Gospel in Life

When it comes to physical growth and health, you have two kinds of practices or disciplines. You have trainers and you have doctors. Through nutrition and exercise, trainers help you get further than you were. They help you make progress physically. But when you get sick or maybe injure yourself, you need a doctor to get you back on track. You need trainers to get you forward from where you were; you need doctors to get you back to where you were physically. We need the same things spiritually. There are spiritual disciplines that are more like training – disciplines by which you grow into the person God has meant you to be, such as meditation and prayer. But there are other spiritual disciplines that are more defensive. That is, they’re ways of treating problems and difficulties. This is what we find in Psalm 42-43. We learn about a specific condition to which we are susceptible and then we’re given a set of cures for this condition. Becoming skilled at dealing with this condition is absolutely critical if you’re going to make spiritual progress. This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 21, 2002. Series "Psalms; Disciplines of Grace". Scripture: Psalm 42:1-43:5. 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.

In Philippians 2:12 Saint Paul says, “Work out your salvation in awe and wonder.” Notice he didn’t say, “Work for your salvation.” He said, “Work out your salvation.” You can only work out something you already have. Whatever salvation is, the spiritual gift of grace is not something you just clutch or hold on to, but it’s something you have to work out into every part of your life. You have to work it out into your identity, into your psychology, your sociology, your relationships, your approach to the world, into everything. That’s how we change. That’s how we become new.  This change is done through disciplines of grace. The discipline that we’re looking at today in Psalm 119 is scriptural application: how Scripture leads us into obeying God’s word. We don’t get changed and we won’t obey God, unless we’re willing to come in under the authority of God. Let’s look at these two things in this psalm: 1) what’s wrong with trying to be your own ultimate spiritual authority and 2) how you can put yourself under God’s authority in a way that’s transforming and not stifling. This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 14, 2002. Series "Psalms; Disciplines of Grace". Scripture: Psalm 119:32-49. 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.

We’re going to look at the processes by which a supernaturally changed heart comes about – the disciplines of grace. Now what are the ways that this happens? Over the centuries, Christians have looked to the Psalms maybe more than any other place in the Bible to learn about these disciplines of grace and today, we’re starting with the first psalm. So let’s ask ourselves what we learn from this passage about meditation, which is one of the disciplines of grace – it’s one of the ways in which we work out our salvation into every nook and cranny of our lives in awe and wonder (Phil 2:12). There are four things we’re going to learn about meditation from the passage: the promise of meditation, the principle, the practice, and the puzzle. This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 7, 2002. Series "Psalms; Disciplines of Grace". Scripture: Psalm 1:1-6. 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.

When Christianity is ever covered in the newspaper or on TV, Christianity is typically discussed and seen as a cultural or intellectual position. So people tend to talk about Christianity something like this: “Well, you know, there are various positions, there are various points of view on the nature of God and the nature of the soul, morality and ethics and the meaning and purpose of life. There are these various positions, and the Christian position is one of them.” They try it on the way somebody tries on a dress, looking to see whether it brings out your best parts and hides your worst parts.  It is possible to adopt Christianity only in word. That means to say, “I accept the position. I accept the point of view. I accept the ideals. I accept the beliefs.” You can do this and yet not have received it as it really is as a power. The kingdom of God is not in word, but in power (1 Corinthians 4:20).  Now see, Jesus, without using the word, is saying the same thing here in this parable. He is saying Christianity is a ruling power. It’s not just a set of ideals, such as forgiveness or God’s love. It’s much more than that – it’s a power. Let’s consider two things about this power: Christianity is the power of new life and it is the power of growth. This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on August 21, 1994. Series "The Parables of Jesus (1994)". Scripture: Luke 13:18-21. 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.

We’re looking at the subject of hell, one of the most unpopular classic doctrines of orthodox Christianity. I’m asking you to consider it today for two reasons: 1) I submit to you that unless you understand, unless you can reflect on, unless you can agree with the Christian doctrine of hell, you have no idea of how much love God has shown us; and 2) Jesus, the one who teaches us the most about God’s love, is the one who teaches us this doctrine of hell. Jesus, the Lord of Love, the one who knew the most about love, teaches us the most about hell.  Jesus intertwined the love of God and hell so much that you really can’t reject just one and accept the other. They have to be taken together. Let’s take a look at what Jesus teaches in this story of two men. If we want to understand hell, we have to see what he says about 1) the two men in this life and 2) the two men in the next life and 3) the two men in our life. This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on July 17, 1994. Series "The Parables of Jesus (1994)". 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.

