How Sin Makes Us Homeless

Timothy Keller Sermons Podcast by Gospel in Life | October 27, 2025

Main Theme & Purpose

In this episode, Tim Keller explores the profound and multifaceted biblical understanding of sin, as described in Isaiah 61. Keller unpacks the deep consequences of sin—how it disintegrates individual lives, relationships, and entire societies—likening its effects to making us spiritually and existentially homeless. He emphasizes that sin is not only breaking God’s law, but also breaking His heart and design for us, resulting in personal, societal, and cosmic brokenness. The only remedy, Keller argues, is the Messiah’s substitutionary work: Jesus exchanging our ashes for His beauty and inviting us to live in a new reality shaped by grace, forgiveness, and justice.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Losing the Vocabulary of Sin (03:00–08:30)

• Keller’s observation on the "death of sin" vocabulary:
  Society moved away from the concept of sin in the 19th and 20th centuries, considering it an outdated or dangerous idea. Sin became associated with shame and abuse when applied to oneself or others.
• Quote:

  "We got rid of the vocabulary. We got rid of the concept of sin. And now we see it in front of us. We can't talk about it. We can't deal with it. We feel ourselves in the presence of something that we no longer have the vocabulary to deal with." – Tim Keller (07:15)

• Andrew Delbanco’s "The Death of Satan":
  Cited as a pivotal work describing the gulf between the visibility of evil in the world and society’s inability to name it.

2. Multidimensional Nature of Sin (08:30–13:00)

• Not just law-breaking:
  Most people reduce sin to breaking God’s law, but Keller insists that’s only a surface-level understanding.
• Sin is breaking God’s scale and heart:
  • Diminishing God’s glory creates "smallness of spirit."
  • Seeking elsewhere for ultimate love creates addiction.
• Sin is breaking God’s design:
  • To break God’s law is to violate the blueprint for human flourishing—it’s self-destructive.

3. Sin Causes Disintegration: Ashes Instead of Beauty (13:00–22:30)

• Messiah’s Promise in Isaiah 61:
  Jesus declares He’s come to bring the "Jubilee"—radical social, economic, and spiritual reset. The effects of sin are depicted as "ashes," literal and figurative, representing loss, decay, and disintegration.
• Illustration:
  • Keller describes leaving a cooked chicken on a table as it decays over time—symbolizing the inevitable movement from integration ("wholeness") to ashes due to the "fire of sin."
• Quote:

  "Sin disintegrates us. Sin makes us break down. Sin puts... Sin is an invisible flame. It's visible to God. Oh, God sees it. God looks down and he sees us all on fire. He sees us all falling apart. Why? Because what we're doing is we're going against our design." – Tim Keller (20:25)

4. Sin Is Self-Destructive; God’s Law as Design (21:00–23:40)

• Choice between two deaths:
  Either be your own master (and go to ashes) or "die" to yourself and submit to God’s design, flourishing as intended.
• Quote:

  "None of this is busy work in the will of God... You will only flourish if you break this, you break yourself. If you trample on this, you're trampling on your own heart." – Tim Keller (21:50)

5. The Messiah’s Work: The Ultimate Jubilee (23:42–35:00)

• Jesus brings comprehensive renewal:
  Christ doesn’t just offer inner peace and a ticket to heaven, but a complete restoration–personal, communal, and cosmic.
• Jubilee Principles:
  Spiritual rest, economic justice, social restoration, and racial harmony: a blueprint for the "Jubilee community" Jesus initiates.
• Incarnational Substitution:
  Jesus is both the "anointed king" (mighty deliverer) and the "suffering servant" (defeated, unattractive, broken) described in Isaiah. The surprise is that these are one and the same.
• Quote:

  "He had to be the first figure [strong King] if he could, in order to be the second figure [suffering servant]. And of course, being the second figure, it wasn't something that he was... something he had to do. He did it for us." – Tim Keller (30:10)

6. Substitution: Jesus Exchanges Our Ashes for His Beauty (33:30–36:40)

• Key theological point:
  The Messiah trades places with us—He takes our ashes, mourning, and despair; we receive His beauty, joy, and praise.
• Quote:

  "He gets our ashes. Why are we joyful? Because he got his joy. He gets our despair. This is the reason why on the cross he cries out, 'My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?' That's despair. He got our despair." – Tim Keller (33:56)

7. How Should We Respond? (36:40–45:00)

a) Trust Him: Surrender to the King

• Plant yourself in the "soil" of His sovereignty so you can grow. True obedience and freedom come from dying to self and trusting His design.
  • Quote:

    "You're going to die one way or the other. You can either be your own master and your own Lord and you'll go to ashes, or you can die to your will." (38:44)

b) Rest in His Substitution, Not Your Effort

• Becoming a Christian is embracing both aspects: You’re not just obeying a strong king—you’re receiving a righteousness you could never achieve.
  • Quote:

    "I don't ask you to achieve a righteousness. I'm going to give you a righteousness. I'm going to plant it in your heart and I'm going to wrap it around your body and your soul." (40:55)

c) Trust His Perfect Counsel

• Jesus responds perfectly to each individual, sometimes confronting with truth, sometimes ministering with tears—He is both the warrior and the nurse.
  • Illustrative anecdote: The story of Martha and Mary (John 11), showing Jesus’ customized response to individual needs.

d) Live Jubilee Principles Now

• Jesus calls Christians to live the Jubilee—extraordinary forgiveness, generosity, and active peacemaking—between His first and second coming.
  • Quote:

    "Jesus Christ is calling Christians between the first and second coming of Christ to live themselves on the Jubilee principle... I want you to create a community in which people really lay themselves out for the poor." (44:01)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the loss of ‘sin’ vocabulary:
  “We feel something that our culture no longer gives us the vocabulary to express.” (07:10)
• On the ashes of sin:
  “The wages of sin is ashes... Life is like that.” (16:50)
• On what it means to sin:
  “If you trample on this, you’re trampling on your own heart. If you’re trampling on this, you’re trampling on your own world. And every time you sin, you’re just turning the flame up, turning up the burner, and you go to ashes faster.” (21:53)
• On Jesus’ unique strength:
  “Behold the beauty of his voluntary ugliness. Behold the strength of his voluntary weakness.” (33:55)

Important Timestamps

• 03:00–08:30 – The disappearance of the concept of ‘sin’ from modern Western culture
• 13:00–22:30 – The devastating consequences of sin: illustration of ashes
• 23:42–35:00 – How the Messiah alone addresses comprehensive brokenness
• 33:30–36:40 – Substitution: the Messiah’s great exchange
• 36:40–45:00 – Four practical responses for Christians

Tone & Style

Keller’s tone is compassionate, thoughtful, and intellectually rigorous. He deftly weaves biblical exegesis, cultural analysis, and practical application, always circling back to the hope and beauty of Christ’s substitution. He challenges, encourages, and comforts, calling listeners to both deep personal surrender and radical communal action.

Summary

"How Sin Makes Us Homeless" is a powerful exploration of why humanity’s brokenness requires a deeper answer than modern culture can offer. Keller shows that the biblical diagnosis of sin is not only intellectually and spiritually credible but also indispensable for personal and social healing. The Messiah, Jesus, comes not merely as a cosmic fixer but as the only One who can take our "ashes" and make beauty, calling us to join Him in the ongoing work of restoration and Jubilee living.