The Professor’s Disillusionment

Timothy Keller Sermons Podcast by Gospel in Life

Tim Keller

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

4.8 • 15K Ratings

🗓️ 2 October 2023

⏱️ 36 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

A lot of people say Ecclesiastes is the greatest book of the Bible. But I can almost guarantee none of them felt that way the first time they read it. Because when you first read Ecclesiastes, what you’re struck with is a professor in absolute despair. Some will think this seems to contradict the rest of the Bible. Others will say, “Who needs this pessimism?” It can be a confusing book because people don’t realize its instructional approach of andragogy, which means adult instruction by goading and asking questions. And it can also be confusing because people don’t notice that the teacher is looking at life in two different ways, and that he keeps going back and forth between them. Let’s look at both of the ways he looks at life. Let me show you: 1) how he looks, 2) what he sees, and 3) why he sees it. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 7, 1997. Series: Pointers to Christ – Directional Signs in History. Scripture: Ecclesiastes 2:17-26. 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. This month we're looking at directional signposts
0:06.5	through history that point us to Christ. All through the Old Testament from
0:10.9	Genesis to Jonah, you see signs that point us to Jesus. Listen now to today's
0:15.8	teaching from Tim Keller on pointers to Christ.
0:19.8	Verses 15 and 26.
0:24.0	Then I thought in my heart, the fate of the fool will overtake me also.
0:28.4	What then do I gain by being wise? I said in my heart, this too is meaningless.
0:34.8	For the wise man like the fool will not long be remembered. In days to come both
0:39.6	will be forgotten. Like the fool the wise must die.
0:45.3	So I hated life. Because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me.
0:50.7	All that is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
0:54.2	I hated all the things that I had toiled for under the sun because I must leave
0:58.3	them to the one who comes after me. And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool.
1:04.0	Yet he will have control over all the work into which I have poured my effort and
1:08.1	skill under the sun. This too is meaningless.
1:12.1	So my heart began to despair. Overall my toil some labor under the sun.
1:17.3	For a man may do his work with wisdom knowledge and skill and then he must leave
1:21.2	all he owns to someone who has not worked for it. This too is meaningless and a
1:26.0	great misfortune. What does a man get for all the
1:29.2	toil and anxious driving with which he labors under the sun? All his days,
1:34.7	his work is pain and grief. Even at night his mind does not rest.
1:40.0	This too is meaningless. A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink
	...

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