“Enter The Door And Be Saved”

John 10: 7-11

7. Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.

8. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.

9. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

10. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

11. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

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cross the world, there are numerous teachings concerning the plan of salvation. Some are “for” the plan, some “against.” Some believe in the concept of salvation, some do not. Some involve Jesus, some do not. The point that they all share is that most will never lead one to true salvation.

Only recently have we ended the previous series “Salvation, what is it?” Since then, the Lord has led us in a new direction, forcing us to ask ourselves “Are you saved?” To some, this will prove to be unsettling; others will rejoice at the chance to know how they might please God. Your viewpoint will be determined by how sincere you are before God. You will be forced to confront whether you serve God because of Whom He is, or because of what you can get from Him.

Most who attend church would answer this question in the affirmative. Of course, such an answer would not automatically mean that one feels that he is saved because he is “sinless.” Men answer questions concerning their relationship with God according to what they believe their commitment is to Him and that commitment has nothing to do with how one lives but rather, what he does.

“Salvation” involves much more than just a commitment to a church building or a pastor. “Salvation” means “to be delivered from danger,” the “danger” that of having been born with a “sin nature.” Through the teachings of Jesus, we are given a chance to come to the knowledge that we do not live for ourselves. Part of accomplishing this involves the Lord bringing us to the point to see that all that we have done for ourselves was never able to satisfy us.

No man will ever really be happy until he gets to the point where he realizes that his focus must be on the Lord and not on himself. This would give Him absolute control and would mean that no attention would be given to one’s fleshly self. Since the flesh, of course, is that from which the enemy feeds, he fights as hard as he can to keep us focused upon ourselves.

The “door” spoken of in our subject, today, is the door into all that the Lord has made available (the “all” meaning salvation.) Access to the “doorway” is gained only through the Lord. There is no way to access salvation through the flesh.

In all that pertains unto Him, it is Jesus Who grants access to what He has made available. As He hung on the Cross and was pierced in His side, He opened for us access into the holy of holies. The piercing He endured identified Him as a sacrifice and the resultant death He suffered was what bought us access to Him. You see, access is not gained “through blood,” but rather, “through death.” It was the death of Jesus, not His “blood” which gained for us our freedom. This is important to remember, for it means that Jesus had to give up His life! In like manner, in order for us to be able to live the life for which He died, we must understand the significance of and submit to the death of the flesh.

When we are baptized, we are baptized into His death, thereby allowing us to “put on” Christ. Obviously then, all who submit to baptism are given the “opportunity” to die with Him, yet, it is obvious from many lives that flesh has not been put to death. So, how is it proven that we have accepted His death for ourselves? Precisely through us being “raised to newness of life.” What exactly does this mean? It means that the life of the flesh is submitted to life in the Spirit.

No longer can we afford to reduce the death of Jesus to baptism in His name. Much of the emphasis of the Apostolic church has been misplaced. Not purposely, but from a simple lack of knowledge. You see, pastors have believed that salvation was as simple as accepting tongues and baptism in Jesus’ name. After this, not much instruction was given.

For those who “went a little further,” they sincerely believed that if Man could just be taught, he could and would perform. The problem with this is that often, the method involved teaching, only, rather than “doing”; “participation.” You see, for anything to “work” amongst the people of God, scripture informs us that the “husbandman” must partake of it first. In other words, he must do it first. In like manner, if we say that Jesus can save, then we must be examples of that salvation.

In verse 8 of our text, we have Jesus’ testimony that all who had ever come before Him were “thieves and robbers.” How are the people of God “robbed” today? They are robbed by anyone who will not tell them that their salvation is contained in their death and their willingness to die with Jesus. The irony in this statement is that though the Lord is sending this revelation, too few of those with the oversight of His people are receiving it. And one cannot tell you what he does not know. So, what does this mean for you? It means that one had better be sure that the one under whom he sits knows all that he needs to know.

An open door helps no one if not walked through. The door to salvation leads to “salvation,” an “unfamiliar” destination for the human being. Being unfamiliar with it, too often, when the fleshly man crosses the threshold, he becomes disoriented and consequently, afraid. You see, he becomes disoriented precisely because he encounters that which is spiritual. It is easier for one with a human “orientation” to accept what is “human” rather than that that is spiritual. This is because the flesh always seeks its own and only a humanistic view of salvation gives glory to the flesh.

“Accepting” salvation is not equal to “surrendering to” salvation. Surrendering means that there will be no more “me”; what “I” don’t like or what another “said” about me. The fact is that when we are put to death with Jesus, our lives end. Though we must still exist in a body of flesh, we must count ourselves “dead” to it. This is accomplished only by not hearkening to the body in which we live.

Now that we know what we must do, we need to know how to do it. In other words, “How do we change?” We change only as we stop depending upon ourselves. We cease depending upon ourselves not through our own wisdom or through any education that it is possible for us to receive. We will find our “solution” only through believing God! Once we have “enter(ed) the door” and realized salvation, we have a responsibility to “stand in the gap” for others. Whether we accept this responsibility (or any other the Lord has given us) or not, God will make certain that what He has called one to do, will be carried out! Period!

The minute we are willing to accept the truth of God in any given situation is the minute that that situation will be “worked out” for us and the minute whatever we need will be “done.” So, you say that you have not been able to do this and don’t see how you ever will? All that is required is that you “plant” (in the Spirit) that in you that is “natural,” allow it to “die” – and the spiritual will begin to live. Like it or not, you will never live until you are willing to die. If we can just get this incorporated into our collective spirit, every “door” that we approach and walk through will be a door of blessing.