Timothy Keller Sermons Podcast by Gospel in Life - True Spirituality

Episode Date: July 23, 2025

The trouble with the Sermon on the Mount is it’s so familiar that almost nobody listens to it, almost nobody knows what it’s saying. How do we know that? At the very end of the sermon, it says the crowds were amazed at Jesus’s teaching. And that word, “amazed,” in Greek meant thunderstruck, shocked, astounded. That’s the prevailing way people responded. Have you been thunderstruck? Are you shocked by it? If you’re not astounded, you haven’t listened to it.  So let’s listen to it. There are basically three great things Jesus says that are utterly astounding: 1) that there are two ways, two options spiritually, 2) that at the end of those two ways, there’s a judge, and 3) that at the end of that judgment, there’s a sentence. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on May 23, 1999. Series: The Mount; Life in the Kingdom. Scripture: Matthew 7:15-29. Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

Welcome to Gospel in Life. This month on the podcast, we're featuring a series on the Sermon on the Mount, a collection of teachings where Jesus outlines what it really means to live the Christian life. In the series, Tim Keller explores a striking idea that Christianity is not just different from the world, it's also radically different from religion. Now we've been going through the Sermon on the Mount all spring and we come to the end of the Sermon on the Mount. This is a summarizing passage. It's this summary. It's the end of the sermon and therefore Jesus is pulling together everything he's been

saying and because it's a summarizing passage for the whole sermon of the sermon. And therefore Jesus is pulling together everything he's been saying. And because it's a summarizing passage for the whole sermon, it therefore is also a summarizing sermon for the whole series, in fact the whole year. But we're going to be able to pull together everything we've been saying about the Sermon on the Mount all this year. And therefore I want to congratulate those of you who are just visiting today, if this is your first time at Redeemer, if it's the only time you've been at Redeemer in a long time, I just want to congratulate you for being very clever because it's the best possible... You see, all these other poor people have been spending hours and weeks trying to figure out the Sermon on the Mount,

and you're going to get it in a nutshell. It was very, very smart of you. Let me read you Matthew 7, verse 15 to 29, the end of the sermon. Watch out, Jesus said, watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from the thorn bushes or figs from the thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.

A good tree cannot bear bad fruit and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit, you will recognize them. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles? And then I will tell them plainly, I never knew you away from me, you evildoers. Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them

into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, yet it did not fall because it had its foundations on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the sun rose, the streams rose, and the wind blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash. And when Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching because he taught as one who had authority and not as their teachers of the law. taught as one who had authority and not as their teachers of the law. This is God's word.

The trouble with the Sermon on the Mount is it's so familiar. It's some of the most familiar material in the English language or in history, in the whole world. The Beatitudes, you know. Turn the other cheek, love your neighbor and all that. And because it's so familiar, almost nobody listens to it. Almost nobody really knows what it's saying. Now how do we know that? Because here at the very end, the very, very end of this sermon, Matthew says something that almost is a throwaway. You almost tend to go right by and say, yeah,

yeah, yeah, yeah. But it's actually extremely important because it's a test. It's the way you know whether you've actually heard what Jesus is saying in the Sermon on the Mount. Look, verse 28, here's the test. Here's how you know. When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching. Now this, it doesn't mean, it's not like, wow. Amazed is a very strong Greek word.

It means thunderstruck. It means shocked. And interestingly enough, several commentators that I read were saying on top of that, you also have an imperfect Greek tense, and that's unusual. In other words, this means that people were thunderstruck, they were shocked out of their senses, and the more they thought about it,

they went on getting more and more astounded all the time. They were astounded. And not just a few people, the crowds. This is the prevailing way people responded when Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount. Now, have you been astounded? Are you shocked by it? But you say, well, I know it. I know it. That's interesting. I know it. I know all about it. If you're not astounded, you haven't listened to it. So let's listen to it. There's basically three great things Jesus says

that are utterly astounding. And my guess is, you yourself have probably not heard, as familiar as you may be with the Sermon on the Mount, three things. They have to do with the fact that Jesus here at the very end of the sermon says, there are two ways, there are two basic options spiritually. Two ways that I want you to distinguish.

