Podcast Summary: “How Sin Makes Us Convicts”

Podcast: Timothy Keller Sermons Podcast by Gospel in Life
Host: Tim Keller
Episode Date: October 31, 2025

Overview

In this sermon, Tim Keller explores one of the Bible’s most challenging teachings: the reality of God’s anger at sin. Referencing Isaiah 64:1-9 and 65:17-18, Keller argues that the concept of an "angry God" is critical—not just for hope and justice in a broken world, but also for true humility and understanding the depth of God’s love demonstrated through the cross. Keller counters common cultural objections to divine anger, explains its necessity for forgiveness and justice, and shows how the intersection of God’s wrath and love is crucial for personal transformation and peace.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Bible’s “Unpopular” Claim: God Gets Angry at Sin

• Textual Reference: Isaiah 64:5,9 ("You were angry at us... don't be angry beyond measure...")
• Keller notes that contemporary culture is uncomfortable with the image of an angry God, favoring instead an exclusively loving, accepting deity.
• He asserts that removing God’s anger ultimately impoverishes our ethics and understanding of justice:

  “If you don’t believe in an angry God… you’re impoverishing yourself. You’re taking away all sorts of hope and humility and love.” (07:56)

2. Why You Need an Angry God: Hope in a Broken World

(Timestamps: 08:30–16:45)

• Isaiah is written to a people suffering injustice and violence (exile, the destruction of Jerusalem) who cry out for God to judge evil (Isaiah 64:1-3).
• God’s anger is unlike human anger:

  “It’s a settled, fixed, implacable, irrevocable, incorruptible opposition to injustice and evil, so that no debt will go unpaid, every account will be squared, and nobody will get away with anything.” (10:07)

• Countering the claim: Belief in a vengeful God leads to violence.
  • Keller introduces Miroslav Volf’s thesis from Exclusion and Embrace:

    “The practice of nonviolence requires a belief in divine vengeance.” (13:40)

  • Volf argues that only assurance that God will judge evil enables victims to forgo personal vengeance; in safe, comfortable societies, the notion that justice is not required seems plausible, but not to those who have lived through atrocities.

Notable Quote:

“Unless you believe in a God of divine vengeance, you will not be able to resist picking up the sword and being the avenger yourself, or else you’ll just die of despair.” (15:32, paraphrasing Volf)

3. An Angry God is Necessary for Humility and Civility

(Timestamps: 16:50–26:18)

• In Isaiah, those crying out for judgment realize: “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags…” (Isaiah 64:6).

• Both religious and secular people position themselves as “the good” against “the bad,” but real encounter with the biblical God brings the realization, “I too am under judgment.”

• Insight:

  “A Christian is somebody who says, I come to realize that the reason for my sins and the reason for my good deeds is the same and it’s wrong... Even when I do a good deed, I am trying to be my own savior.” (19:30)

• Practical Application:
  Without an angry God, we end up judging others to justify ourselves; with belief in judgment, we are humbled and equipped for true neighborliness, forgiveness, and civility, especially among people different from ourselves.

Memorable Analogy:
Keller humorously traces his own path to New York Presbyterian ministry back to the Watergate scandal:

“What if that door hadn’t been left open? … Do you dare think you ever know enough about what’s going on in your life to be mad at God for it?” (23:55)

Practical Point:

• “If you’re having trouble forgiving somebody right now, it’s because you’re stuck in verses 1, 2, or 3. You haven’t gotten to verses 4 to 6 yet.” (22:30)

4. Only An Angry God Shows Us How Much We Are Loved

(Timestamps: 26:19–38:45)

• Paradox:
  The more we comprehend God’s anger, judgment, and wrath, the greater the magnitude of His love.

• From Isaiah 64:8-9, Keller expounds:

  • God as both Father and Artist whose “furious love” leads to anger when His creation is marred.
  • C.S. Lewis: “The opposite of love is not anger. Oh no. The opposite of love is hate, and the ultimate hate is indifference...” (29:38)

• Why God’s love necessitates anger:

  “If God looks at this world and is not furious... He is not a father and He is not an artist.” (30:35)

• Resolution of Wrath and Love:
  God’s love is not only the cause, but the satisfaction, of His anger. On the cross, God’s justice and love meet:

  “Only if the cross happened can He be a God of furious love and loving fury all at once. Here’s what the Bible teaches: Jesus Christ is the judge who was judged.” (35:05)

Notable Quote:

“If you don’t believe in hell, if you don’t believe in punishment, if you don’t believe in justice… you have no idea what God did for you. You have no idea how valuable you are.” (36:27)

5. Life Distortions Without Both God’s Love and Anger

(Timestamps: 38:46–40:00)

• Warning:
  • A God of “only love” makes you spiritually orphaned, unable to handle contradiction or discipline.
  • A God of “only anger” crushes with fear, never fostering love or transformation.

“Permissive parents are every bit as bad [as abusive ones]. People who grow up with an idea of a God who just loves… grow up feeling like orphans spiritually.” (38:53)

The Gospel Solution:

• The cross means Christ bore God’s anger for us, freeing us to experience both radical humility and the assurance of God’s love.

“Fear cannot awaken love in you. Only love can awaken love in you.” (39:45)

Notable Quotes & Moments with Timestamps

• On nonviolence and God’s vengeance:

  "The practice of nonviolence requires a belief in divine vengeance." (13:40, quoting Volf)

• On the falsity of moral or cultural superiority:

  "If only everybody in the world was like me, we wouldn’t be in trouble." (18:42)

• On the true Christian response:

  "All our righteousness is as filthy rags." (19:11, referencing Isaiah 64:6)

• On God’s love and anger:

  "Anger is what love bleeds when you cut it." (30:39, paraphrasing C.S. Lewis)

Major Sections & Suggested Timestamps

| Section | Timestamp | | -----------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------| | Introduction to Topic (God’s Anger at Sin) | 00:43–08:30 | | God’s Anger and Hope for Justice (Volf’s Refutation) | 08:30–16:45 | | God’s Anger and Humility/Civility (Moving Beyond Self-Righteousness) | 16:50–26:18 | | God’s Anger and the Depth of Divine Love (C.S. Lewis, the Cross) | 26:19–38:45 | | The Dangers of Love Without Wrath / Wrath Without Love | 38:46–40:00 | | Closing Reflections and Prayer | 40:00–40:50 |

Conclusion

Tim Keller’s sermon firmly defends the biblical portrayal of God as both righteous judge and loving father. Far from being outdated or regressive, the belief in God’s anger at sin is shown to be essential for hope in the face of injustice, humility in the face of our own flaws, and understanding the full magnitude of God’s sacrificial love in Christ. Without these twin realities, both personal character and social justice suffer; with them, Keller claims, one finds deep healing and transformation.

For further resources, visit gospelandlife.com.