearts or mere pity. Instead, love for our neighbors should move us to awaken those who are running from (or simply
oblivious to) the sweet smell of real life – life in Christ and his beautiful fragrance.

Walking Points

• Do you remember what you were like when you embraced the world’s “scent” and despised the fragrance of Christ and his followers?
• Humanly speaking, what first drew you to Christ?
• Who do you know today that rejects Christ? What reason do they give for doing so? What do you think their real reason may be?
• What are three things you can start doing to reach out to them, so they too can enjoy the real life found only in Christ?

Prayer

Merciful Redeemer, you sought me, found me, and moved me from death to life. You have clothed me in the righteousness of Christ so that I am adorned in his clothing and have new life in him. My fragrance is his. I can only boast in him. I once was lost but now am found. I once was only able to discern in him the scent of death. Now I know it was (and is) the aroma of real, abundant, and everlasting life. I pray, holy Father, that you would give me the same compassion for those who do not know you, as you have for them. The same compassion you have for me! Help me resist the temptation to judge them for their outright rejection of you, their rebellion against you, and even their willful ignorance. Let my life always be consistent with the aroma of life that comes from you. And enable me to speak words of life that help them desire to be clothed in your righteousness as well. In Christ I pray. Amen.
 
This Week’s Prayer Guide

[You can use this prayer guide in your own personal prayer time. However, I encourage you to use it with a group of Christian men. Each week you should spend time praising God for who he is, confessing your sin to him (be specific) as well as expressing gratitude to him for his gracious forgiveness. Also, don’t forget to thank God for the many ways he has poured out his goodness in your life. Then, focus on the following areas of supplication, which will change from week to week.]
 
Petitions – prayers for yourself

·         Lord, help me to faithfully participate in the life of my congregation and for the sake of my community…
Ø  By my prayers
Ø  By my presence
Ø  By my gifts
Ø  By my service
Ø  By my witness
·         Today’s events and interactions with others, planned and unplanned
·         Other needs

Intercession – prayers for others
​
·         My family
·         For those who serve in government, at the national, state, and local levels
·         For those who serve in law-enforcement
·         For those who serve in fire and rescue
·         For those who serve in our nation’s military
·         Other needs

Joshua 24:14-15 - “Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. [15] But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

James 4:4 - You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.

Choices, Choices, Choices

The road of life is filled with many choices:

·     Whom will I marry?
·     Where will I live?
·     What will I do for a living?
·     How will I raise my children?
·     Will I believe in God? And if I do, what will that look like?
·     What will be the standard of my moral conduct?

The questions above highlight just a few of the most important choices we must make. And, as the rock group, Rush, observed, “If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.”

If

In Joshua 24, we observe Joshua taking the children of Israel on an historical reconnaissance to remind them of who God was and what God had done for them in the past. Implicit in this was the covenant God made with Israel and how they could look forward to the future fulfillments of God’s promises… IF.

When God made a covenant with Israel, it included blessings and curses. Obedience, faithfulness, and loyalty would be rewarded with divine blessing beyond their wildest imaginations. Disobedience, unfaithfulness, and treason, on the other hand, would result in God’s curses. It seems like a no-brainer as to which should be preferred.

And so, after laying out the history of God’s love for his people, Joshua presented them with a choice. He told them to serve God only and to throw away the idols of their past. Whom would they serve – the gods of their ancestors or the living God? Joshua answered as the covenant head of his home by declaring publicly, “…as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Gods of this Age or God of the Ages?

It is interesting, and quite telling, how this theme of choosing between the Living God and the gods of the age – between covenant-faithfulness and spiritual adultery – is repeated regularly throughout God’s Word. The fact is, we will all bow before something or someone, simply by the living of our lives. We are hardwired to worship. Who or what will be the object of our worship is the choice ever before us.

