The Sweet Smell of Sacrifice

“I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God” (Philippians 4:18).

Men have a strange and wonderful relationship with cologne. It all started back when they were teenagers. Sometime around middle school, they actually want to be around girls and not keep them out of the treehouse. That’s also when they start using cologne for the first time. It usually starts with a quick splash of Dad’s Old Spice. But things escalate quickly. Before you know it, we buy our first bottle of Brut. That’s also when we guys buy into the lie that if a little smells good then a lot oughta be GREAT! (Hopefully, you’re not a middle age man and just hearing this for the first time!) The result is their aroma arrives about five minutes before we do. We also have a radioactive afterlife of almost an hour. Our aroma may be fragrant. But it is neither acceptable or pleasing.

In chapter four of his letter to his friends back in Philippi, Paul lets them know exactly what sort of fragrance God loves. “I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God” (v18). No, the Philippians didn’t send him a bottle of Drakkar Noir or Axe Body Spray. They’ve dug deep in order to provide their founding pastor some practical help during his time behind bars. The result is a beautiful aroma that rises all the way to God’s nostrils in heaven. And He absolutely loves it. You see, there’s no sweeter smell to Jesus than when we sacrifice for others. What's that cologne you're wearing? Is that "Acceptable Offering"?

In many ways, this book is actually Paul’s thank you note to a little church he started a few years back. When he and his crew first rolled into this Macedonian seaport and began telling everyone about Jesus, things got crazy very quickly. His personal physician Dr. Luke writes all about it (Acts 16:12-40). The story includes a fashionista named Lydia, a demon-possessed girl who’s a victim of human trafficking, and a brutal prison guard. Throw in a citywide riot, a little torture, a dungeon, some midnight worship in the cellblock, an violent earthquake, a prison break, and a suicide attempt. I’m telling you, you REALLY need to read your Bible! There’s some whacky stuff in there!! When you Google “how to start a church,” this probably wouldn’t be the model you’d follow. But God uses the apostle to plant the first fellowship in Europe. 

When these Philippian believers get wind that Paul’s doing time in Caesar’s Supermax, they send their man Epaphroditus to Rome with a care package. He writes and thanks them, “I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus fate gifts you sent” (v18). Earlier in this letter, the apostle expresses his sincere appreciation for sending the Big E to his side. Now it’s time for him to go home. “I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need” (Phil 2:25). The Philippians didn’t just sacrifice to send this man to Paul, it almost cost him his life! “He nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me” (Phil 2:29). Now that Epaphroditus’ has recovered, the apostle stuffs this note of thanks into his pocket and sends him home.

A quick read of verse 18 might lead you to believe the Philippians gave Paul a bottle of Polo. He talks about how they’ve sent him “a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God” (v18). The original Greek language here centers on the sense of smell. “Fragrant” is osme, which means odor, fragrance, and a sweet-smelling scent. Remember Mary’s extravagant act of worship for Jesus? She took a bottle of designer fragrance she had been saving and dumped it all over Christ. She “anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance (Gr. osme) of the perfume” (Jn 12:3). Imagine the beautiful bouquet in that house! 

Next the ESV translators use “offering,” but it’s actually another word (Gr. euodia) that makes you want to take a whiff of a sweet aroma. Interestingly, the other times we see this term in the NT, it’s always associated with a sacrificial act of worship. In his note to the Ephesian church, Paul says that Jesus’ love for us by offering Himself in our place is “a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Eph 5:2). And we see how God spreads the scent of our Savior everywhere we go. “But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance (Gr. osme) of the knowledge of Him everywhere. For we are the aroma (Gr. euodia) of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance (Gr. osme) from death to death, to the other a fragrance (Gr. osme) from life to life” (2Cor 2:14-16). The next time someone asks you what cologne you’re wearing, just say “Jesus.”

Unlike a teenage boy headed to a date, this particular aroma won’t choke a mule. It’s “a sacrifice acceptable to God” (v18). He actually LOVES the smell of the Philippians’ gift to Paul. When we give a present to someone, we always hope that it’s appropriate. We go out of our way to make sure it’s the right size and right color. Well, when we give sacrificially to help others, it’s always an appropriate gift to God. Giving to others is actually an act of worship. By giving to others, we actually are giving to God. Don’t believe me? Jesus told His posse that when we reach out and do something for those on the fringes of society, we’re actually doing it for Him even when we don’t realize it (Mt 25:35-40).

