AI Summary
5 min readTim Keller opens this sermon with a striking claim: Christians aren't just improved versions of their former selves. The change is qualitative, not a matter of degree. Using Ephesians 2:4–10, he argues that the difference between being "dead in transgressions" and being "made alive with Christ" is a move from one realm into another entirely. But the real weight of the sermon lands on a narrower question: how does someone get from the first state to the second? The answer, Keller says, is compressed into three concepts—grace, faith, and works—and getting their order wrong produces spiritual pathology.
Grace, Faith, Works: One Right Order
Keller treats Ephesians 2:8–10 as a compendium of the Christian life. The three elements are grace, faith, and good works, and their sequence is non-negotiable. Grace leads to faith, and faith leads to works. Any other arrangement—works as the basis for grace, or faith treated as a work that earns grace—injects distortions. Keller warns that "just one little slip and everything could go up." The right order is the only one that delivers what the passage promises: a life of "incomparable riches."
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:03) **Introduction: The Big Picture of Ephesians 2** - Keller sets up the passage (Ephesians 2:4-10) as the "after" picture of the Christian life, contrasting the death, bondage, and condemnation of verses 1-3 with the new life, freedom, and position in Christ of verses 4-7.
- 2 (03:56) **The Purpose of Salvation: Displaying God's Grace** - Keller explains that the ultimate reason for the "incomparable riches" given to believers is to be a showcase of God's grace for all eternity.
- 3 (11:05) **The Critical Order: Grace, Faith, Works** - Keller introduces the three essential concepts from verses 8-10 and argues that getting their order wrong leads to spiritual pathology and a wasted life.
- 4 (13:25) **The Cause of Faith is Grace, Not the Reverse** - Keller dives into the prepositions in verse 8 ("by grace... through faith") to explain the mechanics of salvation.
- 5 (20:49) **The Danger of Boasting and the Gift of Faith** - Keller explains why placing grace before faith eliminates the possibility of boasting and fosters humility.
- 6 (27:06) **Why Grace Must Precede Faith: The Tyranny of Self-Faith** - Keller argues that unbelief is not a vacuum but the presence of a powerful, rival faith in one's own ability to rule one's life.
- 7 (33:30) **The Nature of Faith is Resting in Christ, Not Psychological Certainty** - Keller distinguishes between saving faith and the assurance of faith, arguing that faith is an action of "grabbing" Christ, not a feeling of certainty.
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Guests on this episode
Show Notes
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on December 6, 1992. Series: Salvation From the Outside In. Scripture: Ephesians 2:4-10.
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