Our Lord Jesus Christ is that
one who spoke to Moses out of the bush and declared, I am that
I am. He is the eternal, self-existent,
independent God of glory by whom and from whom and to whom are
all things. In the New Testament, our Lord
frequently used those very same words to describe himself. He
said in John 6, 35, I am the bread of life. He that cometh
to me shall never hunger. He that believeth on me shall
never thirst. And then he fed 5,000 people
with a little bit of bread, a little bit of fish. And there was plenty
left over. Come, eat this bread, and you'll
find for your soul everything to satisfy. Our Lord said in
John 8, I am the light of the world. And then in chapter 9,
he gave sight to a man who'd been blind all his life. He said,
you see, I am the light. I am the light of the world.
In chapter 10, he says, I am the good shepherd. And he shows
it by giving his life for the sheep. And then in the 12th chapter,
our Lord Jesus, or in the 11th chapter rather, our Lord Jesus
said to Mary and Martha, I am the resurrection and the life.
Not, I believe in the resurrection.
He said, I am the resurrection. Now there is a resurrection day
coming. I am the resurrection. I am the life. Now, Martha, this
is what that means. He that believeth in me, though
he were dead, yet shall he live. Indeed, he that believeth in
me shall never die. What is that? But Lazarus is
already dead. No, no. You don't understand. He's not dead. But Lord is already
speaking. That doesn't matter. He's not
dead. He's just sleeping. He's just sleeping. He looks
dead. And we talk about him being dead.
He's not dead. I'll show you. Lazarus, come
forth. And he that was dead came forth.
In John 14, our Lord said, I am the way. The truth and the life. No man cometh unto the father
but by me. In chapter 15 it said, I am the
true vine. My father's the husbandman. You've
only got life as you abide in this vine. Now in all those places
our master showed himself to be the master of simplicity. And being the master of simplicity,
the master of preachers. Did you ever notice in reading
our Lord's words recorded in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John
that He seldom ever used words with more than two or three syllables? In all those passages I read
to you just a moment ago, our Lord only used one word that
had four syllables, and that was resurrection. All the rest
of them were one-, two-, and three-syllable words. He never
once appeared scholastic. He never once attempted to impress
his hearers with what he knew. His intent was to be heard and
understood. Heard and understood by all to
whom he spoke. So he always spoke with great
plainness and utter simplicity. He had no use for rhetoric, no
use for eloquence, no use for skills of oratory. He left those
things to religious hucksters. Our Lord Jesus never once attempted
to prove or enforce in any way the doctrine he declared by complex
arguments or historical buttressing. He simply declared it. He simply
stood before men and declared that which God reveals in His
Word. That's all. He just declared
it. He declared the most profound truths using pictures. Simple pictures that any child
could see and comprehend. None is more profoundly simple
than the picture that I want you to look at this morning in
John chapter 10. Our Lord here gives us a picture of himself
as the only way of salvation. In these verses, our Savior declares
that the only way anyone can enter into heaven is by the door. And then twice he says, I am
the door. Begin with me in verse 10, or
verse one, rather. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
he that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth
up some other way, the same as a thief and a robber. Man won't
be saved by Christ, but pretends to be. Won't be saved by faith
in Christ's blood and righteousness, but pretends to be the servant
of God and pretends to be among the people of God. He comes into
the church sneaking in, but he's not really in the church. He's
just in the sheepfold by profession. He's a thief and a robber. A
thief and a robber. Hypocrite. That's a sermon in itself, but
I'll leave that alone for now. But 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. This parable spake Jesus unto
those Pharisees in John 9 who had kicked the fellow out of
the synagogue because the Lord healed him. 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. I am the door of the sheep. All
that ever came before me pretending to be doors of thieves and robbers,
but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door, by me if any man
enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find
pasture. 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.
This same John who records these words tells us of a time when
the Lord God spoke to him when he was in the Spirit on the Lord's
day, and he was carried away up into heaven, and as he was
carried away by the Spirit of God, first thing he saw, behold,
a door opened in heaven. That's the door. I am the door. Now I want to follow my Lord's
example and show you just one thing in this message. Christ
is the door. the only door, the only door
by which we can and must enter into the kingdom of God. Of all
the comparisons used by our Lord Jesus to illustrate and set forth
who he is and what he is made to be by God to his people, none
is more simple and none more profound than this. I am the
door. As I was preparing this message,
I kept thinking to myself, how merciful, how gracious, how kind. Our Savior compares himself to
a door so that every time we go into any place or go out,
we may be reminded of him. Everyone knows what a door is.
