Call to Wake Up

Sardis

Revelation: An Introduction and Commentary e. To the Church of Sardis (3:1–6)

Situated at the junction of five roads, and commanding the Hermus valley, Sardis was an active commercial city and very wealthy

Revelation: An Introduction and Commentary e. To the Church of Sardis (3:1–6)

The city’s easy wealth seems to have made for slackness.

Revelation: An Introduction and Commentary e. To the Church of Sardis (3:1–6)

The city was built on a hill so steep that its defences seemed impregnable. On both occasions enemy troops scaled the precipice by night and found that the overconfident Sardians had set no guard.

Revelation: An Introduction and Commentary e. To the Church of Sardis (3:1–6)

The most important religion at Sardis was the worship of Cybele. John does not mention anything like the persecutions at Smyrna and Pergamum

Revelation: An Introduction and Commentary e. To the Church of Sardis (3:1–6)

It may be that this church had not suffered disturbance from without and that its troubles stemmed from its comparatively sheltered existence.

Revelation: An Introduction and Commentary e. To the Church of Sardis (3:1–6)

Like the churches at Pergamum and Thyatira this one has a mixed membership. But in those the faulty members are a minority. At Sardis they predominate. Only ‘a few people’ have not ‘soiled their clothes’.

Revelation: An Introduction and Commentary e. To the Church of Sardis (3:1–6)

Wake up! (cf. Rom. 13:11; 1 Cor. 16:13) is rather ‘Be watchful

Revelation: An Introduction and Commentary e. To the Church of Sardis (3:1–6)

Lack of spiritual vigilance may likewise be costly. All was not yet lost, for there are things that remain. But even these are about to die

Commendation: I see your works

Reputation of being alive

Crisis:

You are dead - I see your works and its fake

May have had what seemed to be effective ministries and dynamic worship BUT they lost the power and purity of the Holy Spirit

They had lost their faithfulness

Mixed membership like Pergamum and Thyatira, but at those two churches the faulty members were the minority

Sardis the faulty members predominate - only a few “have not soiled their clothes.

Solution:

Wake up

Vigilent

Rely on the Holy Spirit

Take measures to ensure growth -

Hope:

All is not lost

Wake - Remember Greek word actually refers to “Bear in mind” rather than recall

The only commendation this church received was that they had a few people who were faithful. There were only a few.

Jesus promises his church eternal life spent with him… but he also tells his church that if they don’t wake up from their spiritual death and remain faithful to him, then there is the possibility of having their names removed from the Book of Life- and friends, that should scare us