I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
– John 10:9
Thoughts on Today’s Verse…
If we want to achieve salvation, we must accept the incarnate Christ. Christ is the gate to entry into the kingdom of heaven. None may enter into God’s kingdom except through Christ. Just as when Jesus did the work of redemption in the Age of Grace, the Jewish Pharisees stubbornly held on to their own conceptions and imaginations, believing that man not called the Messiah was not the Christ. Even though they knew that Jesus’ words have authority and power, they had no reverence toward God. Not only did they not seek or investigate it, but they found fault with Jesus, maligned and condemned His work, even worse, they blasphemed Him and nailed Him to the cross. Eventually, they were cursed and punished by God. But instead, Jesus’ disciples, such as Peter, Jacob and John, knew that Jesus had come from God from His words and the signs and wonders He manifested, then they followed Jesus and gained His salvation. We all know that Jesus will come again and bring us the salvation in the last days. Then how can we know and follow Christ of the last days? This question is indeed very important, and directly related to the major issue of whether we can enter into Christ’s kingdom. God says, “Those who wish to gain life without relying on the truth spoken by Christ are the most ridiculous people on earth, and those who do not accept the way of life brought by Christ are lost in fantasy. And so I say that the people who do not accept Christ of the last days shall forever be despised by God. Christ is man’s gateway to the kingdom during the last days, which none may bypass. None may be perfected by God except through Christ. You believe in God, and so you must accept His words and obey His way. You must not just think of gaining blessings without receiving the truth, or accepting the provision of life. Christ comes during the last days so that all those who truly believe in Him may be provided with life. His work is for the sake of concluding the old age and entering the new one, and is the path that must be taken by all those who would enter the new age. If you are incapable of acknowledging Him, and instead condemn, blaspheme or even persecute Him, then you are bound to burn for eternity, and shall never enter the kingdom of God.”