John 10:7-8 “Therefore Jesus said again, ‘I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.”

Thieves and robbers use a different way to get in than the people who belong in some place. The first year we were married, my wife and I came home one afternoon to find three men walking out of our neighbor’s home with the TV and a bag full of goodies. In that case they used the door, but they didn’t unlock it and turn the knob. They kicked it in, splintering the door itself and forcing the deadbolt right through the door frame.

In Jesus’ picture of the sheep pen, the thieves and robbers avoid the door altogether. They climb over the wall. They don’t come to the sheep through the door, through the gate, which is Jesus himself in his picture.

Here is what Jesus is trying to show us: The only legitimate way to God’s people–to lead them, to teach them–goes through him. That’s what all the Old Testament prophets did. It is what Jesus’ apostles did. It is what every true and faithful Christian pastor or teacher still does today. They go through the gate, which is Jesus.

That means they come with the kind of message of God’s law that exposes our sin and convicts us and shows us our need for Jesus. Then they follow with the message of God’s grace that shows us the cross of Christ, and forgives our sin, and relieves our guilt.

The people who climb over the wall come with do-it-yourself religion. They may even come with the Bible. They just don’t come with Jesus. That’s what the Pharisees did. They developed a system of principles for living, a sort of instructional manual for every facet of life. Most of it was drawn from the Old Testament Scriptures. If you followed the system, they claimed, you became good enough for God. He would accept you on your own terms. You didn’t have to mess around with repentance, admitting your sins, or saying you were sorry.

In that system, there was really no need for a Savior to deliver you from your sins. There was no price for sin that needed to be paid, no justice to be served, and no forgiveness to be received. You could just feel good about yourself for the life you were living. Of course, it was all built on self-deception. No one does everything God wants, and many of the things in their system weren’t things God cared about, anyway.

Every world religion outside of Christianity is a repackaged version of this do-it-yourself religion. They have teachers. They have prophets. But they have no one to save them, to deliver them from their guilt.

This kind of faith even spooks around in certain corners of Christianity. It may present itself as “conservative.” It makes much of the Bible. It just doesn’t make much of Jesus, at least not as Savior. In some cases, it takes the religion of the Pharisees even further. It not only gives you the system to live by. If you work the system well enough, you can practically achieve heaven on earth. God will heal your disease. You will never have problems with money. You can climb your career ladder to the top with supernatural help. All your relationships will be wonderful.

If this is all the preacher, teacher, or prophet brings, he isn’t coming to the sheep through the gate. He is climbing in over the wall.

Here is the problem with the one who climbs in over the wall: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.” When the message isn’t about sinners redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, saved by the grace of God, we end up with dead sheep.

And let’s be honest. The thief’s message is easy to listen to because it is positive. It makes me feel good about myself. It tastes good. I once had a cat who thought that antifreeze tasted good. It almost died of kidney failure when it found some that had spilled in the garage.

Jesus wants to spare us of the poison to our souls. Listen to the teacher who always goes through the gate. The sheep are safe when listening to that familiar voice.