There’s a cute little children’s song about Jesus that goes this way:
“One Door, and only one, and yet its sides are two, inside and outside, on which side are you? One Door, and only one, and yet its sides are two, I want the inside - on which side are you?
“One Lord, and only one and yet the ways are two, right way and wrong way on which way are you? One Lord, and only one and yet the ways are two, I want the right way - on which way are you?
“One Door, and only one, and yet its sides are two, Inside and outside, on which side are you?”
In our culture, there are doors everywhere. There are doors to our houses, restaurants, factories and churches. And doors have a purpose – they’re designed to keep good stuff in and bad stuff out. In fact, just to be sure the doors do what they’re designed to do we put locks on them.
Jesus said “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
Jesus is THE DOOR. He is there to protect the flock - that’s us – and He is there to keep the good stuff in (that’s us) and bad stuff out (thieves, robbers, wolves and other bad things). And He’s not just the door… He’s the lock on the door.
(We showed a picture of a shepherd laying across the opening of sheep pen) In this passage, Jesus is talking about something called a Sheepfold or Sheep Pen. From the picture, you see that the shepherd is literally THE DOOR. He lays down across the opening of the pen so that the sheep don’t wander off. As the song says: I want the inside.” I want Jesus to protect me.
Now, what’s interesting here is the negative aspect of this that Jesus stresses. He says: “He who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber.” John 10:1
For the sheep who hear Jesus’ voice and follow Him, the door is open. But, for the thieves and robbers, the door’s locked. Not everybody who wants to get into the sheep pen is going to get in. Some folks apparently want to get in on their terms… not Jesus’.
For those kinds of folks, Jesus says: "Strive to enter through the NARROW DOOR. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’” Luke 13:24-27
Jesus says… it’s a narrow door. And there are people who deceive themselves, and try to deceive you, into believing that they are on the INSIDE of that door. But They’re Not! Jesus calls them the “thieves and robbers.”
This runs counter to our “Can’t we all just get along” kind of mindset. There’s a part of us that would just as soon ignore the people who teach and believe false doctrine (the thieves and the robbers, if you will) and just let them live their lives and we live ours.
ILLUS: Back when I was a boy, dad had a policy at the dinner table: He would not allow any discussion of politics and (wait for the audience to respond: “religion”). But, frankly that silence can be dangerous.
ILLUS: At the last church I served there were a couple of families that had a “home Bible Study” built around the teachings of a TV “evangelist.” They were all excited about him and wanted me to watch a tape of him. “Sure,” I said, and as the tape rolled I saw a big man, sitting behind a desk wearing a cowboy hat and smoking a cigar. As bizarre as his presentation was, he spoke with authority and conviction and some of the stuff he said made sense. But the more I listened to him, I sense something wasn’t quite right. I sensed that he was leading up to something. And then he got to his point: he taught that after Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, Satan had sexual relations with Eve, and the offspring of that union was… Cain. And Cain was a black man. (PAUSE) Yeah! He was a racist. He was a bigot.
Looking at the families, I said “that pure nonsense. That’s not even close to being Biblical.” At that point one of the men looked at me and said: “HE SAID YOU’D SAY THAT!” This heretic had inoculated his followers against anyone who might challenge this foolishness, and suddenly I became the enemy. They totally rejected me… and the church.
ILLUS: Recently I heard about another false teacher who used the same technique. His name was Les Feldick. He’s dead now, but his videos are popular with some folk even in pulpits and Bible studies. Now Feldick wasn’t a racist… but he was a heretic! The core of his teachings revolves around the idea that there were TWO GOSPELS – TWO WAYS OF BEING SAVED. One for the Jews and one for the Gentiles. Of course, that’s all pure nonsense, Feldick says there are “two gospels and two ways of being saved” while God says there’s only “one Lord, one faith, one baptism.” Obviously someone is wrong… and it’s not God.
