Sermon
Why Does God Do Nothing?
By Tim Keller
Sermon
The New Heaven and New Earth
Tim Keller | April 12, 2009
Overview
When Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, he was called the first fruits for the dead. The first fruits are the beginning of a harvest. As great as the resurrection of Jesus Christ is—and it means everything—it’s only the first installment on something to come. On what? The new heavens and the new earth.
John was not writing this for us to sit around in an abstract academic way trying to work out the symbols. He wrote it for a group of people facing terrible things, in order to give them a living hope. If you understand that when Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, he was a first installment on something to come, it enables you to face things that otherwise you wouldn’t be able to face. Because you have not just an abstract idea, but a living hope.
To understand what this text is about, and even what the resurrection of Jesus Christ is about, let’s look at 1) the nature of this hope, 2) the need you have for it, and 3) how to get it.
Related
This Month's Featured Book
Is Your Identity in Your Achievements or in Christ?
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.
