Our need for worth is so powerful that whatever we base our identity and value on we essentially 'deify.' We will look to it with all the passion and intensity of worship and devotion, even if we think ourselves as highly irreligious. Timothy Keller More Quotes by Timothy Keller More Quotes From Timothy Keller When love of one's people becomes an absolute, it turns into racism. When love of equality turns into a supreme thing, it can result in hatred and violence toward anyone who has led a privileged life. It is the settled tendency of human societies to turn good political causes into counterfeit gods. Timothy Keller hatred racism people Success and suffering will either darken your heart or make you wise, but they won't leave you where you were. Timothy Keller suffering wise heart Suffering is unbearable if you aren’t certain that God is for you and with you. Timothy Keller pain religious god Jesus's teaching consistently attracted the irreligious while offending the Bible-believing , religious people of his day. Timothy Keller religious believe jesus Think like a prophet, serve like a priest, and plan like a king. Timothy Keller prophet kings thinking Only if you first seek inner forgiveness will your confrontation be temperate, wise, and gracious. Only when you have lost the need to see the other person hurt will you have any chance of actually bringing about change, reconciliation, and healing. You have to submit to the costly suffering and death of forgiveness if there is going to be any resurrection. Timothy Keller hurt healing wise If you add anything to Jesus as a requirement for being happy, that's your real king. Timothy Keller real kings jesus If you're a Christian how do you deal with stress without Jesus? You don't. Timothy Keller stress christian jesus Life in this fallen world is to a great degree meaningless, our aspirations are constantly being frustrated, and sometimes the respectable people are oppressive and bigoted. And yet there is a Good that will triumph over Evil in the end. From a Christian perspective the problem with both kinds of stories is that they tend to blame problems on things besides sin and identify salvation in things besides God — and therefore are ultimately too simplistic. Timothy Keller blame problem world The gospel destroys pride because it tells us we are so lost that Jesus had to die for us. Timothy Keller pride lost jesus If the church does not identify with the marginalized, it will itself be marginalized. This is God's poetic justice. Timothy Keller church doe justice We would say homosexuality is not the original design for sexuality. Therefore, it’s not good for human flourishing. We want people to do things that are good for human flourishing. But that’s not what sends you to heaven or Hell. Timothy Keller design heaven people This is the humbling truth that lies at the heart of Christianity. We love to be our own saviors. Our hearts love to manufacture glory for themselves. So we find messages of self-salvation extremely attractive, whether they are religious (Keep these rules and you earn eternal blessing) or secular (Grab hold of these things and you’ll experience blessing now). Timothy Keller religious heart lying The world values power, comfort, success, and recognition. Jesus frees us to value grief, sacrifice, weakness, and exclusion. Timothy Keller sacrifice grief jesus Everyone will be forgotten, nothing we do will make any difference, and all good endeavors, even the best, will come to naught. Unless there is God. If the God of the Bible exists, and there is a True Reality beneath and behind this one, and this life is not the only life, then every good endeavor, even the simplest ones, pursued in response to God's calling, can matter forever. Timothy Keller differences forever reality When people say, "I know God forgives me, but I can't forgive myself," they mean that they have failed an idol, whose approval is more important than God's. Timothy Keller idols mean people As long as we think we are not that bad, the idea of grace will never change us. Timothy Keller long ideas thinking When I forget the gospel I become dependent on the smiles and evaluation of others. Timothy Keller evaluation dependent forget Religion says earn your life. Secular society says create your life. Jesus says, 'My life for your life. Timothy Keller christian faith life 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. Timothy Keller if-there-is-a-god believe jesus