Two ways that I want you to see and make sure you choose the right one and not the wrong one. Two ways. So first of all, he says there's two ways and secondly, he says at the end of those two ways, there's a judge. And then he says at the end of that judgment, there's two ways. And secondly, he says at the end of those two ways there's a judge. And then he says at the end of that judgment there's a sentence. There's two ways at the end of the judge sentence, the ways there's the judgment, the end of the judgment there's the sentence. And he says something very astounding about all three, very. And here's what they are first. The first thing he says, he says something about the two ways that are astounding. What are the two ways? Notice, actually we start the sermon here in verse 15. If he would start at verse 13, which I didn't in writing this out for you in the bulletin, that's where it says there

is two paths, one to life, one to death. And then here it says there's two trees, one with good fruit, one with bad fruit. And then you get down to verse 24, there's two houses, one built on a rock, one built on the sand. So Jesus is saying there are these two spiritual approaches, two ways, and I want you to be able to distinguish between them and choose the right one. But the most, one of the most important things, one of the most interesting things about these two ways is that they're hard to discern from one another.

They're hard. Notice, for example, it doesn't say there's true trees. There's a tree with fruit and a tree without fruit. Now see, it doesn't take much discernment. If you walk into an orchard in June and up there are leaves, here's a bunch of trees and they have leaves on them and they have fruit on them. What kind of tree has fruit in June? But anyway, there's, well, they have leaves on them, they have fruit on them, and right

next is a tree with no leaves, no fruit. Okay, rocket scientist, put on your thinking cap, which one's alive and which one's dead? I wonder. But see, it doesn't take any discernment. But that's not what Jesus says. Jesus does not say these two ways or two paths. In one you have tree without fruit, one tree with fruit. No, look, verse 16, by their fruit you will recognize them. Verse 18, a good tree cannot bear bad fruit, a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. And so what we're talking about is a tree, two trees, they both bear fruit. But one, the word bad means poison. It doesn't mean shriveled. It means poison. To two trees they look exactly alike. One of the sets of fruit is poison. Or the two houses they look exactly alike.

To the visible, to the naked eye, what's visible looks the same. It's only what's hidden that makes a difference. Now what are these two paths? What are these two ways? And everybody thinks they know. In fact, I used to think I knew because I preached on this before wrongly. Because here's what almost everybody thinks. They say, well, it's very simple what Jesus is saying.

He is saying this is the good people and the bad people. This is the way of obeying God and the way of disobeying God. Here's the Sermon on the Mount. The Sermon on the Mount tells you how to be good. The Sermon on the Mount tells you in chapter five, love your neighbor. In chapter six it says, give to the poor. It says pray, Lord's prayer.

So love your neighbor and give to the poor and pray. It's telling you how to live a good life. And here at the end Jesus says, here are the two paths, here are the two trees, here are the two houses. You can either follow the sermon on the mount, you can live a good life, or you can live a wicked and selfish and licentious life. But is that what he's saying? I mean, how much discernment does it take to tell the difference between a person who prays and goes to church and who doesn't? Doesn't take any discernment. It's easy.

Here's a person who prays and goes to church. Here's a person who doesn't. Here's a person who's courteous to his neighbor. And here's a person who beats and stabs his neighbor. How much discernment does that take? And would Jesus Christ be likening these two ways to trees or houses or ways that look exactly alike on the outside? No.

Jesus is not talking about good people and about bad people. And if you want to see, you can partly see it here when he says, he gives two examples, two human examples of bad trees. First he says, watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they're ferocious wolves. Now, see, sheep, it's a universal term in the Old and New Testament. The sheep is the people of God. The Lord is my shepherd. I'm a sheep. And so what it's saying is here, these are prophets, which means they're speakers, they're teachers, but they're sheep, at least as far as I can see.

