A Really Bad Chapter in an Otherwise Excellent Book by Tim Keller

I have really enjoyed Tim Keller's book, The Reason for God. He argues so persuasively and

eloquently for the reality of the God of the Bible. I was first exposed to this book in a book study with

other people who were, and to my knowledge remain to be, avowed atheists. While we were not able to

persuade them concerning the existence of God, they had a better appreciation for serious Christian

thinking. We owe Tim Keller a debt of gratitude for making this possible.

That being said, it is important to air an “in-house” grievance. Recently, I sat down to re-read

chapter 11, which is entitled Religion and the Gospel, and have come to the conclusion it is so poorly

thought out that I had to write about it to relieve my agitation. This is my therapeutic reason. The other,

and more substantial reason, and why it is published here is to be faithful to Keller's God. This chapter shows that Tim Keller has his God's gospel all

muddled and discombobulated. Tim Keller is a pastor and a very popular writer who influences many

people. Of course this is a blessing when God is being truly represented, but a great curse when He is not.

A biblical scholar once related to me that getting published is both exciting and scary at the same time. It

is a blessing because many people will be influenced by your writing, and it is scary for the same reason.

Once a book is in print, it is not so easy to go back and fix things. And there is arguably nothing worse to

misrepresent than the gospel of the kingdom of our Christ.

It must be said from the outset that this chapter in Tim Keller's book is not meant to be an exhaustive treatment

of the gospel of our Lord. It is written to persuade the unbeliever and the skeptic of the superiority of the

Christian message in comparison to other religions. The value of a chapter like this, is that the message of

Christianity is understood to be distilled to its essence. Tim Keller, in one brief chapter, seeks to bring to

the unbelieving world, what he sees as “the good news” of the message of Christianity. Tim Keller is not

plowing any new ground here. This is not a scholarly biblical theology that claims to bring new insights.

Tim Keller's genius is not in generating new insights as an original thinker. Rather, his expertise lies in

explaining with fresh vigor and what has been said a thousand times before.

Tim Keller's central thesis in the chapter is that Christianity differs from all other religions ,

because other religions present a teaching, that if followed, will enable a person to make their way to

God. With other religions you are given things to do that enable you to earn your way to heaven. This is

what Keller calls “salvation by moral effort.” The good news of Christianity is that God has come to us in

Christ, not to show us a moral pathway to heaven, but to provide the gift of heaven through faith in

Christ. Keller writes, “Only Jesus claimed to be the way of salvation himself.” He explains that this fact is

the “great difference” between religions and the Christian faith. He draws out the distinction by

explaining that people in other religions are motivated in “living morally” for what they stand to gain in

the future. He explains, “Religion operates on the principle 'I obey - therefore I am accepted by God.' But

the operating principle of the gospel is 'I am accepted by God through what Christ has done - therefore I

obey.'”(p.186) From this formula, Keller explains that gratitude is the motivating principle of the

Christian faith. According to him, there is “no coercion or sense of obligation” or “fear” of a future

judgment, but only a profound experience of joy and gratitude for what God has done for you through

Christ.

Given this understanding of the gospel, Keller describes Jesus as not so much a teacher as He was

a Savior. In his own words, “The founders of every other major religion essentially came as teachers, not

as saviors. They came to say, 'Do this and you will find the divine.' But Jesus came essentially as a savior

rather than a teacher (though he was a teacher as well). Jesus says: 'I am the divine come to you, to do

what you could not do for yourselves.' The Christian message is that we are saved not by our record, but

by Christ's record.”(p.192). In trying to present Jesus in contrast to other religions, Tim Keller manages to cut Jesus and the

gospel in half. He presents only half of what the Bible describes as the message of Christianity. Of course

Jesus is the divine who has come to us a savior, and it is gloriously true that no other religion claims this

of their leaders. Yes, Jesus Christ died for the sins of the world and made atonement for our sins in a way

that no other religious leader has or even could do. It is true, joy and gratitude ought to be a motivating

emotion in response the greatness of what Christ has done for us. At the cross, Jesus has done for us what

we could never have done for ourselves. Only a sinless One can surrender His life in behalf of sinners,

and only a Divine sinless One's death can have infinite worth before the Father and be sufficient for the

lives of all people. All this is true, and gloriously true!