Everyone knows how it's used. A door lets people in who want
to come in, and shuts people out who want to keep out. A door
shuts people in you want to keep in, and a door lets people out
who want to go out. Our Savior says, I am the door.
By me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved and shall go in
and out and find pasture. It's not difficult to understand
what our Lord means by these words, I am the door, by any
man, or by me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved and shall
go in. That's, he's enough. But what
does he mean by this last part of the sentence? And shall go in and out and find
pasture. If we enter into the kingdom
of God, If we enter into salvation by Christ the door, I know this,
you're not going to be wanting to go out. So what's he talking
about? He shall enter in and go out
and find pasture. You see, you and I cannot and
will not enter in by the door except we go out of some things. You cannot enter in by the door
without abandoning other things. Our Lord calls his people to
come out of Babylon. It is not coming out of Babylon
and then coming into Christ. You come in by Christ the door. And as you come in by Christ
the door, you leave everything else behind. You come out of
Babylon. Now let me show you what I'm
talking about. Christ is the door. The only door by which
you and I can escape our house of bondage. And there are many
of them. Every man by nature, every woman
by nature is in bondage. In bondage. In a house of bondage. Some of you here are as surely in bondage as if
you were in a dungeon chained to a wall with shackles and leg
irons. Some of you know it, and the
shackles are galling. Some of you don't know it, and
you're perfectly comfortable in your dungeon, but in bondage
nonetheless. You see, we are all by nature
condemned prisoners, shut up under the locking key of God's
holy law. This is how the Apostle Paul
puts it in Galatians 3. The scripture hath concluded
all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might
be given to them that believe. We are shut up under sin. Shut up under the curse of God's
holy law. Shut up under the wrath of God. We're guilty without excuse.
We're condemned guilty criminals before God. Condemned by conscience. Condemned by the very words of
our mouths. Condemned by the holy law of
God. There is worse prison to come. You think things are bad here?
Folks say I'm going through hell, how lightly we use that word. There is a worse prison to come.
This is just the beginning of sorrows. But we are condemned. Shut up in prison. Rightful,
lawful, just captives under the law of God because of our sin.
Is there no door? Is there no way out? Is there
no way for the debt to be paid? No way for satisfaction to be
made? Oh, indeed there is. The Lord Jesus Christ says, I
am the door. I am the door. Turn back one
more time to Isaiah 61. We've looked at it several times
in the last few months. There is therefore now no condemnation
to them that are in Christ Jesus. Those who are in Christ have
no judgment awaiting them, no curse, no imprisonment awaiting
them, no condemnation. They've been set free. Isaiah
61, the Lord Jesus says, The Spirit of the Lord God is upon
me, because the Lord hath anointed me to preach, to proclaim good
tidings to the meek. He has sent me to bind up the
brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening
of the prison to them that are bound. I'm here to tell you God has
opened the prison, and Christ is the door out. He's opened
the prison. He's the door out. Justice has
been satisfied. Sin has been put away. Atonement
has been made. Come out of the prison, ye guilty
ones, and come into liberty. The Lord Jesus has set many captives
free. I know. I'm one. Thou hast loosed my bonds, the
psalmist said. The apostle Paul said, I was
before a blasphemer and a persecutor and injurious, but I obtained
mercy. And in the light of that fact,
he says, this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation
that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom
I'm the chief. As he sent his angel to set Peter
and John free from the prison in Acts chapter 5, he sent me
here today to proclaim the opening of the prison to captives, to
proclaim liberty to all who believe, to all who go out by him. I'm talking about righteously
earned liberty. I was a prisoner and I deserted. I was under the sentence of God's
holy law. I deserved it. I was a child
of wrath. I deserved it. I earned it. I
had no way on this earth ever to pay the debt I owe. But the
Son of God lived in perfect righteousness for me, and died as my substitute,
satisfying all the demands of God's law for me. And now the
prison door is open. It is a righteously earned, blood-bought
liberty. Liberty by the cancellation of
all our debts. Liberty by the power of God the
Holy Spirit. Immediate liberty. Immediate liberty. It is a liberty that is gradually
enjoyed more and more as we walk at liberty. But the liberty is
immediate. Moses took the children of Israel
and led them out of Egypt. Moses, the law, led the way by
the blood, the blood of the slain lamb, through the sea of God's
holy wrath, by which all their enemies were drowned forever. That's the kind of liberty I'm
talking about. God's holy law declares Christ's blood sufficient,
effectual, satisfying, enough. And God's holy law leads his
captives free through the judgment of God whereby all our enemies
were drowned and put to death forever. Christ took them out
of the way, nailing them to his cross. This is liberty. Don't you remember the breaking
