Gospel in Life

Tim Keller

Hell: Isn’t the God of Christianity an angry judge?

May 11, 2022

Every week, we’re taking one of the things that in our culture troubles people the most about Christianity. We’re now going to look at the Christian teaching that God is a judge and a judge who consigns people to hell. 

Someone says, “How can you possibly reconcile the concept of judgment and hell with the idea of a loving God? They just don’t go together.” What do we say about that? I’d like to argue that understanding what the Bible says about hell is crucial for understanding your own heart, for living in peace in the world, and for knowing the love of God. 

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 22, 2006. Series: The Trouble with Christianity: Why It's So Hard to Believe it. Scripture: Luke 16:19-31.

Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

Featured Offer

The Life of Jesus and Your Life
 In Tim Keller’s book Jesus the King you’ll discover how the story of Jesus from the Gospel of Mark helps you make sense of your own life. Jesus the King is our thanks for your gift to help share the transformative power of Christ’s love with people all over the world.

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This is episode 1 of a new limited series podcast called Questioning Christianity with Tim Keller.  To listen to the Q&A session that followed this talk as well upcoming episodes, search "Questioning Christianity with Tim Keller" wherever you listen to podcasts OR visit gospelinlife.com/questioning. Once there, hit subscribe to be notified of new episodes! - In this episode, Tim Keller explores questions around faith and proof: How do we decide what to believe? How do faith and reason relate? Can you believe something that you can’t prove?  This talk was recorded before a live audience on March 7, 2019 in New York City.
May 10, 2022
We’re in a series taking the things that people in our culture (especially in New York City) are troubled by with regard to Christianity. This time, the objection could be put like this. The Christian church has a long history of oppression, and people acting in the name of Jesus Christ have engaged in systemic, economic, and cultural oppression of various races and classes. Therefore, the beliefs of Christianity are not credible and we shouldn’t believe them. What do we say to this? Here’s three things we can learn from the book of James that address the problem. First, the passage will teach us the biblical God actually chooses the poor and the oppressed. Secondly, anyone with a true spiritual connection to that God inevitably does the same. Thirdly, we will learn how we can make that connection. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 15, 2006. Series: The Trouble with Christianity: Why It's So Hard to Believe it. Scripture: James 2:1-17. Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.
May 9, 2022
We’re looking at the things that trouble people the most about Christianity. Now, we come to one that could be put like this: “Christians believe they have absolute truth. They have some things everyone should believe and everyone should do. But people who have absolute truth,” the objection goes, “undermine freedom. They tend to oppress people who are different than they are and impose their views on others. Everyone should be free to determine their own truth and what is right or wrong for them.” What do we say to that? There are three things to say. Truth is a lot more important than you would think, freedom is a lot more complex than you would think, and Jesus is a lot more liberating than you think. Those principles are found in this passage. Let’s look at them. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 8, 2006. Series: The Trouble with Christianity: Why It's So Hard to Believe it. Scripture: Galatians 2:4-16. Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.
May 6, 2022
We’re looking at the problems people in our culture, and especially in New York City, have with Christianity. We’re now going to look at the one you could call the problem of evil and suffering. And it’s a very formidable one for Christian belief.  The problem goes something like this. If God allows evil and suffering to continue because he can’t stop it, then he might be good, but he’s not all-powerful. On the other hand, if God allows evil and suffering to continue because he could stop it and yet won’t stop it, then he might be all-powerful, but he’s not good. It’s a pretty formidable argument. What do we say to it?  Let’s first look at why getting rid of your belief in God in order to understand evil and suffering will not help. And then three ways, according to Peter, we can face suffering and evil in our lives. Peter says you have to look back to something, you have to look ahead to something, and you have to look into something to handle evil and suffering in this world. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 1, 2006. Series: The Trouble with Christianity: Why It's So Hard to Believe it. Scripture: 1 Peter 1:3-12. Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.
May 4, 2022
We’re beginning a series looking at the main objections, the main problems, people in our culture have with Christianity. The objection we’re looking at now can be summed up in one word: exclusivity. The problem is this: how can you possibly claim your religion is the only true religion, that you have the one truth?  Religion, generally speaking, has a very strong tendency to divide people and create strife among people. In fact, I would go so far as to say religion tends to create a slippery slope in the heart that moves all the way down to even oppression and violence. So what do we do about this? We have to do something.  I would suggest that right now, people are trying to address the divisiveness of religion in two ways. There are two main strategies people are taking, but I’d like to show you they won’t work. Lastly, I’d like to give you a strategy that I think will.  This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 24, 2006. Series: The Trouble with Christianity: Why It's So Hard to Believe it. Scripture: 1 John 4:1-10. Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.
May 2, 2022
Why are Christians more quiet about their faith now than in past generations and how can one feel confident to share their love for Christ openly and winsomely? In this talk, Tim Keller asks this question: In its early days, when there was great social cost to becoming a Christian, how did the Christian church grow? You'll hear the answer through the example of the woman at the well. After she encountered Jesus, she had a joy inside her that she couldn't keep in, as she shared the hope she had in Christ's unique offer of salvation. She wanted people she knew to know who Jesus was to her, and her honest and organic testimony was a hopeful, simple and a natural outcome of encountering Christ. This talk was given by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on January 17, 2019.  Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.
April 30, 2022
The book of Mark gives us insight into the authentic Jesus, and this account describes the patience of Jesus — which often serves as a trial of our patience. This sermon will show us 1) The delays of Jesus; 2) The lessons of Jesus; and 3) The puzzling weakness Jesus experiences. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 9, 2006. Series: King's Cross: The Gospel of Mark, Part 1: The Coming of the King. Scripture: Mark 5:21-43. Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.
April 29, 2022
This passage in the book of Mark is the longest and most vivid account in the Bible of an exorcism of demons, and it shows us three things about evil: 1) The complexity of evil; 2) The pattern of how evil works in a life; and 3) How evil can be defeated.  This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 2, 2006. Series: King's Cross: The Gospel of Mark, Part 1: The Coming of the King. Scripture: Mark 5:1-20. Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.
April 27, 2022
The book of Mark gives us insight into the authentic Jesus—not the Jesus who is a projection of our own desires, but the real Jesus of the Bible. This passage tells us four things about the power of Jesus: 1) He has real-world power; 2) He has infinite power; 3) He has unmanageable power; and 4) He has costly power. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on March 26, 2006. Series: King's Cross: The Gospel of Mark, Part 1: The Coming of the King. Scripture: Mark 4:35-41. Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.
April 25, 2022
In the Gospel of Mark, we’re told that the message of Jesus is that “the Kingdom of God is near.” What does Jesus want to teach us about the Kingdom of God? We see three things in this passage: 1) The importance of the kingdom; 2) The central organizing principle of the kingdom; and 3) How we get the power to live according to that principle. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on March 19, 2006. Series: King's Cross: The Gospel of Mark, Part 1: The Coming of the King. Scripture: Mark 4:21-34. Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.
April 22, 2022
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Featured Offer