The Old Testament is full of sacrifices that smell great to God (Gen 8:20-21; Ex 29:18; Lev 1:9, 13, 17). The prophet Micah makes it clear that the Lord’s not looking for a barbecue grill full of steaks and burnt offerings (Mic 6:6-7). “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God” (Mic 6:8). Doing justice and loving kindness means doing for those who need help. On this side of the cross, we’re able to offer spiritual sacrifices that please God because of who Jesus is and what He’s done (1Pet 2:5). As a matter of fact, the writer of Hebrews directly connects many of the big ideas in the OT with Jesus and His followers. He says NT believers offer sacrifices similar to those at the temple. “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God” (Heb 13:16). He just loves the sweet smell of sacrifice.

Grown men learn to go easy on the cologne (hopefully). Paul says we don’t have to worry about putting on too much when it comes to a pleasing aroma to God. We can splash on all the sacrifice or giving we’ve got. Our Savior offered Himself for you and me. His Dad absolutely LOVED it! Feel free to splash on as much as you want. Go crazy. Our Heavenly Father can’t get enough of the sweet smell of sacrifice. What's that cologne you're wearing? Is that "Acceptable Offering"?

Tangled up in "Eww"

“For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first” (v20).

We’ve all heard the stories. Someone who’s apparently beaten addiction falls off the wagon and plummets deeper into the darkness than they’ve ever been before. Maybe it was someone you loved. Shoot, maybe it was you. It’s heartbreaking to know that a person can taste freedom from their demons only to get tangled up again. In many ways, this is worse. They’ve experienced sobriety but have made the choice to return.

The Apostle Peter wants us to know there’s a similar back story for these false teachers who are making the rounds. A posse of spiritual snake oil salesmen are infiltrating local churches and teaching a message that rots these fellowships from the inside out (2:1-3). If it’s not bad enough that they’re out to make a fast buck (2:3, 14-15), these hucksters are also sexual predators (2:10, 13-14, 18). But even worse than that, they’ve heard all about Jesus. They know the Gospel. They’ve heard the Good News. They’ve learned some Bible. However, they’ve chucked any chance at a deep and personal relationship with Christ for a life without Him. “Nah, we’re good,” they say. “That stuff might work for you, but not for us.” Sound familiar? As a result, they’re worse off than they were before hearing about Him.

In the midst of this gut-wrenching story, Pete drops a powerful reminder of just who Jesus is and what He’s done. The Son of God provides us with a way to free ourselves from “the defilements of the world” (v20). Only through Him have we “escaped” (Gr. apopheugo). This Greek word only appears three times in the New Testament and all three of them are right here in Pete’s sequel. Check for yourself (1:4; 2:18). It means to flee from or become safe from danger. The former fisherman opens this note with a spectacular fanfare of the amazing benefits of a relationship with Jesus. One of those is we become teammates “of the divine nature, having escaped (Gr. apopheugo) from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire” (1:14). Only our Savior can bust us out of the joint of our own sin.

Our prison reeks. Can’t you smell it? The apostle describes how Jesus frees us from “the defilements” (v20) and uses the word miasma. It means contamination, pollution, or corruption. According to MacArthur the term carries the idea of putrid or poisonous vapors. In the words of those great philosophers and theologians Lynyrd Skynyrd, “Can’t you smell that smell? The smell of death surrounds you.” It’s nasty. It’s noxious. Tangled up in “eww.” The problem is that we’ve been in that stank so long we can’t smell it. 

A personal relationship with our Savior delivers us from all of the slimy stench.  Once again, Pete pleads with us to experience “the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (v20). This is the third time in this letter that the leader of the apostles invites to know the resurrected Rabbi from Nazareth. Only when we know Jesus personally that He multiplies His “grace and peace” in our lives (1:2). Only when we know Jesus personally does He give us everything we’ll ever need for “life and godliness” (1:3). Here’s the deal. Pete wants us to know that the same deep relationship he had with Jesus is available to you and me. 

