Sin Stinks

2 Corinthians 2:15-16 

15 For to God we are the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. 16 To some we are an aroma of death leading to death, but to others, an aroma of life leading to life. Who is adequate for these things?

A good smelling aroma is symbolic of righteousness by being born again [having faith in Jesus], doing God’s will [spreading the Gospel], and living a life according to God’s Word.

Imagine a homeless man who hasn’t showered for months. Now, he came across a good amount of money from a generous person. The homeless man wanted to eat at his favorite restaurant that he used to go to before he became destitute. 

He got some clean clothes but there were no showers available in his immediate area. He thought to himself if I purchase a bottle of cologne from the dealer in the corner, I can put it on and no one can smell me and tell the difference. 

Before the homeless man sat down, his odor that had a rotten smell to it, mixed with the pleasant smelling aroma of the cologne permeated the whole dining room where people were beginning to gag. 

That’s a picture of what it looks like to the Lord Jesus Christ when a person rejects Him and wants to be righteous by his own merit. 

A person’s sin cannot be hidden from the Lord, just like a foul smell cannot be masked. 

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The Gift Of God Thrown Into The Trash

There was an old homeless man sleeping on a park bench downtown. He got up from the bench that he was laying on to cross the street to the other side. While the man was away, a bag of fresh bagels was placed where he was sleeping on. A gift was placed by a stranger who wanted the old man to have a meal and at the same time, give God all the glory by thanking Him. When he came back and saw the bag of bagels, his eyes widened and paused for a few seconds with thoughts running through his mind. Surprisingly, the man picked it up and walked directly to the dumpster and tossed the wonderful gift in the trash.

This is what Jesus faces every day by Atheists, Agnostics, false religion and those who do not associate with a name tag do when Jesus knocks at the door of their hearts to hand them the gift of eternal life (the message of Christ). They grab the message which is the Good News, walk to the nearest dumpster and toss it. If only they truly knew the consequences of their action.

John 3:36

36 The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who refuses to believe in the Son will not see life; instead, the wrath of God remains on him.

Hebrews 10:29-31

29 How much worse punishment do you think one will deserve who has trampled on the Son of God, regarded as profane the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know the One who has said, Vengeance belongs to Me, I will repay, and again, The Lord will judge His people. 31 It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God!

How Long Will You Continue To Reject Jesus Christ?

Luke 4:29…A picture of what it looks like when we reject Jesus’ love

 

2 Thessalonians 2:10-11

10 and with every unrighteous deception among those who are perishing. They perish because they did not accept the love of the truth in order to be saved. 11 For this reason God sends them a strong delusion so that they will believe what is false

When people continue to reject the steadfast love that God displays through the Holy Spirit’s conviction of their sins and that they can find forgiveness that comes by faith in Jesus Christ, God will give them over to their own destruction.

Romans 1:21-25

21 For though they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became nonsense, and their senseless minds were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man, birds, four-footed animals, and reptiles.
24 Therefore God delivered them over in the cravings of their hearts to sexual impurity, so that their bodies were degraded among themselves. 25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served something created instead of the Creator, who is praised forever. Amen.

The Lord now lets them immerse themselves in the sin that has enveloped in their hearts and minds. Imagine for a moment, seeing a child that is not yours and he is indulging in a buffet of candies with his parents out of sight. You tell the boy that it will hurt him later but the more you tell him the more he eats. All you can do is let him go into his buffet of sugar and stomach pains that eventually will take him to the hospital. In the same manner, when we reject Jesus as the truth and the only way to the Father in heaven we are embracing the lie of Satan. In the end-times Satan will work all kinds of signs and wonders so convincing that without the Holy Spirit in you, you will easily believe the lie and ensure a one-way ticket to hell.

Seek the Lord today while He can be found before it is too late.