Feldick never pointed to a scripture that said there were “two ways to be saved,” but he couldn’t find that anyway. So what he settles for is a blackboard covered with “bread crumb” scriptures that are all intended to lead you to his conclusions. It kind of reminds of the cartoon about the scientist who’s blackboard is covered with a massive number of equations, and then he points to a spot on the blackboard and cries “and then a miracle happens.” (http://www.teachingtheword.org/apps/articles/?articleid=72802&view=post&blogid=5446)
In short – it’s balderdash and nonsense. But if you say that, his followers will say he told them you’d say that! He’s inoculated people by saying that those who reject his teachings don’t study Paul’s writings.
Anyone who disagrees with Feldick is the enemy to many of these folks. They knew you’d SAY he was wrong… and that PROVES he’s right!
So here’s the deal, there are false teachers and preachers who try to steal from Jesus’ flock to create their own flock. And it’s the job of your Elders to protect you from these guys.
Paul told the Elders of Ephesus about this “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.” Acts 20:28-30
So, be careful of the teachers on radio and TV and YouTube, because even the popular ones and seemingly reasonable ones, can and do preach false doctrine. How do you protect yourselves?
1) Trust Jesus’ Words – they’re found in this book (the Bible). This is God’s truth and anyone who would lead you astray will either warp or ignore its teachings. I often say that “I can be wrong, but the Bible will never be wrong.”
2) Stay in the sheep pen (your church). The robbers and thieves will seek to draw you to themselves to be their followers and pay their bills – that’s especially true of the TV varieties.
3) And let your Elders run interference with false teachers. That’s their job. Whenever I have a question about whether I or the church should do something I run it by the Elders. Sometimes I’ll have an idea and they’ll say “that’s stupid”… and I’ll know that’s not gonna fly.
Now, as I was studying for this sermon I became intrigued by this word… “door.” In the Greek, the word for door is “thoo-rah.” Thoorah. Say it with me “THOO-RAH.” Hoorah, thoorah! I like that word!!!!
And I found that “Thoo-rah” was used for all kinds of doors. Here in John 10 it’s used of shepherd lying down at opening of the Sheepfold. In Matthew 25:10 it refers to the “door” to a house. Acts 12:6 speaks of the “door” of a prison. Acts 14:27 uses Thoo-rah” to speak of “the Door of faith.” And in Colossians 4:3 Paul asks that the church would pray that the DOOR would be opened to allow him to evangelize in the area.
Now, that was all very interesting, but there was ONE THOO-RAH that surprised me! There was one DOOR I not considered before, and we read about it in Matthew 27:59-60 “When Joseph had taken (Jesus’) body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the DOOR (thoo-rah) of the tomb…”
Jesus was buried in a tomb. The rock was rolled across the DOOR of the grave and Jesus’ body was surrendered to death.
But did He stay there in the grave? (wait for a response from the audience). Of course not! Three days later the door was opened… the stone was rolled away and Jesus conquered death! JESUS OPENED THE DOOR to the grave.
Hebrews 2:14-15 declares that “through death (Jesus came to) destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.”
Jesus opened the door to the grave… and now we don’t have to fear death.
ILLUS: When I went to Purdue University, a friend of mine asked if he could try an experiment with me. He asked me to close my eyes and imagine myself in a white room (do that with me). Everything was white. The walls, the furniture, the picture frames on the wall. EVERYTHING was white! Now, keep your eyes closed. My friend asked me after a couple of moments what I felt about being in that room. What emotions or feelings did this scene have for me?
I paused… and then asked “is there a door?” “Sure,” he replied, “if you want a door, there’s a door. But it’s white too.” Then said “Well, I want to know what’s on the other side of the door.”
“That’s interesting,” he said. “Some psychologists use this experiment to help us discover our feelings toward death. Some people respond with feelings of fear, or bewilderment or anxiety… but you asked if there was a door.” https://psychcentral.com/lib/when-you-have-thoughts-or-worries-about-your-own-mortality/
Why would I ask if there was a door? Because, I have always believed there was a door out of the tomb. And JESUS IS THAT DOOR.