of the chains? Dropping the shackles? Don't
you remember the burden rolling off your back? Liberty! Liberty by Christ. As we are
all condemned prisoners by nature, we are all by nature bondmen
to God's holy law. Condemnation we fear. Condemnation
we despise. But this bondage, oh, we love
it. We love it. Some of you here
still love it, I'm sure. I don't have any question about
it. It is the bondage of legalism. The bondage of self-righteous
works religion. Oh, how men love the shackles
of duty, and polish the leg-irons of ceremony, and wax the stocks
of piety, and delight in the prison of legality. Serving the
law, Paul speaks of in Romans chapter 6, as being the servants
of sin. That's what it's told about,
it's about serving sin. Serving the law. And we love
that slavery. In Revelation 18, do you remember
how the Lord described Babylon? I believe it's chapter 18. He
says, she has made all the earth to be drunk with the wine of
her fornication. Now, let me ask you, did you
ever meet up with a drunk who wasn't just delighted with that
which he intoxicated himself with? Now he might the next day
wish he hadn't had it, but while he's got it, he's tickled to
death. He's intoxicated. He reels to
and fro. He doesn't have good sense, but
he loves it that way. He loves it that way. That's
the intoxication of religion too. In bondage to duty, in bondage
to works, I can do this! Don't tell me I cannot please
God. I know I can't do it perfectly,
but I can a little. Don't tell me I can't work my
way to heaven. I know I can't do it on my own.
I know I've got to have God's help, but don't tell me I can't
do it. I love it. I love it. And the only way one
will ever be set free is if Christ is the door. comes, shows himself,
makes himself known, and graciously compels you to drop your works,
to walk out of Babylon, to enter in by the door. He says, come
unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I'll give
you rest. Take my yoke upon me. Take my
yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart,
and you shall find rest unto your souls. If the Son therefore
make you free, you shall be free indeed. But not everybody delights
in that. And those who despise that liberty
despise folks who walk at liberty. Ishmael persecuted Isaac. Ishmael, the son of the bondwoman
Hagar, was constantly at Isaac's throat, constantly doing all
he could to oppose Isaac, because Isaac was the son of the free
woman. Isaac was the son of grace. Ishmael was the son of law. And
Ishmael hated Isaac, just because Isaac was at liberty. That's
all. Just because he was at liberty.
And I'm telling you the whole religious world despises those
who walk at liberty in Christ Jesus. Christ is the door by
which we enter into liberty. And Christ is the door that shuts
you out of the kingdom of heaven who will not enter in by him.
Read the ninth chapter of Romans. Paul says the Jews stumbled over
this stumbling stone and perished because they would not submit
themselves to the righteousness of God in Christ. They were going
about to establish their own righteousness. Who among the
saints in the household of faith has never been in the bondage
of affliction? It's bad enough when women do
it, but I get disgusted when I hear men whine. Boy, I've got
it so bad. Nobody's ever had it so bad as
me. I can't take it. But I know some
folks, if I were in their position, oh, you can't imagine how I'd
whine and grumble. I know folks who endure constant
affliction, constant hardship, constant trouble. They seem to spend most of their
lives in trouble and sorrow. Their days are days of woes.
Their nights are nights of weeping. And I'll be honest with you. I don't know anything about it. I know what it is to be in physical
pain. I know what it is to be sick. I know what it is to endure
those things. But trouble? Pain? Sometimes I get a little hangnail
and I think, boy, I'm going to die if I don't get a cigarette. But it's just a hangnail. But there are many who endure trouble in their homes
with their children, husband, wife. Constant trouble. Constant trouble. And many who
have constant spiritual trouble, struggles in their souls. Hear me, my brother, my sister. When your soul is brought down
into the bondage of heavy, heavy, heavy affliction and sorrow, Christ is the door out. Enter in by this door and walk
out of sorrow. Enter in by this door and walk
out of woe. Enter in by this door and walk
out of misery. Enter in by this door and walk
out of darkness. Enter in by this door and walk
out of all that would afflict and trouble and hurt you. And
walk at liberty. Pastor, I'd give anything if
I could do that. Come back to the book of Job.
You'll remember that among Job's friends, there was one young
man by the name of Elihu who spoke well. And this young man
Elihu spoke great wisdom. He spoke of trouble like this
in Job chapter 36. If they be bound in fetters and
holden in cords of affliction. Job 36 verse 8. If they be bound
in fetters and holden in cords of affliction, then He showeth
them their work. God puts you here to show you
what you are. And their transgressions that
they have exceeded, He puts you here to show you your sin. Show
you what you are. Show you the error of your ways. He openeth also their ear to
discipline. Not only does God discipline
His children, He fixes it so they appreciate it. He opens
their ear to the rod of correction and commandeth that they return
from iniquity. I think it was Mr. Spurgeon who
said, Affliction and chastisement is God's black dog by which he
drives the sin that he hates from the child that he loves.