These aren't skeptics. These aren't atheists. These aren't licentious people, these aren't immoral people. On the outside, they look like religious and moral paragons because they're prophets, virtuous people. But now if you want to really see it clear, and if you really want to have your teeth rattle a little bit, I'm going to try, is look at the second example of a bad fruit, of bad trees. He says, on that day, many will say, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, did we not in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles? Now who are these people? First of all they call Jesus Lord and all commentators agree on this one and that means this person who's saying this to Jesus is saying you're God, you're divine. This particular word Lord,

kurios, actually was a word that in the Greek Old Testament, that means the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, wherever the divine name Yahweh came along Kurios translated that And it's very clear that this person is coming to Jesus and saying you're the son of God I believe the doctrine I believe the hypostatic union. I believe in the two natures of Christ. I believe that you're the son of God I believe your deity. I believe all the doctrine. I say here's an orthodox believing person I believe all the doctrine. So here's an orthodox believing person, subscribes all the doctrines. Secondly, he doesn't just say Lord, he says Lord, Lord. And that's a Semitic construction to talk about or to convey intensity of emotion. If you're going to really have emotion, you don't just say, Absalom, you say, Absalom, Absalom.

You say, Mary, Mary. Martha, Martha. My God, my God. In other words, it's intensity of emotion. And here's this person coming up, not just saying, I believe you're God. He doesn't say just Lord. He says, Lord, Lord, which means he's emotionally engaged. He's excited about Jesus. It gets worse and worse. And

then he says, we're told, that this is a person, he says, I prophesied in your name. That's got to mean, at least, teach the Bible or teach the message of Jesus. And then it says, I've also been deeply involved in people's lives and I've done miracles. And I think we take this literally. I've done miracles. I've been able to get into people's lives and liberate them and help them and see healing. So this person is deeply involved in ministry and Jesus turns and says to him what? I never knew you. Not like, hey I used to know you. You used to be a Christian, what happened to you? Mm-hmm. Not like I don't know who you are. There's never been a spiritual connection between us.

There's never been a personal relationship between us. And this is the tree with the bad fruit. Now, are you starting to figure this out? The two ways are not good people and bad people. Oh no. Because if you go back into the Sermon on the Mount, you'll see Jesus is always contrasting two groups of people, but they're not people who pray and who don't pray. What was he saying? He says, don't pray like them, pray like this. Remember? Both

groups are praying. Or he doesn't say, they don't give to the poor, you should. No, he says, they give to the poor, but don't give like they do. Give to the poor like this. Both groups are following the Ten Commandments. Thou shalt not murder. Remember? Everybody, they shall not murder. So they're both groups are living non-violently, but remember?

He says, you heard it says, thou shalt not murder, but I say to you, Jesus says, if you're a Christian, you won't even look at people in your heart and say, you fool. Now what he's talking about, let me put it in a nutshell, Jesus is not saying the real, real spiritual trick, you might say, the real spiritual test, the real discernment, the real place you can be really stuck, really screwed up, is to mistake the good path to the bad path. No. The good life for an evil life, no. He is not contrasting good and bad people, he's contrasting religious people and Christians. They're both behaviorally, and their behavioral standards similar. They're both praying, they're both giving to the poor, they're both obeying the Ten Commandments,

you see. They're both being kind to their neighbor. On the outside, they're both praying, they're both giving to the poor, they're both obeying the Ten Commandments, you see. They're both being kind to their neighbor. On the outside, they're both sheep, but on the inside, there's utterly different reasons that they're obeying the Ten Commandments, and with utterly different character results. That's amazing. And you see why. Don't you see why? He says, oh, anybody can see the difference between moral behavior and immoral behavior, between living a good life and living a bad life, what people can't see, and what people, both people inside the church and outside the church, people inside the church and outside

the church are being smothered. In fact, they're dying spiritually because they can't tell the difference between religion and Christianity. Jesus is saying these two groups of people, and they both, are doing similar kinds of things. But for utterly different reasons on the inside, motivation and spirit, and with utterly different results in their character. And what are the different reasons? Well, think of it this way. Let's take a look at the religious person. What is the reason the religious person gives the poor and prays and does all... what are the reasons? Well again, I told you this is a summarizing sermon. Some of you are very smart.

