Marsha's Musings: Aroma of Christ; Peddling the Word of God

2Co 2:14 Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.
 15 For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.
 16 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?


The question here for me is this:  What kind of fragrance and aroma does my life give off to others?  Is it the sweet-smelling aroma of Christ in my life or is it the stink of the fleshly desires and worldliness?

2Co 2:17 For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ.


How do people peddle the Word of God?  Many try to "sell Jesus Christ" like a product.  They tell people He will fix everything that is wrong with their lives.  He will make everything work out better if they just come to Christ.  It sounds like a TV commercial for deodorant or something.

(Warning: What I am going to say in the next paragraph will offend some people.  Please bear with me, and read at least the very last paragraph before you make any comments.)

Others try to make their Sunday morning worship service seem more like a concert or pep rally, trying to whip people up into clapping, cheering and singing.  They have the pep band and the whole nine yards.  They spend the majority of the service in this and a minority of the service with a short little 15-20 minute devotional  designed to make coming to Jesus attractive so they will get more decisions and commitments. Their sign out front says, "Something for every member of the family!"  They work to plug everyone in doing something in the church to keep them busy and coming. But sadly, the teaching of the great doctrines of scripture go by the wayside, because doctrine causes division.    It's all about what makes man most comfortable and God is not the main focus in why they do what they do. And so the Word of God is peddled through man-centered seeker sensitive methods.

You might think I am writing the above from hear-say, but I am not.  I have been a part of at least three churches that went from a focus on God and the preaching of the Word to a man-centered focus on making their services "seeker friendly" this is exactly what I observed first-hand.

Now, lest someone take offence to what I have just said, let me make one thing clear.  I am not saying that every church that has a worship band/team and sings lots of music and has lots of areas of service for its members is doing things wrong.  There are many good churches that use this style of worship but they also have a good handle on balance and the focus remains on the preaching of the Word of God and the great doctrines of Scripture.  So please don't accuse me of making all churches that use this style of worship guilty by association.