The Church at Sardis (2)

Revelation 3:1-6 And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. 2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. 3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. 4 Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy. 5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. 6 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Introduction

The church at Sardis has been called “the Dead Church.”

Like all the other churches we have looked at, Sardis was a real church in the time of the Apostle John. And each had a reputation. We are reminded that the church at Thyatira tolerated sin within its congregation, but as we look at the church at Sardis, we will see that they were dead because of sin.

We do not have the details of how this church began, but it is presumed that it was started as an outreach of the Apostle Paul’s ministry through the church at Ephesus.

The city began around 1200 B.C. and was known for refining gold that came from the local river. Sardis is located on a hill, about thirty miles south of Thyatira in the Hermus river valley. The city was protected from that vantage point as three sides were rock cliffs and the entry point of the city was made from a steep path on the south. While this gave them a modicum or level of invincibility, there was limited room for growth.

The city came under Roman rule in 133 B.C. In 17 A.D. a great earthquake destroyed the city, but it was quickly rebuilt with funds from Emperor Tiberius. The city built a temple in his honor. But the city’s main emphasis of worship was Cybele[1], the same goddess worshiped at Ephesus under the name of Artemis.

There was a community of Jews in Sardis, under the name Sepharad, and as mentioned in the Old Testament book of Obadiah. It was a place of Jewish exile, eventually giving them the title of Sephardic Jews. The Jewish community at Sardis began in the 3rd century BC when the Seleucid King Antiochus III encouraged the exiled Jews from Babylonia and other countries to settle there. Around 50-49 BC, Lucius Antonius the Roman vice-quaestor[2] dedicated a section of the Baths-Gymnasia complex for their use. Josephus Flavius, who wrote in the first century AD had this to say:

“Lucius Antonius, the son of Marcus, vice-quaestor, and vice-praetor, to the magistrates, senate, and people of the Sardians, sends greetings. Those Jews that are our fellow citizens of Rome came to me, and demonstrated that they had an assembly of their own, according to the laws of their forefathers, and this from the beginning, as also a place of their own, wherein they determined their suits and controversies with one another. Upon their petition therefore to me, that these might be lawful for them, I gave order that their privileges be preserved, and they be permitted to do accordingly.” (Ant., XIV:10, 17).

Archeologists in 1962 discovered the remains of the synagogue at Sardis. It is the largest of its kind and measured over 300 feet in length.[3]

The Greeting and The Reference to Christ

Revelation 3:1 And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; (refers to Revelation 1:4, 16)

Each of the churches are addressed in the same manner; “And unto the angel of the church in _______ write.” The pastor of the church is the recipient of each letter.

In each of the letters, there is a reference to Christ taken from His description found in the first chapter in the 12th to 17th verses. This description of the Christ “…he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars” is found in Revelation 1:4; and “the seven Spirits which are before his throne” is found in Revelation 1:16; “And he had in his right hand seven stars”.

The reference to Christ is Him having “the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars.” These are the pastors of the seven churches. Jesus is in control and it would be good for the church at Sardis to remember that point. The pastors belong to the one “that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars.” This church had forgotten the importance of the work of the Holy Spirit and its pastor.

I Know or The Commendation

Revelation 3:4 Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.”

From every aspect, this church seemed to be alive and flourishing. Christ commends some of them for standing firm; “a few names…which have not defiled their garments.” The term “defiled their garments” is a phrase that means they had not blemish or corrupt their Christian life and testimony. The following words express this; “they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.” I know one thing for sure, if I wear a white shirt, by the end of the day it is soiled. Just wearing it outside the house, it will get dirty.

Throughout the Bible, there has always been a remnant that stayed true to God. Notice that there are only a “few” names that have remained true to God.

Throughout history, there have been those that remained faithful to God even when it was against the norm of the day. They do not engage in any form of sinful activities or openly bring shame on the name of God.

I think of the men like Luther, Calvin, Knox, Bunyan, Wesley, Moffat, Livingston, and Carey who remained true to their Lord and their belief.

But Christianity seems to be moving towards a departure from the faith. They are defiling their garments by becoming like the world.

The Criticism or Rebuke

Revelation 3:1c-2b I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. 2 I have not found thy works perfect before God.

WOW! The church looked like it was alive and well and yet God, who sees the hearts of man, says that the church is dead, and their works are not correct before Him. What more can be said? They were like the example that Jesus made to the scribes and Pharisees:

Matthew 23:27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.

Christianity is moving towards a departure from the faith. What would God be saying to the church of the 21st century? Would God be repeating His rebuke of the church at Sardis?

This past week, a former classmate of mine posted this on Facebook:

“Churches are in competition today to see who can fill the pews and get the most money. They have become businesses; some are Big businesses. God did not tell us to go out and bring in people just to build bigger buildings and fill the seats; He said bring them to the cross, repentance, teach them and send them out. The streets are filled with folks who care less about God because of where the churches have come to.”

