Romans 1-7 for You Quotes

“At the root of each and every sin, and each and every problem, is unbelief and a rejection of the gospel.”
― Timothy J. Keller, Romans 1-7 For You: For reading, for feeding, for leading

“Oscar Wilde summed it up well: “When the gods wish to punish us, they answer our prayers.” This is the wrath of God: to give us what we want too much, to give us over to the pursuit of the things we have put in place of him. The worst thing God can do to human beings in the present is to let them reach their idolatrous goals. His judgment is to give us over to the destructive power of idolatry, and of evil. When we sin, it sets up stresses and strains in the fabric of the order that God created. Instead of us finding blessing, our sin causes breakdowns spiritually, psychologically, socially and physically. The great tragedy is that we choose this for ourselves. God allows us to walk through the door we have chosen.”
― Timothy J. Keller, Romans 1-7 For You: For reading, for feeding, for leading

“We never grasp the gospel until we understand that it is not fundamentally a message about our lives, dreams, or hopes. The gospel speaks about, and transforms, all of those things, but only because it isn’t about us. It is a declaration about God’s Son, the man Jesus.”
― Timothy J. Keller, Romans 1-7 For You: For reading, for feeding, for leading

“God does not set his justice aside; he turns it onto himself.”
― Timothy Keller, Romans 1-7 For You: For reading, for feeding, for leading

“The law is not a checklist we keep; it is a benchmark we fail.”
― Timothy Keller, Romans 1-7 For You: For reading, for feeding, for leading

“Jesus’ salvation is not only like receiving a pardon and release from death row and prison. Then we’d be free, but on our own, left to make our own way in the world, thrown back on our own efforts if we’re to make anything of ourselves. But in the gospel, we discover that Jesus has taken us off death row and then has hung around our neck the Congressional Medal of Honor. We are received and welcomed as heroes, as if we had accomplished extraordinary deeds.”
― Timothy Keller, Romans 1-7 For You: For reading, for feeding, for leading

“The gospel’s power is seen in its ability to completely change minds, hearts, life orientation, our understanding of everything that happens, the way people relate to one another, and so on. Most of all, it is powerful because it does what no other power on earth can do: it can save us, reconcile us to God, and guarantee us a place in the kingdom of God forever.”
― Timothy Keller, Romans 1-7 For You: For reading, for feeding, for leading

“Consider how suffering affects people who are seeking salvation by works. Self-justifiers are always insecure at a deep level because they know they aren’t living up to their standards but they cannot admit it. So when suffering hits, they immediately feel they are being punished for their sins. They cannot take confidence in God’s love (v 5). Since their belief that God loves them was inadequately based, suffering shatters them. Suffering drives them away from God, rather than toward him. It is when we suffer that we discover what we are really trusting and hoping in: ourselves, or God.”
― Timothy J. Keller, Romans 1-7 For You: For reading, for feeding, for leading

“are we as individuals, attractive? Is our humility, love in hard situations, grace under pressure, and so on obvious for others to see? Are we living as an advertisement for God, or as a “Keep clear” sign?”
― Timothy J. Keller, Romans 1-7 For You: For reading, for feeding, for leading

“Presuppositional Apologetics):”
― Timothy J. Keller, Romans 1-7 For You: For reading, for feeding, for leading

“The word that the NIV translates “sinful desires” and the ESV renders “lusts” is epithumia. Literally, it means “over-desire,” an all-controlling drive and longing. This is revealing. The main problem of our heart is not so much desires for bad things, but our over-desires for good things, our turning of created, good things into gods, objects of our worship and service. And the worst thing that can happen to us is that we are given what our hearts over-desire.”
― Timothy J. Keller, Romans 1-7 For You: For reading, for feeding, for leading

“There is a surprise here. The great apostle does not want to visit simply so he can encourage them. He will visit so that they can encourage him, too—“that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith” (v 12). This is striking! Since Paul sought out encouragement from other believers, and since if Paul sought that encouragement in the faith of other believers, how much more should we?! Verses 11-12 begin to show us part of what the obedience that comes through faith is; it is obeying Christ by having the humility to serve, and be served by, his people. Verse 11 teaches us to use whatever gifts the Lord has graciously given us to make others stronger in their faith. Verse 12 teaches us to allow others to use the faith and gifts the Lord has given them to build us up.”
― Timothy J. Keller, Romans 1-7 For You: For reading, for feeding, for leading

