Without the gospel we hate ourselves instead of our sin.
Interpretation
The quote suggests that without understanding the gospel, individuals can misplace their hatred, directing it towards themselves rather than the wrongdoing they commit.
Timothy Keller's quote emphasizes the profound impact of the gospel on self-perception and morality. It implies that without the redemptive message of the gospel, individuals tend to internalize guilt and hatred for their own identity instead of recognizing and addressing their sinful actions. This distinction is crucial as it shifts the focus from self-loathing to a healthier understanding of morality and forgiveness, encouraging individuals to confront their sins without diminishing their inherent worth.
In practice
In a sermon discussing self-worth, one might reference this quote to highlight the importance of a positive self-view.
Falling in love in a Christian way is to say,'I am excited about your future and I want to be part of getting you there. I'm signing up for the journey with you. Would you sign up for the journey to my true self with me? It's going to be hard but I want to get there.
Only in Jesus Christ do we see how the untamable, infinite God can become a baby and a loving Savior. On the cross we see how both the love and the holiness of God can be fulfilled at once.
All human problems are ultimately symptoms, and our separation from God is the cause.
While your character flaws may have created mild problems for other people, they will create major problems for your spouse and your marriage.
To be loved but not known is comforting but superficial. To be known and not loved is our greatest fear. But to be fully known and truly loved is, well, a lot like being loved by God. It is what we need more than anything. It liberates us from pretense, humbles us out of our self-righteousness, and fortifies us for any difficulty life can throw at us.
God's Kingdom is "present in its beginnings, but still future in its fullness. This guards us from an under-realized eschatology (expecting no change now) and an over-realized eschatology (expecting all change now). In this stage, we embrace the reality that while we're not yet what we will be, we're also no longer what we used to be.
To be idle and to be poor have always been reproaches, and therefore every man endeavors with his utmost care to hide his poverty from others, and his idleness from himself.
It is to be remarked that a good many people are born curiously unfitted for the fate waiting them on this earth.
Destiny is no matter of chance. It is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.
Disease makes men more physical, it leaves them nothing but body.
Many people in their teens wonder about these big questions - what's the meaning of life, what are we doing here - then somewhere in their 20s, they seem to say, 'I'll just get married. I'll just have kids. I'll get back to that later.' But they never do. For me, it kept boiling.
Night was a very different matter. It was dense, thicker than the very walls, and it was empty, so black, so immense that within it you could brush against appalling things and feel roaming and prowling around a strange, mysterious horror.
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