timothy-keller Quotes About ifs Page 2

“The Bible’s purpose is not so much to show you how to live a good life. The Bible’s purpose is to show you how God’s grace breaks into your life against your will and saves you from the sin and brokenness otherwise you would never be able to overcome… religion is ‘if you obey, then you will be accepted’. But the Gospel is, ‘if you are absolutely accepted, and sure you’re accepted, only then will you ever begin to obey’. Those are two utterly different things. Every page of the Bible shows the difference.”

Ifs Two Different Shows Able Purpose Differences Sin Break Grace Pages Overcoming Accepted Different Things Good Life Brokenness God's Grace

Author:Timothy Keller

“Suffering is unbearable if you aren’t certain that God is for you and with you.”

Ifs God Pain Certain Suffering Religious Christian Inspirational Trust In God Pastor Unbearable God Is In Control Pain And Sorrow

Book:Walking with God through Pain and Suffering

Source: Walking with God through Pain and Suffering

“Only if you are part of a community of believers seeking to resemble, serve, and love Jesus will you ever get to know him and grow into his likeness.”

Ifs Knows Jesus Grows Community And Love Seeking Believer Jesus Love

Author:Timothy Keller

“Mercy and forgiveness must be free and unmerited to the wrongdoer. If the wrongdoer has to do something to merit it, then it isn’t mercy, but forgiveness always comes at a cost to the one granting the forgiveness.”

Ifs Religious Cost Forgiveness Mercy Merit Sinner Pastor Offenders Perpetrators Culprit Mercy And Forgiveness

Book:The Prodigal God: Recovering the heart of the Christian faith

Source: The Prodigal God: Recovering the heart of the Christian faith

“All I know is, if I don't care about the poor, if my church doesn't care about the poor, that's evil.”

Ifs Knows Care Evil Church Poor Don't Care I Don't Care

Author:Timothy Keller

“Christians tend to motivate others with guilt. We tend to say: You would do this if you were really committed Christians, indicating that we are committed and all that is needed is for others to become as good as we are! This is why so many churches quench the motivation of people for ministry. In our shoes, Paul would say: Remember the grace God has showered on you—what does living out and enjoying that grace look like in this situation?”

People Ifs Looks Doe Christian Remember Motivation Enjoy Church Situation Grace Needed Guilt Shoes Committed Ministry Quench

Author:Timothy Keller

“The Cross is not simply a lovely example of sacrificial love. Throwing your life away needlessly is not admirable — it is wrong. Jesus’ death was only a good example if it was more than an example, if it was something absolutely necessary to rescue us. And it was. Why did Jesus have to die in order to forgive us? There was a debt to be paid — God himself paid it. There was a penalty to be born — God himself bore it. Forgiveness is always a form of costly suffering.”

Ifs Form Suffering Order Dies Jesus Born Example Crosses Paid Forgiving Debt Lovely Throwing Rescue Bores Penalties Admirable Good Examples Sacrificial Love Jesus Death

Author:Timothy Keller

“If your fundamental is a man dying on the cross for his enemies, if the very heart of your self-image and your religion is a man praying for his enemies as he died for them, sacrificing for them, loving them - if that sinks into your heart of hearts, it's going to produce the kind of life that the early Christians produced. The most inclusive possible life out of the most exclusive possible claim - and that is this is the truth. But what is the truth? The truth is a God become weak, loving and dying for the people who opposed him, dying forgiving them.”

People Ifs Men Heart Kind Self Christian Enemy Sacrifice Dying Produce Praying Truth Is Crosses Weak Claims Died Fundamentals Forgiving Exclusive Loving Life

Author:Timothy Keller

“If you try to add to God's salvation you subtract. If you try to add to God's salvation you subtract. If you try to merit God's salvation you haven't believed at all, even if you try to do a little bit.”

Ifs Trying Littles Bits Havens Little Bit Salvation Add Merit

Author:Timothy Keller

“If we say, 'I believe in Jesus,' but it doesn't affect the way we live, the answer is not that now we need to add hard work to our faith so much as that we haven't truly understood or believed in Jesus at all.”

