A Sweet-Smelling Fragrance

In II Corinthians 2, the Apostle Paul is discussing the necessity of forgiveness of a brother in Christ who had fallen into sin, so that the man can be restored back to fellowship with the church and thereby, not lose hope of eternal life with Christ and the saints.

But, then Paul also points out that the body of Christ must be held to the responsibility of forgiving and restoring the man. So, forgiveness works both ways; to the benefit of the one being forgiven so they won't become despondent and lose hope,

and to the ones doing the forgiving, in being obedient to Christ. And, if we succeed, Verse 14 tells us that our lives will be a Christ-like fragrance both to God and to those who are being forgiven.

It's time for the church to do a smell-check.