You only came today and now you're going to get the whole nine yards. You go back and you see for example it says in chapter 6 verse 2, it says religious people give to the poor. But why do they give to the poor for the poor see They helped the poor, but why do they help the poor do they help the poor for the poor? No Chapter 6 verse 2 says they do it to get honor From men well you say doesn't everybody want a little pat in the back now listen listen listen The word honor is literally the word glory. It's the word doxa. Did you like our doxology

today? You know, that's our doxology, which literally means the glory word, giving God glory. You know, we sing it every week, you know, praise God from whom all blessings flow, you know, and all that. And it's to the tune of the old hundred. First we say, all ye who are of tender heart, forgiving others, take your part. Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son, and praise the Spirit. What is that? And especially today with the brass and the, boy, glory. We're saying to God you're glorious and yet this is what it's saying. Religious people are people inside who have no sense of their own glory, no sense of their own weight, they have no sense of

their own thereness, they have no sense of their own value, they have no sense of their own worth, they have no sense of their of their own self. And you know it says that in verse 15. It says on the outside, they're sheep, but on the inside, the old translation used to say, the old King James used to say, they're ravening wolves. The NIV says ferocious, but that doesn't really get at it. And here's why.

One thing is, you can see why it's hard to be a translator of the Bible. This particular word that they translate ferocious, if you look it up, every other place that's used in the New Testament, every other place, this Greek word has a very specific meaning. It means to blackmail somebody or to extort. Extortion or blackmail. Now you can imagine if you're a translator, you're coming along and you see what Jesus says here. How can you write it down? It says, okay, watch out for false prophets, they come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they're blackmailing. What? Inward black? What is that? I mean, that would be nonsense that they can't write

it down. But it's not nonsense if you go back through and you think about this. Why do they give to the poor? Why do they do what they do? Because inside they desperately need, they desperately need, we desperately need to assure ourselves that there's something worthwhile about us, there's something significant, there's something weighty, there's something lasting, there's something valuable about us. And what we're going to do is we're going to go out there and we're going to do good things and we're going to be good and we're going to help people and we're going to counsel people, we're going to help the poor, we're going to rehab houses, we're going to do all that stuff. Why?

Because we're going to make the world give us what we need. We're going to make people think I'm a good person. See, inwardly I'm incredibly empty, which means everything I do as a religious person, everything I do, I'm trying so hard to be an artist, I'm trying so hard to be a singer, I'm trying so hard to have a decent career. I really want someone to fall in love with me. And I want to have this great family. Why? Are you doing your art for you? Yes, see, are you falling in love? Are you getting into friendships? What are you doing this for? Jesus says, Because on the inside we lack this inner honor, we lack this inner glory.

As a result, everything we do is not about that. The art's not about art, your friendships are not about friendships, it's about you. You're out there and you're saying, I'm going to be good and I'm going to do this and I'm going to do that and I'm going to get from the world, I'm going to make them give me what I most need. A sense that I'm worth something. Are you looking for ways to grow in your faith this summer? Or are you hoping to help new believers or kids grasp the heart of the Christian faith? For many of us, the summer months can

provide more time to deepen our faith and our understanding of what it means to follow Christ. A great resource to start using this summer is the New City Catechism Devotional, God's Truth for our Hearts and Minds. This devot is the New City Catechism Devotional, God's Truth for Our Hearts and Minds. This devotional brings the historic catechisms of the Christian Church to life, offering a question to consider for each week of the year. In the introduction, Tim Keller lays out the case for catechesis, the rich and communal practice of learning and memorizing questions and answers that frame the foundational beliefs