Ifs Way Needs Believe Hard Jesus I Believe Answers Havens Hard Work Understood Add I Believe In

Book:The Prodigal God: Recovering the heart of the Christian faith

Source: The Prodigal God: Recovering the heart of the Christian faith

“If you wait until your motives are pure and unselfish before you do something, you will wait forever.”

Ifs Motivational Success Waiting Forever Pure Succeed Motive Success In Life Pastor Theologian Key To Success Road To Success Recipe For Success Unselfish Waiting For Forever

Book:The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism

Source: The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism

“A person's faith can collapse almost overnight if she failed over the years to listen patiently to her own doubts, which should only be discarded after long reflection.”

Ifs Should Years Persons Long Doubt Reflection Collapse Discarded Defenseless Probing

Book:The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism

Source: The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism

“If God is treated as God during suffering, then suffering can reveal and present him in all his greatness.”

Ifs Suffering Greatness Treated

Book:Walking with God through Pain and Suffering

Source: Walking with God through Pain and Suffering

“If you say: I believed in God, I trusted God and He didn't come through - You only trusted God to meet your agenda.”

Ifs Trust Agendas Trust In God Trusted Commitment To God Confidence In God Servant Of God God Is In Control God Works In Mysterious Ways

Author:Timothy Keller

“We can only grasp the gospel's sweetness if we first grapple with its offense- you can't save yourself.”

Ifs Firsts Offense Sweetness Save Yourself

Author:Timothy Keller

“If our identity is in our work, rather than Christ, success will go to our heads, and failure will go to our hearts.”

Ifs Heart Christ Identity Trust In God Road To Success Recipe For Success Commitment To God Intimacy With God Servant Of God Following Jesus Jesus Love I Love Jesus

Author:Timothy Keller

“If we give God things in hope that they'll earn us blessings, we're really not doing anything for him. It's for ourselves.”

Ifs Giving Blessing

Author:Timothy Keller

“It is impossible to forgive someone if you feel superior to him or her.”

Ifs Feels Impossible Forgiving Superiors

Book:The Prodigal God: Recovering the heart of the Christian faith

Source: The Prodigal God: Recovering the heart of the Christian faith

“Many times people think if God has called you to something, he's promising you success. He might be calling you to fail to prepare you for something else through the failure.”

People Ifs Thinking Might Failing Calling God Has A Plan

Author:Timothy Keller

“If you're avoiding sin and living morally so that God will have to bless you and save you, then you may be looking to Jesus as a teacher, model, and helper, but ironically you are avoiding him as Savior. You are trusting in your own goodness rather than in Jesus for your standing with God.”

Ifs May Jesus Sin Teacher Goodness Models Standing Gods Will Bless Savior Avoiding Helpers

Author:Timothy Keller

“If you are trying to live a life in accordance with the Bible, the concept and call to justice are inescapable. We do justice when we give all human beings their due as creations of God. Doing justice includes not only the righting of wrongs but generosity and social concern, especially toward the poor and vulnerable.”

Ifs Giving Trying Humans Social Justice Human Beings Poor Creation Concepts Concern Dues Vulnerable Generosity Poor And Vulnerable

Book:Generous Justice: How God's Grace Makes Us Just

Source: Generous Justice: How God's Grace Makes Us Just

“Even if our own troubles are great, we should still serve. Jesus washed His disciples feet on the way to the cross.”

Ifs Way Should Stills Jesus Trouble Feet Crosses Disciple

Author:Timothy Keller

“Discipleship is not an option. Jesus says that if anyone would come after me, he must follow me.”

Ifs Jesus Discipleship Follow Me

Author:Timothy Keller

“If you don't love the poor, you don't know what God's done for you.”

Ifs Knows Done Poor

Author:Timothy Keller

“If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all he said.”

Ifs Said Jesus Accepting Rose Resurrection Risen Jesus Resurrection Easter Resurrection Resurrection Of Jesus Christ Christs Resurrection Jesus Christ Easter He Has Risen He Is Risen

Author:Timothy Keller

“If you are a child of God, you don’t lose your status if you have a bad week.”