But this is not the whole story. It is true, Jesus is the Savior, but He was not “a savior rather than a

teacher.” His death on the cross in behalf of mankind cannot be isolated from His teaching ministry. Jesus'

role as our Savior is not distinct from His role as a teacher. In fact, His teaching was given to save us just

as much as His body was given to save us. Recently, I had the opportunity to teach from Luke 13:22-30.

This passage describes Jesus' journey to Jerusalem where He would give His body for the sins of the

world. “Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem.” He spent

over three years constantly teaching. Time and again in the gospel record He was referred to as “Teacher.”

In Luke alone he is referred to as “Teacher” at least fourteen times by various people. We should not let

the desire to distance ourselves from other religions obscure this fact. It would be better to say that Jesus

was a “saving teacher.” This is true because Jesus set out to save His people with both His body and His

saving words.

Let me show you what I mean. In Luke 13:23 Jesus is asked an important question.

“Someone asked him, 'Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?'” Next comes the words of the

teaching Savior. “He said to them, 'Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I

tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to'”(v.24). He essentially answers that they will need to work

hard at being saved. The Greek word the NIV translates as “make every effort” is the word for athletic

striving. What does this mean? In this encounter, Jesus gives us a clue as he goes on teach that those who

just knew Jesus by association but were “evildoers” would not be saved. He taught that many would

come to Him, “But he will reply, 'I don't know you or where you come from. Away from me, all of you

evildoers'”(v.27). So, it stands to reason that the few that will enter the narrow door will be the few good

doers, in contrast to the many “evildoers.” Of course, this is rather awkward for Tim Keller's gospel

formulation. It appears that Jesus is giving a “moral effort” teaching. Not only that, He is giving a moral

effort teaching as the way in which a person will gain an entrance through the narrow door which is given

as an answer to a question about being “saved.” This awkwardness is not lost on many commentators who

operate within Keller's gospel formula. They are quick to assure us, that despite appearances Jesus is not

encouraging “moral effort” for acceptance. Darrell Bock responds, “The idea is not to work one's way to

God, but to labor hard at listening and responding to the message.” What is “the message” we are to

“make every effort” to listen and respond to? He explains that the message is “repentance and

submission.” At this point I am made to wonder what the difference is between “repentance and

submission” and “moral effort.” However, we need not wonder. Bock explains that “repentance and

submission simply means coming to Jesus for the forgiveness of sins.” His explanation amounts to a

hasty reassurance, it is as if he is saying,“Yes, things got awkward, but I am here to reassure you, Jesus is

a Savior and not a teacher of moral effort.” What amazes me is that no commentary I referenced in my

study (and I only have few Luke commentaries) tried to get at what Jesus meant by “striving” by going to

Jesus' teaching in other places in the gospels. The most obvious, of course, would be Matthew 7 where Jesus

similarly teaches about a narrow and wide gate.

Matthew records Jesus' extensive teaching on a mountain in Galilee from Matthew chapter 5 to 7.

Toward the conclusion of this teaching Jesus exhorts his listeners to “enter through the narrow gate.” He

goes on to warn them that “small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it”

(v.14).This is very similar to Luke 13's exhortation. Remember, it was the “evildoer” who would not enter

through the narrow door in Luke's gospel. In Matthew, Jesus describes those who enter the narrow gate as

those “do the will of my Father who is in heaven”(v.21). But what does it mean to do the will of His

Father who is in heaven? At this point many, including Darrell Bock and Tim Keller, would say, “Those

who work hard at listening to and holding to the message of forgiveness.” But what would Jesus Himself

say? Jesus, the saving teacher, goes on in Matthew 7 to explain what it means to “do the Father's will.” He

said, “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man

who built his house on rock”(v.24). This is “the house” that is not destroyed. What “words of mine” is

Jesus referring to? These could only be the words of the teaching of Matthew 5 through 7. These are “the

words” he had just been teaching in the sermon on the mountain in Galilee. Jesus taught about all kinds of

good things his people were to do in order to enter the small gate and narrow road “that leads to life.”

