Good evening. It's good to be
here again. Turn, if you would, to John chapter
10. John chapter 10. The name of the message tonight
is Christ the Door. Christ the door. Now, think of
this. How many doors in one day do
we go through? How many times? We go through
a door to get from here to the vestibule. But we won't get to
the vestibule unless we go through a door. I hope we never look at doors
the same after tonight. Look at this. Verily, verily,
I say unto you, John 1, verse 1, He that entereth not by the
door into the sheepfold, climbeth up some other way, the same as
a thief and a robber." And notice our Lord's language.
Notice how plainly He's speaking. As I've said many times, He uses
one and two syllable words. Sometimes three syllable words,
but not very often. He that entereth not by the door
into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same as
a thief and a robber. He that entereth in by the door
is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth, and
the sheep hear his voice, and he calleth his own sheep by name,
and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his
own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him, for
they know his voice. And a stranger will they not
follow, but will flee from him, for they
know not the voice of strangers." Now, A.W. Pink says that the
sheep hearing the shepherd's voice is through the preaching
of the gospel. We hear the shepherd's voice
through the preaching of Christ. We know whether or not it's our
King's voice, don't we? Whether or not it's our Shepherd's
voice. This parable spake Jesus unto
them, but they understood not what things they were which He
spake unto them. Then said Jesus unto them again,
Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me
are thieves and robbers. But the sheep did not hear them.
Look at verse 9, here's our text. I am the door. By me, if any
man shall enter in, he shall be saved. There's not a question there. And he shall go in, And out and
find pasture. Now our Lord here sets himself
forth very condescendingly. And the most noble and majestic
figures are none too glorious to describe our great king, are
they? We could use the most majestic, the most noble things to explain
our king and who he is. Because he's the king of kings.
And he's the Lord of Lords. He's the King of Glory. But our King, one day talked
of himself as living water. And another day as the bread
of life. And here he calls himself the
door. He used word pictures. so that everyday people like
me would be able to understand by
the Holy Spirit teaching us. And here he uses a figure which
most straightforward minds can grasp, but yet if he doesn't
reveal us, we don't know it. And he's talking about a sheepfold.
And we can think of doors that we go through too. Constantly,
in order to get into our homes, we're going to leave here going
through doors. You're even going to get in your car through a
door. You're going to go home and open
the door to go inside. You see everyday things. And
in order for us to enter in, we have to go through the door. The only way to the Father is through Christ the Lord. The
only way to heaven is through Christ the Lord. There's no other
way. And Brother Neal, when you were
reading Romans 10, it plainly says that the law, we can't be
justified by the law. Not by our righteousness, but
it's by the righteousness of Christ. So in order for us to enter into
heaven, to enter into God's presence, to enter into eternal life, we must go through the true door. The only door. He says, I am
the door. Notice that. Not a door. Not one of many. The door. There are no other doors. Only
Christ and him alone. And this metaphor that he uses
is not only simple, but it's wonderfully common. Because, like I said, think of
how many doors we go through. And one who always looks for
something profound will not like this expression. But our Lord
uses things that we can understand. The King of Glory is teaching
us that the only way to the Father
is through Him. The person who must have something
new or something very striking will not admire this kind of
talk, but this is what our Lord uses. And He doesn't seek anyone's
admiration. His object's not to win the applause
of folks, but to teach poor, needy sinners. the precious truths of the fact that he is the door. I am the door. And only God can
show us our need for him. Only God can show us, only God
can reveal to us that he's the door. There was a time when I
didn't know that. There was a time when I didn't
care. I thought that, and think of this, I thought I could make
my own door by my own self-righteousness.
That's a door that leads straight to hell. Oh, if God shows you who Christ
is. And let's think of this too. A door is a common object, right?
But our Lord is no common man. He's no common man. He's the
King of Glory. Think of the condescension though. The King of Glory is explaining
to to our minds these incredible truths by using simple metaphors. A door is a very simple object
itself, but our Lord is the one who's called wisdom in Scripture. And a door to a sheepfold is
the poorest form of a door. We know that our Lord left the
glories and splendors of heaven to redeem his people from their
sins. By his condescension, we are
made rich in grace, rich in grace. Turn, if you would, to 2 Corinthians
8-9. 2 Corinthians 8-9. Oh, the condescension of our
great King to leave the glories and splendors of heaven. Look
at this. 2 Corinthians 8-9. And if you're a believer, as
we read this, May this just penetrate our hearts.
