2 Corinthians 2:14-15 –.Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savor of his knowledge by us in every place. For we are unto God a sweet savor of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish:

I don’t seem to be one of those people to whom stories “happen”. I’m very impressed by the writers of devotions who always seem to have a pithy anecdote at hand to illustrate their point — but I’m not one. So today I’m borrowing one from Adrian Rogers. Myra passed on to me his story about being recognized as a Pastor by people he’d never met. Well I’m not a Pastor but I am occasionally recognized as a Christian. How does that happen?
I think the verses from Paul give us a pretty good clue. The word translated as “savor” might better be translated as “odor” or “fragrance” in verse 14 and “sweet fragrance” in verse 15. The idea is, if you like, that there is a distinctive scent carried from Jesus to His people. Authentic Christians carry that scent — attractive to those who are saved and repellent, even lethal, to those who refuse salvation.
There’s another scent, though, that’s carried by some self-proclaimed “Christians”. It’s sickly sweet . It has a hint of corruption. It’s become known, ironically, as “the odor of sanctity”. Perhaps that’s fair, because the term itself has an odd history. It has been said that when investigating candidates for sainthood, their advocates have found that such saintly men and women have had pleasant aromas such as those of roses, violets, cinnamon and orange blossom — the odor of sanctity.
I’ve noticed an interesting thing. Non-Christians seem to be better than Christians at discriminating between the real aroma and the false fragrance. There’s another thing that strikes me as not just interesting but downright weird. It seems the world often prefers the odor of sanctity to the real “sweet savor of Christ”. That can lead us into a carefully laid trap where, in an attempt to avoid giving offense, we do the equivalent of spraying ourselves with a kind of “spiritual deodorant”.
Many Christians are retreating in the face of opposition, refusing to firmly assert Biblical truth when it is unpopular. Preachers are often unwilling to preach the “down side” of the redemption story — the truth of hell and damnation. Churches focus more on socializing and programs than on witnessing and discipleship. Those who retreat in this way should remember that Jesus said “Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God: but he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God.” (Luke 12:8-8)
Don’t use spiritual deodorant. You’ll end up like the church of Laodicea, to whom Jesus said “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth.” (Revelation 3:15-16). There’s a better way. Be like Lazarus when he came out of the tomb. He might have been stinky, but he was raised to life!