I am a believer in Jesus Christ as the only hope of fallen man for reconciliation with God at death through His finished work on the Cross. Though I was raised in Christianity and professed Christ, I had no real biblical understanding of my utterly depraved state or the biblical truth regarding regeneration and salvation- which is all of God; I believe the Lord delivered me in my early thirties. I believe the Holy Bible is God’s wholly sufficient, inerrant revelation to man and I would describe my approach to scripture as follows:
“For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things exist, saith the Lord: but to this one will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, who trembles at my word.” Isaiah 66:2
I decided to support a new church plant launched by the church I was attending along with other reformed churches in the area and once I started attending the meetings (and eventually the new church) I was troubled from the beginning by much of what I heard. This pastor and his wife were completely given over to the theology of Tim Keller. They aggressively promoted all of his books and teachings and the pastor referred to Keller as his “hero and mentor”. His wife made clear that Keller had “changed her life”- she stated that through his teachings she came to understand what “real Christianity” was all about. Being continually troubled, I decided to look into Keller and after extensive research it was clear that he was the sole source of their theology. Keller cleverly presents himself as an orthodox Christian but all the while he is methodically undermining scripture, the church and the truth; I was not very deep into my research when it became abundantly clear to me that Keller does not believe the Bible. He has redefined everything from sin to salvation and repackaged historical Marxist ideology for the sole purpose of selling it to the “Christian” as The Great Commission. His profession of faith in the gospel rings hollow as he constantly promotes Jesus as a social revolutionary who is far more concerned with the progressive view of social justice and economic inequality than the souls of men. The Great Commission is to proclaim the gospel to mankind that they might turn from sin and be reconciled to God through Christ; this was and is the singular mission of Jesus, nothing else. Keller demeans this idea, referring to it as “tribalism” that only increases the number of Christians (or as he likes to derisively say “increasing the tribe”) but contributes nothing to the betterment of the material world. This is blasphemy- plain and simple.
I eventually met with the pastor and his wife but unfortunately my concerns fell upon deaf ears, as they were deeply offended that I was questioning anything. I was given a rundown of Keller’s impressive credentials and told of the many prominent names working with and supporting Tim Keller- my concerns were completely dismissed. I left the church plant immediately, returning to our member church. It would not be long before they began promoting Tim Keller and this, coupled with other concerns prompted me to leave the church and the denomination. Any concerns expressed with regard to Keller were again, quickly dismissed, as I was told by one group leader regarding their use of Keller’s books in a small group study: “We knew there were problems with Keller so we passed on the recommended book and went with one of his other books that isn’t quite as bad”…. Isn’t quite as bad? a very troubling response. Many Christians seem to believe they have “so arrived” in their understanding of truth that they are exempt from the deception of a clever, methodical false teacher- I beg to differ, and so did the Apostle Paul:
“That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive.” Ephesians 4:14
“Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.” Acts 20:28-31
“With tears” Paul says…what a heart wrenching verse. Paul understood how very clever and deceptive those who rose up would be and how they would honor Christ with their lips while simultaneously dismantling scripture, scattering doubt and “deceiving many”:
“And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve”. 2 Corinthians 11:14-15
The professing church seems to believe that everyone is entitled to “their own opinions” as long as they hold to “essential truths” but their list of “essential truths” grows shorter with every passing day. In today’s church, if one professes Christ as savior they get a pass on everything else. But the “everything else” is where these false teachers get the upper hand, as the devil is in the details and the error is always interwoven into all of their teachings- and whether their hearers and readers realize it or not, they are being moved farther and farther from the truth of scripture. Many will express serious concerns about Keller but in the end they decide he “preaches the gospel” so all is well. They are oblivious to the fact that by redefining everything from sin to the Great Commission he does not preach the gospel of Christ- it is another gospel; an environmental, seeker sensitive, unoffensive, social gospel.
I encountered others online who are faithfully sounding the warning to believers about Tim Keller and you will find links to their websites, articles and interviews throughout this site. I am thankful for their tireless efforts and for the great encouragement they were to me at such a difficult time. The infiltration of false teachers and false ideas into the visible church is overwhelming but it is nothing new, as a careful study of scripture reveals constant warnings from prophets, apostles, and of course Christ himself:
15“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16By their fruit you will recognize them. Matthew 7:15-16
For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. Jude 1:4
“Crept in unawares” is not a reference to hiding behind a pew! But instead hiding behind the truth – in plain sight. They will claim to hold to sound doctrine for the sole purpose of winning the trust of the people. “Denying” Christ in this passage is clearly not a reference to a verbal denial, but instead a reference to perverting, distorting and denying the clear teaching of scripture, thereby casting doubt on the truth and eroding all confidence in the Bible. This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. Matthew 15:8. It is vitally important for believers to remember exactly who Jesus is:
”The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14
“For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit: and these three are one.” 1 John 5:7
And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. Revelation 19:13
Jesus is THE WORD. Any distortion or denial of any part of scripture is denying Christ. This is the clear message that Jude wants to convey to believers.
The decision to compile my research and present it on this site came out of a love of the truth and did not come easy, as I have great reverence for God’s word to us regarding the woman’s role in His church; we are not appointed to teach in any manner over the church (and for the record, that would include women and children). However, it is impossible to expose error without expounding on the scriptures so you will find plenty of that in these pages but do not get your theology here- take everything you read here to the Bible and to faithful men the Lord has appointed to teach.
This is not an official editorial website, as I am not a writer and have no formal training of any kind. It is more a place to store information, as well as my own personal assessments, for the purpose of passing it on to others. It is important to know in advance that after extensive research into Keller’s ministry, which led me deep into the scriptures, I am convinced that he is a dangerous threat to the truth and this site approaches his ministry as such. I absolutely reject the idea the he is a wayward Christian or a brother who has fallen into error; he is a clever, deliberate and manipulative false teacher and therefore, the language and personal assertions you will find here are straightforward with no apologies.
I am convinced that any true believer in the scriptures as the inerrant and infallible revelation of God to mankind would come to the same conclusion. I hope this site will educate and encourage others to contend for the faith once delivered to the saints (Jude 1:3), remembering this sobering and prophetic question from the Lord Jesus Christ:
“When the Son of man returns, will he find faith on the earth?” Luke 18:8
Toni S. Brown