2 Corinthians chapter 8 verse 9. For you know the grace of
our Lord Jesus Christ that though he was rich, right? Heaven adores him. They're bowing down before him,
right? Yet for your sakes he became
poor. He became the God. that ye through His poverty might
be rich." And believers are rich in grace. We are so rich in the
grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. So a door is something that we
see every day in our life. And as I said, you're not going
out of this church or going to your own home without going through
one. And when you get up tomorrow
Go to work, you're passed through several doors. Several doors. And doors are before our eyes
all the time. In every room in our house. And may we be reminded as we
go through these doors, in our lives, that Christ is the door
to heaven. Christ is the door to the Father. Christ is the door to eternal
life. Our Lord Jesus Christ said, I
am the door. And Christ doesn't want His preachers
to preach with lofty, flowery sentences and to dazzle you with
our supposed intellect. No. He wants us to preach as
He talked in simplicity. so that the very poorest and
most illiterate of our hearers may understand the meaning of
our words as the Holy Spirit takes them and applies them to
our hearts. And the prayer of the preacher
is that if you don't know Him, that you'd embrace the truth,
that the Holy Spirit would draw you to Christ. Embrace the truth we proclaim
and find everlasting life in Him who is the only door. These
are his words, the words of the master. I am the door. Plain language, but yet it confounds
the wise. Man wants to make his own door.
God will have nothing of it. We must be taught of God, that
salvation is only in the Lord Jesus Christ. Turn, if you would,
to John chapter 6, verse 44 and 45. And then we'll look at five
points tonight. And think of this. Our Lord,
our Master, the King of kings and the Lord of lords, said,
I am the door. Singular. The door. Not, like I said, not one of
many. The door. The only door. This is the King
of Glory Himself speaking. Look at John 6, 44 and 45. No man can come to Me, and that
means no one, except the Father which hath sent Me, draw him,
and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the
prophets, and they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore
that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.
All who are taught by the Father, all who are regenerated by the
Holy Spirit, born again, come to the Father through Christ
the Lord. And notice it said, no man can
come unto me except the Father which has sent me dry. Mercy. All the believer receives mercy.
So let's look at five points tonight relating to the word
door as relating to Christ. Number one, the necessity of
Christ the door. Number two, the singularity of
Christ the door. Number three, Christ the door
personally. Number four, the suitability
of Christ the door. And number five, the timelessness
of Christ the door. Now first we'll look at the necessity
of Christ the door. Turn if you would to Ephesians
chapter 2. Now Jesus Christ is the only
access to the Father, the only door to the Father. There's no
other way, there's no other door. Now what hope would there be
for us if there was no entrance to the Father? We'd have no hope,
would we? None at all. Christ is the door to the Father. God who is holy cannot look upon
sin. And we are all sinners by birth,
by nature, and by choice. We come into this world plunged
into spiritual darkness, dead in trespasses and sins, and our
sins have separated us from God. Look at Ephesians chapter 2,
verses 1 to 5. And you, Hathi Quicken, born
again, who were dead in trespasses and sins. Where in times past
ye walked, according to the course of this world, according to the
prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in
the children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our
conversations in times past, in the lust of the flesh, fulfilling
the desires of the flesh, and of the mind, and were by nature
the children of wrath, even as others." Now, if it stopped there,
we'd be hopeless. Because remember what we read
in John? that no man can come to the Father except the Father
draws? Look at this, mountaintop, verse
four, but God. Don't you love the but Gods in
scripture? But God, who is what? He's rich. What's he rich in?
Mercy, mercy, mercy. I'm a mercy beggar, are you?
I'm a mercy beggar. The God who is rich in mercy
for His great love, not just a little love, but great love
that's set upon His people from eternity. Great love wherewith
He loved us. even when we were dead in sins,
hath quickened us together with Christ." Oh my, so it was a necessity
that Christ be our surety, that Christ be our substitute, that
Christ be our Redeemer, because we couldn't be any of those things
for ourselves, because we were dead in trespasses and sins. In an eternity past, God the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit entered into a covenant. God the Father gave Christ a
people, His elect, His chosen ones, not based upon anything good
in us, but all according to the free and sovereign grace of God. And Jesus Christ, the Son of,
is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, and He is the elect's
surety, the elect's substitute, the elect's redeemer. And He
becomes, we looked at it this morning, He becomes all in all
to us, right? All our wisdom, all our sanctification,
all our redemption, everything. There's only one door. That's
Christ. That's Christ. He's prophet, priest, and king
to his people. And the Holy Spirit, we're not
robots. The Holy Spirit lovingly, with
cords of love, draws us to Christ. And shows us our state. Shows
us that we were dead in trespasses and we're made willing to flee
to the Redeemer, to flee to Christ the door. The only One who can
save our eternal souls. And we become new creatures in
Christ. Therefore, if any man be in Christ,
he's a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold,
all things are become new. Now, we know we're still sinners,
right? We know that don't go away, but
we have a new nature. We have the Holy Spirit dwelling
within us. We have a war going on now that
never went on before. Now we struggle with sin. Now
we confess sin. Now we cry out, I know I did.