James put the choice before us with crystal clarity. He said friendship with the world is hatred toward God. What exactly did he mean here? By “friendship with the world,” he wasn’t talking about loving people and ministering to them. Instead, he had in mind what Paul meant in Romans 12:2 – love for and conformity to the sinful, fallen, and disobedient patterns of this world, the kingdom or domain of darkness, as Paul put in Colossians 1:13.

James followed by saying, “anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.” James was essentially putting before God’s covenant people in the New Testament the same choice Joshua put before God’s covenant people in the Old Testament: Who would they bow their knees to: the gods beyond the River, the gods of the Amorites, the state, secular worldviews, modern American materialism, Hugh Hefner’s Playboy hedonism, the entertainment industry, sports, status, or even good things like work and family?

James called people who bow to any of those things, “adulterous.” They have left their first love to cozy up to the gods of the Amorites and Egyptians.

People in our day still cry out for their free will, rights, and autonomy. And God gives them that option, but not with impunity. There are consequences to foolish choices. People may choose Baal, Molech, Ra, or the gods of this age, if they so choose. They can exercise their moral choice to their heart’s delight. They can revel in their “free will.” But the wrath of God will be leveled against all unrighteousness and ungodliness (Romans 1:18). 

But There’s Grace

Because of God’s grace, however, we learn God continually calls his children back to covenant faithfulness. He lovingly commands us to throw away the gods of our past and to love, obey, worship, and serve him instead. Each and every day that we are granted another day to live, we are given an opportunity for repentance and covenant faithfulness.

So brothers, choose this day whom you and your household will serve. There’s only one right answer.

Walking Points

• No Christian sets out to be idolatrous. How, then, do you think idolatry among God’s people happens?
• What are the “gods of this age” that compete for your allegiance the most?
• What are some ways you have found helpful in remaining faithful to the God of the ages?
• What counsel would you give a Christian brother to help him turn from his idol and back toward the Lord?

​Prayer
 
God of the ages, I praise you for your covenant faithfulness. In your grace you chose and redeemed me. You lavish me with your goodness each and every day. You bless me in ways I am often not even aware of. When I think about such things I am instantly reminded of how undeserving I am… and how gracious you are. Thank you. Forgive me Lord for those times when I cling to other gods, which are no gods at all. Deliver me from those idols I have crafted in my own image which will not help me because they cannot help me. Restore to me a deep desire to choose you each day and then live the rest of the day in light of that choice. By the power of your Spirit, may my life constantly glorify you and draw others to you. In Christ I pray. Amen.
 
This Week’s Prayer Guide
 
[You can use this prayer guide in your own personal prayer time. However, I encourage you to use it with a group of Christian men. Each week you should spend time praising God for who he is, confessing your sin to him (be specific) as well as expressing gratitude to him for his gracious forgiveness. Also, don’t forget to thank God for the many ways he has poured out his goodness in your life. Then, focus on the following areas of supplication, which will change from week to week.]
 
Petitions – prayers for yourself
 
·         Give me greater love for those who are hard to love.
·         Help me to be compassionate and kind to those in need, even when it’s inconvenient.
·         Pour out upon me your courage and boldness to love those who do not know you and to share with them your Gospel, in word and deed.
·         Today’s events and interactions with others, planned and unplanned
·         Other needs
 
Intercession – prayers for others
 
·         My family
·         My family and friends who do not have a saving relationship with Christ
·         For those in my other spheres of influence who do not know Christ
·         For evangelists around our city, country, and world who risk much in sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with those who are lost
·         Other needs

1 John 4:1-6 - Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. [2] This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, [3] but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

    [4] You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. [5] They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. [6] We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.

But It Tastes So Good

We in the church are often a gullible people who far too easily believe someone because they give a heartfelt and moving testimony. Or, sometimes, we clamor after a person because he or she is a celebrity. Our day is not marked by a thorough vetting of content regarding what a person actually believes. This accounts for much of our cotton candy Christian culture. It doesn’t take much for it to dissolve into nothing.

