Stench or Aroma - Which does God call us to be? | 2 Corinthians 2:14-17 with Mike Hanafee

·47 min·4 clips

Mike Hanafee explains why Christians must be willing to stink to some people in order to salvifically smell good to others.

Mike Hanafee opens the sermon by reading 2 Corinthians 2:14-17 and praying. He introduces the context of Paul's rocky relationship with the Corinthian church, highlighting their craving for worldly approval. Hanafee states the main point: Christians must be willing to stink to some to salvifically smell good to others. He breaks the text into three parts: a visual illustration, an olfactory illustration, and a rhetorical question. For the visual illustration, he describes the Roman triumphal procession in detail, including its seven components like captives and incense, to show Christians as part of an unstoppable victory march. He references Revelation 5 to emphasize Christ's triumph. For the olfactory illustration, Hanafee uses personal stories, such as a rotting deer and a smelly sweatshirt, to explain how the gospel elicits opposite reactions—a fragrance of life to some and a stench of death to others. He discusses the need to sacrifice popularity and cites the example of soccer player Jaylene Hinkle. Hanafee then critiques peddlers of God's word who twist scripture for acceptance, mentioning issues like homosexuality, pronouns, CRT, and abortion. He addresses the rhetorical question 'Who is sufficient for these things?' by emphasizing God's sufficiency through believers. Hanafee encourages speaking truthfully and boldly as ambassadors for Christ, urging the church to become serial inviters. He concludes with a quote from Martin Luther and reiterates that God calls Christians to be both a stench and an aroma.

As heard by us

A blunt sermon on why the cross can smell like life to one person and death to another.

A sermon on 2 Corinthians 2:14-17 frames Christ's fragrance as a test of faithfulness: why does the same gospel come across as life to some and death to others?

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Why you'd press play

You want a sermon where the cross is fragrance and stench, depending on who is breathing it in.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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