black
grey
blue
red
brown
white

If God is not at the center of your life, something else is.

Timothy Keller

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.
TIMOTHY KELLER

Accept Accepted Bible Different Every Gospel Page Religion Show Utterly
Faith is not primarily a function of how you feel.
TIMOTHY KELLER

Faith Feel Function Primarily
There is a joy available that the deepest grief cannot put out. No circumstance or person can take away the joy God gives.
TIMOTHY KELLER

Available Away Circumstance Deepest God Joy Person Put Take
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

Absolute Good Hatred Love People People Become Political Racism Society Tendency Turn
Our character is mainly shaped by our primary social community – the people with whom we eat, play, converse, and study.
TIMOTHY KELLER

Character Community Converse Eat Mainly Person Play Primarily Social Strap Study
To discover the real you, look at what you spend time thinking about when no one is looking.
TIMOTHY KELLER

Discover Look One Real Spend Think Time You
The resurrection was God’s way of stamping PAID IN FULL right across history so that nobody could miss it.
TIMOTHY KELLER

Access Dull God History Miss Nobody Paid Resurrection Right Stamp
Faith is living out and believing what truth is despite what you feel.
TIMOTHY KELLER

Despite Faith Feel Living Out Truth
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!
TIMOTHY KELLER

Christian Guilt Motivate Motivation Other Say Shoes Tend
The gospel is not only the way to enter the kingdom; it is the way to live in the kingdom.
TIMOTHY KELLER

Enter Gospel Kingdom Live Only Way
Legalistic remorse says, “I broke God’s rules,” while real repentance says, “I broke God’s heart.”
TIMOTHY KELLER

Broke Christian God Heart Heartbreak Legislation Remorse Repentance Rule Say
When Job was prospering, he prayed. When he was suffering, he still prayed.
TIMOTHY KELLER

Pray Proper Still Suffer
You are a totally loved moral failure.
TIMOTHY KELLER

Christ Emotion Failure Gfeeling Jesus Love Moral Totally
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.
TIMOTHY KELLER

Anyone Deed Humanity Less Myself Nothing Superior Swagger Think Undermine
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

Bless Eternal Experience Many People Promise Succes Thing Time
How you experience your present is completely shaped by what you believe your ultimate future to be.
TIMOTHY KELLER

Believe Experience Future Present Shape Ultimate
Tolerance isn’t about not having beliefs. It’s about how your beliefs lead you to treat people who disagree with you.
TIMOTHY KELLER

Belief Disagree People Tolerance Treat
If God is not at the center of your life, something else is.
TIMOTHY KELLER

Center Else God Life Something
If anything becomes more fundamental than God to your happiness, meaning of life, and identity then it is an idol.
TIMOTHY KELLER

Anything Become Fundamental God Identity Idol Idols Life Meaning
A life of gratitude to God for being saved is far more pleasing than a life based on self-righteousness over being good.
TIMOTHY KELLER

Based Being Good Gratitude Life Over Righteousness Save Self
The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe.
TIMOTHY KELLER

Believe Christ Dare Flawed Gospel Jesus Ourselves Sinful
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.
TIMOTHY KELLER

Call People Promise Something Success Think Time
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.
TIMOTHY KELLER

Christianity Heart Humble Lying Religious Truth
Generosity is not only about money. There is more than one currency. Let your generosity be pervasive in life.
TIMOTHY KELLER

Currency Generosity Life Money One Only Perceive
The way to find your calling is to look at the way you were created. Your gifts have not emerged by accident.
TIMOTHY KELLER

Accident Calling Create Emerge Gift Look Way
Yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.
TIMOTHY KELLER

Accept Christ Dare Jesus Love More Same Time Yet
God became someone we could hurt. Why? To get us back… No other religion-whethe r secularism, Greco-Roman paganism, Eastern religion, Judaism, or Islam-believes God became breakable or suffered or had a body.
TIMOTHY KELLER

Back Become Believe Body Breakable Country Expert God People Someone Suffer

If God is not at the center of your life, something else is.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

If God is not at the center of your life, something else is.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More Timothy Keller Quotes