We are, therefore, malnourished. This is lamentable, especially when we consider the rich legacy of Christian depth and commitment of bygone ages. We are contented to build our Christian lives and churches on the sand of easy-believism. But cotton candy and sand make for poor foundations and they will not, because they cannot, provide strength and safety for the storms of life.

Thus, John directs us to test the spirits to see whether or not they are from God – because not all are. Some of us entertain false prophets unawares.  In verse five of 1 John 4, John says these false spirits or false prophets are from the world and therefore, speak from the viewpoint of the world.

And So the Question Is…

Why then does the church often try to look just like the world? Sadly, the church can even be worldlier than the world. I’m reminded of a comment actor, Macauley Caulkin made during an interview about his movie, “Saved.” He said he went to a few Christian concerts to check out what the Christian culture was like and discovered precious little difference between the Christian concerts he attended and those of the world. Sure, there were some differences in the lyrics, but is that the sum and substance of Christian culture?

Give Us Results

The church naturally wants to reach people for Christ. I am not against numerical growth by any means, but it can be a poor standard for biblical fidelity. Sure, some churches are growing rapidly. But how are they growing? And what are they growing? What are they producing? The apostle John states that the world listens to those who speak from the viewpoint of the world. What else would we expect? When the standards of the church focus almost exclusively on what is deemed relevant at the moment, couched in worldly trappings, and communicated in sermonic easy listening, then of course the world is going to respond favorably, even approvingly. But in a climate where truth is, de facto, offensive, worship services and sermons that are centered around God’s Word will be thought of as boring and irrelevant at best and intolerant, puritanical, and mean-spirited at worst.

Let us be as discerning as we can about who likes us and who does not. We must think about who it is that thinks we’re cool and why. For if we, as individual Christians or local churches, are very well thought of by the world around us, we may want to ask why. It might be for legitimate, God-glorifying reasons. But it could it be because we think, speak, and live too much like the world?

Walking Points

·         What are two or three reasons some Christians are timid about standing up for their faith in public?
·         What are some ways local churches compromise with the world?
·         Name three ways Christians and local churches can connect with folks they’re reaching out to with integrity (i.e., without watering down the truth of the Gospel)?
·         What are some ways you can stand for truth without coming across as a “jerk for Jesus”? Discuss your thoughts with a Christian friend and pray together for revival in your local church.

Prayer

Loving Father, I thank you for who you are and for my redemption wrought through the person and work of my Lord, Jesus Christ. Please forgive me when I have been ashamed of him before others. Forgive me when I’ve been embarrassed to confess his name before a watching world. Forgive me when I have watered down his message of truth so that others would think well of me. I need the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ himself, dwelling in me and flowing through me. For I cannot and will not be faithful to you and to your Christ without the Spirit’s strength and discernment. I am too easily distracted by the false spirits this world has to offer. But your grace is more than enough to keep me close to you. And so I pray, O God, give me grace, grace, and more grace. For I am in need. In Christ I pray. Amen.

This Week’s Prayer Guide

[You can use this prayer guide in your own personal prayer time. However, I encourage you to use it with a group of Christian men. Each week you should spend time praising God for who he is, confessing your sin to him (be specific) as well as expressing gratitude to him for his gracious forgiveness. Also, don’t forget to thank God for the many ways he has poured out his goodness in your life. Then, focus on the following areas of supplication, which will change from week to week.]

Petitions – prayers for yourself

·         Give me greater knowledge, depth of insight, and understanding of God’s Word.
·         Remind me daily of who I am in Christ. Let me be defined by who God says I am, not the world around me.
·         Guide me into greater understanding and faithfulness of God’s call in my life.
·         This week’s events and interactions with others, planned and unplanned
·         Other needs

Intercession – prayers for others
​
·         My family
·         My pastor(s), church staff, and missionaries
·         Those struggling with anger, anxiety, or the overwhelming desire to please people at all costs
·         Other needs