Christmas should change your relationships

"The Incarnation imprints on us an attitude toward relationships. Jesus says, I want fellowship with you. The test that you know what Christmas is about is that you become more desirous of intimate personal relationships with other people and better at getting them, because the Incarnation is the secret of good personal relationships.

When two people are different culturally and linguistically, how are they going to have a relationship? One must learn the other's language, speak in a broken dialect, and become vulnerable and weak. If you enter into another person's world you become weak; the other person keeps the power. But then you have a relationship.

If you follow the way of Jesus you say, "I will not work so much on being understood but on understanding. I will not work so much on getting my needs met but on meeting needs. I will work on entering into her or his world and giving that person what they consider love, not what I consider love." Incarnation, if it's imprinted in you, if you see what Jesus Christ has done, is going to make you unbelievably good at personal relationships."

 Tim Keller, The Purpose of Christmas

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Is God allowed to disagree with you?

Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,

“Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD.(Jonah 1:1-3 ESV)

God tells Jonah to do something and he doesn't want to do it. This shouldn't be surprising but often is - God can say something that we don't like! God's word doesn't always agree with ours and, when that happens, we're the ones in the wrong. In fact, if we never find ourselves in 'conflict' with God's word, then something would be wrong in the relationship

'Only if your God can say things that outrage you and make you struggle will you know that you have got hold of a real God and not a figment of your imagination. So an authoritative Bible is not the enemy of a personal relationship with God. It is the precondition for it.'

Tim Keller, The Reason for God

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The most inclusive exclusive truth in the world

Jesus said, “I am the truth, the way, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me” (John 14:6)

the way - What’s the strategy/system/method/way of getting to God? 
Every other religion or system of thought gives you a way of getting to God, a path to success in this life or the next. Christianity offers a person - Jesus. This appears exclusive, but is more inclusive than any other option because it's not restricted to those who have heard the right system, or managed to follow the right system. The gospel is open to those who the world sees as a success and those who are seen as absolute failures.

the truth - Jesus not only speaks the truth, he IS truth. All truths find their climax in Him. This is much better than someone saying “it seems to me”, this is Jesus saying if we have seen Him we have seen the Father. This appears exclusive, but is more inclusive than any other option because we haven’t been left in the dark to try and work out the truth ourselves. God has opened his mouth - Jesus is the image of the invisible God

the life - we look for life elsewhere and end up on a treadmill chasing satisfaction. Life is found in Jesus. Everywhere else comes up dry and leaves us thirsty. This appears exclusive, but is more inclusive than any other option because there is no restriction on race, language, culture, class, intelligence or wealth. 

All claims are exclusive. The Gospel is an exclusive truth but it’s the most inclusive exclusive truth in the world.

Tim Keller

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Christmas should change your relationships

"The Incarnation imprints on us an attitude toward relationships. Jesus says, I want fellowship with you. The test that you know what Christmas is about is that you become more desirous of intimate personal relationships with other people and better at getting them, because the Incarnation is the secret of good personal relationships.

When two people are different culturally and linguistically, how are they going to have a relationship? One must learn the other's language, speak in a broken dialect, and become vulnerable and weak. If you enter into another person's world you become weak; the other person keeps the power. But then you have a relationship.

If you follow the way of Jesus you say, "I will not work so much on being understood but on understanding. I will not work so much on getting my needs met but on meeting needs. I will work on entering into her or his world and giving that person what they consider love, not what I consider love." Incarnation, if it's imprinted in you, if you see what Jesus Christ has done, is going to make you unbelievably good at personal relationships."

 Tim Keller, The Purpose of Christmas

vide: Tim Keller - What is the gospel?

the gospel and humour

"Ultimately, sarcastic put-down humor is self-righteous —a form of self-justification— and that is what the
gospel demolishes. When we grasp that we are unworthy sinners saved by an infinitely costly grace, it destroys both our self-righteousness and our need to ridicule others. This is also true of self-directed ridicule.
Some people constantly and bitterly mock themselves. At first it looks like a form of humility, or realism, but
really it is just as self-absorbed as the other version. It is a sign of an inner discomfort with one’s self, a
profound spiritual restlessness. 

There is another kind of self-righteousness, however, that produces a person with little or no sense of humor. Moralistic persons often have no sense of irony, because they take themselves too seriously or because they are too self-conscious and self-absorbed in their own struggles to be habitually joyful. The gospel, however, creates a gentle sense of irony. Our doctrine of sin keeps us from being over-awed by anyone (especially ourselves) or shocked by any behavior. We find a lot to laugh at, starting with our own weaknesses. They don’t threaten us anymore, because our ultimate worth is not based on our record or performance. Our doctrine of grace and redemption also keeps us from seeing any situation as hopeless. This “ground note” of joy and peace makes humor spontaneous and natural."

Tim Keller, The Gospel and Humour

classroom or community?