of the Christian faith. Each week includes a scripture passage, a prayer, and a brief meditation that will challenge and inspire you. The included commentaries are by contemporary pastors such as John Piper, Tim Keller, and Kevin DeYoung, as well as historical figures such as Augustine, John Calvin, and Martin Luther. This month, in addition to the New City Catechism Devotional, we're including a great companion resource, the New City Catechism for Kids, as our thank you for your gift to help Gospel

in Life share the hope of Christ's love with people all over the world. So request your copies today at GospelInLife.com slash give. That's GospelInLife.com slash give. Now here's Tim Keller with the remainder of today's teaching. And look, then when Jesus says, okay, and how do they pray? How do they pray? Why do they help people? For the people?

No, for themselves. And why do they pray? For God? No. It says in chapter 6 verse 7, they think they will be heard for their intense words. It's the same thing with God. Jesus says religion is a power play. It's a way of telling God what he has to do. It's a way of saying because I am living this life you've got to give me a good life because I'm doing all these

things because I'm being so good because I'm trying so hard I'm trying so hard. It's so burdensome to be a religious person. You're trying so hard. And then, why are you doing that? So God will have to bless you. So God will have to give you the life you want. So God will have to answer your person. So people will have to honor you. So people will have to do good things for you. People will have to say you're a good person. To get all those things that deep inside you don't have. And Jesus says that's the reason why, since that's the reason why you're doing all these good things, that's your reason. The result is going to be you're going to be a judgmental person,

you're going to despise people, you're going to look around at them and say you fool, you're going to be rigid people, you're going to be heartless people, you're going to use your religion to feel better than other people and to exclude everybody emotionally or worse who doesn't believe what you believe. You may be a very moral person but your morality will be just like the beauty of a snowflake. Perfect, intricate, symmetrical and freezing. And Jesus says, but Christianity is different. A Christian is doing all the same stuff but for an utterly different reason and with another utterly different result. Look at the Christian. A good tree bears good fruit. Now you see,

here's why religion is so stupid. Religion always starts outside in. Religion says, if I do all these things then maybe finally that'll fill up the emptiness. If I go to church and I read my Bible and if I give my as Paul said, if I give away everything I have to the poor, if I give my body to be burned that doesn't have to profit you. What are you doing? He says you're working from outside in. Maybe then God will bless me. Maybe then I'll finally feel decent about myself.

It doesn't work. It's silly. That's why Jesus says the fruit on the tree is, the fruit on the tree does not give the tree life. Can you imagine? Can the fruit give the tree life? No. The fruit is the result of the life. The fruit is an outflowing of the life. And a Christian is someone who's got something inside, and it's the inside that affects. It's the inside fullness, not an inside absence, that is the reason why you step out. You see, there couldn't be a greater difference between Christianity and religion. There couldn't be a greater difference between Christianity and religion. There couldn't be a greater difference. Because you see the religious person is doing all this stuff trying to keep it up, working outside in, because in a response to

inner emptiness. But a Christian is someone who is doing what he or she is doing out of an air of fullness. We're going to get, because you know after this, this is the end of the Sermon on the Mount, and this summer we're going to get, because you know after this, this is the end of the Sermon on the Mount, and this summer we're going to get into Jesus' model of spirituality. We're going to talk about prayer. We're going to talk about the Lord's Prayer in detail. And we're going to get to a passage which is just an amazing passage to me. I'm going to get to it near the end of August. And it's a place where Jesus Christ in John 17 verse 22 is praying. He's praying about his disciples.

