{"id":545,"date":"2015-12-20T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-12-20T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hanoverbaptistchurch.org\/blogpastor\/?p=545"},"modified":"2015-12-18T19:54:25","modified_gmt":"2015-12-19T00:54:25","slug":"what-does-the-bible-say-about-jesus-christ-the-door","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hanoverbaptistchurch.dreamhosters.com\/blogpastor\/2015\/what-does-the-bible-say-about-jesus-christ-the-door\/","title":{"rendered":"What does the Bible say about Jesus Christ, the door?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\u201cI am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.\u201d John\u00a010:7\u201311<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

During the season of Christmas the significance of the coming of the Redeemer to the earth is evident in the effort people put into the decoration of their home. Even unsaved people decorate for the season, little realizing the symbolism of the richness of God\u2019s great gift of life offered through His Son. Inside the home, great effort in decorating is made to evoke nostalgia of Christmases past, create a festive atmosphere of anticipation, and cheer every invited guest with light and joy. The outside of the house is usually decorated as well, some homes with an understated simplicity, others with garish and extravagant exuberance. Whether simple or attention-getting, the focal point of every Christmas-lit home is the front door.<\/p>\n

Doors get decorated with wreaths to provide greenery in an otherwise bleak and wintery landscape, or wrapping paper and a big bow to remind people of the gift-giving season of kindness, or special trinkets to attract the eye and lend cheer to those who arrive upon the doorstep hoping to be a guest of the family within. Quite often there is a spotlight focused on the door brightly lighting everyone\u2019s way. People driving by see it, carolers make a beeline for it, and guests and family move through the door to the festivity beyond.<\/p>\n

Why such attention to the door? The door is the way of entry into the hearty fellowship enjoyed within the home. Outside the house the decorations are provided for the enjoyment of all, but inside, through the front door, is where the real joy is shared and the heart is warmed in fellowship and unity. Of course, if it happens to be your own home, so much the better, for entry through the cheery door affords access to protection, provision, identity, and your rightful place in the family.<\/p>\n

Given every doorway\u2019s significance, it is no wonder that our Lord chose to identify Himself as the door to the sheep in John\u00a010. This is the third of seven \u201cI AM\u201d declarations He uses to illustrate His work as the only Savior of mankind. These seven occurrences are a subset of the 23 times He uses the ego eimi<\/em> formula in the Greek language which would have identified Him with Jehovah, in the Jewish mind, as one and the same (4:26; 6:20, 35, 41, 48, 51; 8:12, 18,24, 28, 58; 10:7, 9, 11,14; 11:25; 13:19; 14:6; 15:1, 5; 18:5, 6, 8). He is the bread of life, the light of the world, the good shepherd, the resurrection and the life, the way, the truth, and the life, the true vine, and He is the door of the sheep. He reveals the stark fact that there is no other possible savior but Him and excludes all other claimants and their devotees. There is no room left for any exception.<\/p>\n

Jesus is not one of many ways to the Father, our Creator. There is only one door by which anyone enters in. Therefore, it is supremely fitting that we decorate our front door at Christmas! \u201cJesus said,\u201d in John\u00a014:6, \u201cI am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.\u201d A wise preacher of yesteryear said, \u201cWithout the way, there is no going, without the truth, there is no knowing, and without the life, there is no living\u201d (Thomas \u00e0 Kempis). The apostle Peter preached, \u201c\u2026that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth\u2026Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved\u201d (Acts\u00a04:10ff). Truth is always exclusive and exclusionary, just as doors always are\u2014do not be put off by such a fact. Instead, embrace the truth found only in Jesus Christ. The truth that He died for your sins, the just for the unjust, so that you may be forgiven of all your sins, that He was buried and rose from the grave the third day and lives today to intercede for you with the Father (1\u00a0Corinthians\u00a015:1ff).<\/p>\n

By entering in through the door that is Jesus Christ you are graciously afforded all the same provisions as a family member entering in through the front door of his home\u2014protection, provision, identity, and rightful place. Our text says, \u201cIf anyone enters by Me, he will be saved!\u201d Not only that, Jesus has come that those who believe \u201cmay have life, and that they may have it more abundantly!\u201d Only through Him\u2014He is the front door to Heaven. He is the access to God in peace and justification through His blood (Romans\u00a05:1\u20132). Only through Him are you reconciled with God so that peace may be wrought between your immortal soul and the Holy God (Ephesians\u00a02:14ff). Only through Jesus Christ may you freely and boldly enter into the presence of your heavenly Father with confidence (Ephesians\u00a03:12, Hebrews\u00a010:19f).<\/p>\n

Now that my children are grown and live elsewhere, the significance of our home\u2019s front door during Christmas has taken on new meaning. It is through that door that we once again are a family! It is only through Jesus Christ that you enter into the family of God. Have you found forgiveness through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and been received into the family by the Father? Trust and obey.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cI am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.\u201d John\u00a010:7\u201311 During the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hanoverbaptistchurch.dreamhosters.com\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hanoverbaptistchurch.dreamhosters.com\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hanoverbaptistchurch.dreamhosters.com\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hanoverbaptistchurch.dreamhosters.com\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hanoverbaptistchurch.dreamhosters.com\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=545"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hanoverbaptistchurch.dreamhosters.com\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hanoverbaptistchurch.dreamhosters.com\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hanoverbaptistchurch.dreamhosters.com\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hanoverbaptistchurch.dreamhosters.com\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}