Before Him

What you'll learn

• 1 (00:03) **Introduction and Passage Reading** - Keller introduces the series on the core beliefs of Christianity and reads Ephesians 1:4-8, a single magnificent sentence in the original Greek.
• 2 (02:35) **The "For What?" of Salvation** - Keller transitions from the "why" (grace) and "how" (redemption) of salvation to its purpose: to be holy and blameless, and to be adopted as children.
• 3 (06:09) **The Necessary Connection Between Faith and Growth** - Keller argues that being chosen for holiness establishes an absolutely necessary link between experiencing grace and undergoing character change.
• 4 (11:31) **The Paradox of Grace Producing Good Works** - Keller addresses the natural objection that free grace leads to moral laxity, explaining why this charge is false but inevitable for those who truly hear the gospel.
• 5 (14:57) **The Enabler Analogy and Self-Salvation** - Keller uses the concept of the "enabler" from Alcoholics Anonymous to explain why fear-based morality fails and only gratitude-based grace produces real change.
• 6 (24:52) **The Tenure Test and the Engine of Gratitude** - Keller uses the analogy of a professor who stops working hard after getting tenure to argue that fear, not love, was her motivation, and contrasts this with the gratitude that grace produces.
• 7 (28:34) **Application for the Stagnant Christian** - Keller directly addresses Christians who know they are forgiven but struggle to grow, warning that they have forgotten the purpose of their salvation.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app