Jesus seems to be doing the very thing that Tim Keller says Jesus doesn't do, because in this teaching He

is presenting a pathway of “moral effort” in order to gain life. Tim Keller never explains in this

short chapter how Jesus can teach like this and not be like the teachers of all those other religions. That

is not his purpose. In his book he is working from the full blown evangelical assumption that Jesus was

not so much a teacher of “moral effort” as He was a Savior from moral effort.

Of course, Jesus was radically different from all other major religious leaders. But His difference

from them was not because didn't teach a way of behavior for salvation. The difference was in what He

taught as a moral way of being. Jesus' moral teaching “saves” us from the moral corruption of the world.

The sermon in Galilee, recorded in Matthew, was and is a saving teaching. This is how Peter can say,

before he had any understanding of Jesus' sacrificial atonement, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have

the words of eternal life”(Jn.6:68). This is the part of the gospel that gets cut out and left behind. In fact,

doing what Jesus says in order to find life becomes “sin” according to Keller's gospel formula. Keller

writes, “If you are avoiding sin and living morally so that God will have to bless and save you, then

ironically, you may be looking to Jesus as a teacher, model, and helper, but you are avoiding him as a

Savior. You are trusting in your own goodness rather than in Jesus for your standing with God. You are

trying to save yourself by following Jesus.”(p.183) Here again, Tim Keller pits having “Jesus as a teacher,

model, and helper” against having Jesus as a Savior. However, Jesus puts Himself forward as our teacher,

model, helper and Savior. Jesus said, “You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord', and rightly so, for that is what I

am”(Jn.13:13). He is to be our “model” or example, “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed

your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have

done for you”(Jn.13:14). Jesus promises to be our helper through His Spirit (Jn.16:5-15) so we can say,

“The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid”(Heb.13:6). Are we to shun these gracious truths because

Jesus is our Savior? May it never be! In fact, these are all ways in which Jesus is our Savior.

Keller makes the profoundly tragic claim, that to embrace Jesus as teacher, model and helper is trust in yourself rather

than Jesus. How can this be? If Jesus Christ is the one who says in essence “The one who hears my words

and does them finds life”, then to take Jesus at his word means I believe I will be rewarded with life upon

doing what he says. This is to trust in Jesus, not my own goodness. According to Keller's logic even faith

must become a form of self-dependence. He would grant we must have faith to be saved, therefore according to his rationale to

have faith in order to be blessed with life means you are trusting in your faith, not Jesus.

By his own faulty reasoning he inadvertently undermines his own gospel formula.

Jesus was radically different from all other religious leaders because of what He taught and who

He was. He was God incarnate. And because He was God incarnate He could die a death that has

sufficient value to atone for the sins of the whole world. Jesus knew that in our striving to avoid sin and

follow Jesus' example, we would struggle and at times stumble. James wrote, “We all stumble in many

ways”(Ja 3:2). John wrote,”If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in

us”(1 Jn1:8). Jesus' death is not just for unbelievers, but for believers striving for the Kingdom. John

wrote to the church, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and purify us

from all unrighteousness”(1 Jn1:9). Paul wrote to Christians in Rome that “Christ Jesus...is at the right

hand of God and is also interceding for us”(Rom 8:34). God's mercies, in Christ, are new every morning

for God's people. This mercy does not free us from striving for the Kingdom as we follow Christ's

example. The Cross is God's merciful provision for us as we strive for the Kingdom by following Jesus'

teaching. It was never meant to be held up as a reason not to strive as Jesus told us to do. That is the real

tragedy of Keller's gospel formula. He finds himself working against Jesus' teaching as he tries to win

others to Jesus.

