He Is Our Peace (Part 1)

In a 1993 sermon, Tim Keller tells the story of a woman who inherited $10 million but lived in poverty until her death because she could not grasp what it meant to be rich. He uses this as a metaphor for how Christians treat the church. The central argument of the sermon is that the second great evidence of God's power—after the individual transformation of a believer—is the creation of a new, reconciled community. Keller insists that the church is not merely a place for personal spiritual growth but the very place where God demonstrates his power by making people who could never otherwise live together into one new humanity.

The Problem: Gifts Become Walls

Keller begins by diagnosing the human condition. He argues that the fundamental obstacle to peace is not a lack of goodwill or diplomacy, but a deep-seated pride that turns our gifts into barriers. Using the biblical case study of Jews and Gentiles, he explains that the "dividing wall of hostility" was the law itself—a set of gifts and regulations meant to make Israel a light to the nations. Instead, it created a sense of superiority and distance.