Colossians 3:9-10: Beyond the Grace of Soap

Recently when my family and I were riding a bus in Ireland to our destination, a man boarded and sat immediately in front of me, disheveled and smelling of sweat. I remember thinking, Here is someone in desperate need of the grace of soap. My mind wandered: soap is readily available, surely he noticed, who goes out in public without an armpit double-check. Then it hit me: we all stink. Stores spend aisle after aisle stocking products designed to conceal this pungent, fundamental fact. Deodorant, anti-perspirant, cologne, perfume, air freshener, etc. In fact, if we weren't all so focused on spraying or wiping or spreading or applying these products every waking 24-hour protection moment, we would probably be used to the fact that we all stink and would be unaware. But once the first person tried to hide it, no one wanted to smell our body odor.

In many ways, we try to apply this strategy of the grace of soap to our spiritual lives, trying to hide the fundamental fact that we all sin--that we all stink. Dallas Willard, in his book The Divine Conspiracy, calls it the gospel of sin management. We ignore it, we hide it, we mitigate its effects, we try to only enter situations where it won't show, we excuse it, we emulate the lifestyle of the stink free. All of the while, denying the fact that we are all stinkers. When we see sin break through, in all of its destructive power, in someone's life, we all think: they should have applied more soap--more forgiveness--more careful rule following.

But the strategy of Christ is fundamentally different. It is the grace of regeneration. As Paul says: "...since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator." (Colossians 3:9-10)

The problem with the gospel of sin management it that it accepts that sin (stench) is fundamental and that the means of better life is keeping sin under control. But Jesus offers a different strategy: regeneration.

Imagine for a moment if we could be genetically re-engineered so that the pores in our skin no longer secreted stench-generating liquids. Not all at once, but gradually. Fundamentally changing who we are and how our body works.

This is exactly what the gospel does. It brings to bear God's life-giving, regenerating Spirit in our lives so that, bit by bit, sin is not the natural product of our lives. Paul said it this way: "For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing." (2 Corinthians 2:15)

Yes, we still need to wash. But we can cooperate with the Spirit's transformative work, not settling for sin-as-the-new-normal in our lives. The man in the next seat on the bus is a stinker. And so am I. Only God's grace (for which I get to take no credit) makes me or him improve.

SDG