CHRIST THE DOOR

“I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture” (John 10:9 NKJV).

In context, this verse is about the Lord Jesus as our Savior and speaks of the portal of salvation, protection in salvation, and pleasure in salvation.

Portal of salvation - “I am the door.” Here, the Lord Jesus states emphatically that He is the way of salvation. There are no other doors. He is the only Door, the only portal through which men may enter and be saved. This fact of the Lord Jesus being the only way is emphasized repeatedly throughout Scripture. It was the Lord Jesus Himself who said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). Further, the apostle Paul states in 1 Tim. 2:5 states, “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.” And Peter declares in Acts 4:12, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” There is only one mediator. Mary is no mediator, neither is anyone else!

Protection in salvation - “Saved.” When we trust in the Lord Jesus Christ we become “saved.” The term “saved” describes the work of our redemption. We are “saved” from spending an eternity in hell; we are “saved” from experiencing the awful wrath of God which comes as a result of sin; and we are “saved” from condemnation which would justly be ours if we did not have our sins cleansed and forgiven. To be “saved” is to be protected from the worst things that could happen to us. No protection is greater or more needed by mankind.

Pleasure in salvation - “Will go in and out, and find pasture.” Here we have the pleasure of freedom and food. Freedom is seen in the words “go in and out.” Often the world says that salvation restricts one’s life. The opposite is the truth. Salvation brings the greatest freedom of all. It is sin that enslaves and addicts. Food is seen in the word “pasture” and speaks of food for the soul. The world starves the soul. It leaves man hungry for the best food of all. The prophet Isaiah speaks of this food being in the Lord Jesus Christ when he writes, “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price” (Isa. 55:1).

(Adapted from Butler’s Daily Bible Reading 2)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“Not only do we not know God except through Jesus Christ; we do not even know ourselves except through Jesus Christ!”

Blaise Pascal (1623 - 1662)

French Mathematician, Physicist, Inventor, Philosopher, and Author

Word Study

False teachers

In 2 Peter 2:1 we read, “But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction” (NKJV).

“False teachers” is the Greek word pseudodidáskalos (ψευδοδιδάσκαλος = psyoo-dod-id-as'-kal-os). It is made up of two words: “pseudes” which means lying, false, and “didáskalos” which means instructor, master, teacher. This term appears only here in the New Testament. However, the problem of false teachers, false prophets, and false Christs was common in the Early Church. From the very beginning, the Lord Jesus warned of those who would arise and lead many away from the Faith (Matt. 24:5,11,23-24). The apostle Paul struggled against the false teachers at Corinth (2 Corinthians 11), at Colossae (Col. 2:8, 16-23), at Thessalonica (2 Thess. 2:2-3), and at Galatia (Gal. 1:6), And so, here the apostle Peter warns his readers about false teachers who, in their greed, would exploit them with false words (2:3), and would seek to carry them away by twisting Scripture (cf. 2 Peter 3:16-17). He portrayed them as “presumptuous, self-willed” in their sin (2:10).

Did You Know…

When the prophet Elijah was camped by the brook Cherith, he was fed by Ravens (1 Kings 17:4).

Bible Quiz

According to the Book of James, when Christians face trials, how are they to respond?

**Answer to last week’s Bible Quiz: According to the Book of James, what does “demons believe and tremble?” They “Believe that there is one God” (Jam. 2:19).

Prophecies Fulfilled by the Lord Jesus Christ

The Promise made to Abraham’s Seed (Gen. 12:7; cf. Gal. 3:16)

"Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him” (Gen. 12:7 NJKV).

Here the Lord appeared and reassured Abram by repeating the two preeminent promises: children and land. The apostle Paul, in quoting Gen. 12:7, says, “Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ” (Gal. 3:16). The passage goes on to explain that an inheritance was promised to Abraham’s Seed (the Lord Jesus Christ) apart from the law. Obviously, the gift included Isaac, Jacob, and thousands of others who possessed the land in Abraham’s name. However, the link between Abraham and the Lord Jesus Christ forms the very foundation of the Jewish nation and its relationship to God.

Did You Know – Christian History

William Orcutt Cushing was born December 31, 1823, in Hingham, Massachusetts. He was an American Minister and Hymn Writer.

Cushing parents raised him as a Universalist, but by reading the Bible for himself as a teenager, he became an orthodox believer. At eighteen he was convinced the Lord wanted him to become a minister and he trained for it. His first pastorate was at Searsburg, New York. There he met and married Rena Proper in 1854. This was also the year he wrote the hymn, “When He Cometh” based on Mal.3:17. After that he served in Auburn, Brooklyn, Buffalo and Sparta, New York. With the decline of his wife’s health, Cushing returned with her to Searsburg where she died in 1870. Serving again as pastor there, Cushing worked diligently with the Sunday school. He was dearly loved by all because he was an exemplary Christian, ever mindful of the suffering of others, but oblivious to his own. He once gave $1,000, his entire life’s savings to help a blind girl get an education. He was also instrumental in the erection of the Seminary at Starkey, NY, and gave material aid to the school for the blind at Batavia. Soon after, he developed a creeping paralysis that caused him to lose his voice and prevented him from preaching any longer. He retired from ministry after 27 years.

However, Cushing pleaded with the Lord to allow him to continue to serve in some capacity. His prayer was answered. He wrote over 300 hymns. Some of these are still beloved by the church. “Follow on” was written in 1880 with Robert Lowry and W. Howard Doane. This hymn became popular and was associated with The Salvation Army; its tune was adopted by Scottish association football club, Rangers as the basis for their club anthem, “Follow Follow.” “Under His Wings,” printed and sung by Ira Sankey, was born out of Cushing’s personal suffering and was based on Psalm 17:8, “Hide me under the shadow of Your wings.” Another of his famous hymns “Ring the Bells of Heaven” was written before his deep troubles had come upon him. Composer George F. Root had sent him the tune. Cushing felt it needed joyful words and mused on it all day before the words came to him. Cushing died on 19 October 1902 in Lisbon Center, New York, but his songs live on. He was buried in the Jones Cemetery, near Searsburg.

A Little Humor

The story is told of a man who encountered trouble while flying his little airplane. He called the control tower and said, “Pilot to tower, I’m 300 miles from the airport, six hundred feet above the ground, and I’m out of fuel. I am descending rapidly. Please advise. Over.” “Tower to pilot,” the dispatcher began, “Repeat after me: ‘Our Father Who art in heaven...’”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“Faith is not knowing what the future holds but knowing Who holds the future!”