The Both/And of the Gospel :: Tim Keller

Timothy Keller | Pastor, Redeemer Presbyterian Church
Dr. Keller is the Senior Pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, New York, “one of Manhattan’s most vital congregations,” according toChristianity Today. Tim has led the PCA denominations church planting initiatives and remains committed to promoting and nurturing the growth of new churches in New York City and around the world. The Influentials issue of New York Magazine recently featured Dr. Keller as “the most successful Christian evangelist in the city by recognizing that young professionals and artists are ‘disproportionately influential’ in creating the country’s culture and that you have to meet this coveted demographic on its own terms.”

• There is  a kind of polarization happening in the Christian community between justification people and justice people.
• Justification by faith alone is doctrine reformers recovered during the Reformation.
• The doctrine of justification by faith alone is a traditional evangelical Gospel.
• What’s happened is that people who really guard the doctrine believe the implications of it are that we are mainly here to do the work of evangelism.
• People see justice and compassion as a misnomer.
• People who are passionate for justice and cultural engagement have walked away from the traditional Gospel… they aren’t using the terms or using the words “bearing the wrath of God”…
• Justification and justice are joined at the hip… it’s a seamless cloth.

1 – Justification by faith leads to justice.

• Isaiah, Amos, Jeremiah… Isaiah 29 “they honor me with their lips but their hears are far form me.” – people who didn’t care for the poor. Isaiah 58, while you fast you exploit your workers. The fast God chooses is to loose the chains of injustice.
• If you say you believe you’re a sinner saved by grace but don’t have a heart for the poor, your heart is not right with God… you haven’t expereicned God’s love.
• Luke 11:42 – full of greed and wickeness and reject the poor.
• If you really encounter the grace of God you will care about the poor, orphans, widows, immigrants, etc.
• The way you know you are right with God is if you care for those who are in need.
• Matthew 25: people will say they know me, but I’ll know the difference by what they did for the least of these.
• Faith unaccompanied by action is dead.
• We need to live a life that is poured out for the needs and service for the poor.
• The experience of justification by faith alone gives you a higher standard of justice.
• Legalism says if you try hard enough you’ll be ok; relativism says anything is ok.
• Justification shows you a higher view of the love of God, compassion, wrath, judgement and justice of God.
• We need to be forgiven perpetrators of justice.
• We must remember to go out with gentleness.

2 – Gives you a new attitude toward the poor.

• “Blessed are the poor in spirit…” – you’ll never be condescending again.
• You look at a mirror when you look at a poor person.
• Rather than being poor in spirit, we’re middle class in spirit.
• With God’s grace we bcome poor in spirit; when the spiritually poor meet the materially poor we can’t be condescending

3 – Changes the attitude of poor.

When we practice justice it will lead to more justification by faith alone.

Tim shared the story of a wealthy woman who had one heir, her nephew. He appeared to be a kind, caring person, but she wanted to test him to see if he really was. She dressed up as a poor woman and laid on the steps of his house and when he came out he threatened her and told her to leave.

Jesus said, in Matthew 25, if you know you are saved by grace, you will care about the poor.

Jesus is the poor man on your doorstep.

How you treat him shows if you are saved by justification through grace.