While I understand his angst, I responded to his post telling him it is unfair and inaccurate to lump all churches into his diatribe. However, his point is that many churches today are following the leading of the church at Sardis. I certainly do not want to judge other churches as I have not walked in their shoes, but I have visited many that appear to be going the way of the world. Their message is a watered-down version of the power of God. Salvation and evangelism are relegated to a minor role. They are just dead to sin within their congregation.

The Command, Warning or Charge to Repent

Revelation 3:2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die. 3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.

Jesus now explains what the church will have to do to be restored. There are five steps for the church to accomplish:

1. Be watchful, be alert, wake up – This is no time for indifference to the problem. You cannot fix a problem until you know there is a problem. “Wake up, look around you.”

The Apostle Peter cautioned believers in his first epistle:

1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

2. “Strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die” – “things” are not people, but spiritual realities. They were to strengthen their beliefs and doctrines as these are ready to die. John was exhorting them to “know what they know” and bring their dying spirit back to life!

2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

3. “Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard” – They need to get back to the truths of the Word of God, the Gospel, and the teachings of the Apostles. By the time the Book of the Revelation was written, most of the New Testament, although they did not call these writings the New Testament, was in circulation (2 Peter 3:16-17).

4. “Hold fast” – Having woken up, strengthen the things that were about to die, and getting back to the Word of God, they now need to “hold fast”, keeping the spiritual truths. Their walk needed to match up with their talk. James wrote:

James 1:22-24 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. 23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: 24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.

Clearly, the church at Sardis had “forgotten what manner” of church they were to be. The lesson to be learned is that just because your beliefs are right will not mean a thing if your testimony does not show obedience to Christ. Hold fast your beliefs and be doers of the Word!

5. “Repent” – to think differently or to reconsider. It is obedience in action. There is only one process that removes sins from a Christian, and that is repentance.[4]

And yet repentance is one of the hardest steps for sons of Adam. Mankind finds it difficult to admit our mistakes. I believe that is why man continues to live a life outside of the perfect will of God. However, the central message of both John the Baptist and Jesus was, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

An Exhortation to Listen and A Promise

Revelation 3:5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. 6 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

We know of only one who has overcome and that is the Christ. Therefore, the only way a person can overcome and be clothed in white raiment is through the atoning work of Jesus the Messiah.

In John Walvoord’s book The Revelation of Jesus Christ, he gives a good explanation of the passage; “and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life.”

Some have indicated that there is no explicit statement here that anybody will have his name blotted out, but rather the promise that his name will not be blotted out because of his faith in Christ. The implication, however, is that such is a possibility. On the basis of this some have considered the book of life not as the roll of those who are saved but rather a list of those for whom Christ died, that is, all humanity who have possessed physical life. As they come to maturity and are faced with the responsibility of accepting or rejecting Christ, their names are blotted out if they fail to receive Jesus Christ as Saviour; whereas those who do accept Christ as Saviour are confirmed in their position in the book of life, and their names are confessed before the Father and the heavenly angels.[5]

Christian, don’t you long to hear the voice of the Savior? Wouldn’t you like to hear him say to you “Well done, thou good and faithful servant…enter thou into the joy of thy Lord?” (Matthew 25:21)

As awesome as that would be, how much greater would the sound of Jesus’ words to the Father be: “I will confess YOUR name before my Father, and before his angels?” (Re3:5)

Conclusion

So, what do we make of this fifth church?

This church had a good name.

This church had some that stayed committed to Christ, no matter what the other church members were doing.

This church was dying, and they did not know it.

Just because your beliefs are right will not mean a thing if your testimony does not show obedience to Christ. Hold fast your beliefs and be doers of the Word!

[1] Cybele was the Great Mother and goddess of nature and came to be viewed as the Mother of all gods and the mistress of all life. Followers had sexual orgies and male worshipers castrated themselves and became eunuch priests of the cult.

[2] Mid-level Roman magistrate responsible for fiscal administration and was a preliminary position for Roman Senators.

[3] The synagogue was discovered by chance in 1962 during excavations by Harvard and Cornell Universities. It was an odd finding because it was 120 meters long and 18 meters wide and could sit 1,000 and attached to the Roman baths.

[4] Repentance (metanoia) required by God for sinful man is found throughout the Bible. Repentance is an act of absolute and unconditional surrender to the will of God in the person’s life. Repentance is a two-fold act: first, the person is confronted of their sin and there is an agreement between the Holy Spirit and the person that their sin is an affront to God and must be rectified through confession of sin. Second, the person changes their heart and thoughts in order not to fall into that sin again.

[5] McGee, J. V. (1997). Vol. 5: Thru the Bible commentary (electronic ed.) (915). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.