The Tupelo journal., 1902-11-14
CHRIST THE DOOR.
Leads from Worlds Perils Into the
Safety OF Gods Saeepfold.
sermon on One OF the six startling
Claims of Jesus by the "HiEh-
way and Byvay"
Preacher.

SulGdSos IuD-. W
Text am the Door: by Me If any man
enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in
and out, and find pasture:",John lo:9. -
The world stands face to face with
an Open Door. The hand of God has
swung wide the portals of eternal pos
sibilities. His love and mercy have
found expression in the setting of His
Son before the world as the Open Door
through which may be experienced
the safety, and comfort, and peace,
and joy, and love of the Fathers
Lazarus, lying on the hard tagging
of the courtyard and looking through
the door of Dives palace, saw food for
his famished body, soft couches on
which to rest his pain-racked limbs,
and warmth and comfort, but all that
vision of beauty and comfort stream
ing through the door of that palace
home could not compare with the I'M
speakable and eternal riches which
may be attained through Christ the
Door. And the need of that miserable
beggar was not greater than is the
need of the world as it lies helpless
and undone within reach of Christ the
Door.
Gods Word declares that "the
whole world lieth in the wicked one"
but it also declares that Christ the
Door is the way of escape. Dante's In
ferno is being enacted all over this
fair earth. but he who enters the
h1accol Dnrtnlc ~ Ihr1St the Door
steps from death to life, and leaves the
scene of torment for one of peace
which passeth understanding. On this
side the Door is darkness, on the other
side light. On this side are the husks
of this world, on the other is the Bread
of Life. On this side is death, on the
other is Life. On this side are tur-
moil and discomfort, on the other lis
u~nspeakable peace. On this side are
tears and unhappiness, on the other
are angelic smiles and eternal joys.
On this side is the uncertainty of life.
on the other are the sure promises OF
God. On this side is the lost sinner,
on the other is the blood-washed saint.
On this side is the outcast doomed to
destruction, on the other is the son of
God. On this side is the poverty-strick-
en- soul, on the other is the heir to the
riches of Heaven.
Marvellous Door it is that gives en-
trance from the sphere of mans en-
deavor to the unlimited possibilities
of Gods fellowship and presence.
Here are the earthly existence and
the Heavenly Home, and between the
two: Jesus the Door; here are
the world dead in trespasses
and sins" and Jesus the Door of
escape into the Eternal Life of Gods
Heaven. What a picture we have here!
The declaration of our tex follows
the reference of Christ to the sheep
fold and the true and false shep-
herds. The allegory of the sheep
fold and the good shepherd of the
tenth chapter is evidently a continual
ter in which the giving of sight to the
blind man has aroused the bitterest
hatred and opposition towards Jesus
on the part of the Jewish leaders. The
healed blind man has been driven out
of the fold of the synagogue by the
false under-shepherds, and Jesus
quickly rebukes their conduct by His
reference to the sheepfold and to the
thief and robber who gains access to
the fold by climbing over the wall.
The shepherd of the sheep enters by
the door, his voice is recognized by
the sheep who will not follow a
stranger, as in the case of this blind
man, who turned from the wicked
suggestions of the Pharisees to obedi-
ent loyalty to the One who had healed
him. Jesus then goes on to make a
double application of His parable by
declaring, first, hat He is the Door
to the sheepfold, and, secondly, that
He is the Good Shepherd. The sheep
fold was the place of shelter and
safety for the sheep, and the one mar
row gateway was the entrance
through which the sheep must needs
pass. Jesus declares: 81 am the
Door; by Me if any man enter in, he
shall be saved, and shall go in and
out and find pasture"
4 door connects. 1t affords the
means of communication between two
separate and distinct compartments,
or places. On one side is the comfort
and joy and peace of the home. on the
other is the outside world where one
becomes a .wanderer and a stranger.
Jesus as the Door connects earth with
Heaven. He affords the mean of
communication between the lost world
and the Home in Heaven. On one side
are the love and joy and peace of the
Fathers House, and on the other is
the self-seeking world, where all have
gone astray, and everyone has turned
to his own way. And if Jesus is the
Door, let us look at some of tie char
acteristics of that Door. He is the
Only Door. He is an Open Door. He
is a Narrow-Broad Door, if you will
allow the paradoxical statement. He
will yet be a Shut Door.
Jesus the Only Door.-Jesus wasnot
a Door into the %sheepfold, but was
THE Door. The use of the definite
article is in perfect harmony with all
other declarations of Scripture in re-
gard to the Christ. Probably the same
Scribes and Pharisees who heard
Christ declare Himself as the Door
were later present at that council of
the Jewish leaders which heard Peter
declare that there was salvation in
none other than Christ, sfor there
is none other name under Heaven
given among men whereby we must
be saved" These Jewish leaders were
seeking a door of their own making