He says at one incredible place to his father, he says, Father, I have given them the glory you gave me. You know what? Now the glory we give God sometimes is pretty good. Both this morning and this evening when we were singing the doxology and the trumpets were blaring and everybody was was was standing up with their eyes closed and singing God's glory, that's pretty good. That wasn't bad, not bad at all. I got goosebumps did you? We're

giving God glory. There's absolutely no way, there's no way that the kind of glory we can give Jesus is anything like the kind of glory God the Father can give Jesus. Yet Jesus says, Father, these ones who believed in me, I'm giving them the at the end of their lives if they've been very good little boys and girls I'll let them into kingdom of heaven. I'm giving it to them now and a Christian is somebody who lives without assurance a Christian is somebody who lives out of that a Christian is somebody who? Has that who's adopted into that the difference in Christianity and religion couldn't be more different.

Religion is not outside in, I mean just that, religion is outside in, Christianity is inside out. Religion is saying, I give God a record, a good record, and then that's my way of controlling God and everybody around me. But Christianity says, no, God through Jesus Christ gives me a perfect record and then I lose control and as a result I move out now into life in a completely different way. If you have that inner glory, if you know about that kind of assurance, if you know He looks at you like that, if you have that sense of inner loveless and beauty and glory,

if you've got that, or to the degree that you've got that, you move out into art and why you do the art? It's about the art, it's not about you. You move out into a friendship and why do you do the friendship? It's about the friend, not about you. You don't, Christians are not supposed to, at least to the degree that you know who you are. When you move into a friend, you don't get into a new relationship saying, now how can I get this person to give me the things I most desperately need? How can I get this person to give me the acclaim I want? How can I get this person to give me the things I most desperately need? How can I get this person to give me the acclaim I want? How can I get this person to give me the affection I want? How can I give, and that's really what's going on in our little brains in every single relationship

because you see we're inwardly, we're ravenous apart from Jesus. Now do you see how astounding this thing is? Now this is the first thing and somebody's looking at their watch. I thought there were three. Yeah, but the first one is the big one and the other two are the solutions in a way to it. The first thing Jesus says is you can't possibly find me without first losing your religion. You must lose your religion if you're going to find me. You've got to give up religion if you're really going to have me. Because you see, if you think you're after me, and I'm going to show you right here that this is what this poor guy in chapter

in verse 21 is doing. If you think you're after me, when you actually are using religion to do a power play with people and everybody around you and God himself. You're actually further away from me than the prostitutes and the pimps. He says that, you know, Matthew 21, 31. He says to the religious leaders, the prostitutes and the tax collectors are getting into the kingdom of God ahead of you They're closer. They understand the spiritual reality better. They have a better idea of what they need and who they are than you do You cannot possibly find Jesus unless you're willing to lose your religion, that's the first astonishing thing He says the real problem the real problem in life Spiritually speaking is to tell

the difference in Christianity and religion. Because if you get into the church and you don't know the difference, you may find, and I know there are people like this, who find Christianity, well, every so often, I'll talk to somebody who says, I used to be a Christian, I'm not anymore. And I said, what do you mean? I couldn't keep it up. If you couldn't keep it up, I don't think you had it. You know, there's a hymn that I've heard quoted, but I've never found the hymn itself. So everybody says, where did you get it? I heard it.

Who wrote it? I don't know. But it goes like this. It's exhausting, you see, to be a religion. Religion is exhausting. And that's the reason the hymn writer says this to us. Lay your deadly doing down, down at Jesus' feet. Stand in him and him alone, gloriously complete. Now, somebody says, okay, how do I do that?

Tell me how do I do that? Well, that's the other two astonishing things. The first astonishing thing, you see why they were astounded? That's the reason why these, look at these last two verses. This isn't just a throwaway. This is a summary of the whole of the Thurman and the Mount. They were astonished why? Because this is not at all what the teachers of the law were telling him. Not at all what the teachers of the law were telling him. Not at all. He suddenly, they suddenly realized Jesus was saying, the biggest danger you have is to make mistake, mistake religion for Christianity. Now the second astonishing thing and the third, and I'll be brief really. The second astonishing thing is how he puts himself in the center.

