Being Saved and Perishing

The Pressure of the World and the Need for a Christian Mind

If you'll turn with me, please, in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians, chapter 2, 2 Corinthians, chapter 2. I don't know about anyone else, but it seems to me that there is a difference between Wednesday nights and Sundays in that Saturday sort of functions as a buffer for me so that when I come here, I'm able to think a little bit more about spiritual things.

I'm not quite as distracted by the events in the world. But on Wednesday, well, it's been a regular day in the sense that I've been driving around and I have the radio on in my car, and no, I'm not listening to country music.

I honestly think you could listen to country music for about one week every ten years, and that would pretty much cover you for the next ten years because every country music song sounds like every other country music song.

Somebody lost their dog and their wife and their pickup truck, and it's just a different tune, but it's pretty much the same thing. And so, no, I that's generally a time I sort of keep up with what's going on in the world.

And, for example, today, yesterday, I saw something during lunch in the break room at the office, and then I saw I listened to something today. Both of them convinced me that conservatives in our land have no leg left to stand on when it comes to this marriage issue, because they, too, have abandoned any biblical worldview.

And I was thinking about that, and so I've got that running through my mind. I'm thinking about about what's going on and the impact that's going to have, you know, on my granddaughter and the next generations and things like that.

So I've got that going on, and then I've got the looniness with Iran going on and finding out that our administration is basically doing their bidding. And I come on a Wednesday night and all that stuff's going on for some reason on the Lord's day.

Saturday is sort of a buffer, and you know that if you want something to be ignored in Washington, you release it on Friday night. It's when you do the document dumps is what I've come to understand. And and because I don't know, I don't tend to listen to the radio much on Saturday.

And so maybe it's just it just helps. I I don't know. But as I have been thinking about things today, my mind keeps going back to trying to answer the question. As a Christian. As I I try to to discipline myself as I try to limit but not cut off the flow of information, because I'll be honest with you, we can be overwhelmed.

I mean, we can be absolutely overwhelmed if we don't have discipline in in the amount of information we're taking in, if we don't exercise some some some thinking to make sure we're getting the best, most balanced, but not so much that we're just we're just overwhelmed and our minds are constantly focused upon things.

And if we don't we're not doing that, we can just get blown away by that. And yet, as I want to be a Christian who knows what's going on in the world and with and with what I do, I I have to especially keep up with developments regarding Islam and and things like that, because I get asked a lot of questions on those issues.

The Apostolic Triumph and the Aroma of Christ

As I'm doing all of that, I want to. And I feel the necessity of responding in a way that is glorifying to God. And is appropriate for a person who names the name of Christ. And I think for all of us, that's something that that we want to be doing each and every day.

And yet there's a part of me and again, maybe I'm the only one in the room that experiences this, but there's a part of me that I listen to people speaking and and I I get frustrated. Because they are thinking in such a well, not only ungodly, but let's be honest, self-destructive fashion.

And it becomes a weary. It's a weariness to my thinking, to my to my to my spirituality, to it interrupts. Prayer and and things like that, and I don't want to do that, I want to think as a Christian, I want to have a self-conscious Christian worldview.

And yet I'm living in a land where, my goodness, how do we do that? And I was thinking about a text, we've looked at it before, but I want to look at it again. It sort of helps me to it reminds me of something that is important for us to understand and to keep in mind.

But I keep forgetting. And again, if I'm the one that forgets it, well, I'll just put up with with a few minutes of my talking to myself. But something tells him I'm probably not the only one, probably not the only one.

In Second Corinthians, chapter two, Paul is talking about the apostolic ministry, he's talking about the apostles, he's he's talking about the the sorrow that came to the church from his his first letter and and but it was godly sorrow, so on and so forth.

Then all of a sudden, verse 14, something triggers in his thinking this this section where. In talking about the apostles and their ministry. He speaks of what they are in this world, how God is using the apostles.

Notice what it says, beginning of verse 14, but thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ and manifest through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of him in every place. For we are a fragrance, 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, we are not like many peddling the word of God, but as from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God.

And so here for a moment, he speaks of the motivation and the the the nature of the apostolic ministry in rather lofty terms. And you might say, well, does that have to do with us? Well, we are not apostles of Jesus Christ in the way that Paul was.

But the reality was that the apostles were making known. As it says, verse 14 manifest through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of him in every place. And so they were making Christ known. And as we seek to follow in their footsteps, as we are faithful in the proclamation of God's word today, then we function in the same way.

