Wednesday, November 4
So what is this “abundant life” that Jesus speaks of in John 10:1-10? Perhaps you are still trying to decide whether or not to follow Jesus. Or you made a decision sometime in the past, and you’re wondering if your life is all that God intends it to be. In v. 9, Jesus explains what we find when we walk through the door of Christ into abundant life.
First, we find Salvation. “If anyone enters through me, he will be saved.” If you have been in church for a while, you have heard that term “saved” quite a bit. But do you really know what that means? Because the Shepherd is the Door of the sheep, once you enter through Him, you are safe. He puts His body across that opening, so the sheep can’t get lost and no predator can get in to attack them. That is what Jesus means when He says salvation. He means rescue. He means true safety.
When we walk through the door of Jesus Christ, we are saved in every way. We are saved from our sins, the debilitating habits and destructive priorities that were tearing us down, hurting those around us, and polluting our world. He washes all of that away and gives us a new life where we can say no to the things that are killing us. He fills us with His Spirit, who trains and equips us to say yes to the righteous life we were meant to live.
We are saved from the Devil, the one who formerly ruled our lives. Jesus has executed the greatest rescue mission of all time, and now we are safe…no one can snatch us out of His hand (see vv. 28-29).
Best of all, we are saved from death and Hell. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die (11:25-26).” (We’ll cover that “I am” in more detail in a couple weeks) For the follower of Christ, death isn’t something to fear, it’s graduation day. That is when life really begins.
So when you hear someone say, “I’m saved,” they aren’t bragging. They are rejoicing in the fact that the only person strong enough to rescue them from the Hell their life had become actually cared enough to do it. And they are praising God that they know where they stand in the most important issue of life.
“Lord Jesus, thank you for saving me. If I live to be 150, I will never be able to thank you enough. I pray that others, through me, would come to that same salvation, in your name, amen.”
Senior Pastor
First Baptist Conroe
More from Pastor Jeff at his website: jeffbergerwriting.com
