2 Corinthians 2 - What Kind of Gospel Did You Accept? Was It Watered Down?

2 Corinthians 2 - NIV

Enduring Word Commentary

14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. 15 For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 16 To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task? 17 Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God.

Paul uses the metaphor of a triumphal procession, which would have been a visual that was vivid for the Corinthians. It is the picture of a Roman general coming home after a victory in war. 

“In a Triumph the procession of the victorious general marched through the streets of Rome to the Capitol… First came the state officials and the senate. Then came the trumpeters. Then were carried the spoils taken from the conquered land… Then came the pictures of the conquered land and models of conquered citadels and ships. There followed the white bull for sacrifice which would be made. Then there walked the captive princes, leaders and generals in chains, shortly to be flung into prison and in all probability almost immediately to be executed. Then came the lictors bearing their rods, followed by the musicians with their lyres; then the priests swinging their censers with the sweet-smelling incense burning in them. After that came the general himself… finally came the army wearing all their decorations and shouting Io triumphe! Their cry of triumph. As the procession moved through the streets, all decorated and garlanded, amid the cheering crowds, it made a tremendous day which might happen only once in a lifetime.” (Barclay)

Good teachers, like Paul, always use metaphors and analogies to get the message across in a way people can understand and apply to their lives. When good teacher teaches, those who listen should come to a new understanding of something they didn't know, and how they might use it in their lives. I love the motto, "Communication is the result you get!" Meaning if no one gets the message you are trying to get across, you are not communicating very well. 

Though I love it when people come out of church and say, "Great sermon pastor", I appreciate it even more when they tell me something they learned from the message, and how it might apply to their lives. Even Paul said in 1 Corinthians 8:1, "Knowledge puffs up but love builds up!"

Another metaphor Paul uses is aroma, which rises up as incense. Smell is one of the senses we don't use very much in the church. But when we smell something good, we want to savor it, and it stays with us. And we all know the opposite is true as well. It is a good metaphor if you look at your Christian life!

 

What kind of aroma do you give off? Is it a sweet smell that might draw people to closer to Christ, or the opposite? 

Incense was used in the temple not only because of its smell, but you could see the smoke rising up as, "and offering to the Lord". Some people think "incense" is a little weird, or even "new age". But its use goes all the way back to Jesus' day. Paul uses it as a metaphor to give the image of Christians in a processiion following Jesus their leader with a sweet aroma coming forth from them for the world to see and smell.

So what do you smell like? LOL!

Finally, Paul compares his sincere preaching of the gospel to those who "peddle the word for a profit". The original meaning for the word for "peddling" is interesting. 

The word peddling has the idea of “adulterating” or “watering down” for gain, and was especially used of a wine seller who watered down the wine for bigger profits. Paul was not like others who watered down the gospel for gain.

Sometimes the church waters the gospel down to get more people to join the church. What do I mean by watering down the gospel? Although the gospel is all about grace for sure, we must also talk about sin. We also need to talk about the cross. Sometimes we make the gospel very propositional in an effort to win converts. I.e. "All you have to do is accept Jesus as Your Savior to go to heaven!"

In some sense this is of course true, but yet it is not the entire gospel. For instance there is "repentance", or "turning from what you know is wrong" as you choose to follow Jesus. When Jesus called his disicples and others he told them to "Pick up their cross and follow him!" Or, "Deny yourself and follow me".

The gospel is a free gift and we don't have to do anything to earn it, but it was also very costly. It cost Jesus his innocent blood. He suffered on the cross so we would not have to pay for our sins, but we could be redeemed. Redeemed from our old life dominated by our sinful nature to live a new life in freedom and service to God. 

You can see how "watering down the gospel" can be harmful to the church. It creates followers of Jesus who haven't counted the cost of following him. When things get tough because of following him, which Jesus promised it was, they can often stray. After all, this wasn't the deal I signed up for! 

The Good News is as we pick up our cross, die to ourselves, and follow Jesus and His way of life, we find the life we've always wanted and only he can give us.

What gospel are you following? The watered down version, or Jesus' version?

Jesus, help us to count the cost of following you. May our lives give off a pleasing fragrance and draw people to you! Amen.