Ifs Children Loses Week Child Of God

Author:Timothy Keller

“Only if God can say things that make you struggle will you know that you have met a real God and not a figment of your imagination.”

Ifs Knows Real Imagination Struggle Mets Figments

Author:Timothy Keller

“If God is real, why does he align perfectly with our views? We should expect God to challenge us on what we think is right somewhere”

Ifs Thinking Should Doe Real Challenges Views God Is Real

Author:Timothy 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.”

People Ifs World Believe Different Jesus Christ Principles Millions Jesus Christ Logic Be Good Accepted Relate Variation If There Is A God

Author:Timothy Keller

“Preaching is compelling to young secular adults ... - not if preachers use video clips from their favorite movies and dress informally and sound sophisticated, - but if the preachers understand their hearts and culture so well that listeners feel the force of the sermon's reasoning, even if in the end they don't agree with it.”

Source: Gospel Renewal: Center Church, Part Two

“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.”

Ifs Needs Firsts Persons Suffering Lost Hurt Chance Healing Wise Resurrection Submit Reconciliation Gracious Confrontation Suffering And Death

Author:Timothy Keller

“If you add anything to Jesus as a requirement for being happy, that's your real king.”

Ifs Real Jesus Kings Add Requirements

Author:Timothy Keller

“If you can't show the difference between religion and the Gospel, people will confuse morality with a changed heart”

People Ifs Heart Shows Differences Changed Morality Gospel

Author:Timothy Keller

“If you want God's grace, all you need is need, all you need is nothing.”

Ifs Want Needs Grace God's Grace

Book:Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters

Source: Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters

“Jesus' claims are particularly unnerving, because if they are true there is no alternative but to bow the knee to him.”

Ifs Jesus Claims Alternatives Knees Trust In God Bows Commitment To God Servant Of God Following Jesus

Book:The Mother of God

Source: The Mother of God

“If the preaching of our ministers and the practice of our parishioners do not have the same effect on people that Jesus had, then we must not be declaring the same message that Jesus did.”

People Ifs Jesus Practice Effects Messages Ministers Preaching Declaring Parish

Book:The Prodigal God: Recovering the heart of the Christian faith

Source: The Prodigal God: Recovering the heart of the Christian faith

“Living is giving....If you spend your money on yourself, you are just surviving. But if you want your life to count, if you want to really live - give.”

Ifs Want Giving Surviving

Author:Timothy Keller

“To stay away from Christianity because part of the Bible’s teaching is offensive to you assumes that if there is a God he wouldn’t have any views that upset you. Does that belief make sense? If you don’t trust the Bible enough to let it challenge and correct your thinking, how could you ever have a personal relationship with God? In any truly personal relationship, the other person has to be able to contradict you.”

“Jesus is the only Lord who, if you receive him, will fulfill you completely, and, if you fail him, will forgive you eternally.”

Ifs Jesus Lord Failing Forgiving

Book:The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism

Source: The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism

“If we are deeply moved by the sight of his love for us, it detaches our hearts from other would-be saviors. We stop trying to redeem ourselves through our pursuits and relationships, because we are already redeemed. We stop trying to make others into saviors, because we have a Savior.”

Ifs Trying Heart Would Be Sight Moved Pursuit Savior His Love Stop Trying Redeemed

Book:Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters

Source: Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters

“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.”

Ifs Matter Reality Life Is Differences Behinds Forever Calling Response Very Good Forgotten This Life Simplest Pursued Endeavour True Reality

Author:Timothy Keller

“If the church does not identify with the marginalized, it will itself be marginalized. This is God's poetic justice.”

Ifs Doe Church Justice Poetic Marginalized

Author:Timothy Keller

“If we have not seen our sin and sought radical forgiveness from God, we will be unable to forgive and to seek the good of those who have wronged us.”

Ifs Sin Forgiving Radical Wronged Unable To Forgive

Book:Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God

Source: Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God

“If you're a Christian how do you deal with stress without Jesus? You don't.”

Ifs Christian Jesus Deals Stress Dealing With Stress

Author:Timothy Keller

“If you need something in addition to God to make you happy, that is your true King.”

Ifs Needs Kings Make You Happy

Author:Timothy Keller

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