'I am the
door: by me if any man enter in , he shall be saved' John 10:9
How lovely to note
that when the Lord Jesus speaks of Himself, He uses no lofty
imagery; rather He speaks of Himself in comparison to everyday
things, so that we have no difficulty in grasping the
meaning of His message. In John's Gospel,
Chapter 4, He speaks of Himself as water, in Chapter 6 as bread,
and here as the door. The illustration is simple. The Lord is
saying that, just as you pass through
a door to enter a building, so by faith in Christ Jesus you can
enter into God's salvation. Perhaps the Lord has spoken of Himself
in this way in order that it may often come to our attention! When
you enter and leave your own house, you use a door. As you enter a
car, you use its door. You pass through a door as you enter a
store. Almost everywhere, doors meet your gaze. Our Lord seems to
say to you, I will meet you wherever you are, and I would like you
to be reminded wherever you go that
I am the door by which you can be saved.
God's Salvation is a Person
Now, I would like you to notice how
particular the Lord is in His statement regarding the way of
salvation. He does not say, 'The church is the door', neither does
he say, 'The sacraments are the door', nor, 'Baptism is the door,'
Rather he points to Himself and says, 'I am the door'. Peter
affirms this truth by saying,
'Neither is there salvation in any other' (Acts 4:12). Paul
declares, 'that in all thing He (Christ) might have the
preeminence' (Colossians 1:18).
Salvation is found only in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ,
for he said, 'I am the door'.
A Possible Salvation
The Lord declares, 'by Me if ANY
MAN enter in, he shall be saved.' How wonderful! Regardless of
their colour or condition, the Lord invites all.
A preacher recalled how when
preaching in a mountain village a woman who attended those meetings
was yearning for God's salvation. However the devil had convinced
her that her life had been too sinful for God to receive her. One
night as the preacher spoke of Paul's words, 'This is a faithful
saying and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into
the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief' (1 Timothy 1:15),
she saw for the first time that if Christ could save Paul, the
chief of sinners, he was willing and able to save her too! She
entered in and was saved! The Lord 'is longsuffering to us-ward,
not willing that ANY should perish, but that all should come to
repentance' (2 Peter 3:9). The blood of Christ can cleanse any sin
(1 John 1:7). Have you been made wretched through sin? Listen dear
friend, the saviour beckons you, 'is ANY man enter in, he shall be
saved.'
A Present Salvation
Did you ever hear a person say,
'You can't know in this life. you have to wait for the judgment to
find out where you will be'? Such thinking is 'ecclesiastical
rubbish' for I search in vain to fid such a theory in the bible.
In fact, the bible tells us just the opposite! 'He shall be
saved,' says the Lord. It doesn't say that he might be or he can
hope to be, but, 'he SHALL be saved.' When? The answer is simple.
The very moment he enters the Door, he is saved. When did you receive
Christ by entering the door? When Zacchaeus received the Saviour,
the Lord assured him, 'THIS DAY is salvation come to this house'
(Luke 19:9). Salvation is not obtainable after death. 'Now is the
day of salvation' (2 Cor 6:2)
A Precious Salvation
The Hope Diamond is one of the
world's most precious gems, yet 10,000 of them couldn't purchase
God's salvation. But thank God, the cost was met by a Person, the
Lord Jesus Christ. 'I am the good Shepherd: the good shepherd
giveth His life for the sheep' (John 10:11). We are 'not redeemed
with corruptible things, as silver and gold... But with the
precious blood of Christ' (1 Pet 1:18,19)
Not only is salvation precious
because of the price paid to procure it, but also because of its
delivering power. Hell awaits the sinner, but God cries, 'Deliver
him from going down into the pit: I have found a ransom' (Job
33:24). Faith in Christ saves the soul from hell, judgment, and
eternal punishment in the lake of fire. How comforting His words
are to those who enter in - 'he shall be saved'.
A Permanent Salvation
When the Lord saves a soul, he
does a perfect work. Did you ever observe a sheep and a shepherd?
One thing you will notice is that its always the shepherd who hold
the sheep, and never the sheep who hold onto the shepherd.
Similarly, in salvation, I'm not holding onto the Shepherd; but
thank God , the Shepherd is holding onto me! He has put me on his
shoulders, so I'm safe and secure (Luke 15:5).
If you enter the Door, he will
assure you wit this wonderful fact, 'I give unto them eternal
life; and they shall NEVER perish, neither shall any man pluck
them out of my hand' (John 10:28).
My friend, the Saviour calls;
will you come? Receive him now and experience His words, 'by Me if
any man enter in, he shall be saved.'
'I am the way, the truth and the
life: now man cometh unto the father but by me.'
