John 10:7-9 - Homilies By B. Thomas

Christ as the Door.

Notice—

I. THE POSITION OF CHRIST IN RELATION TO SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS . "I am the Door."

1. He is the Medium of admission to these blessings .

2. He is the only Medium of admission to spiritual blessings .

II. THE CONDITION ON WHICH THESE BLESSINGS ARE TO BE ENJOYED . "By me if any man enter in." This involves:

1. Full recognition of Christ ' s authority as the medium of admission , lie is the Door, and must be acknowledged as such.

2. Genuine faith in his fitness and resources as the spiritual Provider of the soul .

3. Implicit submission and obedience to his will and commands . Entrance must be made, and that by him.

4. There is but one condition for all . "By me if any man enter," let him be rich or poor, Jew or Gentile. There is but one door. There is not one door for the rich and another for the poor, etc.; but only one. And as there is only one door, there is but one condition of enjoyment, viz. entrance by it.

III. THE PRECIOUS BLESSINGS ENJOYED ON THIS CONDITION . Sonic of them are pointed out here. "By me if any man enter," etc.

1. Perfect safety .

2. Perfect freedom . The Christian while in this world cannot be always in the holy of holies of devotion; he must go out into his daily occupation. It is a Divine and general law that "man goeth forth unto his work and to his labor until the evening."

3. Intimate fellowship with Christ . How intimate we are with the doors of our houses! We can neither come in nor go out but by the door—a faint symbol of believers' intimate fellowship with Christ. He is the Door.

4. Ample provisions . "And find pasture."

LESSONS .

1. The revelation of Christ as the Door of spiritual blessings was now very natural and timely . He saw the multitudes like sheep without a shepherd. Judaism had become barren and persecuting, and incapable of supplying the spiritual wants of the people. Souls were hungry for food, and longing for shelter. The healed blind man was among the first to knock for admittance, and, as Christ was the Door, it was now time for him to say so openly.

2. Christ as the Door is a befitting introduction to the blessings within . You can form a fair opinion by the door of what to expect inside. Sometimes we are not inclined to go further than the door. But Christ, as the Door to God and all spiritual blessings, is most attractive and worthy, and when you enter there is no disappointment in it.

3. The great thing in order to enjoy the riches of Divine grace is to find the door . Christ as the Door is most conspicuous and convenient. Where the gospel is fully known, the difficulty almost is not to find it. It publishes itself. "I am the Door."

4. There are thousands in search for the door and cannot find it . And, alas! there are thousands in gospel lands dying at the door, and will not enter. There is only a door between them and life eternal.—B.T.