1. What stood out to me from this chapter?
Have you ever been around someone, or a group of people, and for better or for worse you detect that someone has put on a touch too much cologne or perfume? If you hang around with groups of middle school boys at camp, I guarantee at some point you'll get a whiff of a whole cabin group that decided to go crazy with AXE body spray. Although I don't appreciate the nature of AXE body spray advertising, the point is that a pleasing aroma will attract people and alert them to your presence. Paul is describing being a Christian in a similar fashion - not first of all that we should live to please people, but rather that we are first to God a pleasing aroma. Our lives should first of all be pleasing to God. When we live with integrity, compassion, authenticity, and love pouring out of us - coupled with the gospel message of Jesus - it is an attractive thing for others to want to be a part of it. The opposite would be saying that we believe in Jesus and the Bible, and then living a life that does not align with the standards God has set for life.
2. How does this relate to any other Scripture I know?
Paul talks about forgiveness for someone who has done wrong, or somehow caused distress in the church in verses 5-11. He says that whatever discipline or punishment was decided upon for that person, it is enough. The church should not keep pouring salt in a wound, so to speak. We are also called to forgive. Why? Because forgiveness is a necessary step toward reconciliation and restoration. If God just kept heaping guilt on us, we would never be able to stand before him or anyone. Rather he lets us feel the guilt of sin, then offers forgiveness through confession and repentance so that we can be restored and keep moving forward. Paul's language here reminds me of Jesus teaching in Matthew 6 in the Lord's Prayer and shortly after, about how our forgiveness for others should reflect God's forgiveness for us. He also tells the disciples in John 20:23, "If you forgive anyone's sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven." It sounds like what Paul is telling the church.
3. What does this mean for my life?
I help lead a Christian ministry where we invest in thousands of guests and hundreds of young adult leaders each year. As a leader of the staff, this passage helped me consider when is the time of punishment or discipline, and when is the time for forgiveness. I think if I feel like someone has really felt the weight of their mistake and is truly sorry, then it's time for forgiveness. If they are continuing in a pattern of wrong behavior or attitude, then there needs to be corrective action. The goal is not control, but growth.
4. What questions do I have about this passage?
In verses 16, Paul adds, "To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life." At first I wondered how Jesus could "smell" like life and death. But I think for some who are humbled and hungry for the love and forgiveness God has to offer through Christ, it is the hope and life they have been hoping for. For those who are hard-hearted and unwilling to repent, the gospel of Jesus is a message of condemnation and judgement, just like in John 3:16-18. Is this the right way to look at this verse?
Those are my thoughts for this chapter. I'd love to hear yours. God's blessings to you and KEEP DIGGING IN!
In Christ,
Dan
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