Tim Keller on Justification
Forensic — righteousness imputed, not infused
THE POSITION
Forensic imputation, and characteristically pressed as the answer to both moralism and irreligion — the elder-brother and younger-brother problem in Luke 15.
WHY THERE IS NO QUOTATIONOne quotation, on spiritual-warfare, taken from a machine transcript of a freely published 1992 sermon, and copyright is not what is stopping the rest. Nine of the other ten loci have had no primary-source pass at all. The tenth, scripture-authority, had one that read three freely published pieces in full and kept no excerpt from them — so what is missing there is a retained sentence, not permission. The books are in copyright, but he preached and published free for decades, and this map quotes MacArthur, Heiser and Sproul at length, all modern authors in copyright.
5 However, to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.
20 OTHERS HOLD THIS
ABOUT THIS FIGURE
Founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian, New York. Known for apologetics addressed to urban skeptics and for a notably winsome register.
Cite this page
"Tim Keller on Justification", Examined Doctrine, July 2026 edition, https://examineddoctrine.com/position/keller/justification (archived at https://examineddoctrine.com/editions/2026-07/position/keller/justification).