Tim Keller admits that his gospel formula “from the outside” could be understood to mean that a

person could theoretically say, “'Nice deal!' they may say, 'If that is Christianity, all I have to do is get a

personal relationship to God and then do anything I want!'” There is nothing inherent with Keller's gospel

that would prevent this. Remember, he advocates Jesus as Savior through His work on the cross and not

as a teacher of moral effort. However, he goes on to describe how this libertine thinking is not possible

from what he describes as “the inside.” What he means by this is that the person who truly embraces the

gracious message of the cross will not want to do what they are theoretically allowed to do. He describes

this amazing grace of the gospel as a “threatening grace.” Keller explains that the person who knows she

is “a sinner saved by grace, she was (if anything) more subject to the sovereign Lordship of God. She

knew that if Jesus really had done all this for her, she would not be her own. She would joyfully and

gratefully belong to Jesus, who provided all this for her at an infinite cost to himself.”(p.190) So for

Keller, what propels obedience to Jesus is only gratitude and the joy gratitude produces. “There is no

sense of obligation” in our relationship to Jesus. A person is not motivated by what he or she stands to

gain in the future, but only by what Jesus has done on the cross in the past.

There are several problems with this perspective. First, however, it is important to note that Keller

is quite right to point out that gratitude or thanksgiving and the joy that produces is to be a motivating

factor in the Christian life. Paul writes, “For Christ's love compels us, for we are convinced that one died

for all, and therefore all died”(2Cor.5:14). One glaring problem is that Keller's teaching, while explicitly

denying “obligation,” seems to slip it in through the backdoor. He teaches that it really is not possible

“from the inside” to have a relationship to Jesus and “do whatever you want” because if you truly receive

the message you must have such a sense of gratitude that you will want to follow Jesus' teaching. In other

words, because of the great gift you are in fact obligated to have the emotional response (joy, gratitude)

that would propel you to live for Jesus. While Tim Keller does not want to say you are obligated to Jesus

for anything, because of his gospel formula, he actually teaches that you do owe Jesus, you are in fact

“more subject to the sovereign Lordship of God.” This seems to be a form of bait and switch. On the one

hand it is all free and there is no moral obligation, yet the fine print of Keller's teaching reveals the

opposite.

Better than Tim Keller here is the apostle Paul who was not bashful at all about proclaiming the debt

or obligation of faithfulness that we owe to God in response to Christ's sacrifice for us. He saw no

contradiction between Christ dying for our sins, and that great gift at the very same time creating a great

obligation to our Savior. Paul in Romans 8:1-11 describes the greatness of God's blessing in Christ which

includes Him as our “sin offering” and the gift of His Spirit which raises us from the dead. Then in

response to all this he writes, “Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation - but it is not to the sinful

nature, to live according to it”(8:12). What is our obligation? To live according to the Spirit , and by the

Spirit “we put to death the misdeeds of the body”(v.13). A parallel verse is found in Romans 6:11. Once

again, Paul describes all that God has done for us through Christ in Romans 6:1-10, then Paul writes, “In

the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign

in your mortal body, so that you obey its evil desires”(Rom.6:11,12). What Tim Keller slips in through the

back door the apostle Paul proclaims openly. The great blessing of Christ's

death creates obligation to the One who died for us. Not only that, what motivated the apostle Paul was

not just the gratitude for what Jesus did for him, but also what he stood to personally gain in following

Jesus' ways: “No not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to

please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from

the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will

reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people,

especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” (Galatians 6:7-10)

So we are in fact motivated toward moral effort from God’s saving work of the past and by God’s promise for the future. We are pushed by our realization of all that God has done for us, and pulled by our faith in what God promises to do for us. So much of this

gets deleted by Tim Keller's gospel formula. His formula becomes the interpretational grid that obscures

and misrepresents the gospel itself. It is the Procrustean bed that shaves off and obscures biblical teaching

that does not conform to the formula. So “make every effort” now means “listen real hard” and “no

obligation” hides and obscures a backdoor obligation. It is gloriously true that Jesus is infinitely superior

to all other religious leaders, just not for Keller's reasons.