The Search for Justice

Timothy Keller Sermons Podcast by Gospel in Life

Tim Keller

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

4.8 • 15K Ratings

🗓️ 19 September 2025

⏱️ 41 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

If you’re on a spiritual search, there’s no better place to go than the book of Ecclesiastes. In the entire Bible, it’s the only book written from the viewpoint of a skeptic. The writer of Ecclesiastes asks, “If this life is all here is, what meaning is there in life?” To explore that, he looks at several questions we all have to answer in some way. The first of these is how we deal with the injustice and suffering we see in the world. How do you deal with injustice? The Ecclesiastes writer 1) refuses to let you avoid the question of injustice, and 2) gives us clues to two answers for how to deal with injustice. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 13, 1998. Series: When All You’ve Ever Wanted Isn’t Enough. Scripture: Ecclesiastes 9:2–16. 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.
0:06.0	Have you ever found yourself asking,
0:08.2	What if nothing I do really lasts?
0:10.3	Is this all there is?
0:12.0	In today's podcast, Tim Keller looks at how Ecclesiastes helps us face our doubts, fears, and uncertainties,
0:18.6	and points us to the lasting hope and significance we have in Christ.
0:29.1	Let's take a look at this passage. Now, we're about to read from Ecclesiastes, and last year,
0:35.0	last fall, I did one sermon on Ecclesiastes, and ever since then I wanted to come back.
0:39.1	And in the month of September, we're going to be looking at some of the basic themes of this book.
0:44.0	And right away, as we read it, you're going to see it's different.
0:47.7	It's so different than other books of the Bible.
0:50.6	It'll strike you right away.
0:54.7	Ecclesiastes chapter 9, we're going to read verses 2 to 16.
0:59.6	All share a common destiny.
1:02.5	The righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad.
1:05.8	The clean and the unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not.
1:13.7	As it is with a good man, so with a sinner.
1:20.4	As it is with those who take oaths, so with those who are afraid to take them. This is the evil and everything that happens under the sun. The same destiny overtakes all. The hearts of men, moreover, are full of evil, and there is madness
1:29.8	in their hearts while they live, and afterwards they join the dead. Anyone who is among the living
1:34.9	has hope. Even a live dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know that they will die,
1:41.9	but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward,
1:44.3	and even the memory of them is forgotten. Their love, their hate, and their jealousy have long
	...

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