Tim Keller (pastor) - Gospel Quotes

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The purpose of Sabbath is not simply to rejuvenate yourself in order to do more production, nor is it the pursuit of pleasure. The purpose of Sabbath is to enjoy your God, life in general, what you have accomplished in the world through his help, and the freedom you have in the gospel-the freedom from slavery to any material object or human expectation. The Sabbath is a sign of the hope that we have in the world to come.

Tim Keller
Most people in the world believe that if there is a God, you relate to God by being good. Most religions are based on that principle, though there are a million different variations on it...But they all have the same logic: If I perform, if I obey, I'm accepted. The gospel of Jesus is not only different from that but diametrically opposed to it: I'm fully accepted in Jesus Christ, and therefore I obey.

Tim Keller
When I forget the gospel I become dependent on the smiles and evaluation of others.

Tim Keller
The Gospel is the deepest consolation you can offer to the human heart.

Tim Keller
The gospel humbles us into the dust and at the very same time exalts us to the heavens.

Tim Keller
Religion operates on the principle 'I obey-therefore I am accepted by God.' But the operating principle of the gospel is 'I am accepted by God through what Christ has done-therefore I obey.'

Tim Keller
Marriage is so much like salvation and our relationship with Christ that you can't understand marriage w/o looking at the gospel.

Tim Keller
The gospel has supernatural versatility to address the particular hopes, fears, and idols of every culture and every person.

Tim Keller
The gospel is not just the ABCs but the A-to-Z of the Christian life.

Tim Keller
Christ literally walked in our shoes and entered into our affliction. Those who will not help others until they are destitute reveal that Christ's love has not yet turned them into the sympathetic persons the gospel should make them.

Tim Keller
The gospel frees us from the relentless pressure of having to prove ourselves, for we are already proven and secure.

Tim Keller
It is because Jesus Christ experienced cosmic thirst on the cross that you and I can have our spiritual thirst satisfied. It is because he died that we can be born again. And he did it gladly. Seeing what he did and why he did it will turn away our hearts from the things that enslave us and toward him in worship. That is the gospel, and it is the same for skeptics, believers, insiders, outcasts, and everyone in between.

Tim Keller
One of the signs that you may not grasp the unique, radical nature of the gospel is that you are certain that you do.

Tim Keller
The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.

Tim Keller
The gospel is not about choosing to follow advice; it's about being called to follow a King.

Tim Keller
We are called not simply to communicate the gospel to nonbelievers; we must also intentionally celebrate the gospel before them.

Tim Keller
In Ephesians 5, Paul shows us that even on earth Jesus did not use his power to oppress us but sacrificed everything to bring us into union with him. And this takes us beyond the philosophical to the personal and the practical. If God had the gospel of Jesus's salvation in mind when he established marriage, then marriage only 'works' to the degree that approximates the pattern of God's self-giving love in Christ.

Tim Keller
The Christian Gospel is that I am so flawed that Jesus had to die for me, yet I am so loved and valued that Jesus was glad to die for me. This leads to deep humility and deep confidence at the same time. It undermines both swaggering and sniveling. I cannot feel superior to anyone, and yet I have nothing to prove to anyone. I do not think more of myself nor less of myself. Instead, I think of myself less.

Tim Keller