1 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis
write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.
“ ‘I know your works. You have the
reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up, and
strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works
complete in the sight of my God. 3 Remember,
then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake
up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come
against you. 4 Yet you
have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments,
and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. 5 The one who conquers will be clothed thus in
white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will
confess his name before my Father and before his angels. 6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit
says to the churches.’
Revelation 3:1-6
This is the fifth letter out of the seven that Jesus
told John to write to a church. The
church was in Sardis. In order to assist
us in our understanding of this letter, here is some information about Sardis
that Ronald Trail wrote in his exegetical summary:
Sardis
was located about 30 miles southeast of Thyatira, and 50 miles east of Ephesus.
It was the ancient capital of the kingdom of Lydia under the wealthy King
Croesus in the Sixth Century b.c..
Sardis was thought to be virtually unapproachable as the fortified upper part
was guarded on three sides by almost vertical 1500-foot high walls. It was a
prosperous center of trade. It was famous for its woolen manufacture and dyeing
industry. The mother goddess Cybele was worshipped there. The goddess Cybele
was identified with the Greek goddess Artemis. She was associated by Greeks
with Persephone or with Demeter (Mother Earth). Emperor worship was also
present. It was noted for its luxury and loose living. It was known for its
glorious past and current decline. Sardis is now the modern town of Sart.[1]
During the time of John, the city of Sardis was thriving. Since there is no mention of persecution
going on or any serious persecution in the city, it should be safe to assume
that the church was doing very well. The
church was not poor, not suffering, not struggling, and not under pressure, but
instead the church looked very much alive.
Their programs were running, their worship services were conducted
regularly with good attendance, and there were a lot of religious or spiritual
activities going on in the church.
However, right after the introduction of who actually
speaks in the letter, who is Jesus Christ Himself, He points out the troubling
reality of the church in Sardis. The
church’s reality contradicts their reputation.
The church is well known as being alive and well, but yet the church is actually
dead! In other words, the church
is Sardis only appears alive, but in reality there is no breath of life in it. Other people or churches do not know of this
reality. They only see that the church
in Sardis is thriving and prosperous, thus invoking the imagination that the
church is blessed by God abundantly. But
the Lord knows the real condition of the church, He sees what does not appear
in the presentation.
The church in Sardis might have run tons of church
programs and the church might be bursting with tons of church activities, but
none of them reflect the true roles and expressions of God’s church. So the Lord calls them to wake up! The Lord is confronting them with their real
condition that they are so dying that only a few that remain living. And if they continue dwelling in their
delusional church living, Jesus threatens them that He will come suddenly
against them when they are not aware of (v. 3).
This threat is not one to underestimate, since if the church does not
heed His words of warning, they will find Him to be the terrifying Judge. The next threat is implicit in v. 5, which if
they do not live up to the Lord’s expectations, their names will be blotted out
from the book of life. And thus their
names won’t be acknowledged by Jesus before the Father and His angels. This is indeed a terrifying threat. For Revelation 20:15 speaks:
15 And if anyone’s name was not found written
in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
And the letter concludes with the formula that is very similar to what we
have known in the gospel: “6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit says to the churches.”
This formula carries the meaning that this letter does not stop with the
church in Sardis, but it is also applicable to all of God’s church everywhere
and in any age providing they have similar conditions.
Now, brothers and
sisters, the bad news is that this letter to the church in Sardis is very much
relevant to many churches of the 21st century. Allow me to tell you why. Todays’ church replicates the dreadful sin of
the church in Sardis. Countless modern
local churches today have the appearances of being alive. Mega churches are everywhere in the globe
today. Thousands of people gather in one
church building to worship. The worship
service is filled with high-spirited worship songs that psychologically uplifting. The acoustic guitar, the electric guitar, the
stage concert piano, the synthesizer, the drum, dominate the worship stage in
most churches, and produce a noise level that is super high that the people on
the street could hear the sound coming from the church building. The already loud noise produced by the full
band is amplified further with high quality and expensive loudspeakers combined
with state-of-the-art microphones, thus the sound produced is even louder that
the walls and the windows also reverberate.
The worship leader jumps up and down clapping hands coaching the thousands
of congregations to sing louder following the musical rhythm of the songs. The singers fill the stage with their
presence, jumping up and down according to the beat of the song. The congregations are empowered to sing
louder and louder still. That one
occasion alone, the worship service, shows the world the church is so alive.
