I Am the Door

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So Jesus said to them again, "I am the door of the sheep." - Jn. 10:7 (NASB)

   A brief excerpt from yesterday's message. In this chapter, Jesus uses several metaphors in revealing and explaining just who He is to the people. Today I want to focus on Jesus as the door. Although Jesus spends some time elaborating on the connection of the door, shepherd, and sheep,  there is a central overriding message that Jesus is attempting to get across to the people: Jesus is the only way to eternal life. The reason I write "attempting" is that verse six tells us that the people did not understand. He had to tell them in another way because they just did not get the message. As I think about this passage, I realize that we are not too different. In our world today, there are many different "gospels" which preach a variety of ways to find a variety of gods. Many of the "gods" that are at the core of their message do not look much the God of the Bible. 
   There is pressure in our world today to remove Jesus from our message. Christianity is too dogmatic and offensive. Since preaching and teaching the Bible is not politically correct, so we alter the message into a palatable facsimile that appeals to our pride and selfish nature, hoping that we offend no one. Then we find ourselves welcoming "pre-Christians" rather than sinners into our churches, and give them lectures that resemble self-help books rather than sermons that reveal the majesty, holiness, and righteousness of Jesus. As a pastor, my fear is that we are changing the gospel before our own eyes into something that has form but no power (2 Tim. 3:5).
   Jesus is not an important part of Christianity, He is the focus and central part of Christianity. He is the door, the pathway to eternal life, joy, and peace in God. Our world is becoming darker by the day, and people are looking for light. We do not have to be scare people into the kingdom of God to get them saved, but we do not have to bribe them either. Just give them the truth, just give them Jesus. The Holy Spirit will do His job (Jn 6:44) as we do ours.

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