“So Jesus said to them again, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.’” (John 10:7-10 NASB1995)
A door is a gate or an entrance into something. It is a way into something or to somewhere. And in his life and death and resurrection, Jesus Christ provided the way to salvation from sin and eternal life with God. He is the way into relationship with God – Father, Son Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit. And he is the only way to forgiveness of sins and to victory over darkness. Even the faith to believe in him is gifted to us by God and is persuaded of God, and it is not of our own doing, not of the flesh of humankind.
And his sheep are all of us who have been crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin, but as servants of righteousness in walks of obedience to our Lord and to his commands, by God-gifted faith in our Lord Jesus (see Romans 6:1-23). For Jesus said that his sheep listen to him, i.e. they heed (follow) his voice, and he knows them, and they follow (obey) him. And he gives them eternal life, and they will never perish (see John 10:27-30).
All who came before Jesus, who could be classified by him as “thieves and robbers,” were false prophets and teachers who taught lies and who led many people astray. And he could have been referring to the Scribes and Pharisees and Sadducees, as well, i.e. to all the religious rulers and people of prominence and influence in the temple of God who were teaching the people lies and who did not practice what they preached to others, too. They claimed to be of God, but they did not believe in Jesus Christ, God the Son.
But anyone who enters the sheep fold through the door (Jesus Christ), they will be saved. But we can only enter through faith in Jesus Christ, which comes from God, which is gifted to us by God, and which is persuaded of God as to his righteousness and holiness and of our sinfulness and of our need to die with Christ to sin and to walk in obedience to our Lord’s commands in holy living, empowered by God. So this faith is not of our own doing, and so we don’t get to decide what that faith looks like. God does!
The thief who comes only to steal and kill and destroy is Satan, the devil, who is our arch enemy because he is the enemy of God. And all who are thieves and robbers are of the devil, because they serve his purposes and not the will of God. The goal of all of them is to keep us from believing in Jesus with God-persuaded faith in him, by which we die with Christ to sin and we now walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands. And many of them are disguised as pastors who are teaching lies to the people.
So, test everything you hear coming from the mouths of all who say they are of God and who claim that they are teaching the gospel of Christ and of our salvation. Test what they are teaching against the Scriptures taught in their appropriate biblical context, and compare Scripture with Scripture, for they should agree with one another if they are teaching on the subject of faith in Jesus Christ, forgiveness of sins, and eternal life with God. And many are those who are teaching lies by willfully teaching Scriptures out of context.
But Jesus Christ taught that to come to him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in his power, then we have eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]
My Sheep
Based off John 10:1-30 NIV
An Original Work / June 24, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
My sheep hear me. They know me.
They listen to my voice and obey.
I call them and lead them.
They know my voice, so they follow me.
They will never follow strangers.
They will run away from them.
The voice of a stranger they know not;
They do not follow him.
So, I tell you the truth that
I am the gate, so you enter in.
Whoever does enter
Will find forgiveness and will be saved.
Nonetheless whoever enters
Not by the gate; other way,
He is the thief and a robber.
Listen not, the sheep to him.
Oh, I am the Good Shepherd,
Who laid his own life down for the sheep.
I know them. They know me.
They will live with me eternally.
The thief only comes to steal and
Kill and to destroy the church.
I have come to give you life that
You may have it to the full…
They know my voice, so they follow me.
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The Door of The Sheep
An Original Work / December 5, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love