How Do You Smell To God?

Romans 13:8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.

Are You A Pleasing Smell To God?

Opening: I have never understood why a person would purposely run over any creature – especially a skunk. If I see a skunk, or a possum, or a raccoon, or even another human on the highway, I always feel it’s best to avoid running them (or it) over. If I see a turtle crossing the road I pull over, and help it across. I know if I don’t, a mean spirited person will run it over just for the heck of it. You have an added incentive to not run over a skunk. If you smash that little stinker, its evil odor comes out, and lingers for days. I’ve passed over a dead skunk and found out that the spirit may have departed, but the smell lingers on.

We are made in the image of God. Do you know that GOD SMELLS US? You can smell good to God – or you can STINK! How do YOU smell to God?

Obedient Love Pleases God: When Noah got off the Ark with his family – oh how empty the earth was – the Bible says the very first thing he did was:

Genesis 8:20 … Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.

God showed us in the Garden of Eden that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), and that the covering for sin is the blood. The blood of the innocent animal was shed on the altar under the Old Covenant to make “atonement” for sin. This animal sacrifice was a shadow, a “type” or pattern of what God would one day do in the death of His Son Jesus on the Cross of Calvary. The Bible says that Jesus is the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29, 36; 1 Peter 1:19).

When Noah got off that Ark he loved God by obediently covering his sins with the Blood of the Lamb. How did God respond? By loving us all!

Genesis 8:21 (KJV) And the LORD smelled a sweet savor {rêaḥ}; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake

Word Study: Noah’s act of love and obedience caused God to SMELL A SWEET SAVOR. The word translated “SAVOR” is the Hebrew rêaḥ which means “odor, scent”. When the “ram is burnt on the altar to the LORD, IT IS A PLEASING AROMA” (Exodus 29:18, 25). The animal sacrifice of the Old Covenant looked forward to the New Covenant, where we would be under the Blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ our Lord. If saved, Christians are called to …

Ephesians 5:1-2 (ESV) … be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering {euōdia osmē} and sacrifice to God.

When Jesus went to that Cross out of love for us, He did the horrible for our sake! He DENIED HIMSELF for our sake. His action was euōdia, a beautiful fragrance. His action was osmē, a diffusion rising up to God. This is why we are saved. When we receive Christ as Lord and Savior, His glorious fragrant sacrifice – like Heavenly perfume – is put on us. By denying Himself Jesus fulfilled the Law of Blood Sacrifice.

Matthew 5:17 (NKJV) “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.

The Old Covenant of animal sacrifice, a work of God, was eradicated when Jesus died for us.

Hebrews 10:10 (KJV) … we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Christ came to fulfill the Law of Blood Sacrifice. He “loved us, and gave Himself up for us”. Laying His life down willingly, His sacrifice was and is a “fragrant offering and sacrifice to God”.

We imitate God by offering ourselves up to Him as living sacrifices. We give ourselves to God without coercion, because He gave Himself for us. This is a FRAGRANT SMELL to God.

2 Corinthians 2:14-15 (NKJV) 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.

When you imitate God, offering yourself as living sacrifices, you are the “FRAGRANCE OF CHRIST”. When you deny yourself and put God and others first you become …

Philippians 4:18 (AP) A FRAGRANT OFFERING, A SACRIFICE ACCEPTABLE AND PLEASING TO GOD

Jesus denied Himself for you. You are to deny yourself for Him. God does not call us to RELIGION, but to a surrendered RELATIONSHIP with Him and His Children by faith. When we gather, we gather to glorify Him Who loved us, and gave Himself for us.

God tells those who live selfishly:

Amos 5:21 (HCSB) I hate, I despise your feasts! I can’t stand the STENCH of your solemn assemblies.

God tells those who live self righteously:

Isaiah 65:5 (ESV) {Those} who say, “Keep to yourself, do not come near me, for I am too holy for you.” These are a smoke in my nostrils, a fire that burns all the day.

