I had done it countless times before, but this time was different. As I inserted the key in the lock in the door, the words of Jesus broke through in my spirit: “I am the Door; anyone who enters through Me will be saved [and will live forever], and will go in and out [freely], and find pasture (spiritual security)” (John 10:9, AMP). I got the message immediately. In the very same way going through the front door was the only way to get into my house, without breaking any of the windows, going through Jesus was the only way to salvation.
The word “saved” used in the text is the word sōzō in Greek (pronounced sode’-zo) and is best understood as “to save, deliver, or protect; to heal, preserve, save (self), do well, be (make) whole” (Strong’s, G4982). This understanding, when applied, gives us a richer perspective of our position in Christ. When we enter our homes, we enter a place of safety. Closed windows and doors keep us safe not only from those who would steal, kill, and destroy, but as we go about our business in our world of anxieties and uncertainties, the comforts of a home also offer us a place of refuge; a place to rest, be refreshed, and to be restored.
It is no different when we are in Christ. As Bible Scholar Matthew Henry stated, “By faith in Him, as the great Mediator between God and man, we come into covenant and communion with God. . . . True believers are at home in Christ; when they go out, they are not shut out as strangers, but have liberty to come in again; when they come in, they are not shut in as trespassers, but have liberty to go out. They go out to the field in the morning, they come into the fold at night; and in both the Shepherd leads and keeps them, and they find pasture in both: grass in the field, fodder in the fold. In public, in private, they have the word of God to converse with, by which their spiritual life is supported and nourished, and out of which their gracious desires are satisfied; they are replenished with the goodness of God’s house.”
Those benefits are only realized by those who come in through Christ. Just in case we’re tempted to think there is some other way, He stated quite emphatically, “I am the [only] Way [to God] and the [real] Truth and the [real] Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6). And in John 10:1, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up from some other place [on the stone wall], that one is a thief and a robber.” We cannot come into salvation by being morally good, by doing good things, through our self-righteousness, our positions in the Church, our family connections, or even our growing up in the Church. It is only those who call upon the name of the Lord [with right feelings; that is, with a humble sense of our sinfulness and our need of pardon, and with a willingness to receive eternal life as it is offered us in the gospel” (Adam Barnes)] who shall be saved (Romans 10:13).
One door, one way, and Christ is it. For those of us who have found Him, what a comforting thought! If you have not yet found Him, you can call Him and He will answer. If you know someone still looking, why not show them the Door?
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