SOME OF THE DOORS OF SCRIPTURE

John 10:9

Morning Meditation 7/31/17

"I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture."

The first door that we will look at in this meditation is,

CHRIST IS THE DOOR OF SALVATION

Jesus said, "I am the door. . ." Note that Jesus is speaking. He did not say, "I am a door." He said, "I am the door." There is no other door. He is the only door. Don't waste your time looking for another. You won't find it because there is no other door into salvation.

This door can be entered by "any man." This text says, "by me if any man enter in." This is an explanation as well as an invitation. This door is always open. Jesus said in John 6:37, "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out."

Those who enter this door have a positive promise: "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved . . ." There is not a chance that he will be turned down. Jesus says, "he shall be saved." Faith is believing the promises. And this is a definite promise and it is impossible for God to lie. He makes promises to keep. Christ is the door of salvation and every man is invited to enter in and enjoy being God's child and all that goes with it.

THEN THERE IS THE DOOR THAT IS CONNECTED WITH SIN

Genesis 4:6-7, "And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him."

We are told of Cain and Abel's offering in Genesis 4. Abel's offering was accepted because it was a blood sacrifice offered in faith. Cain's offering was a bloodless offering which was the "fruit of the ground." Cain was so angry that his countenance showed it. Genesis 4:5-7, "But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him." God recognizes the anger in the face of Cain. It means, "to be hot, to be flushed with anger." It is in the imperfect tense which means that he had that look continually. It was not just a short lived anger. He became continually angry toward the Lord. We do not have any record of Cain's talking to God about it. The next verse Cain talked with Abel and slew him. So Cain's anger at God was unleashed on Abel and we have the first murder in the Bible.

God told Cain that if he did well he would be accepted. If he didn't do well, sin was lying at the door. The word for sin here can mean "sin offering." God made it easy for Cain to offer the right sacrifice. But Cain never offered the right sacrifice. There are two possibilities:

1. Cain didn't feel that his sin was bad enough to deserve the kind of punishment that is represented by the killing of an innocent animal.

2. Cain rebelled against God's authority and did not feel that God was fair or right in not accepting his offering of the "fruit of the ground."

Both of these sins can be witnessed daily in the lives of people who live all around us. There are so-called Christian Churches who have gone so far as to take the songs that speak of the blood of Jesus out of them. In this, they are denying the absolute need of the shedding of Jesus blood for sin.

There are those who believe that they are their own boss. They do not submit to God's authority. They feel He has no right to demand faith in the blood of Christ for salvation. Romans 3:25 says, "Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;" This is God's way of salvation of sinners. It says, "Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood. . ." The man who says, "God has no right to make this demand on me" is in rebellion against what God requires. That makes him a rebellious sinner. God has a good reason for this and anyone who insists on going another way, is rejecting God's way just as Cain did.

IT IS THE BLOOD OF A SUBSTITUTE FOR SIN

Exodus 12:7 says, "And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it."

Christ is our Passover. 1 Corinthians 5:7, "Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us: "Paul clearly makes the Passover of the Jews in the land of Egypt a type of the offering of Christ on the cross our Passover. The blood of the sacrifices in the Old Testament pictured the blood of Christ who was our substitute on the cross to clear us from all our sins. The Ram that was offered in the place of Isaac in Genesis according to Genesis 22:13 was offered in the stead of his son.

So Jesus took our place. He supplied to God a perfect sacrifice. This is something that man can never do. Man's state before God is described in the words of Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; "Man by nature is a sinner and at his best moment it is still true that he comes short of the glory of God. This, God's Son never did. He lived a perfect life and offered Himself in our stead as our perfect substitute.

How did God look at the sacrifice of Christ? Romans 3:24-26 says, "Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus."

THE DOOR OF SECURITY

Genesis 7:1, "And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation."

The ark is a type of Christ. God preserved Noah, his family, and all the animals in the ark. The ark was pitched within and without. The word for pitch in the Hebrew is the same one that is used to translate "atonement.." The ark had one door. When the time came for Noah and his family to enter the ark, "And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation." You will notice God did not say, "Go thou and all thy house into the ark," He said, "Come thou and all thy house into the ark." God was IN the ark and they entered where God was. God was going to ride out the storm with Noah and his family. Remember, Noah walked with God.

Then when the time came, we are told in Genesis 7:16, "And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in." I repeat, "God shut him in." When God shuts the door, there is no way of entrance. No one could break it to enter and no one could break it to get out. God secured all that were in the ark.

Colossians 2:9-10, "For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:"

These are some of the doors of Scripture. May the Lord bless these truths to our hearts.

In Christ

Bro. White