Jesus Is the Window and the Door: John 10:7-9

A Sunday morning message from John chapter 10

The message in brief: Jesus said, "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved." Before anyone walks through a door, they need a window to see through. Jesus, and the written Word of God, are that window: they show us what God is like, that we are sinners, that we need a Savior, and that Jesus is the only one. Then we must walk through the door.

"Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep... 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 thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." (John 10:7, 9-10, KJV)

Why call Jesus a window?

Because a window lets in light and lets you see. While Jesus was on earth, He was a window for everyone to see what God is like and what God's will is. "In him was life; and the life was the light of men." (John 1:4)

That window was not only for one generation. The four Gospels show Jesus from four sides: Matthew as the King, Mark as the servant, Luke as the Son of Man, and John as the Son of God. Jesus is the living Word, and the Bible is the written Word. Through them we can still see God, heaven and eternity.

"But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit." (1 Corinthians 2:9-10)

Have you ever read a verse many times, and then one day it jumps out and you say, "I see it"? That is the window at work.

Why do people prefer the darkness?

Because they are trying to hide. "And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not." (John 1:5) But no one can hide from God. To Him, the darkness and the light are both alike (Psalm 139).

The sermon warned that a nation can go blind when it throws the window out. Without the Word of God, people never learn what God is like, what heaven is like, or what they need.

What does the window show us?

The sermon named three things the Word of God shows every person.

1. We are all sinners

"As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one." (Romans 3:10) "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23)

People compare themselves to others and always come out ahead. They should compare themselves to Jesus. Even the apostle Paul called himself the chief of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15). Pride is a sin we rarely see in ourselves.

2. We need a Savior

A window is not enough. You can't climb through it. The window shows us the door. We need to be saved from our sins, and saved from hell. Jesus warned plainly about hell:

"The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth." (Matthew 13:41-42)

To say "I don't believe in hell" is to call Jesus a liar.

3. Jesus is the only Savior

No other religious leader can save anyone or keep anyone out of hell. "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6)

To provide salvation, Jesus had to be a perfect man, and He lived a sinless life. He also had to be God. Because He is both, His death on the cross could pay for the sins of every person, not just one.

Why is Jesus the only door?

Because Jesus Himself said so, three times in John 10. "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved." (John 10:9)

John 3 shows what walking through the door means:

"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:14-16)

Jesus did not come to condemn the world, but to save it (John 3:17). If someone rejects Him and goes to hell, they cannot blame Jesus. "He did everything to keep you out of hell."

Do we have to keep ourselves saved?

No. Some teach that sinning after salvation means losing it. The sermon asked how anyone could keep track: several thousand sins? Several million? The Bible settles it:

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Good works may bring rewards in heaven, but they do not help get anyone there.

Have you walked through the door?

You don't stand outside looking at a door. You decide to go through it. The preacher shared that God first spoke to his heart when he was eight years old, and it took him years of looking through the window before he saw the door and was saved.

"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name." (John 1:12)

We don't go through the window. We go through the door. Jesus is the door, and we get into heaven through Him and Him only.

Questions about Jesus the door

What does Jesus mean when He says "I am the door"? He means He is the only way into salvation and heaven: "by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved" (John 10:9).

Is Jesus the only way to heaven? Yes. Jesus said, "no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" (John 14:6).

Can a saved person lose their salvation? No. Salvation is by grace through faith, the gift of God, "not of works" (Ephesians 2:8-9).