In this parable, Jesus is teaching about repentance. Now there are a lot of different opinions about repentance. For example, the famous poet Lord Byron said, “… the weak alone repent!” Yet Shakespeare  said in one of his characters, “I’ll repent, and that suddenly … I shall be out of heart shortly, and then I shall have no strength to repent.” Do you see? The one poet says, “It takes weakness to repent,” whereas Shakespeare sees it as taking strength to repent. He sees it as being an achievement. Now who is right? Is repentance a sign of strength or is it a sign of weakness? Shakespeare is much more profound at this point, and he’s much closer to what Jesus Christ says. Jesus says repentance is the key to everything. Jesus says repentance is the way in which we should process everything that comes to us — it is the grid through which everything should pass. He tells us 1) we need it, 2) how to do it, and 3) how he brings it about in us. This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on July 10, 1994. Series "The Parables of Jesus (1994)". Scripture: Luke 13:1-9. 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.

We’re studying the parable of the prodigal son. We read that the younger brother comes to the father and says, “Give me my slice of the inheritance.” He says basically, “Even though you’re not dead, I want your things, but I don’t want you. I don’t want you involved with my life. Give them to me. I’m leaving.” You have to understand in that culture this was an absolute outrage. He had brought tremendous humiliation on the family. He essentially destroyed the family estate by insisting it be liquidated and then he goes off and squanders it. This is immense, and yet when he returns, we see the father he betrayed, the father he humiliated, welcomes him with open arms and a kiss. What we’re going to see is that this string of parables is not ultimately about an assurance to bad and immoral and messed-up people, but it is an in-your-teeth warning to good people. In this entire chapter Jesus Christ is saying nothing comes between you and God like morality and goodness and decency and respectability. How can this be? To answer this, let’s consider two things about the elder brother: 1) The elder brother is lost; and 2) he is more lost than the younger brother. This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on January 25, 1998. Series "The Prodigal Son and the Elder Brother". Scripture: Luke 15:20-32. 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.

The purpose of the prodigal son was to blow out the existing paradigms, the existing categories, human beings had for their understanding of their relationship with God. Some people have what you might call a moralistic view of life. The moralistic view of life says, “The problem with the world is not me; it’s them, those immoral types.” Then you have another kind of person. The other kind of worldview is what we could call a relativistic view of life. The relativistic people are the ones who say, “The problem with the world isn’t me; it’s them, those condemning types.” Generally, the relativistic types, the younger brother types, tend to move. They tend to go away from their hometown, while the moralistic types tend to stay where they were raised and they live very “good” lives.  Jesus says, “Look at these two brothers. Look carefully. They are both lost. They are both alienated from the father’s heart.” In both cases, they will not come in and the father has to come out to bring them in. Jesus Christ lays bare the flaws of both of these paradigms. Jesus is talking about an experience of God – the kiss of the Father, the love of the Father. Let’s look at the three things have to happen: You have to come to your senses; You need a love that’s prior to your repentance; You need an elder brother who will foot your bill. This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on January 18, 1998. Series "The Prodigal Son and the Elder Brother". Scripture: Luke 15:11-24. 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.

Now Jesus seems to be continually arguing when we read the accounts of his life in the Bible. Why does he do so? Because Jesus would speak to people, but when people listened to him, they would take his words, they would take the sayings, and they would pour them into their own categories. They would listen to him, in a sense, through their own categories — their own biases, assumptions, and predetermined beliefs. Of course, that meant they weren’t really listening to Jesus at all. What Jesus is saying continually is “I come in to blast out all of your foundational assumptions. I demand to be the thing through which you see everything. I’m here to open up new vistas, new realms of knowledge. I’m here to explode your paradigms.” First we’re going to look at what those foundational assumptions are — the grid that people believed to be true, the old set of assumptions, the prevalent and pervasive understanding of religion. And then we’re going to discuss the new paradigm, the new worldview that Jesus brings to the world. This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on January 11, 1998. Series "The Prodigal Son and the Elder Brother". Scripture: Luke 15:1-12. 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.

In the very beginning of Luke chapter 15, Jesus speaks to religious leaders — teachers of the law — who look at Jesus fraternizing with “sinners,” and they say to him basically, “Why are you hanging out with all these lost people?” The people who are spiritually lost — meaning far from God, away from home, alienated from God. Why is Jesus fraternizing with them? In response, Jesus gives three parables, and they’re all about lostness. The third parable is this one, the parable of the prodigal son – the most amazing, shocking, category-busting message of Jesus about what it means to be spiritually lost. Jesus is basically trying to get across a new idea, a better idea, than the Pharisees had of what it means to be spiritually lost.  Let’s look at this new category of spiritual lostness that Jesus introduces: 1) what it is; 2)  how you can judge whether you’re in the category yourself (what the signs are of that condition); 3) what do you do with it if that’s you, and 4) what are some of the implications for our church. This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 9, 2008. Series "The Fellowship of Grace". Scripture: Luke 15:17-32. 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.