This passage tells the story of how Peter and Paul had a confrontation over the nature of the gospel, the essence of the Christian faith, over what a Christian really is. What is a Christian? We’re going to look at a definition in this teaching, a definition that is vast in its implications. Almost any other definition than this one is unbalanced, misleading, and distorted. Becoming good is a result of being a Christian; it’s not the essence of becoming a Christian. When you become a Christian you are justified. It doesn’t mean you suddenly stop being bad. It means you’re no longer viewed in the same way. It means your sins can no longer bring you into condemnation. It means you’re righteous in God’s sight. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 23 1997. Series: Galatians: New Freedom, New Family. Scripture: Galatians 2:17-21. 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.

Timothy Keller Sermons Podcast by Gospel in Life

Justified Sinners

In this passage, Paul has confronted not just Peter, but Barnabas and all of these great Christian leaders, over what it means to live in accordance with the gospel. The word gospel or “good news” is the essential core; the thing that makes Christianity, Christianity. Here we have Paul arguing with Peter, another apostle, and all of the leaders, as to how the gospel is to be worked out, and what the gospel is.  For the first time in the book of Galatians, Paul gets into terminology. First of all, we’re going to talk about the fact that there's a need for a vocabulary, and why we need a vocabulary. Then secondly, what that vocabulary is. There is a gospel vocabulary—let’s see how this teaches us why we need those terms, and then secondly, what they are. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 16, 1997. Series: Galatians: New Freedom, New Family. Scripture: Galatians 2:14-21. 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.

I No Longer Live the Life I Live

In this sermon we continue looking at an account of two very important visits: Paul coming down to Jerusalem and Peter coming up to Antioch; Paul coming down to where Peter lived and Peter coming up to where Paul lived. In the first visit, we saw a very important principle laid down as to the nature of the gospel, what it is. We saw that the problem was the message of a certain group of religious teachers. Their point was believing in Jesus Christ was very important; they weren’t against Christ. But they said you have to add to Jesus Christ, his work, his love; faith and union with his work and his love is not enough to cleanse and beautify you. It’s not enough. You have to believe in Christ, and, in their case, they said you have to adopt the entire Mosaic law, all the ceremonial laws. The important thing is the principle of the gospel: is Jesus Christ’s work and love enough to cleanse and beautify you all by itself? Paul’s answer is “Yes.” For these folks the answer was “No.” This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 9, 1997. Series: Galatians: New Freedom, New Family. Scripture: Galatians 2:11-16. 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.

The Heart of the Gospel

One of the great things about this passage from Galatians is that Paul is giving us some very meaty, very important theological teaching exposition, but he’s doing it in the form of a narrative because he’s telling us a story of two visits. There were all these ceremonial rules in the Mosaic covenant in the Old Testament. There was an extremely influential pressure group of early Christians, and this group was saying that in order to be a Christian, you must not only believe in Jesus Christ, you also have to obey all the ceremonial clean laws. Of course, Paul’s point was, “No, you don’t.” If Paul says we have to honor parts of the Bible but we don’t have to honor another part of the Bible, who’s to say? How do we know? This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 2, 1997. Series: Galatians: New Freedom, New Family. Scripture: Galatians 2:6-14. 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 Centrality of the Gospel

We’re looking here at one particular truth: Paul is saying in this passage that doctrinal truth is absolutely critical. He’s fighting for a particular truth, the truth of the gospel. It is the mark of our culture right now that we want spirituality without theology. We want some kind of heart intimacy, but we don’t want to have to bring our mind and our entire life.  Yet you also can’t have theology without spirituality. What is Paul saying over and over again? If you lose the truth of the gospel, the freedom is gone. The liberation is gone. The spirituality is gone. The love, the power, the glory are all gone. That’s why we have to keep the truth. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 19, 1997. Series: Galatians: New Freedom, New Family. Scripture: Galatians 2:1-10. 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.

The Fellowship of the Gospel

We’re looking at Paul’s letter to the Galatians, and the thing I hope will strike you is the radical objectivity and subjectivity of Christianity. Almost everybody tends to see the objective and subjective as being at loggerheads. Christianity will not let you make that choice. It says Christianity is radically both. They’re joined in the gospel. If you take a look at the passage, it may be better here than anywhere. You can see them together. First of all, we see the hard objectivity. We won’t spend as much time on that because this is a continuation of where we were last week. First of all, we see the hard objectivity and the deep subjectivity. You’re really not a Christian unless you accept both, unless you embrace both, unless you really see both. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 12, 1997. Series: Galatians: New Freedom, New Family. Scripture: Galatians 1:10-24. 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.

Why They Glorified God

The book of Galatians is not for non-Christians. It’s not for unbelievers. It’s not for people who say, “Oh, I don’t believe the gospel.” The whole book of Galatians is a book on the gospel, a book communicating the gospel, explaining the gospel, applying the gospel, and it’s a book for Christians, a book for people who say they believe it. To break down this passage, first, Paul shows us the need for controversy, essentially why and when we need controversy. Secondly, he tells us what the authority is to appeal to in controversy, the method of conducting it. Again, we’re talking about Christians struggling with beliefs. Thirdly, he tells us how to heal controversy. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 5, 1997. Series: Galatians: New Freedom, New Family. Scripture: Galatians 1:6-12. 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.