The Life of Jesus and Your Life
 In Tim Keller’s book Jesus the King you’ll discover how the story of Jesus from the Gospel of Mark helps you make sense of your own life. Jesus the King is our thanks for your gift to help share the transformative power of Christ’s love with people all over the world.

About Gospel in Life

Gospel In Life is a ministry that features sermons, books, articles, and resources from Timothy Keller, Redeemer Presbyterian Church, and Redeemer City to City. The name reflects our conviction that the gospel changes everything in life. In 1989 Dr. Timothy J. Keller, his wife and three young sons moved to New York City to begin Redeemer Presbyterian Church. He has since become a bestselling author, an influential thinker, and an advocate for ministry in cities and to secular people.

About Tim Keller

Timothy Keller is the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, which he started in 1989 with his wife, Kathy, and three young sons.  For 28 years he led a diverse congregation of young professionals that grew to a weekly attendance of over 5,000.

He is also the Chairman & Co-Founder of Redeemer City to City (CTC), which starts new churches in New York and other global cities, and publishes books and resources for ministry in an urban environment. In 2017 Dr. Keller transitioned to CTC full time to teach and mentor church planters and seminary students through a joint venture with Reformed Theological Seminary's (RTS), the City Ministry Program. He also works with CTC's global affiliates to launch church planting movements.

Dr. Keller’s books, including the New York Times bestselling The Reason for God and The Prodigal God, have sold over 2 million copies and been translated into 25 languages.

Christianity Today has said, “Fifty years from now, if evangelical Christians are widely known for their love of cities, their commitment to mercy and justice, and their love of their neighbors, Tim Keller will be remembered as a pioneer of the new urban Christians.”

Dr. Keller was born and raised in Pennsylvania, and educated at Bucknell University, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and Westminster Theological Seminary. He previously served as the pastor of West Hopewell Presbyterian Church in Hopewell, Virginia, Associate Professor of Practical Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary, and Director of Mercy Ministries for the Presbyterian Church in America.

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