He puts himself utterly in the center and shows this poor person, in verses 21, 22, and 23, what that means. You see, notice in verse 21, 22, and 23, what day is this? It says, not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me, on that day. Now wait a minute, what is this? This is a day, he just calls that day, and on that day we're figuring out who gets into heaven. What day is this? It's judgment day. And oh my word, you realize what he's saying? Who's the judge? Almost casually, it's almost like he slipped it in. It's almost just like a slip in. What is Jesus claiming?

He is saying on that day everybody's going to be coming to Him. He's the judge. Listen, everybody knows that only God can be the judge. Why? Because you see, to be the judge of that world, to be the judge of every human being, you'd have to have infinite knowledge to have the ability to judge because unless you had infinite knowledge, how would you know what everybody deserved? And secondly, you'd have to have infinite goodness to have the right to judge. Because if you didn't have infinite goodness, who are you? And Jesus is very cautious. I mean, you couldn't be the judge of the universe unless you were infinitely good and infinitely knowing and infinitely powerful, of course, too.

And Jesus is very casually says, mm-hmm, mm-hmm, yeah, right. But you see, when they come to him, he puts himself utterly in the center because they come and they say, Lord, Lord, did we not? Now, what's so fascinating about this person is this person is saying, I did everything in your name. I centered my life on you.

Look carefully. Look it. He says, many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, didn't we prophesy in your name? Didn't we drive out demons centered my life on you. Look carefully. Look at it. He says, many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, didn't we prophesy in your name? Didn't we drive out demons and perform any miracles in your name? Now what are they saying? Jesus, I did everything for you. Now listen carefully.

These are people who are absolutely saying, my whole life revolves around the church. And he never knew them. My whole life revolves around the church and he never knew them. My whole life revolved around the church. I was always teaching you a word. I prophesied in your name which means I was teaching your message. I was lifting up, I was telling the stories about Jesus and I was doing everything in your name. I mean everything was about me. Everything was about you Jesus. Everything was about you but now look what he's saying. He's saying you never knew me at all. Now what's he saying? Look

at how they talk. Did we not? Did we not? Didn't we do? On Judgment Day these people come to Jesus and they're doing to Jesus what they've been doing with everybody else their whole lives. They're coming and they're demanding something of Jesus on the basis of their record. That's what they're doing. They're saying, look at what I've done. And Jesus is saying that means everything was about you. You never knew me at all. I wasn't even there. Well how could that be? They said. Everything was about you. No, but everything was for you. Everything was for you. You never, you were never, it was never about me at all. for you. Everything was for you. You never, you were never, it was never about me at all.

If you want to move from religion to Christianity, you have to take a look at the good things you're doing and realize that they're not in any way, not in any way meritorious. You can't possibly, and think of how exhausting exhausting is to think that you're gonna you're gonna somehow get God to give you What you want because of all your good deeds Jesus has look at me Look at me Jesus look at Jesus. He's the opposite of a wolf. He's a sheep through and through He's a lamb that was slain and when you see him laying down his life for you For you it'll fill you with the inner glory. Why would He do that? What must He look, how must He think of you? How much must He love you? And He gives you then when you believe in Him, when you say, Father, accept me because of

what Jesus says, Jesus says, I will give you the glory my father gave me. So the first thing you have to do is you have to see, you can be extremely busy for Jesus and not really be doing it for him at all. Really Jesus, sort of busy about Jesus but not really doing anything for him at all because you're basically basing everything you do on your good works. You're just, you're and that's the reason why you're always angry with God, because he's not doing what you said he should do. Look at how, think of all the people in your class, and you've been out of school for four

years, and think of all those people sleeping around and you've been good, and their lives are going a whole lot better than yours. Does that ever occur to you? And if it does occur to you, how exhausting. Lay your deadly doing down, down at Jesus' feet, stand in him and him alone, gloriously complete. The last astonishing thing he says is this. And I think it's the most astonishing thing. When he punishes somebody, what does he say?