Don’t fly right by who he says Jesus is. He’s “our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (v20). As our Lord, He’s in charge. Jesus is our Leader. Let’s follow Him and do what He says. As our Savior, He’s our Hero. Jesus left the indescribable comforts of the heavenly palace to go dumpster diving for you and me. He came to our rescue when we couldn’t rescue ourselves. As Christ, He’s God’s long-promised One. Christ is the New Testament equivalent to the Old Testament Messiah. Pete’s reminding us that Jesus is the point of the entire story. The One God promised the satanic snake in the garden would eventually crush his demonic head (Gen 3:15). Leader. Hero. Messiah. That’s the One who has come to save us!

There’s just one problem for the false teachers. They’ve heard all about Jesus but “are again entangled” in the same crap all over again (v20). The filth of the world has once again kicked their tails. They are “overcome” (v20). A closer look at the original text paints a picture of people who are entwined in a massive knot. They’re bound up. The stuff they’re involved in severely restricts what they can do. That makes sense. Earlier Pete describes these hucksters as “slaves of corruption” (2:19). They may promise freedom while at the same time are actually entangled in their own sin.

As the apostle tells us their back story, he warns us of what happens when we don’t have a relationship with Jesus. These false teachers know ABOUT Christ. They know ABOUT the Gospel. They ABOUT the Bible. But they don’t really know our Lord and Savior. You can spend a ton of time in church or around Jesus’ followers without ever truly experiencing salvation. Some folks will talk about “once saved, always saved.” If that’s the case, how can these con artists be worse off than they were before? That’s because a better way to understand the idea of eternal security is through the phrase “IF saved, always saved.” The false teachers were all around Him but never knew Him. They were never saved to start with. Think of it as an inoculation. It was kind of like they had just enough of Jesus to keep from getting Him. 

Do you know Him? I mean REALLY know Him. A relationship with Jesus is more than knowing a bunch of facts about Him. Have you gotten a taste of His amazing rescue? In many ways, this is my story. I was so close to Christ but really didn’t know Him. I was perilously close to being like the addict who successfully completes rehab only to fall deeper down the rat hole of abuse. To paraphrase Bob Dylan, I was tangled up in “eww.” Only then, did I really meet and fall in love with my Savior.

Do you know Him? REALLY know Him? Are you re-snarled in your sin? Is the knot worse than before? Can you smell that smell? The smell of death surrounds you.

Can't You Smell That Smell?

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it might give grace to those who hear (Eph 4:29).

Whew!  Do you smell that?  Way too often, the stuff that comes out of my mouth is just downright nasty.  Putrid.  Rotten.  I’m not talking about bad breath.  I’m talking about disgusting talk.  Sarcastic.  Snarky.  Critical.  Cutting.  Rather than building folks up at just the right time, I look for the perfect chance to cut them down.  But Paul picks up the spiritual two-by-four here to get my attention.  “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it might give grace to those who hear” (v29).  Instead of sick smell of death, it should have the sweet aroma of life.

Can’t you smell that smell?

From his cell in a Roman slammer, Paul writes to his buddies back in Ephesus, a massive port city on the west coast of modern day Turkey.  He’s letting them know what life looks like once God transforms you from being a member of the Walking Dead into being “alive together with Christ” (Eph 2:1, 4).  He’s describing how differently we look once we’ve taken off the filthy old life of sin and pulled on that brand new wardrobe of righteousness from Jesus’ closet (Eph 4:22, 24).  This is more than simply behavior modification and a “do better” gospel of self-help.  He does for us what we could never do for ourselves (Eph 2:5-8).  Christ does the dirty work and changes us from the inside out (Eph 3:16, 4:23).  We’re no longer out there trying to do it on our own.  We’re “in Christ,” a phrase that the apostle uses in this letter in some form or the other at least 28 times.