When we come to God broken, surrendered, calling upon the Name of Jesus, the Lord delights in this. It is obedient. It is loving. When we as His Children imitate Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1) God smells this, and it is a pleasant aroma, a blessing to the Father. But when we make ourselves first, and focus on being like the world instead of Children of the Kingdom, to God we stink. Beloved, do you stink, or is your life a pleasing aroma to God?

What The Fragrant Life Looks Like

Romans 13:8 OWE {opheilō} no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.

God did not save you so that you can live selfishly. God saved you to be LIGHT and LOVE. You are to be imitators of God. You are to be led of the Holy Spirit. The Bible says that “If you are LED OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, YOU ARE NOT UNDER THE LAW” (Galatians 5:18). The Christian is saved by surrendered faith in Christ Jesus, not by his good works. But once saved, supernaturally saved, gloriously born again, the Holy Spirit of God indwells you. If you are saved and following the Spirit, you are not following the Law like Israel did. You are walking through this life empowered and led by God. You are not saved from the condemnation of the Law so that you can be selfish and sinful. You are saved from the tyranny of sin.

Romans 6:14-15 (NKJV) For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. 15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!

Saved, you are called to the standard of Christ. What does that look like?

Romans 13:8 OWE {opheilō} no man any thing

Word Study: The word translated “OWE” is the Greek opheilō, which means “to be indebted to another”. If you owe someone something, as a Child of God you are expected to pay your debts back. We previously read “Pay to all what is owed to them”. Evil and lost people will connive and borrow without any intent of returning the funds. The Psalmist wrote:

Psalm 37:21 (ESV) The wicked borrows but does not pay back, but the righteous is generous and gives

It is a shame when a Child of God borrows, but will not repay what is owed. We represent Jesus in all our doing. Don’t be a bum. If you borrow, pay it back! If you are given a paycheck, work for it. Don’t be a slacker. Owe no one anything – pay your debts. But there is one debt that you will ALWAYS owe.

Romans 13:8 OWE {opheilō} no man any thing, BUT to love one another..

PREACH THIS – Eternal love saved you. Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. “Being in agony, He prayed earnestly. His sweat, like GREAT DROPS OF BLOOD fell to the ground” (Luke 22:44). He prayed, “If possible, let THIS CUP pass from Me” (Matthew 26:39). He had to go. Beaten, His Blood fell to the ground. Nailed to that Tree, His Blood fell to the ground. When He died, even in death He had no respite. A “soldier pierced His side, and out came Blood and water” (John 19:34). His Blood fell to the ground. He died by denying Himself. Eternal Love saved you. Beloved, do you not know that you are indebted to Him forever.

You were not saved so you can be SELF AFFIRMING, but SELF DENYING.

1 John 4:7-12 (ESV) Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation {that which satisfies God, a covering for sin, hilasmos} for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

What is the proof that we are children of God? “if we love one another, God abides in us”. I heard a horrible thing the other day that happened in our Southern Baptist Leadership. A mega-church pastor abused one of his flock – I’ll not go into details – then told her to “repent, confess her sin, and tell no one about it”. Beloved, this is of Satan, not of God. You cannot twist the Scripture and use it for perverted reasons. That which is Godly, is Loving.

If you are selfish and self serving, if you will not love sacrificially, then GOD IS NOT IN YOU. Period!

The Law Is About Self Denying Love

When Moses went up into Mount Sinai God gave Israel the Law, beginning with the Ten Commandments. People misunderstand the moral Law of God. The Apostle exposes the TARGET of the Law.

Romans 13:9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

When God gave the Ten Commandments, the first four commandments spoke to loving God. God is to be put above all others. You are not to worship false gods. You are to respect God in how you address Him. You are to set aside one day in seven to gather and worship God (Exodus 20:3-11). Loving God comes first in the Ten Commandments. Then you are to love your family.

Exodus 20:12 (KJV) Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

Love begins with God, then with family. Being taught love, we become good citizens. The Apostle doesn’t quote the first five commandments, but starts with the seventh commandment, “Thou shalt not commit adultery”. Sexual sin destroys a nation. Do you know what else destroys a nation? A lack of respect for life. “Thou shalt not kill”. This is not what God said in

Exodus 20:13 Thou shalt not KILL {rāṣaḥ}

Word Study: The word rāṣaḥ {here in the Qal Imperfect} does not mean to just kill, but to assassinate or murder. There are times when life should be taken. God told Noah and us:

Genesis 9:6 (ESV) Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.