The preacher takes the
stage and quickly shouts hallelujah, which is responded quickly by the
congregations with an echo of a loud hallelujah. Every time the preacher speaks of something
that makes the congregations feel good, they would clap and shout “Amen”! Yes, the church appears very alive. Just looking at the worship service alone,
people would be amazed and think that the church must be blessed abundantly by
God.
The church building is
getting significantly bigger as they continue to build bigger and bigger
buildings to host more and more people.
Thus they acquire more and more lands and buildings as the church
assets. This signifies “growth.” After the worship service and throughout the
week, there are myriad of church activities any respective member can join in:
prayer fellowship, youth fellowship, area fellowship, business fellowship,
women fellowship, church seminars, movie night, Bible study, Christian book
club, Christian leadership training, Sunday school, catechism, charity events,
evangelism, visitation, council meeting, department meetings, counseling, Alcoholic
Anonymous meeting, worship leading practice, you name it. There is no dull moment in the church, it
seems. Much like the church in Sardis.
Yet, a church with the
appearance of being alive like the church in Sardis is exposed to being dead in
reality. What makes the 21st
century church different than the church in Sardis? The church in Sardis, following the thriving
condition of the city and its culture, they grew complacent. They were satisfied with their “good
reputation.” They felt proud of their
good programs, good deeds, good church service, amazing church growth, good
life, and so on. Focusing too much on
their outward appearance lost them their spiritual life.
During the time Rome
persecuted Christians so fiercely, a General in the Roman Empire was puzzled
with something. The General thought that
severe persecution would discourage Christians and thus significantly reduce
the church’s growth. But he was proved
wrong. The Christians grew bolder and
they grew stronger and larger. So, the
puzzled General met with a Roman Senator.
The General told the Senator of his frustration. His war strategy that was proven successful
every time, now met its demise in the hands of the lowly Christians who did not
even bear arms against the Romans. After
listening to the General venting off, the Senator spoke: “General, the harder
you persecute them, the stronger they become.
What you are doing is not good.
Listen to me and follow my advice.
Do not persecute them. Let them
enjoy life of pleasure. Let them dwell
in luxurious life. And you will see them
crumble by themselves.” The General looked
at the Senator in disbelief, but he had no other option but to follow his
advice. And so persecution ceased,
Christians started living in pleasure and luxury. They started being complacent and that marked
the start of the decline of Christianity.
The church in Sardis was
no difference. Once they lived in
pleasure and luxury, they started losing their Christian identity. They then became complacent of all their
achievements and good living that they became dead, spiritually. They no longer wished to lose their comfort,
so when the world lured them to compromise, they could not resist, for
resisting would cost them their comfort.
Gradually the church in Sardis was dying to God but alive to the world. This is how they had the appearance of being
alive but actually dead.
Many churches in the 21st
century are in the same condition as the church in Sardis at that time. They are slowly dying to God but alive to the
world. Many churches have adopted the
standard of the world. Church’s
achievement of success is measured by the standard of success of the world,
such as: 1) how wealthy the church is in terms of value of assets and weekly
offering, 2) how large the church is in terms of membership numbers, 3) how
grand the church building is, 4) how famous the church is in the eyes of the
world, and many more. Most churches in
the 21st century do not go through serious persecutions. They, instead, thrive. Living in pleasure and luxury. Life is comfortable. But comfort comes with a cost, their
spiritual life.
Compromise is the big
word here. The world standards persuade
the church to focus solely on it in order to secure the comfortable life it has
achieved. If not, the church will lose
the comfort of the world. It is not
comfortable, in today’s emotion and psychological state, to be told from the
pulpit that we are sinners and we have to repent, that we have to shred our
worldly living and start obeying the Lord.
In today’s culture, it is very offensive to be told that if we do not
start living a holy life God would be mad at us and will punish us so
severely. Today’s church demands a God
who will always be nice to them, who will always accept them the way they are
even if they continue to enjoy living in sin.
Today’s church demands a sermon that only speaks comfort to their soul,
grace and mercy to their already burdened life.
They do not want a sermon that speaks of God’s demands, justice, wrath,
punishment. And so, in such condition
that resembles the church in Sardis, many 21st century Christians would
easily excuse themselves when they sin saying that God is a nice God, He will
not be mad and He will just forgive. No
guilty feeling, no remorse, nothing.
After all, their church and their life is still blessed by God
abundantly as they grow richer, healthier, more successful, and living in more
comfort and luxury.