My speech is a huge indicator of what Jesus is doing in my life.  The radical Rabbi/Carpenter said so Himself.  “For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks” (Mt 12:34).  What’s inside is eventually coming out.  If my heart is rotten, my speech stinks.  Paul has already warned the Ephesian believers that lying has to stop and truth needs to start (Eph 4:25).  Now he goes on to write that it’s time to put a cork in our self-centered snark.  “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths” (v29).  That’s step one.  The apostle uses the word sapros, which can certainly mean bad, unwholesome, unprofitable and poor quality.  But it’s worse than that.  It reeks.  Talk that’s rotten, putrid, decayed and diseased.  Stinks like a rotting corpse.  Gangrene.  Decomposing flesh.  Pretty nasty description, right?  Well, that’s because it is.  Way too often my speech smells like something has died.  Just like a rotten apple causes other fruit to decay, so does my mouth.

Every time biblical authors use this Greek term, it’s kinda nasty.  Downright disgusting.  Jesus tells His crew that while good trees provide sweet and delicious produce, “the diseased (Gr. sapros) tree bears bad fruit” (Mt 7:17).  There are few things that smell worse than rotting fruit.  One thing that does stink more is dead fish.  In his rather aromatic description of the Parable of the Net, Christ paints a picture of a fisherman sorting through his net full of fish.  The angler hung on to the keepers but “threw away the bad (Gr. sapros)” (Mt 13:48).  

Go ahead, stick your nose in there.  PHEW!!!  That’s what my speech smells like to others once they get a whiff.  Here’s the deal.  When you’re around stuff the stinks, you get used to it.  You no longer notice it.  It’s like bad breath.  The person who has it can’t smell it.  They’re used to it.  Your language may stink to high heaven but you have no idea.  Allow the Holy Spirit to examine your speech.  Is it harmful?  Do you default to sarcasm and snark?  Do you ever thank anyone?  Do you ever encourage anyone?  Is your speech harmful or helpful?  While those around are painfully aware of the sewer that is my mouth, I probably can’t smell that smell all by myself.  

Paul gives me a few helpful hints to know if my mouth smells like a clogged toilet.  Over in his note to the folks in Colossae, he says to toss in the trash every bit of “anger, wrath, malice, slander and obscene talk from your mouth” (Col 3:8).  Like a loving dad, Solomon told his son the very same thing.  “Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you” (Prov 4:24).  Later in this letter to the church in Ephesus, the apostle warns against letting my sense of rumor get out of control.  “Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving” (Eph 5:4).  But we can’t do it alone.  Without God’s help, we don’t stand a chance.  That’s why David sang, “Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips” (Ps 141:3).

Once God has allowed us to get a whiff of rotten language, it’s time for step two.  Once we stop the stank, we should saying things that are “good for building up” (v29).  My words should be instructive.  My words should be encouraging.  My words should be uplifting (even when correcting).  My words should be well-timed (Prov 15:23; 25:11; 24:26).  Earlier, Paul describes how church leaders and teachers build up members of the church so they can be useful in ministry, not demolish them and make them useless (Eph 4:12).  Put down the wrecking ball.  Drop the sledgehammer.  Stop tearing down.  Start building up.  The folks over in Thessalonica were doing it.  “Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing” (1Th 5:11).  Start doing it.  Keep doing it.

The apostle makes it clear that the “when” of my words are almost as important as the “what.”  My language needs to be appropriate, “as fits the occasion” (v29).  Just as in comedy, timing is everything.  Let’s face it.  The key to humor is dropping that punchline at the perfect moment.  I’m not saying that encouragement must be dry and without a smile.  As a matter of fact, I think Jesus was probably one of the funniest guys to ever walk the planet.  What I am saying is to apply some of the same discernment and timing to encourage as you do to deliver a zinger.  It’s just as important to say the proper words at the right time as it is to say the right words.  Timing is everything.

Finally, Paul tells me that my speech should drip with God’s goodness and that “it might give grace” (v29)  It ALWAYS comes back to grace.  It ALWAYS comes back to getting good stuff that we don’t deserve.  Since Jesus blasted me with His fire hose of grace, saved me by His grace (Eph 2:5-8), keeps saving me by His grace, I should drip with His grace.  That means speaking with grace each and every chance I get.  Just like Jesus did (Lk 4:22).  Eugene Peterson paraphrases Paul’s command this way: “Watch the way you talk.  Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth.  Say only what helps, each word a gift” (Eph 4:29 The Message).

Can’t you smell that smell?

As always, I would love your thoughts, comments and input.  It's pretty darn easy.  Just post something below!