Life is sacred, because each person is made in God’s image. Those who take life without justification, those are to be executed. God made no exception.

Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet

The Apostle quotes the eighth, ninth, and tenth commandments (Exodus 20:15-17). What your neighbor owns, be it his goods or his reputation, you have no right to take it from him. “My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). God takes care of His children. We need not resort to theft, or to slander of another. The godless world does this – but God’s children are to be “the LIGHT of the world” (Matthew 5:14).

if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

Beloved, we are to follow His Commandments. We are not lawless, but Spirit indwelt, Spirit led. The command to “love your neighbor as yourself” is first found in:

Leviticus 19:18 (ESV) You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

When a Church or a community begins to promote anarchy and self interest rather than loving others, respecting others, it is not long before it fails. We are saved by the Blood of the Lamb, saved by Christ’s self denial, so that we might lift others to Christ. We are told in another place:

Galatians 5:13 (ESV) For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

The proof of your salvation is that you love. You love God, and you love your brothers and sisters. You do not love the world and its godless ways.

1 John 2:15 (KJV) Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

If you are saved by faith in Christ, you are saved to love God and to love your brothers and sisters. Jesus Christ Himself placed this obligation on us. This obligation is first of all placed on us as a Command. Our Lord said:

John 13:34-35 (KJV) A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. (35) By this shall all [men] know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

This is not an option, nor are any qualifiers placed on it. Jesus did not say “love one another when they speak well of you”. In fact, our Lord warned us in another place:

Luke 6:26 (KJV) Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.

We’re not to be people PLEASERS, but God PLEASERS. We’re to love people, but to speak the truth of God’s Word.

When everybody speaks well of you, it may be because you are a false prophet. Though no one likes friction – we all like to be well thought of – I praise God that not everyone always agrees with me. If you preach the truth you will have your detractors. People will not always agree with you or with me. As our world becomes more post modern and as the worldly begin to consider truth to be more fluid and disingenuous you can expect more and more people to disagree with you. Love one another anyway. I heard a sad girl the other day say “Mathematics is racist! 2 + 2 doesn’t have to be 4. White supremacy makes it 4. 2 + 2 can equal 5”. May I say this – truth is not what you make it. Truth is truth. People want to twist truth because they think it will make them happy. It won’t.

Romans 13:10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

You work ill to your neighbor when you say a lie is true. You work ill to your neighbor when you go along with their delusion. You work ill to your neighbor when you do not stand firm on Biblical truth. Truth is truth. What God has said is true, and will always be true.

It’s Time To Wake Up

Romans 13:11-14 (KJV) And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. 14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.

We cannot be part of the darkness. We can’t. We are the Church of Jesus Christ. We preach the Gospel, not just for a Sunday exercise, but as away of life. What protects us is the “ARMOR OF LIGHT”. Please hear me:

put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof

God gives you a positive, and a negative. Put on the LORD Jesus Christ. Is Jesus your Savior? Then He must be your LORD. The “ARMOR OF LIGHT” is that Jesus is your Savior AND YOUR LORD. The world is not my Lord. You are not my Lord. I am not my Lord. JESUS IS MY LORD. That’s the positive. Put on the LORD Jesus Christ. Immerse yourself in His will. He died for you – now you live for Him.

“Do not make provision for the flesh”. You are not God. Jesus is God. Jesus is Lord. Your desires are not to be your Lords. You have but one Lord, and He is Jesus. What did Jesus say:

Matthew 16:24 (KJV) If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.

Mark 8:34 (KJV) Whosoever will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.

Luke 9:23 (KJV) he said to them all, If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.

If you will not follow Jesus now, you will not follow Him to Heaven then. Those who are His deny themselves, as He denied Himself for us. I pray that God brings conversion to your hearts. Amen.