That's what God does in affliction. Humble yourselves, therefore,
under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due
time. Now listen. Casting all your
care upon him. All of it. All of it. Well, I'm going to now cast it
on him. I know what I'll do. Cast it on him. I know how to
work. Cast it on him. All your care. All your care. Now, you got two
choices. Bobby, anytime trouble comes,
you got two choices. You can either cast it on him
or you can go ahead and mess it up worse. That's it. Cast all your care on him. Oh,
preacher, I know his shoulders are broad enough to bear it.
But do you know this? He careth for you. He careth for you. He careth for you. Well, I believe I'll go out.
I believe I'll leave this behind me. I'll let her in by this door. When thou seest seeking my face,
my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek. Hide
not thy face far from me. Put not thy servant away in anger. Thou hast been my help. Lead
me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation. When my father
and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up. Thou
shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but thee?
There is none upon earth I desire beside thee. My flesh and my
heart faileth, but God is the strength of my heart. You and I will take our place in the grave
where our bodies will rest and rest in hope because Christ is
the door, the only door by which we shall escape that prison.
He said to Martha, I am the resurrection and the life. Now, all men will
be raised. All men will be raised from the
dead. You who believe not, you who
live and die with your fist shoved in God's face, you who insist
on having your way, Christ will raise you up in judgment and
judge you by your self-righteousness, judge you by the standard of
His perfect righteousness, and cast you forever into the second
death, eternal misery. But Christ is the resurrection
to you. He's not just a doctrine or fact. He is the resurrection to you
who believe. He died and rose again and the
book says we were raised with Him. Our Lord Jesus Christ died
and rose again and that guarantees our resurrection from the dead.
Our Lord Jesus Christ, He who rose and did come again and these
bodies that have long rotted in the dust shall be raised in
glory. Apostle John records in Revelation
26, the Lord's words, blessed and holy is he that hath part
in the first resurrection. What's that? That's talking about
the new birth. Raised from the dead. Blessed
and holy is he that is raised from the dead. On such, the second
death hath no power. As Christ is the door out of
bondage, our Lord Jesus Christ is the door, the only door, into
the sheepfold. Back here in our text, when our
Savior says, I am the door, by me if any man enter it, he shall
be saved and shall go in and out and find pasture. He's talking
about entering into the kingdom of God, the sheepfold of grace.
Now, as I said, there are many who enter in outwardly, enter
into the local church, make a profession of faith, climbing up some other
way. But all who are born of God enter into the kingdom of
God really, and they enter in by Christ, the door. He's the
only way in. He's an open door. But you... You mean... The door's really open? Oh yeah.
A door open in heaven. A low door. You can't get in
this door except bowing down to His throne. A straight door. You can't get in this door carrying
anything with you. The only door. No other door
will do. But He is an open door. You know
what I say to that? Come on in. Come on in. The door's open. The door's open. I write to friends and I tell
them, you know, just come on. The door's open. Doesn't matter
what time you come. Doesn't matter what day you come. Doesn't matter
when you come, what hour of the day or night you come. The door's
open. Come on in. Come on in. Will
you hear me, sinner? The door of life is open. It's open. I'm not calling you to admire
the door. I'm not calling you to learn
all about the door. I'm not calling you to defend
the door. I'm calling you to enter in by
the door. Come on in. Christ is the only
door of access to and acceptance with God. The only door. In Christ
Jesus, you who sometimes were far off are now made nigh by
the blood of Christ. He is the door of reconciliation
by whom we have been reconciled to God, by whom we have received
the atonement. Our Savior died that he might
bring us to God. He is that one who was delivered
for our offenses and raised again for our justification and now
being justified. By faith we have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ by whom also we have access by
faith into this grace wherein we stand. We stand accepted into
belong. The Lord Jesus is the only door
of access to God and He is both the ark of salvation and the
door to the ark. You remember God commanded Noah
to build an ark to save him and his family from the storm of
God's wrath? And the ark was built and covered
inside and out with pitch, that is, covered with that which symbolizes
complete atonement. And God said to Noah, get into
the ark! Get into the ark! Get into the
ark! Get into the ark! And Noah and
his family got into the ark! And God shut them in. And the storm of God's wrath
fell on that ark. Noah endured all the hell of
God's wrath that all his neighbors endured that took them to hell.