Controversy

If the Bible is not so much a human book reaching up for God, but a divine book reaching out for us, then we’ll only really profit from it if we read it in search of what God has for us rather than reading it to find what we want to find. One of the best ways to do this is to take verse by verse, rather than just jumping to topics that we like.  One of the things we see right away in the introduction of Galatians is that Paul has to address a church that is losing touch with the gospel. He has to remind his readers how they came into being  and how they became Christians. By doing so, he gives us a little set of tests to know whether or not the gospel is in our own lives. We’re going to look at four things to test ourselves: the power, the content, the drama, and the intimacy. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 21, 1997. Series: Galatians: New Freedom, New Family. Scripture: Galatians 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.

No Other Gospel

Galatians is like a little bomb. There’s dynamite in it. It’s not a very long book, but it brings a big punch. Paul has to bring a hard truth to the Galatians. Those that thought they believed the gospel were actually losing touch with it. The lesson for us is if we really think we understand everything about the gospel, then that probably proves we’re losing touch with it.  We’re going to look at the introduction to Galatians. It’s tempting to gloss right over these first few verses, but there are important things for us to learn. Paul touches on themes that will reappear later in the book. 1) The importance of doctrine, 2) the importance of authority, and 3) the importance of God’s initiative. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 14, 1997. Series: Galatians: New Freedom, New Family. Scripture: Galatians 1:1-5. 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.

The Rescue

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on August 21, 2011. Series: Theophany: Anticipations of Jesus in the Old Testament. Scripture: Daniel 3:14-29. 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 King and the Furnace

The book of Daniel is a helpful place in the Bible to learn how to live as a believer in a pluralistic society — a society that believes in many gods, religions, and moralities. Today we take a look at the most famous of all the narratives in Daniel. We learn three things that should characterize the life of the believer: salt, hurt, and light. These are the same three things that Jesus gives us in the Sermon on the Mount.  Let’s look at these three principles that show us how to live in the world as believers in the only true God. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on May 21, 2000. Series: Daniel: Living by Faith in a Secular World. Scripture: Daniel 6:1-10, 16-23. 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 Lions of God

Daniel is a set of narratives about what happened when the Jewish exiles were taken out of a country in which there was a set of cultural institutions that supported the biblical God. They were taken into Babylon, which was a pluralistic society in which there were many gods and there were many moralities, all equally valid. The Israelites, who believed in the one true God, had to learn how to function in an unbelieving society.  Today’s passage from Daniel 5 will help us see how we should also live faithful lives in a secular world. Let’s look at these three parts of the narrative: the party; the great party crasher, Daniel; and thirdly, the fingers of God and the writing on the wall. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on May 14, 2000. Series: Daniel: Living by Faith in a Secular World. Scripture: Daniel 5:1-6, 17-31. 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.

The Finger on the Wall

The book of Daniel teaches us about the Israelites while in exile. After living for centuries in a culture in which the cultural institutions supported their belief in God, they found themselves in Babylon, which was a religiously pluralistic society. This big city had many gods and many moralities. This naturally created tension because the Israelites believed in the one true God of the Bible.  In a similar way, how do we live as believers in a pluralistic society? We may be accused of being intolerant of those who don’t believe like us. Or we may face hard questions about our God allowing unjust suffering in the world. How do we handle that? Today’s passage from the book of Daniel helps us navigate these issues. First of all, let’s take a look at the golden image, which addresses the problem of tolerance, and then we’ll look at the fiery furnace, which addresses the problem of unjust suffering. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on May 7, 2000. Series: Daniel: Living by Faith in a Secular World. Scripture: Daniel 3:14-29. 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 Man in the Furnace

We’re going to consider the question, “What does it mean to live the Christian life? How can we live it out?” The book of Daniel is a helpful place to go because it’s exilic literature, meaning it tells the stories of the Israelites when in exile. They were taken away from Israel and into a city that was hostile to God. As believers, we’re like Daniel in exile, asking ourselves, “How in the world can we live a life of integrity in a pluralistic, polytheistic, unbelieving world?”  There are three questions to ask ourselves: what’s the meaning of Daniel’s two names, what’s the meaning of this weird dream, and thirdly, what is the rock that strikes the statue? We’re going to learn three practical principles for living a believing life in an unbelieving world.  This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 30, 2000. Series: Daniel: Living by Faith in a Secular World. Scripture: Daniel 2:24-35, 44-46. 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 Dream of the Kingdom

The sermon for today comes from Luke 4, and it is the last sermon in a broader series on the fruit of the Spirit and character change. The recurring question has been, “How can our hearts be changed?” Simply put, our hearts don’t change when we look at the law, but they change when we look at the lawgiver, who is Jesus.  We now come to the last fruit of the Spirit which is self-control. Jesus exemplified self-control and stayed on course when he faced temptation. We’re going to learn about self-control by looking at these four things: what temptation is; the inevitability of it; how it works; and how to defeat it. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on May 31, 1998. Series: The Fruit of the Spirit – The Character of Christ. Scripture: Luke 4:1-15. 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 Zeal of Jesus

Classic sermons by Tim Keller, Pastor Emeritus of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City and NY Times best-selling author of "The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism." For the latest sermons and additional resources, please visit www.GospelinLife.com

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Timothy Keller Sermons Podcast by Gospel in Life

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