"The gospel creates community. Because it points us to the One who died for his enemies, it creates relationships of service rather than selfishness. Because it removes both fear and pride, people get along inside the church who could never get along outside. Because it calls us to holiness, the people of God live in loving bonds of mutual accountability and discipline. Thus the gospel creates a human community radically different from any society around it.

Growth in grace, wisdom, and character does not happen primarily in classes and instruction, through large worship gatherings, or even in solitude. Most often, growth happens through deep relationships and in communities where the implications of the gospel are worked out cognitively and worked in practically
 
We do not find a classroom relationship between Jesus and his students, nor did his students relate this way with one another. Instead, he created a community of learning and practice in which there was plenty of time to work out truth in discussion, dialogue, and application.

There is no more important means of discipleship — of the formation of Christian character — than deep involvement in the life of the church, the Christian community."

Tim Keller, Center church 
 

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an enormous problem

"Isn’t the church’s real challenge today not only the views we hold but also our failure to practice a distinctly different way of life? Some evangelical Christians may refrain from drinking alcohol, but they are still as individualistic and consumeristic, as materialistic and obsessed with power pursuits, as everyone else. This is an enormous problem for our witness in the world."

Tim Keller, Center church 
 

sheer grace

"If salvation is truly by grace, not by virtue and merit, why should we think that anyone is less likely than ourselves to be a Christian? Why would anyone’s conversion be any greater miracle than our own? The city may force us to discover that we don’t really believe in sheer grace, that we really believe God mainly saves nice people — people like us."

Tim Keller, Center church 
 

keller on contextualisation

"Everyone contextualizes — but few think much about how they are doing it. We should not only contextualize but also think about how we do it. We must make our contextualization processes visible, and then intentional, to ourselves and to others.

We must avoid turning off listeners because we are culturally offensive rather than the gospel.
 
Active contextualization involves a three-part process: entering the culture, challenging the culture, and then appealing to the listeners.It involves learning to express people’s hopes, objections, fears, and beliefs so well that they feel as though they could not express them better themselves.

If we are living in the culture and developing friendships with people, contextualization should be natural and organic. It will simply bubble up from the relationships in our lives and in our pastoral ministry."

Tim Keller, Center church 
 

motivating obedience

"In the moment, Christians should use every possible means to do God’s will. If you feel an impulse to pick up a rock and hurl it at someone — do anything necessary to keep yourself from doing it! Remind yourself, “I’ll go to jail. I’ll disgrace my family!” It would be wrong to give in to the sinful impulse simply because, on the spot, you do not believe the gospel enough to refrain. There is no reason in the short run that a Christian can’t simply use pure willpower if necessary. God deserves our obedience, and we should give it, even if we know our motives are mixed and impure...

Those who say, “We need to put in strenuous effort to obey, even if our belief in the gospel is wanting” are right, at least in the short term. But obedience is not the same thing as change. In the end, all effort is fueled by some motivation, and if our motivation is not the gospel, then we are not obeying God for his own sake neither will we be able to permanently change our character...

In the short run, we should simply obey God because it is his right and due. But in the long run, the ultimate way to shape our lives and escape the deadly influence of our besetting sins is by moving the heart with the gospel."

Tim Keller, Center church 
 

converts

"Many “converts” seem to make decisions for Christ but soon lose their enthusiasm because they are offered quick programs for follow-up and small group fellowship rather than a lifelong, embodied experience of community."

Tim Keller, Center church 
 

endlessly rich

"Because the gospel is endlessly rich, it can handle the burden of being the one “main thing” of a church. First Peter 1:12 and its context indicate that the angels never tire of looking into and exploring the wonders of the gospel. It can be preached from innumerable stories, themes, and principles from all over the Bible.
The gospel is so rich that it can be communicated in a form that fits every situation. It is a singular message, but it is not a simple message"

Tim Keller, Center church 
 

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Timothy Keller Interview (Teaser) from Evangelical Alliance on Vimeo.

messengers not military advisers

"Now think this out: here is a king and he goes into a battle against an invading army to defend his land. If the king defeats the invading army he sends back to the capital city messengers, very happy envoy. He sends back, “good news-ers” with his report. They come back and they say, “It has been defeated! It’s all been done! Therefore respond with joy and now go about your lives. Conduct your lives in this peace which has been achieved for you.”

But if the invading army breaks through, the king sends back military advisers and says, “Swordsmen over here and marksmen over here and the horsemen over here. We’re going to have to fight for our lives.” Dr. Lloyd-Jones says that every other religion sends military advisers to people. Every other religion says, “You know, if you want your salvation, you’re going to have to fight for you life.” Every other religion is sending advice, saying, “Here are the rights, here are the rituals, and here are the laws and regulations. Earthen works over here, marksmen over here. Fight for your life. We send heralds; we send messengers, not military advisers.”

Tim Keller, Good News vs Good Advice