Duplicity: The Case of Peter

Timothy Keller Sermons Podcast by Gospel in Life

Tim Keller

Religion & Spirituality, Religion, Religion & Spirituality:christianity, Christianity, Spirituality

4.8 • 15K Ratings

🗓️ 6 October 2025

⏱️ 40 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

After he broke his promise to Jesus, Peter wept bitterly. Peter was an absolutely broken man in the profoundest possible way, and yet within weeks he was poised as the leader of a new movement, about to become one of the most influential leaders in the history of the world. What broke Peter like this, and then what restored him so quickly? The answer is the same: promises. Promises are the reason he was broken, and promises are the reason he was restored. And the case of Peter tells us more about the power of commitments than, I think, any other incident in the Scripture. Let’s look at what Peter learned: 1) how promises make us, and 2) how we can make promises. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on February 12, 1995. Series: The Seven Deadly Sins. Scripture: Matthew 26:69-75. Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Gospel in Life.
0:05.1	You don't have to look far to see that something's deeply wrong with our world and with us.
0:10.7	But is there an answer that gets to the root of why?
0:14.5	In today's message, Tim Keller explores the human condition through stories in the Bible,
0:19.4	uncovering what Scripture says about sin and why
0:22.5	it's the only explanation deep enough to face the truth about ourselves.
0:34.7	Recently, there was a inner church meeting of Christian men in the city called Promise Keepers.
0:44.5	I got a chance to speak at it.
0:46.8	And maybe the most unflattering way to put it, the most unflattering way to explain that movement,
0:53.2	it's the movement to try to make Christian men
0:54.8	make and keep more promises, make and keep more commitments.
0:59.4	It was interesting that at that time I was already preparing a sermon on the issue of integrity.
1:07.8	And Peter, and this incident here, tells us, especially the case of Peter,
1:12.4	tells us more about the power of commitments and the power of promise-keeping than I think
1:17.4	any other incident in the scripture. Let me read it to you. Now, Peter was sitting out in the
1:22.9	courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. You also were with Jesus of Galilee, she said,
1:30.1	but he denied it before them all.
1:32.3	I don't know what you're talking about, he said.
1:35.0	Then he went out to the gateway,
1:36.7	where another girl saw him and said to the people there,
1:39.5	this fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.
1:42.1	He denied it again with an oath.
	...

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