And so I think there is a proper connection to recognize the role of the church in our day, in the same way that the apostles functioned in that day in their apostolic ministry. And so Paul gives thanks to God and he says, God always leads us in triumph in Christ and manifest through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of him in every place.

Now, what's the first thought that crosses your mind when you read that? What does it mean to be led in triumph? I think the first thought for most of us is that Christ is our heavenly leader and we are walking in his train as the the saints, as the as the followers of Christ, and we're being led and in triumph, right?

That's what most people think. But the reality is that the term that is used by Paul is a very specific term. It's used many, many, many times in secular Greek writings, and its equivalent is well known in Latin writing of the day.

And hence, it would have had an immediate meaning, would have triggered an immediate thought in the minds of readers similar, similar to my saying Super Bowl. Well, we all know Super Bowl is now, but you can imagine 2000 years from now, someone just tried to translate the English phrase Super Bowl.

Big Bowl has lots of things. No, that's that's not what it means. It has a meaning to us that doesn't necessarily attach to anything else. So back then, this is a technical term to refer to initially Roman generals, but eventually only the Roman Caesar, who would upon victory against one of Rome's enemies, there would be this procession at the beginning of the procession.

Were the defeated enemies and in some time, those defeated enemies, once they got to a certain place in Rome, a portion of them or all of them would be taken off into a prison and executed. But there would be cause to walk in front of the victorious general in chains or, you know, sometimes the kings or whoever dared to rebel against Rome and then would come the victorious armies and the triumphant king.

And so a lot of people point out that what you actually have here is Paul on the Damascus Road was defeated. He was taken captive. And now he is being led in this procession by the one who has triumphed over him and his rebellion, except the difference being he's there willingly and there's no prison to go into to get executed in either.

Thankfully, that may be what's there. It could be the other, but it seems like in all probability would have immediately suggested that what's going on here is that here come the captives, those who have been triumphed over by Christ, and they are manifesting through themselves the sweet aroma of the knowledge of him in every place, because just as those captives proclaimed the triumphant nature and the superior power of that general or that Caesar who had conquered them in the same way, the apostles are gloriously happy that they have been conquered by Christ.

And now they're manifesting through the apostles. Now they are manifesting through themselves the sweet aroma of the knowledge of him in every place. And by the way, one of the things of the company, these special triumphant parades was the burning of incense and flowers.

And you've got to realize the world back then didn't smell quite as nicely as it tends to in our day. No one had invented deodorant yet. And so it was a nice thing when you burned incense and did things like that.

And so there's another connection that is that is brought together. And that seems to continue on with saying, for we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved, among those who are perishing.

To the one and aroma from death to death, the other and aroma from life to life and who is adequate for these things. That's just here that we have this phraseology that Paul uses elsewhere. That's, I think, for me, anyways, is very helpful and let's put it this way, it's necessary for me to be reminded of the truth that is enunciated here.

We have two groups. And just as we have in first Corinthians, chapter one, it seems likely to me anyways, that at some point in Paul's Corinthian ministry, he had explained to them the reality that from the Christian worldview, from the viewpoint of the gospel, unlike the Jewish perspective where it's Jew and Gentile, now we need to look at the world as those who are being saved and those who are perishing.

I know there are some some folks who really don't like that terminology. Because the King James doesn't have it and they don't like this idea of being saved. No, we are saying, well, yeah, there is a sense of which that's true.

I mean, you look around as chapter eight, the golden chain of redemption, everything's in the past tense that that's true. We have been saved, but we are being saved. There is a present tense ongoing action of the work of the spirit of God in our lives.

And there is clear parallel in the original language between those who are being saved and those who are perishing. It is the it is the description of these two different groups, the exact same language of Paul used in first Corinthians, chapter one.

And he says, well, you know, you have those who are being saved, those who are perishing. And what what's the difference between the two? Well, whether it's Jew or Greek, whatever it is, it's the calling of God.

That's what makes the difference. Those are being saved, Christ, the power of God, those who are perishing, foolishness, stumbling block. And so the point is that that nature of being saved or perishing.

Determines how a person is going to hear the message of the cross and how the person is going to respond to the manifestation of the knowledge of Christ that comes through us. So we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.

Saved and Perishing: Two Human Categories

Now, this assumes that Christians cannot be silent. Christian. This assumes that Christians cannot be secret Christians, that there is going to be not only a public proclamation, but there is going to be such a a removal of us from the sphere of the control of this world that the rest of the world is going to notice there's something different about us, something different about us when we sin.

