"I AM THE DOOR"
04-19-02

George Adam Smith, the 19th century biblical scholar, tells of traveling one day in the "holy land" and coming across a shepherd and his sheep. He fell into conversation with him and the man showed him the fold which the sheep were led into at night. It consisted of four walls, with a way in. Smith asked him, "This is where they go at night?" "Yes," said the shepherd, "and when they are in there, they are perfectly safe." "but there is no door," said Smith. "I am the door," said the shepherd. He was not a Christian man and he wasn’t speaking in the language of the New Testament. He was speaking from an Arab shepherd’s viewpoint. Smith looked and him and asked, "What do you mean you are the door?" "When the light has gone," said the shepherd, "and all the sheep are inside, I lie in that open space, and no sheep ever goes out but across my body, and no wolf comes in unless he crosses my body; I am the door."

Christians are familiar with the phrase, "I am the door." It was used by our Lord Jesus upon one occasion to describe Himself. He said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture". (John 10:7-9 NKJV). Jesus made an analogy between a sheepfold and salvation. As there is only one door into a sheepfold there is only one way unto salvation – through Him. Because there is such a diversity of cultures and beliefs, this is a difficult concept for many to grasp. Most will not accept the exclusiveness of Jesus Christ and His gospel. In his book, Ten Lies About God, Erwin Lutzer writes that one of the lies many believe is that "many paths lead into God’s presence." He says that "Our pluralistic culture rejects outright the claim that God can be approached in only one way." Someone who believes and teaches that Jesus is the exclusive door into heaven will not be popular with the vast majority.

In the past, some have tried to come into the presence of God outside of the designated manner. Cain tried to come into the presence of God in the way he wanted instead of the way God designated but the Lord "did not respect Cain and his offering" (Genesis 4:4). Nadab and Abihu tried to come into the presence of God with "profane fire" and the result was that "fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord" (Leviticus 10:1-2). Those who tried to come into the presence of God outside of the acceptable manner were punished severely.

Our Lord Jesus Christ has made it known that He is the only acceptable way to our heavenly Father. Jesus told His disciples, "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know." Thomas, one of the disciples, then said to Jesus, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?" Christ’s response again shows the exclusiveness of the way into heaven. He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:1-6 NKJV). Jesus is the door into the heavenly sheepfold waiting and prepared for faithful followers of His. Will you enter in?