Podcast Summary – Timothy Keller Sermons Podcast by Gospel in Life

Episode: Born Again
Date: December 19, 2025
Host/Speaker: Tim Keller

Overview of the Episode

In this sermon, Tim Keller explores the central Christian concept of being "born again," focusing on John 1:12-13. Keller highlights how John's gospel addresses the meaning of Christ's birth not by recounting shepherds, angels, or a manger, but by delving into the mystery of the incarnation and the transformative nature of spiritual rebirth. He argues that being "born again" is not just for a certain type of person, but an essential, radical, and challenging experience for everyone who would follow Jesus.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Context and Essential Nature of the New Birth

(00:33–06:55)

• Keller starts by reading John 1:12-13, emphasizing that Jesus came so people might be "born again."
• He explains that "born again" is not just for religious types or those seeking emotional experiences.
  • Quote:

  "Either you are born again and you do grasp who Jesus Christ is, or you’re not born again and you don’t. There’s no middle ground." (04:55)

• The story is set up with Nicodemus, who is moral, religious, successful, but still told by Jesus, "You must be born again" (07:30).
• Keller stresses this "is not a summons to traditional religion; it’s a challenge to traditional religion."
• The new birth is for all—regardless of religious pedigree or moral state.
  • Quote:

  "No matter how good you are... or how shameful your background, you can be born again." (11:57)

2. The Radical Nature of Being Born Again

(12:10–21:30)

• Two main aspects from the passage:

  • A radically new life (vs. 13): The metaphor of birth means receiving spiritual life, moving from mechanistic, resume-building growth to organic, transformative personal growth.
    • Quote:

    "Being born again means you grow in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, humility, faithfulness, self-control." (14:20)

  • Sensitivity to spiritual things: Spiritual appetite, sight, hearing, and taste awaken after rebirth.
    • Quote:

    "The Word is becoming something they digest, not just a set of propositions they hold in their mind... Pinocchio, you’ve become a real boy." (17:40)

  • Radical new identity (vs. 12): Becoming children of God is a legally conferred adoption, not mere creation.
    • Quote:

    "It’s a legally conferred new identity. That’s adoption." (20:50)

• Two implications of adoption:

  • Intimacy: Unrestricted access to God as Father—“the God and Father of my heavenly Father loves me with all the magnitude and intensity with which he loves his only begotten son.” (21:41)
  • Inheritance: Christians receive a share in the renewed creation, a future glory and significance that’s unshakeable.

3. Case Study: The Fragility of Other Identities

(26:20–31:55)

• Keller shares a detailed testimony of a woman whose identity shifted over five phases: morality, desirability, career, charity, and finally, Christian faith.
• Each prior identity (moral, romantic, successful, helpful) was found unstable because it depended on personal performance or approval from others.
  • Quote:

  "Every single time, my identity was rooted in being — I am moral, I am beautiful, I am successful, I am helpful — and every single time, it was fragile and unstable because it was based on my performance..." (30:52)

• Only adoption into God’s family provided a secure, unconditional identity—one based on intimacy with God and guaranteed inheritance.

4. How Do You Get This New Birth?

(32:00–37:00)

• Keller emphasizes: It’s simple, but hard.
• To "receive Jesus," (John 1:12) is to "repent and rest”—repent not just of bad things, but the self-centered motive beneath good things.
  • Quote:

  "All you need is nothing. But most people don’t have it.” (35:07)

  • Genuine repentance means letting go of all efforts to save oneself or create an identity apart from Christ.
• Rest in the finished work of Christ—not “please forgive me, now I’ll live for you,” but “I come with empty hands; I rest in Christ alone.”
  • Quote (Martin Luther via William Holland):

  "Do we have nothing to do? No, nothing but simply rest in him and say, ‘Father, nothing in my hands I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling.’" (36:00)

5. The Cost and Joy of Rebirth

(36:30–37:00)

• Keller draws on Jesus’ analogy in John 16: spiritual new birth—like physical birth—comes not by our effort but at Christ’s cost, through his pain, suffering, and death.
  • Quote:

  "You are born through my pain, through my suffering, through my work, at the cost of my life... but like a woman in labor, her joy overwhelms her pain. And what is he saying? You’re worth it to me." (36:55)

• C.S. Lewis quote on self-surrender leading to true life and joy:

  "Give up yourself and you will find your real self. Lose your life and you will save it... Look to Christ and you will find him, and with him, everything else thrown in." (37:00)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the necessity of new birth:

  "He’s not saying, ‘Get more religious…’ It’s a challenge to traditional religion. Jesus is saying, ‘Nicodemus, nothing you’ve ever done counts. You must be born again.’" (08:45 – Tim Keller)

• On spiritual growth:

  "When you’re born again, that’s organic growth. You’re not growing your résumé, you’re growing personally… That’s organic growth. Being born again means you grow organically." (14:20 – Tim Keller)

• On true repentance:

  "Repentance for her meant to say, not only do I repent of the bad things I’ve done, I repent of the reason I was doing all the good things, which was to try to be my own savior and lord, trying to create my own identity instead of resting..." (34:24 – Tim Keller)

• On the sufficiency of Christ’s work:

  "Do we have nothing to do? No, nothing but simply rest in him and say, ‘Father, nothing in my hands I bring, simply to thy cross I cling.’" (36:00 – Martin Luther via Keller)

Key Timestamps

• 00:33 – Introduction and reading of John 1:12–13
• 06:00 – Clarifying misconceptions about being "born again"
• 07:30 – The example of Nicodemus and the radical challenge to religiosity
• 12:10 – Being born again as receiving a radically new life (organic growth)
• 16:00 – Spiritual sensitivity as a sign of new birth
• 20:50 – New legal status of adoption and its implications
• 26:20 – Case study: The search for stable identity
• 32:00 – How to receive new birth: Repent and rest
• 35:07 – The paradox of coming to Jesus with nothing
• 36:30 – The cost of our new birth: Christ’s labor and love
• 37:00 – Closing C.S. Lewis quote and prayer

Conclusion

Tim Keller’s sermon on "Born Again" peels away cultural and religious misconceptions, underscoring that the new birth Jesus offers is essential, radical, and freely received by grace. This transformation is for everyone, imparting a new identity rooted not in our striving but in Christ’s suffering and finished work. Keller’s clear, compassionate teaching challenges both the secular and the religiously inclined to abandon self-reliance, embrace true repentance, and find lasting significance as adopted children of God.