Lord, help my unbelief. Help me. And Jesus Christ is the mediator. The mediator through whom we
draw near to God because in Him, God's law and justice is absolutely
satisfied. So do you see the necessity of
Christ in the world? The necessity? We have no hope
without Him. Suppose, suppose there had been no other,
there had been no way. Suppose there was no elect, then
none would be saved. But God has mercy. He is rich
in mercy. Rich in mercy. So we see the
necessity of Christ the door. Now the singularity of Christ
the door. Look in our text. He says, I
am the door. The door. No other entrance then into divine
mercy, is there? None. None. Do you see the folly of folks
trying to work their way to heaven? He says, I'm the door. The door. There is no other entrance. No
other access to the Father, except through Him. And this is the
Master's words. This is the king of glory who
left the glory and splendors of heaven to die and be spit
upon and to die upon the cross for my sins. This is no mere man. This is
the king of glory. The God-man mediator. And he
says, very plainly, I am the door. Well, suppose a man will enter
in, not by this door, but climb up by some other way. Well, we
know Scripture says he's a thief and a robber. And I believe that's talking
about works. There's only one door. You may
search the whole realm of nature, And you'll never discover another.
You'll never discover another. There's no other door. Not by
self-righteous works, or self-righteousness, or priests, or rites, or ceremonies,
not by anything of the will of the flesh, or the will of man,
can obtain admission to the Father. Jesus Christ our Lord fulfilled
all that the law demands for His people. All of it, beloved. All of it. And He fulfilled all
that justice demanded from me, all that the justice of God demanded
from my sins. We pray to the Lord. He did it
not just for me, but for all the elect of all the ages. Not the labors of my hand can
fulfill thy law's commands. Could my zeal no respite know? Could my tears forever flow? All for sin could not atone. Thou must say. And thou alone, I am the door. Believe in Jesus, put your trust
in Him, and thou shalt be saved. But unless you come to Him in
that way, there is only one sentence for you. He that believeth not
shall be damned. There is only one door. Acts
chapter 4, turn there if you would. I know we've looked at
this many times, but I'd like to look at this verse here. In
light of this, the singularity of Christ, He says, I am the
door. Now look at this verse in Acts
4, in light of that, in light of the statement that our King
made when He said, I am the door. Now sometimes scriptures that
we've read many times, when we see another scripture that says
that, It brings it even more to light. And look at this. Acts
4, verse 12. Neither is there salvation in
any other. Why? Because He is the door. He is the way. He is the truth. He is the light. There's no other
way. Neither is there salvation in
the other, for there is none other name under heaven given
among men, whereby we must be saved." Nowhere else. Salvation is only in Christ and
Him alone. Now, number three, Christ is
the door personally. Jesus Christ is Himself the door,
not ceremonies, not doctrines, not professions, not achievements,
but Christ Himself. Christ Himself. If we come to the Lord and say
to Him, O Lord, You can teach us how to get to heaven, will
You be pleased to tell us how we can enter into the house of
mercy, in the church of God, in the kingdom, of glory at the
last, what is his answer? I'm the door. I'm the door. What do you mean, great master?
Tell us, what is the door? I'm the door. I'm the door. Surely, Lord, you mean by copying
and imitating you and trying to be like you all the time,
surely, Surely, we're entering that way. No. I am the door. Well, surely though, by attending
certain rites and certain things that we do, I am the door. Do you see how it's
personally Him? It's singularly Him? I am the
door. Not baptism. Not church membership. Not the Lord's Supper. On the
door. On the door. Baptism has its
place in the church and the Lord's Supper too. But there's no salvation
in this. Christ. Salvation's in Christ
and Him alone. But this is one we hear often.
But surely holy living must be the way into the Kingdom of God. I am the door. Now, God's people desire to live
a holy life, but we're sinners. We're sinners. Jesus Christ himself is the only
way into the kingdom of heaven, the only way to the Father. Why? Because it was him who shed his
precious blood. He's done it all. Salvation's
either all the Lord, or it's not. I am the door. No other entrance. Not people's opinions, not people's
doings, not people's feelings, but Christ himself and Christ
alone is the only door. The only door. The incarnate God. God, manifest
in the flesh. Our substitutionary sacrifice,
who rose again from the dead. For we who believe. For our justification. Remember, he's absolutely sinless. who ascended up unto majesty
on high, and now sits on the right hand of the Father, interceding
for his people. Whose powerful plea is always
presented on his people's behalf. And who is coming back again.