ILLUS: When I was 5 years old, my Grandpa died. Years later my mom told me that my grandfather and I were especially close. I literally lit up with excitement when I was around him. But now he was dead. In those days, funerals were different than now. The viewing was often held at the family home and mourners would pass through the living room and express their condolences to the family. I was only 5 and I didn’t understand quite what was going on and it was a bit confusing. But then, we went to the cemetery. In those days you could look right down into the grave… so I did. I looked up in bewilderment to my mother and asked “How’s grandpa ever going to get out of that hole?” I don’t remember mom’s answer, but I know it had to do with the promise of resurrection and gift Jesus gave us when He rose from the grave. You see, we don’t have to fear death.
BUT WHY? Why don’t we have to fear death? I mean – YES - Jesus conquered death but what difference does that make for me? If Jesus conquered death… does that mean I can too?
ILLUS: Out on our marquee by the road, we have this saying: “If you don’t follow Jesus, you won’t go where He went.” That wasn’t original with me, but it caught my attention enough to want to share it with passersby on the road. “If you don’t follow Jesus, you won’t go where He went.” It seemed so well said, but the flip side of that statement is true as well “If we BELONG TO Jesus, we WILL go where He went!” If we belong to Him and we follow Him, we’ll go to heaven with Him.
Back in the Old Testament people could sell themselves into slavery to pay debts. That person would be a slave for 6 years… and on the 7th he would be set free. BUT, if that slave wanted to belong to their master the rest their lives, Exodus tells us “If the slave declares: ‘I love my master… I do not want to leave as a free man,’ his master is to bring him to the judges and then bring him to the DOOR or doorpost. His master must pierce his ear with an awl, and he will serve his master for life.” Exodus 21:5–6
Notice, the mark of ownership had to take place at the door. If a man wanted to remain a slave of his master… he was taken to THE DOOR and his ear was pierced to declare that he now belonged to his master forever. It was a mark he’d bear for the rest of his life.
Jesus said “I am the door.” To belong to Jesus you must bear the mark of His ownership. And when that happens, He becomes our door – guarding, protecting, and being the doorway out of the grave.
And that’s what Baptism is all about. Baptism is one of the marks of Jesus’ ownership of us (the Holy Spirit is the other one). Baptism is where we identify with Jesus as our master forever. Romans 6:3-4 “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”
Do catch the beauty of that? Jesus DIED for our sins, He was BURIED in a tomb, and He ROSE from the grave. In the same way, when we decide to become Christians, we decide to DIE to our sins. And what do you do with dead things? You BURY them, and thus we are buried, in a watery grave. But just as Jesus didn’t stay in the grave, neither do we. Just like Jesus, we RISE from that watery grave to walk in newness of life.
Baptism literally becomes one of the “marks” of our salvation. In other cultures, which oppose Christianity, citizens of those countries can often go to church and even “join” a church and people will look the other way. But once they get baptized, they become ostracized. For example, Jews who’ve been baptized into Christ are not allowed to be buried in a Jewish cemetery.
Watchman Nee once noted: “Any Jew who embraces the Christian faith in secret will not be persecuted. Many Jews believe in the historical record concerning the Lord Jesus. Their greatest hurdle is not in believing in Him but in baptism. Once they are baptized, they are cast out. Some sisters were poisoned by their fiancé after they were baptized. Such things happen even in civilized communities like London and New York. It is all right for a person to believe in his heart, but once he is baptized, others will persecute him.
In India, no one will do anything to a believer if he is not baptized. But once he is baptized, they will cast him out. It is all right for one to believe in the Lord, but he cannot be baptized.
The reaction of the Muslims is more violent. Someone once said that it is difficult for a Muslim believer to remain alive. As soon as he believes, he will die. Dr. Swema is the first person who succeeded in working among the Muslims. He said, "My work will never grow, because once a person believes in the Lord, he has to be sent away immediately. Otherwise, he will die within two or three days after his baptism." This condition is prevalent even among Muslims today.”
CLOSE: Scott (our family minister) once ministered in the slums of St. Louis. He’d work with gang members and converted several of them to Christ. Now Scott is a big “white guy”, and that alone would make him stand out in that neighborhood. But he decided to take it one step further - he wore an earring.
That was a normal thing in the black community he served, but the gang members were curious about a big white guy having an earring. When they asked him about it, he told them the story about the slave having his ear pierced … that it was the mark of the master’s ownership. And then he’d lead them to Christ.
INVITATION