But it never touched him. It beat on the ark. The ark absorbed
it all. And Christ is both the ark and
the door. Get into the ark. The Son of
God is both the treasury of all good things and the door into
the treasury. All the fullness of God is in
Christ. All the fullness of grace is
in Christ. All the fullness of glory is
in Christ. All the promises of God are in
Christ. All things are in Christ. All
fullness is Christ. He's the fullness of all things,
and the fullness of all things is in Him. Now listen to this. My God, my God, shall supply
all your need. All of it. All of it. All your need. All of it. All of it. According to... Isn't that a great word? Isn't that a great word? Here,
I'll supply your need out of my riches. Well, you and I both
can be hurting then. Even if I were abundantly wealthy,
I'd supply it out of my riches. You still may be hurting. But
according to my riches, that's another story. My God shall supply
all your needs. inward and outward for time and
eternity, in good days and bad days. All the needs of your heart,
all the needs of your soul, all the needs of your body, all the
needs of your life, my God shall supply all your needs according
to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. He's the treasury and
the door to the treasury. The Lord Jesus then makes this
twofold promise, look at it. He makes this promise to all
who enter in by the door. I am the door, by me if any man
enter in. Now here's the first part of
the promise. They shall be saved. Isn't that good? See the door? You see that door? Enter in by that door, and you shall enter into light.
Just open it. Go on. Enter in by the door. You're going to enter into light.
A world full of light! The sun is shining bright! You're
going to enter into light! Just as surely. Just as surely
the Son of God says, if any man enter in by the door. Any man. Any man. I think this may be one of the
sweetest, most blessed declarations of gospel truth we found in scripture.
Other places our Lord says, if any man thirst, let him come.
He says, if any heavy laden, let him come. He says, prisoners
of hope, come. He says to you who are without
money and without price, come. But He says, if any man, That's
any male man or any woman man. Any man. Any black man or any
white man. Any man. Any rich man or any
poor man. Any man. Any high, moral, sophisticated,
self-righteous man. Any man. Any low, degraded, debauched,
vile, wretched man. Any man. Any man. Rich or poor. Any man. Upper-crusted, lower-crusted,
soft-crusted or hard-crusted. No crust at all. Any man. Any
man. That's me. Any man. Any man. Any man. Reckon that might be you? Any
man. If any man enter in by the door,
he shall, without question, without fail, he shall be saved. He shall be saved. You wouldn't
enter the door, except that were the case. You wouldn't believe
the Son, except that were the case. Now right where you sit, enter in by Christ the door.
Come on in. And go home enjoying immediate
salvation. Full justification. Absolute
pardon. Liberty. Liberty. Forever. Forever. Christ is the door. If any man enter in by the door,
he shall be saved. And he shall find pasture. Pasture. What does sheep need? What do they need? Pasture. Give them pasture, and that's
all they want. Pasture. Poor things don't have
any desire for shelter. They don't have any desire for
a house. They don't have any desire for property. They don't
have any desire for recognition. They don't have any desire for
fame. They don't have any desire for influence. They don't have
any desire for power. They don't have any desire to
impress one another with what they possess. All they want is
pasture. Not just that which satisfies
the need they have as sheep. Listen to me. Enter in by the
door. You shall be saved. And you shall
find pasture in the Son of God. By His Word, by His Gospel, everything
to satisfy your soul. Everything. And if you ever enter into that
door, you won't be going out looking for satisfaction somewhere
else. It just ain't gonna happen. It just ain't gonna happen. You
see, Christ is the door that shuts us in. He shuts us in. When Noah went into the ark,
the Lord shut him in. And I've entered into the door.
Entered into the ark of Christ Jesus by the door of Christ Jesus. And God shut me in. He shut me
in. I give unto them eternal life.
They shall never perish. Be confident of this one thing.
He which hath begun a good work in you will continue it until
the day of Jesus Christ. He'll perform it. He'll perfect
it until the day of Christ. Because we're kept by the power
of God. Jesus is our God and Savior,
guide and counselor and friend. He will never, never leave us,
nor will let us quite leave Him. Listen to this. This is a great
hymn. Augustus Toplady, I believe, is the one who wrote it. The work which God's goodness
began The arm of his strength will complete. His promise is
yea and amen and never was forfeited yet. Things future nor things
that are now. Not all things below nor above
can make him his purpose forgo or sever my soul from his love. My name from the palms of his
hands. Eternity will not erase. Impressed on his heart it remains,
in marks of indelible grace, yes, yes. I to the end shall endure, as
sure as the earnest is given. More happy, but not more secure,
the glorified spirits in heaven. enter in by Christ the door. If any man enter in by the door,
he shall be saved and shall go in and out and find pasture. Amen.