Jesus Is The Only Way To Truly Abundant Life

Trevor S Ferguson

August 13, 2015

John 10:1-10 (KJV)
¹Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
²But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
³To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.
⁴And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
⁵And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.
⁶This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them.
⁷Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.
⁸All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.
⁹I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
¹⁰The 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.

INTRODUCTION

The word abundant means “existing or available in large quantities”; in other words, plentiful, copious, rich, or overflowing. When applied to life this means a life that is full and overflowing, a life that is rich in meaning and purpose, a life that is full of love, joy and peace, a life of happiness and laughter, a life with ample or adequate supply of the things needed for this life, but more than all, a life that is prepared for eternity. Today I want to declare to one and all that Jesus is the only One that can give this abundant life!

EXPOSITION

A look at the terminology used in some of the more modern Bible translations helps us see some of the components of this abundant life. The Amplified Bible renders this concept of abundant life as “life to the full, till it overflows”; The New Living Translation describes it as “a rich and satisfying life”; The Message Translation renders it as “real and eternal life, more and better than ever dreamed of”, and the NIV describes it as “having life to the full”. Whichever translation you use, it is clear that this life that Jesus promises is far removed from the dull, meaningless and empty life that many people are experiencing today. Indeed, for many persons today, life painful and distressing; many are without hope, depressed and struggling to find some purpose in their life.

This problem has been compounded by some who profess to have solutions to life’s problems, but many of these solutions are rooted in materialism, hedonism and escapism. The materialists suggest that if we accumulate enough money, wealth and material possession we will have everything we want and a very happy life. Nothing could be further from the truth! The hedonists on the other hand suggest that the pursuit of pleasure is the most important goal in life and therefore seeks to remove all moral and social restraints so that one can freely pursue the pleasure he seeks. This also is a deceptive lie. Hedonism often results in sexual promiscuity and lewdness, indulgence in parties and reveling, all in search of this elusive happiness. Most persons end up disillusioned. Many contract diseases sexually transmitted diseases, which ruins health and threatens life. Escapism involves the “habitual diversion of the mind to purely imaginative activity or entertainment as an escape from reality or routine. This again involves parties and drugs - cigarettes, marijuana, alcohol, and hard drugs such and cocaine and heroin. The aim here is to forget about the stresses of life, but it merely covers or postpone the problems, often ending with complete implosion, with psychological or physical breakdown, and may result in death from physical illness or suicide.  

 

Another problem is that there are deceptive religious leaders, who offers offer all types of solace, if one joins his or her religious group. The religious leaders are often materialistic in their views and preach a prosperity gospel. In reality however the majority of their members find this prosperity elusive, while some of these leaders live lavish lives, often at the expense of their members.

The passage in St John 10 seeks to set the record straight as to how one may obtain truly abundant life. Jesus uses an allegory involving the shepherd, sheep and sheepfold to illustrate that there is only one way to enter into eternal life and that any other attempt should be seen for its falsehood, in the same way as we can see through the falsehood of thieves and robbers. He starts by making the declaration that the only true entrance to the sheepfold is through the door. Anyone who enters by any other means should be immediately recognized as a thief or robber. The true shepherd makes an open and honest entrance through the door. The sheep recognizes the true shepherd, knows his voice and will follow him. The true shepherd knows his own sheep by name, leads them, i.e. he goes before them and they follow him into good pasture.

Many of the people did not understand the allegory so Jesus had to explain it again. Verse 7-10 contains the explanation.

⁷Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.  ⁸All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.  ⁹I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.  ¹⁰The 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.

This says to us that Jesus himself is the door. Verse 9-10 tells us that this door is the door to salvation, eternity and abundance!

Let us look first at the door to salvation. Jesus says “I am the door by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved”. This conveys the same message as St. John 14:6 “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” No one can come to God but through Jesus Christ – He is the only way to salvation.  If one tries to access salvation though some other way Jesus likens them to a thief or robber.

The bible standard for salvation is through repentance, water baptism and the infilling of the Holy Ghost. Today God has set an open door to salvation for someone reading this blog. You may have tried some other ways, and came upon closed doors or false entrances, but God has set an open door before you today. Walk through that door and receive Jesus as Lord and Saviour. Repent, ask for baptism in Jesus name; believe him to receive the baptism of Holy Ghost

Let me point out that the door to salvation is also the door to eternity. This life is only a temporary phase of our existence. We all must live forever somewhere. When we exit this life to enter into eternity we will be faced with only two doors – a door to heaven and a door to hell. The door to hell is broad and wide open, anyone can enter, because there are no entry requirements and no standards. The door to heaven however is open only to those who had accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. It requires acceptance and identification with Jesus Christ and living a holy, godly and sober life. This door to salvation and eternity is open everyone, but requires conformity to the word of God. We can’t create our own religion or our own gospel and expect to make it into heaven. I implore you today, to check what you have been taught to see if it is in line with what the bible teaches. If not you need to find a church where you can receive the bible standard of salvation.

Let me point out also, that this door to salvation is not focused only on eternity, but Jesus gives us a truly abundant life right now. Jesus himself said in Mark 10:29-30

"I tell you the truth … no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields--and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life.”  

The passage in Matthew 6:31-33 is also instructive:

“… Do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 

We see then that Jesus promises a truly abundant life to those who put their trust in him. The abundant life that Jesus promises is realistic, but full and overflowing. He promises adequate supplies for our daily needs, earthly possessions to ensure our comfort, and family and friends to meet our emotional needs. This abundant life intricately linked to promise of eternal life with Christ, and in fact forms the basis on which we can enjoy life here on earth. This, by any standard, is better than the emptiness of materialism or the blatant falsehood and deception of hedonism and escapism. Let us call these by what Jesus called them, they are thieves and robbers – with intent to steal, kill and destroy. Let us not be caught in this web of deception!

CONCLUSION

So today I declare to you that the only way to a truly abundant life is through Jesus Christ. Anything else or anyone else is merely a deception or façade and will ultimately lead only to destruction. Let us therefore put our trust in Jesus Christ, accept his free gift of salvation, through repentance, water baptism in the name of Jesus, and the infilling of the Holy Ghost. Thereafter we should live a godly and sober life, as we await the soon return of Jesus Christ. Only then can we be assured of a truly abundant life here on earth and a hope for eternal life in heaven with Jesus Christ.