“Anything you worship besides God promises much, but delivers worse than nothing.”
― Timothy J. Keller, Romans 1-7 For You: For reading, for feeding, for leading

“Before the gospel hits the heart, it is possible to have a merely intellectual or behavioral “Christianity,”
― Timothy J. Keller, Romans 1-7 For You: For reading, for feeding, for leading

“Whether we call ourselves religious or not, we all have a god. We are all worshipers.”
― Timothy J. Keller, Romans 1-7 For You: For reading, for feeding, for leading

“We are saved by faith alone, but the faith that saves is never alone.” It brings about grateful, joyful, trusting obedience.”
― Timothy J. Keller, Romans 1-7 For You: For reading, for feeding, for leading

“Expiation is the wiping away of wrongdoing. Propitiation includes expiation, but is much more than expiation—it is the turning away of God’s wrath. It means that God’s wrath is turned away from us—those who deserve it—by the provision of One who takes it in our place: God himself, Jesus.”
― Timothy J. Keller, Romans 1-7 For You: For reading, for feeding, for leading

“Faith is only the instrument by which you receive your salvation, not the cause of your salvation.”
― Timothy J. Keller, Romans 1-7 For You: For reading, for feeding, for leading

“Outside of the gospel, we must develop a righteousness, and offer it to God, and say (hopefully and anxiously): Accept me. The gospel says that God has developed a perfect righteousness, and he offers it to us, and by it we are accepted.”
― Timothy J. Keller, Romans 1-7 For You: For reading, for feeding, for leading

“When we do not live enjoying God’s approval in the gospel, we do not know peace ourselves, nor can we live in peace with others.”
― Timothy J. Keller, Romans 1-7 For You: For reading, for feeding, for leading

“Notice that Paul says that the gospel’s power is boundless and boundaried at the same time. He says it is to everyone. It came to the Jew first, through Jesus, but it is for the Gentile as well—everyone and anyone. Yet he also sets a limit on it. It is for everyone who believes.”
― Timothy J. Keller, Romans 1-7 For You: For reading, for feeding, for leading

“All that is required to know this salvation is belief: it is offered to “everyone who believes” (v 16).”
― Timothy J. Keller, Romans 1-7 For You: For reading, for feeding, for leading

“The gospel’s power is seen in its ability to completely change minds, hearts, life orientation, our understanding of everything”
― Timothy J. Keller, Romans 1-7 For You: For reading, for feeding, for leading

“Theodoret, a Syrian bishop in the fifth century, likened the gospel to a pepper: “A pepper outwardly seems to be cold …”
― Timothy J. Keller, Romans 1-7 For You: For reading, for feeding, for leading

“Verse 11 teaches us to use whatever gifts the Lord has graciously given us to make others stronger in their faith. Verse 12 teaches us to allow others to use the faith and gifts the Lord has given them to build us up.”
― Timothy J. Keller, Romans 1-7 For You: For reading, for feeding, for leading

“There is a surprise here. The great apostle does not want to visit simply so he can encourage them. He will visit so that they can encourage him, too—“that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith” (v 12).”
― Timothy J. Keller, Romans 1-7 For You: For reading, for feeding, for leading

“Obedience flows out of faith; it is a consequence of saving faith, not a second condition for salvation.”
― Timothy J. Keller, Romans 1-7 For You: For reading, for feeding, for leading

“Put most simply, the gospel is an announcement—a declaration. The gospel is not advice to be followed; it is news, good (eu) news about what has been done.”
― Timothy J. Keller, Romans 1-7 For You: For reading, for feeding, for leading

“Our prayer is that as you read, you’ll be struck not by the contents of this book, but by the book it’s helping you open up; and that you’ll praise not the author of this book, but the One he is pointing you to.”
― Timothy J. Keller, Romans 1-7 For You: For reading, for feeding, for leading

“a saved person does not work (v 5a). This cannot mean that a saved person disregards the law (see 3:31). It must therefore mean that the saved person no longer trusts in obedience as a way to be saved. A Christian is one who stops working to be saved, not one who stops working!”
― Timothy J. Keller, Romans 1-7 For You: For reading, for feeding, for leading