This is, my brothers and
sisters, the deception. Jesus speaks
right at the heart of the matter.
Appearance of being alive, being blessed abundantly, being favored by
God, because of the use of the worldly standards, would lead them all to the
execution of the threats that Jesus makes to the church in Sardis. If this situation persists, Jesus Christ will
indeed come against them at a time that they do not expect. And when it happens, it would be too
late. Their names are already blotted
out from the book of life! Now, judgment
and punishment is their reward.
Brothers and sisters, if
you are to listen to Jesus’ letter to the church in Sardis, listen carefully
and wake up! Jesus calls all churches
who are in the similar situation like the church in Sardis to wake up and
repent! You might ask: “How do we know
that our church is following the footsteps of the church in Sardis?” I suggest you start reflecting and evaluating
your own church with the Scriptures open wide to scan and see who you truly
are. I advise you to humble yourselves
before the Lord and let Him instruct you of His will and truth. When King Josiah was read the book of the Law
of God that had gone missing for so many years, Josiah wept before the Lord and
tore his clothes. Josiah repented. And when the Lord saw Josiah’s genuine
repentance, He had mercy on him. Josiah
then lived up his repentance by reformed the entire land and led Israel to
total devotion to the Lord. The event of
King Josiah’s repentance and reformation was recorded in 2 Kings 22 &
23. I suggest you read it in its
entirety when you are at home.
Theologian Richard
Lenski pointed out of the one concrete remedy Jesus offered to the church in
Sardis, which is written in verse 3a: “3 Remember, then, what you received and
heard. Keep it, and repent.” It starts with
remembrance. Remember what has been
received and heard, which is the word of God.
This is not a difficult way out.
It is a simple one. This is the
grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And this is the first step. We
can’t just remember and be done with it.
The second step is harder. Jesus
says to keep the remembrance and repent.
Repentance is the proper act that must follow the remembrance. Remember the word of God. Remember His instructions that bring
life. Remember His mighty deeds. Remember His justice. Remember His love, grace, and mercy. Remember His anger and wrath. Remember His sacrifice, death, resurrection,
and ascension. Remember all that and
repent!
I experienced a church
that had grown complacent when I pastored it in Canada a few years ago. The church was wealthy. The people lived in comfort and luxury. They lacked nothing. They never experienced persecution. They worshiped in freedom. They could express their faith freely in
public. But many of them had died
spiritually. When I preached about God’s
requirement for every Christian to live in holiness, as God progressively
sanctifies us, they protested claiming that God accepts them just the way they
are. I called them to repent and leave
the life of sin, they refused and they demanded God to be okay with them living
in sin for God is a loving God. When I
told them that their brothers and sisters in a different part of the world were
suffering persecution because of their faith, they said that they don’t really
care because there in Canada nothing like that is happening and so why
bother. Do you know what their motto
is? It is: “It is better to say sorry
than to ask for permission.” And that’s
how they lived.
Brothers and sisters, I
sure hope your church is nothing like that.
I sure hope your church is not like the church in Sardis. But if you sense any indication, any symptom
resembling that of the church in Sardis, I advise you today to quickly sit down
and evaluate it thoroughly under the light of the Scriptures. Wake up!
Remember the true word of God.
Keep the truth and repent! Now is
the time! Do not wait! Do not slumber! Do not excuse yourselves saying that God is
love so He will always be nice, no punishment will come, nothing bad is going
to happen. In v. 3c Jesus says:
If
you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what
hour I will come against you.
Do not ignore His grace and mercy.
If today I am sent to warn you, then Jesus Christ our Lord is being
merciful to you. Do not wait until the
threat is executed. The church in Sardis
is no more. Even the ancient city of
Sardis that was so majestic, grand, important, thriving, and filled with
abundance was no more. It was like a
blink of an eye. All the grandeur was
gone in one swipe. You can only find its
ruin now. Do not rely on the worldly
standards, earthly achievements, physical abundance, and material wealth, they
are the deception. Do not be deceived by
the appearance. You would not want your
name not to be found in the book of life.
Let speak the word Jesus says to the church in Sardis to you:
2 Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have
not found your works complete in the sight of my God. 3 Remember,
then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake
up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come
against you.
6 He
who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
Amen!
[1] Ronald Trail, An Exegetical Summary of Revelation 1–11, 2nd ed. (Dallas, TX: SIL
International, 2008), 83.
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