He is coming back again. He is the door. He is the only
one. The only one through who we have
access to the Father. Number four, the suitability
of the door. He is suited to be the communication
between God and man as he unites both in his own person. Turn if you would to 1 Timothy
2, verse 5. And remember, remember our text,
I am the door. I am the door. 1 Timothy 2, verse 5. Remember,
not a door, the door. The door. This is wonderful truth. First Timothy 2.5, and this is
the verse that shook me, started to shake the foundations when
I was a Catholic. Just shook it to the core, beloved.
For there is one God and one mediator between God and man. Now one, now one, now who is
that one? A man, Christ Jesus, the one
who said, I am the I am the door. You know, every door has two
sides to it. One commentator bought this out,
so has Christ. On one side of the door is His
humanity, and on the other side of the door is His divinity. Isaiah 53, 2 says this, For He
shall grow up before Him as a tender plant and as a root out of dry
ground. He hath no form nor commonness. And when we shall see Him, there's
no beauty that we should desire. He looked like a common man. So our side of the door, Christ
is a gentle, loving, common-looking man. But on God's side of the
door, He's the King of Glory. He's the King of Glory. all the full splendor of Christ. And we know that in Christ, Scripture
declares, for in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And we can only come to the Father
through Him, whose name is Emmanuel, God with us, Jesus Christ. The last point is this. The timelessness
of Christ the door. The timelessness of Christ the
door. There has only ever been one
door. There has only ever been one
door. The same door for Abraham. The
same door for Isaac. The same door for David. The
same door for Jeremiah. The same door for John the Baptist. The same door for Peter, Paul,
John, me. If you're one of His people,
you And all that dwell upon the earth
shall worship Him whose names are not written in the book of
life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Jesus
Christ is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
All those sacrifices in the Old Testament pointed right to Christ,
right to Him. They were like a compass that
points north, right to Christ. The Lamb of God, the great sacrifice. And on the cross, He suffered
the just for the unjust. For Christ also has once suffered
four sins. The just, the holy one, the perfect
one, the spotless one. For the unjust, that's me. And that's His elect people,
sinners. Why? He might bring us to God. On the door. On the door. Being put to death
in the flesh. He had to die. He had to. He had to. but quickened by the
Spirit." 1 Peter 3.18. And he said, he's the great I
am, right? In Exodus it says this, and God
said unto Moses, I am that I am. And he said, thus shalt thou
say unto the children of Israel, I am has sent me unto you. And
then in John chapter 8 verse 58, and I know we've looked at
this, I'll just read it. Jesus saith unto them, verily,
verily, I send you before Abraham was. I am. The great I am. God who inhabits
eternity is the very one who said, I'm the door. So what does that mean? That
means there's no other door. We all know what a door is. As
I said, we're going to go through them. On the door. There's only one
door. And we can only come to the Father
by Him. Jesus saith unto him, I am the
way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father,
but by Me." John 14, 6. Hebrews 7.25 says, Wherefore
He is able to save them to the uttermost, to save them to the
uttermost that come unto God by Him. Why? Because He's the
door. He's the door. And He saves sinners
who come to Him. Who come to Him. seeing he ever liveth to make
intercession for them. And what do I see over the door?
But his sprinkled blood, beloved. But his sprinkled blood. When I see the blood, I'll pass
over you. 1 Peter 1, 18-19. Turn there if
you would. The timelessness of this door.
This door is the same door that saved Abraham, as I said, Isaac. And it's the same door, Jesus
Christ the righteous, that sinners can be saved by and through. by and through. Look at 1 Peter
1, 18 and 19 and 20. For as much as you know that
you were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold, from
your vain conversations received by tradition from your fathers,
but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without
blemish and without spot. who verily was foreordained before
the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last
times for you. Oh, what mercy. Therefore, Christ is the only... The only door. And the truth
is set forth before us very plainly tonight. If any of us would be
saved, it must be by coming to God through Christ the door. Salvation's in no other. It cannot
be saved in any other way or fashion. Being born again, not
of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible. by the word of God which liveth
and abideth forever. Those who are redeemed, those
who've been saved by the great master have entered through that
door. Through Christ. Through Christ. And if we're ever to be saved,
it's only through Him. It's only through Him. May God,
the Holy Spirit, incline you to flee to Christ, who is the
door. The door. The door. Gracious Heavenly Father, when we think of the condescension
of our Lord Jesus Christ who left heaven to come to this world
and to live a life for me and for all your people and to die
upon the cross for my sins and for the sins of all the elect,
of all the ages, we marvel that you've saved us. We marvel that
you drew us. Thank you, Lord, for revealing
to your people that Christ is the door. We pray
that, oh, if there's lost sheep, Lord Jesus, that you'd reveal
to them That you are the door. There's no other way. No other
hope. No other access to the Father. But through you. May you be with
your people this week. May you comfort them through
whatever comes. And may you be glorified in our
lives. In Jesus' name, Amen.