John 10:11 – "I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep."

Points:

Good Shepherd – Saves from the penalty of sin – Salvation.

Great Shepherd – saves from the power of sin – Sanctification – We can live like Jesus.

Chief Shepherd – saves from the presence of sin – Resurrection – New Body without sin.

I. Jesus Christ as the Good Shepherd.

A. Scriptures relating to Christ as the good shepherd.

1. John 10:11 – "I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep."

2. John 10:14 – "I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine."

B. Saves from the penalty of sin, which is death. Sin is a three fold death. Romans 6:23 states, "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Genesis 2:17 states, "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."

1. Spiritual death. Some might say Adam and his wife didn’t die spiritually, when they ate of the forbidden tree, but they did. Death is a separation, and Adam and his wife were separated from God – revealed in the fact that when God came walking in the Garden in the cool of the day, Adam and his wife hid themselves from God amongst the trees of the Garden. They were separated from God spiritually. God joined them back to Him spiritually when He promised them a redeemer, and killed the animal, shedding its blood and using the skins of the animals to make clothes for Adam and his wife.

2. Physical death. Adam and his wife didn’t die physically the moment they ate the forbidden fruit, but they did begin to die physically. Gen. 5:5 states, "And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died." Hebrews 9:27, "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:" came true for Adam and his wife. Everybody dies, except two (Enoch and Elijah) who were taken up, not having to endure death, but I believe those two men will come back as witnesses during the tribulation period, and will there face cruel death.

3. Eternal death. There is another death more terrible than either of the two previous deaths. That is eternal death. If you are lost, having never been saved from sin, and die lost, without having repented of your sinfulness, and trusting Christ as your eternal Saviour, you will die the eternal death in the Lake of Fire and Brimstone.

C. Other points about what Jesus has done.

1. Jesus died to save you from spiritual death, because in salvation, you are no longer separated from God.

2. Jesus died to save you from physical death for he will raise you from the dead at the resurrection.

3. Jesus died to save you from eternal death for he gives eternal life.

D. Jesus took your penalty of sin upon Himself.

1. Because you are spiritually separated from God, Jesus was separated from His Father on the cross. Psalms 22:1 states, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and"

2. Because you are going to physically die, Jesus died in your place, bearing your physical death. Psalms 23:4 states, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." Physical death will not harm the saved person because Jesus has bore physical death for us. We will not go through death itself, but will pass through only the shadow of death.

3. We will not die eternally in the Lake of Fire and Brimstone because Jesus took our sinfulness upon Himself, and gave us His righteousness. God sees no sin in us because the righteousness of Jesus Christ is there.

E. God will not require payment twice. Jesus redeemed us from the curse of sin, and that is good enough for God.

F. Jesus died voluntarily for our sinfulness. Why? Because God so loved the world that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16.

II. Jesus Christ as the Great Shepherd.

A. Jesus saves us from the power of sin by transformation. Jesus changes you.

1. Hebrews 13:20,21 – "Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 21 Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."

2. I John 4:4 states, "Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world."

B. Saves from the power of sin. Eternal security (once saved, always saved) is true, but the person who says they are saved, and does not have the power of God within them to keep from sinning, is not truly saved.

1. Sin not only as a penalty that must be paid, sin has a power from which we must be loosed.

2. Christ died to save you from the penalty of sin, but He lives to save you from the power of sin.

3. Saves from the power of sin by transformation.

a. I John 4:4 states, "Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world."

b. We do not overcome sin by our power, but by the power of God in us.

C. Man is unable to save himself from the power of sin by:

1. Eradication.

a. You cannot get rid of the sin nature, nor does God remove it when you are saved.

b. Paul stated in Romans 7:18, "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not."

c. Paul desperately cried out in Romans 7:24, "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?"

d. The sin nature will remain with you all your saved life, but sin can be overcome by the power of Jesus Christ, never by your own power.

2. Suppression.

a. You can’t stop sinning by your own power.

b. You can’t stop drinking, smoking, committing adultery, or whatever by yourself.

c. You simply don’t have the power to stop.

d. You may stop for a while, but you will soon continue in your old sinful ways.

3. Counter-attractions.

a. I mean by this to remove the temptations, or to put yourself in a place where the temptations aren’t present.

b. Many churches believe they can keep people from sinning by giving them "religious" things to do.

c. But just as soon as the "religious" thing is finished, they will return to their sinfulness.

D. I Corinthians 10:13 – God will always make a way so we can escape from the temptations that come upon us, which temptations are never greater than we can bear.

E. Why can’t saved people "hold out?"

1. They are trusting in themselves instead of trusting in God.

2. The sin nature loves sin and will return to it again and again.

3. Psalms 16:11 "Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore."

4. There is more pleasure in Christ in one second than all a lifetime in sin.

III. Jesus Christ as the Chief Shepherd. I Peter 5:4 – "And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away."

A. Saves from the presence of sin.

1. Psalms 22 shows Jesus dying to redeem us from the penalty of sin.

2. Psalms 23 shows Jesus providing to deliver all the saved from the power of sin.

3. Psalms 24 shows Jesus coming to save from the presence of sin.

B. Hebrews 9:28 states, "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation."

C. What we have received from Christ.

1. At salvation, we received freedom from the penalty of sin.

2. As sanctification progresses in us, we receive freedom from the power of sin.

3. At Glorification, we receive eternal freedom from the presence of sin.