Craig Isaac teaches us from 2 Peter this morning:
“…Now this is precisely what false teachers tend to deny. They deny the Master that bought us, and in so doing they deny the dreadfulness of sin and they deny the triumph of the cross. And don’t be mistaken, this wasn’t just a problem in the first century. This is pervasive in our day as well. People begin to say things like ‘The cross was a demonstration of God’s love for all people. The cross is the greatest example of selfless love and we should follow in his example’ . All of a sudden in such a subtle way, the philosophical foundations have been laid for all kinds of false teaching. Jesus has ceased to be our Saviour and instead he is merely our example. Our faith, which is rooted in Jesus’ sacrificial death, has been craftily changed into an example to emulate. The power of God to redeem sinners has been exchanged for human effort. But that’s not all, sin has also ceased to be utterly sinful. It is now merely a cruel sickness we are victims of, rather than what the cross would say it is, namely a treasonous rebellion against the king of Glory.
You see the cross is the demonstration of God’s love for humanity. It is the greatest example of selfless love that we will ever see, and we should seek to emulate it. Jesus is our example. But it is also how the righteous king dealt with his wrath toward sinful people, and he bought these people to be a people of his very own…”