The Smell of Sin

A look at the parallels between sinners and
smokers.

No one
stinks like a smoker does. It’s true, and what’s more, they don’t realize how bad
they smell. The reason they smell so poorly is that they have deadened the
sensitivity of their nose. They literally can’t smell the stench that a
non-smoker can smell.

The conscience is like a nose. It sniffs out the stench
of sin. Someone who has deadened the sensitivity of his conscience literally
can’t detect how morally bad he is. That’s why we need God’s Law. It stirs the
conscience so that it can detect sin. When the conscience does its bloodhound
duty, it shows us that we don’t smell like a rose, but that even our very best
deeds stink (for want of a better word) to high Heaven. Check out Isaiah 64:6
and Romans
3:10-20 to sniff out more details.