Does he say, fire and brimstone for you buddy. Does he say, Sisyphus, would you please go over there and roll that stone up that hill. No he says, depart from me. Jesus Christ says that the only real punishment is to lose me. And we know what that must mean. If the ultimate nightmare is to lose Jesus, then it must mean, it basically would everybody's greatest tragedy is to lose Jesus. Even the people who don't think they believe in Him,

when they find they've actually lost Him. They'll realize that this is the only real punishment there is. And what does this mean? I don't know what it tells you what it means. If this is the ultimate nightmare, it means that the thing that you've always been looking for, no matter who you are tonight, the love you've been looking for in every pretty face, in every sweet set of lips, in every embrace, the beauty you've been looking for in every piece of art, the beauty you've been looking for in every piece of music, the thing you've always longed for all of your life, in everything you've longed for, the thing you've wanted in all your wanting, the thing you've sought in all your seekings, the thing you've loved longed for all of your life and everything you've longed it The the thing you've wanted in all your warnings the thing you've sought in all your seeking the thing you've loved in all your love

Basically just that it was me You whether you know or not you're after me Because you see when you lose me you'll find that you've lost everything And therefore he's saying Do whatever it takes to get me do whatever it takes to center your whole life on me. Nothing is worth losing me. And behold, I invite you, come to me. All ye who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.

Listen, there's some of you who are very very weary and it's because to a certain degree you're forgetting that Jesus has given you the Father's glory. It's one of the reasons why you're so weary. There's also some of you who've gotten very busy and very religious a few years ago when you had a crisis in your life and you wonder why you have no prayer life. Some of you know this. Some of you know you've been faithful, you've been obeying the Ten Commandments, you've

been kind of going to church, you've been doing your duty, you've maybe been giving, but you know you have absolutely no prayer life at all. You never experience intimacy in prayer life. See, Jesus says to this very busy guy, what does he say? We never had a personal relationship. We never knew each other. And it could be that you're just religious and you're not a Christian at all. Because what you really did when you tried to give your life to God, you said, now I'm going to really try to live a good life. That's not going to make you a Christian. And don't forget, if you say, oh, I'm just too messed up, I'm too much of a wreck, you don't know what I've done.

Well, see, Jesus looks and says, it's actually the people who sometimes are the most irreligious and have been the furthest away from morality who often know who they are. That's why he was able to say, the prostitutes and the tax collectors get into the kingdom of heaven before the religious person. So you see, it doesn't matter how far away you are, it doesn't matter what you've done. You're nearer than you think. Let's pray. Father, we thank you that you've made it possible for us to read this astonishing and astounding sermon. That the real danger the real contrast is

Is Christianity and good people that Jesus Christ is not just the judge But he's the center of everything and the only thing we really really will hurt us is that we lose him I ask that you would help us all apply this to our lives in different ways. Some of us need to hear it that you would help us all apply this to our lives in different ways. Some of us need to hear it. Some of us need to hear this is a challenge. Some of us need to hear this is a comfort. But regardless of what we need, we pray that your Holy Spirit will tailor it to us. We thank you that you're such a suitable Savior Jesus.

You suit us. You always tailor your approaches to us so that they fit. You're seeking our love in such different ways, but we ask that you come and take it. And we do our very best now to open our hearts to you. We pray that during the rest of the service, as we pray, as we sing, as we think, as we meditate, you'd really meet us. We want to stand before you. Thanks for joining us here on the Gospel in Life podcast. We hope that today's teaching encouraged you to go deeper into God's Word. You can help others discover this podcast

by rating and reviewing it. And to find more great gospel-centered content by Tim Keller, visit GospelInLife.com. Today's sermon was recorded in 1999. The sermons and talks you hear on the Gospel in Life podcast were recorded between 1989 and 2017 while Dr. Keller was senior pastor at Redeemer Presbyterian Church.