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Examined Doctrine

Tim Keller on the final state of the lost

1950 – 2023 · PRESBYTERIAN (PCA)
DISPUTED AMONG SCHOLARSINTERNALLY CONTESTED°
STANCE

Eternal conscious punishment

THE POSITION

Affirmed the reality of hell and wrote in defense of it, while framing it in terms of freely chosen self-exclusion from God — a presentation some critics judged to soften the traditional account.

WHY THERE IS NO QUOTATIONNo quotations. The published work is in copyright, so these positions are paraphrased rather than reproduced.

SCRIPTURE
MATTHEW 25:46 · BSB

46 And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

20 OTHERS HOLD THIS

AquinasJacobus ArminiusAthanasiusAugustineVoddie BauchamCalvinChrysostomJonathan EdwardsThe Church of Eleven22 Statement of FaithJosh HowertonSecond London Baptist ConfessionLutherJohn MacArthurPhilip MelanchthonJohn OwenJustin PetersJohn PiperR.C. SproulWestminster ConfessionZwingli
See all 23 figures on the final state of the lost →

ABOUT THIS FIGURE

Founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian, New York. Known for apologetics addressed to urban skeptics and for a notably winsome register.

READ ACROSS 9 LOCI, NONE QUOTED
Everything Tim Keller holds →
Cite this page

"Tim Keller on the final state of the lost", Examined Doctrine, July 2026 edition, https://examineddoctrine.com/position/keller/final-state (archived at https://examineddoctrine.com/editions/2026-07/position/keller/final-state).

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