We hate our sin when we continuously battle against those temptations. Our love is for Christ, our love is not set upon evil and upon sin, and that's going to make the world go, there's something different, there's something different about you.

And so we are manifesting the knowledge of God and hence become a fragrance and how that fragrance is then interpreted and what it means. Depends upon the nature of the person who experiences it, so to the one and it's pretty obvious, and there's some commentators that disagree, but I think it's fairly obvious to the one that is those who are perishing.

An aroma from death to death to the other, an aroma from life to life, and so. We see this manifested in many, many ways, but it explains a lot of what we're seeing in our day. There is, I don't know how to describe, have you not seen what just strikes strikes you as madness?

Madness in the words and the thinking and behavior of people in our society, especially of late, when we're talking about simple matters upon which God has spoken with great clarity. I mean, there is a vitriolic hatred that in decades past clearly restrained.

But it seems like that hand of restraint has been greatly relaxed. I experience what the psalmist experienced when he talks about how he is inwardly in turmoil over over people who who ignore God's law and they trample it underfoot.

And and yet I need to remember that I should expect this, that I shouldn't be surprised, not to the point of apathy, not the point of stoicism. There's a balance here, but I should not be taken by surprise that when you manifest the knowledge of Christ, when you bring to bear the lordship of Christ and say God has spoken on these issues to those who are perishing, you are going to be the very stench of death that is not going to make them happy.

That is not going to draw them. That's not going to be appealing to them. And of course, these words are written by the apostle who talked in such terms as talking about how well, for example, the stone of stumbling needs to fall on someone and crush them.

That's a good thing. It needs to happen. I don't see any of the wooing and, you know, let's just look like the world and act like the world so we can get more worldly people in our midst doesn't seem to be anywhere.

When we truly make Christ known, we are the very stench of death. And what's also obvious in our day is there are a lot of people who call themselves Christians who are slapping on the deodorant as fast as they can and doing it by running for the hills from anything that would be offensive to a culture that has decided that it's perfectly OK to stand up and tell God to take a hike.

And it's happening right and left. The names are big. The denominations are big. This is what's happening all around us, and they don't want to be the stench of death. Well, the problem is you slap deodorant on your death stench.

You're no longer in a room of life to life to those who are being saved. Just as the gospel message is foolishness, it's a matter of stumbling to those who are perishing. That same message without alteration and change is the very power of God to those who are being saved.

You cannot remove the offensiveness of the gospel for the world without fundamentally altering the nature of the gospel itself. And so Paul recognizes that in their own apostolic ministry, there is an inevitable reality that if we understand.

If we understand that there are these categories, those who are being saved. Those who are perishing, the world is black and white to black and white. Well, obviously, there's all sorts of variations within those groups, but the groups stand.

They are firm. You're either a friend of God or an enemy of God. The world says, no, no, no, no, no. And in saying no, no, no, no, no. They are saying to Christ, no, no, no, no, no. That must be understood.

If we understand these two categories. Then as you listen to the world venting its hatred, its irrationality, you don't have to stand there with frustration and getting angry inside. You can recognize those who are perishing, stench of death.

They're acting according to their nature. And if God had not been merciful to me, I would be in the exact same position. Oh, I might not be. I might not be. Just because you're perishing doesn't turn you into an advocate of homosexual marriage or something.

But what is what has really struck me this week is listening to the alleged social conservatives. They don't have any foundation. Upon which deal with this because they are rebels against the Lordship of Jesus Christ as well.

They just manifest in a different way. It's a fascinating description. But what it tells us. Is that if we are faithful to manifest the knowledge of Jesus Christ, this is going to be the inevitable result.

Faithfulness, Offense, and the Adequacy of Christ

So we only have one choice to make. Are we going to be faithful or are we going to shut up? If we shut up, we're no longer being faithful. Now, you and I both know what our society is saying to us right now in every way it can is what?

Shut up. Slap on the deodorant. We don't want to smell you. God has called us to be light. And men may clench their eyes and they may curse the light and stay in the darkness. But that's what we've been called to do.

And I don't know about you. It just helps me to be reminded. Because Paul can say, who is adequate for these things? Serve a rhetorical question. Serve a rhetorical question. No one really is adequate for these things.

Only Christ can make only Christ made Paul adequate. Only Christ can make us adequate in our day. But thankfully, he is able to do so. He is able to do so. He does so by equipping us with his spirit, by giving us his word, and also giving us opportunity to, together, approach the throne of grace and pray together.