Grace Bible Church
Basic Training in Doctrine
Pastor Joseph P. Sugrue
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
It is possible for a new believer without any Bible doctrine to worship the Lord. It is a soul response to grace and a love response to who and what the Lord is.
The occasion for the first message: It was given at the sheep gate and every morning sheep went out of it, and every night sheep came back into it.
The point is that all the shepherds in Palestine led their sheep by being out in front and having a call. The sheep followed that call.
On the way out in the morning there are always thieves hanging out in the dark alleys trying to get some of the sheep.
He has to explain why this man could put down religion and why religion rejected him and what is wrong with religion in the first place.
Christ is the true Shepherd that calls us and leads us out to green pastures so that we can eat and survive and get fat on doctrine.
Ps 23:1-2
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.
Ps 23:3
He restores my soul;
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
False shepherds only want to steal sheep in order to slaughter them for profit. You can tell who they are because they do not have the right call nor do they enter by the door.
Jesus is the shepherd who walks through the door, i.e. He has those whom He can call. There will be people all over Israel who will respond and when He walks out the door they will walk with Him.
Christ came into the world through the first door, which is the virgin birth.
EPH 2:14
For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one, and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall
Because Jesus Christ is the bona fide son of David, in His humanity, He has the right to go in the door and present Himself to Israel.
The word for “climb up” is anabaino [baino = to climb; ana = up]. Present active participle – they keep trying to climb again and again and again.
‘thief’ is kleptes and it refers to a thief who robs by strategy. He doesn’t use violence; he uses his brains to rob. They discredited Christ and the blind man.
“robber” is lestes which means a person who robs by violence. When strategy didn’t work they resorted to violence by throwing the man out.
Christ is the true Shepherd of Israel who has entered by the door through the virgin birth as foretold in ISA 7:14.
ISA 7:14
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.
Jesus Christ coming in the door by Himself = virgin birth; going out with the sheep = the cross.
The doorkeeper is God the Holy Spirit. God the HS will not open the door to religion and so they must climb in another way.
2 Tim 4:3-4
but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths.
“voice” is akouo which means to hear and obey. The voice is the gospel message and those with positive volition will hear and believe and walk out of the pen – salvation.
The usual word for call is kaleo, but He uses phoneo which means to call by identification. He is calling those who know His voice because they are ready for the gospel.
“by name” – kata onoma = according to the standard of a name, which is His name, ACT 4:12.
Acts 4:12
“And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved.”
His name: The Lord [God] Jesus [Savior as humanity] Christ [Messiah].
“leads them out” – the verb is exago which means to lead them out from, to lead them out of the pen into the pasture: doctrine and the CWL.
The pasture is Bible doctrine, and this refers to the principle that when the sheep are saved God does not leave them standing around. God provides for every believer. God has a plan for the believer but the believer must feed in His pasture – the Word of God.
There is no one way to witness. The sensitive ambassador knows which way to witness in any given circumstance.
When the blind man got his sight he said he could see – blepo – hello brand new world. And he was described as seeing everything – anablepo meaning to keep looking at everything.
“You have both seen Him,” He uses horao, which refers to the perceptive ability of the soul – the eyes of the soul.
“worshipped” – proskuneo (pros = face to face; kuneo = to kiss) He didn’t kiss Him physically but he kissed Him with his soul.