The sermon presents the gospel as a fragrance with opposite effects: life for the redeemed and death for those who reject or corrupt it. Spurgeon strongly distinguishes gospel salvation from legal preaching, insisting that morality cannot save and that true grace produces holiness. He teaches the perseverance of the saints, grounding assurance in Christ’s immutable love and the certainty of eternal life for those who truly possess spiritual life. Ministers must preach faithfully and leave results to God, while believers should labor for the salvation of others and pray earnestly for gospel ministers.
Theological center: The gospel is God’s saving truth that brings eternal life to those who receive it, exposes and judges those who reject or pervert it, and rests on Christ’s preserving grace.
Applications: Receive the Gospel Truly · Pray for Gospel Ministers · Examine Gospel Effects · Reconsider Ministry Success
Primary texts: 2 Corinthians 2:15-16 · Matthew 7:18-20 · John 10:28
“For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish; to the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?” 2 Corinthians 2:15-16 THESE are the words of Paul, speaking on the behalf of himself and his brethren, the apostles, and they are true concerning all those who by the Spirit are chosen, qualified, and thrust into the vineyard to preach God’s Gospel. I have often admired the fourteenth verse of this chapter, especially when I have remembered from whose lips the words fell, “Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.” Picture Paul, the aged, the man who had been bea…