The Autopsy of A Dead Church

Introduction:

The church in Sardis was reprimanded by the Lord for believing to be alive when they were truly dead - v 1

Imagine if the Lord were to tell that to the church today. There are no major problems and divisions within the church, there is stability in teaching sound doctrine, there are folks who are studious and have a love for the truth, etc. However, they were not commended for the excellent things that they were doing. How atrocious and offensive that Christ did not praise them for all of the wonderful things they were doing!

This is a real problem that churches are facing. Churches think they are alive, but are really dead. This is what propels some to try to revive churches by turning to actions which do not harmonize with the Scriptures, e.g., singing is down and unexciting so churches add clapping, snapping, etc.

What will cause a church to die?

Trusted In Their Reputation

A good reputation had developed in Sardis -

They were thought to have been a good, strong, thriving church

Yet, they were on life support and nearly dead.

The church deceived themselves and “fallen asleep” on the job -

“Wake up!”

There is nothing wrong nor sinful about having a good reputation.

There is nothing wrong nor sinful about having a good reputation.

Some people act as if you have a good reputation then you must be a compromiser, people-pleaser, or someone who does not stand up for what is right.

A good reputation is a commendable thing - cf. ;

However, a good reputation is nothing. Character is everything. The two might not always match up as they are supposed to.

A reputation might accurately reflect the past, but it is no assurance of future behavior.

That’s why people always have a difficult time trusting someone who was wild in his youth, yet grows up to be a fairly decent human being (politicians and their skeletons in the closet—it might only reflect some wild, reckless behavior in their youth).

Congregations of the Lord’s people must not rest on their laurels and trust in their past. The past may be the foundation of which we stand, but we must not trust so much in what we have been to the extent that we beleive that we always will be.

Sardis went from good to bad.

Corinth went from pure to corrupt.

Laodicea went from hot/cold to lukewarm.

Churches will always be battling the temptation and tests to trust within themselves and believe that “enough” is “good enough.”

Complacency sets in and you trust in your reputation.

Neglected Areas Needing Improvement

The church at Sardis was about to die because they were being negligent on areas they were weak in -

“Strengthen what remains” — physical therapy can be painful after a surgery, but it is necessary if you want to continue to be able to use your body the way that it is supposed to function.

If you do not do physical therapy, then you’ll grow weaker and weaker.

Any homeowner understands that you better not wait too long to repair what could have been a small job—fix it early before it becomes a bigger job.

Negligence gives us a false sense of security. We may think the church is at peace and we all get along, but underneath people hold grudges, disagreements, and those who harbor ill will towards others.

There are two kinds of churches:

a)Those who have weathered the difficulties, trials and overcome with strength resulting in peace.

Those who have weathered the difficulties, trials and overcome with strength resulting in peace and unity.

Those who refuse to improve and push on towards perfection creating a false sense of peace.

b) Those who refuse to improve and push on towards perfection creating a false sense of peace.

Ignoring problems leads to greater problems ahead. Refusing to work and improve on areas we need to work on will only make us weaker, not stronger.

God is deserving of our best; not just our attempts and efforts (prayer for the preacher, thanking God for his efforts…efforts that fall short and failure?).

Strive for excellence; work on anything that is sub-par - cf.

The church must set goals and work to achieve those goals:

Elders and deacons

Numeric growth through evangelism

Spiritual growth through instruction and teaching

Imagine that you read an urgent letter from the apostle Paul, or apostle Peter, or apostle John—they wrote about things that you better correct and get straightened up before Jesus comes.

Jesus also sends a message warning you what to fix.

Are you going to ignore those warnings and messages?

Forgot What Had Been Taught

The Lord instructs the church in Sardis to remember, implying they had forgotten things that they had received and known previously -

Forgetting the important things will eventually lead to false practice. The false practice may not always be blatant (in fact it rarely is). It is quite subtle and is an attitude that develops over time.

How churches will go into apostasy:

Spoken truth

Unspoken truth

Unspoken error

Spoken error

This reveals the need to preach on:

Bible Authority - command, example, inference

b) Work of the church - evangelism, edification, benevolence

Work of the church - evangelism, edification, benevolence

Baptism for the forgiveness of sins

Pointing out errors in MDR, premillennialism, denominationalism

If churches are not preaching on these things regularly and they refuse to discuss these important topics then do not go to that church, it will eventually lead itself into apostasy.

Faithful and living churches do not ignore and forget, but they learn and receive the truth and continue to teach and preach the things they received at first.

Conclusion:

The story isn’t all doom and gloom for Sardis. Some are still alive and have not bought into the deceptions. They will be rewarded by Jesus -

But for the great majority of the congregation, their names were ready to be blotted out of the Lamb’s book of life because they were spiritually dead! - cf.

When Jesus returns will you be found faithful? Are you going to be found worthy? If so, your name will be recorded in the book of life.

If you are not found faithful, then you will be lost and cast into the lake of fire -