Tim Keller · Idolatry

Tim Keller on Idolatry

Idolatry was one of Keller's signature themes across three decades at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, developed most fully in his book Counterfeit Gods: the idea that an idol is any good thing turned into an ultimate thing.

Tim Keller planted Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan in 1989 and preached there until 2017, building a reputation for preaching that engaged skeptics as directly as believers, and idolatry, reframed in modern rather than only ancient terms, was one of the themes he returned to most consistently across that ministry. His book Counterfeit Gods (2009), which grew directly out of his preaching, remains the fullest published statement of his teaching on the subject.

This page describes what Keller is well documented to have taught about idolatry, based on that published work and his broader, consistent preaching emphasis, at the level a page like this can responsibly claim without citing a specific sermon we cannot verify.

What Tim Keller Actually Taught

Keller's central move on this theme, laid out most fully in Counterfeit Gods, was redefining idolatry for a modern, largely secular audience: an idol, in his teaching, is not primarily a carved image but anything, love, money, success, family, even ministry itself, that a person takes a good thing and makes into an ultimate thing, something they believe they cannot live without, and effectively worship in place of God.

A consistent feature of Keller's preaching, reflected across his sermons and writing, was drawing that idea out of ordinary experiences of anxiety, anger, and despair: teaching that intense, disproportionate emotional reactions in daily life are often a diagnostic clue pointing back to an underlying idol, a good thing that has quietly become an ultimate thing a person is depending on for their sense of worth or security.

Keller was also known for connecting this framework to the gospel directly: his consistent teaching was that idols cannot simply be removed by willpower, because the heart will always attach itself to something; the only way to displace a counterfeit god, in his framing, is to replace it with a deeper satisfaction in the true God, a theme that runs through both his Redeemer preaching and his broader published work.

A closer look at Idolatry

Exodus 20:3-4, the first and second commandments, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me... Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image" supply the foundational biblical vocabulary for idolatry, and modern preaching on the theme, including Keller's, consistently argues that the commandment's target is broader than literal statues: anything set up in the place God alone should occupy.

Ezekiel 14:3, where God says of the elders of Israel, "these men have set up their idols in their heart," is a key Old Testament text for the idea of internal, invisible idolatry, a heart posture rather than only a physical object, which is the foundation the "idols of the heart" framing common in modern preaching, including Keller's, is built on.

Colossians 3:5, which names covetousness as idolatry, is often paired with the Exodus and Ezekiel texts to complete the picture: idolatry in the New Testament is explicitly connected to ordinary, everyday desires, not only to formal religious practice, which is consistent with the modern, psychologically attentive framing Keller's teaching on the subject became known for.

Frequently asked questions

What is Counterfeit Gods about?

Counterfeit Gods (2009) is Tim Keller's book on modern idolatry, arguing that an idol is any good thing, love, money, success, even family or ministry, turned into an ultimate thing a person depends on for meaning and security in place of God. It grew directly out of his preaching at Redeemer Presbyterian Church.

What did Keller mean by idolatry?

Keller taught that idolatry is not primarily about literal statues but about taking a good thing and making it an ultimate thing: something a person cannot imagine living without and effectively worships in place of God, whether that thing is career success, a relationship, financial security, or even ministry itself.

Where can I find Tim Keller sermon transcripts?

Gospel in Life, the ministry that grew out of Redeemer Presbyterian Church, stewards Keller's sermon archive and publishes much of it free at gospelinlife.com, searchable by topic, scripture, and series.