Tim Keller | April 17, 2016
When Babylon conquered Israel after Israel’s rebellion, they took the professional classes and leaders of Israel and brought them into exile in Babylon. Why? Because they expected that these leaders would then assimilate and no longer resist.
Because the exiles knew Babylon’s strategy, they refused to move into the city. They settled outside. But then they got a letter from God through Jeremiah and it’s absolutely shocking. And it describes what the people of God’s relationship to this great pluralistic pagan city should be.
Essentially, God says three things: 1) live and settle there, don’t separate or withdraw, 2) respectfully resist there, don’t assimilate, and 3) sacrificially love there.
This Month's Featured Book
In this booklet, Tim Keller looks at how one can become a gospel-humble person who is neither too self-condemning, nor too self-loving, but instead is transformed by the gospel to be a self-forgetful person, loving our neighbors like we love ourselves.