The smell of death

I was reading an article by Phillip Jensen that my friend James gave me (I am way behind on the stuff he sends me!) and I came across an interesting quote:

But if the aim is to glorify God by preaching his gospel, I know that it will be a sweet smell of salvation for some, but a stench of death in the nostrils of others.

As I read this it got me thinking. When people hear the Gospel, as a Calvinist I know some will reject it (perhaps most). They will not reject it because it is presented in a boring, culturally irrelevant fashion. They reject it because the foolishness of preaching is just that to the unregenerate, foolish but to God's elect when they hear His Word in His time, it is the voice of the Good Shepherd that they follow. But plenty of stuff is foolish, and people just snicker and walk away. When an unsaved person hears the pure Gospel, it often causes a visceral, angry reaction. It is not just a foolish message to the unregenerate, it is the "smell of death". The unregenerate hears the message and hears their own condemnation proclaimed in it. Despite the clear warning and the smell of death, they still will not turn. Not because of any reason other than their own inability to do so, an inability that is caused by their stony heart. The unregenerate stands on the train tracks, shaking his fist in defiance at the oncoming freight train of God's judgment and won't move. It isn't that they are tied helplessly to the tracks, but it is their stubborn, unrepentant, rebellious heart that keeps them on the tracks. No amount of pleading or persuading or altar calls will change that fact. If the stench of death won't make them repent, why do you think your clever preaching illustrations will? Stick to preaching the Word and let God use your weak effort to enact a great change. Then, and only then, will God alone have the glory.