Message To Sardis

A Little Sardis History

Chapter 3 continues and finishes the seven letters to the seven churches. The first church to receive a letter is the church of Sardis.

At the time, Jesus showed this vision to John, the city of Sardis had seen its best days and had started to decline. Yet, it was a wealthy city situated at the junction of several important trade routes. Sardis and easy money were well connected.

The first coinage, ever to be minted in Asia Minor, was in Sardis, in the days of Croesus. Sardis was the place where modern money was born. It was known for its softness, and luxury. A reputation for apathy and immorality was well deserved for Sardis. They had a large stately temple to the mother goddess, Cybele. She was honored and worshipped with all kinds of sexual immorality and impurity.

The manufacturing of woolen garments was another thing Sardis was known for, which has a bearing on Christ’s message to the church. The combination of easy money and a loose moral environment made the people of Sardis notoriously soft and pleasure-loving.

The great characteristic of Sardis was that, even on pagan lips, Sardis was a name of contempt. Its people were notoriously loose-living, notoriously pleasure and luxury-loving. Sardis was a city of decadence.

William Barclay

Getting Into Scripture

Vs. 1: To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of Him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your works; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.

As Jesus described Himself, He used terms that emphasized His character as the Master of every Spiritual power and authority. He repetitively used the number seven to make it clear because the number seven is the number of completeness in the Bible. He wants it understood that He holds the fullness of the Spirit of God and the fullness of the church.

Again Jesus points out that He knows their works. What a church is and what a church does is never hidden from Him. Also, He knows they have a reputation for being alive. They were known for being full of life and vitality, but Jesus knew they were dead.

Like the city of Sardis, everything seemed alive and good in the church. But Jesus lets them know that He knows they are dead. This shows that a good reputation is no guarantee of true spiritual character.

What did Jesus see that they didn’t even see in themselves? By saying they were dead, indicates that He saw no struggle, no fight, no persecution. It wasn’t that they were losing the battle, but that they had already lost it.

We are not to get the impression that Sardis was a defunct affair with the building a wreck, the members scattered, the pastor ready to resign. It was a busy church with meetings every night, committees galore, wheels within wheels, promotion and publicity, something going on all the time. It had a reputation of being alive, wide-awake, ongoing concern.

Vance Havner

Alive But Dead

So far, in the letters to the churches, Jesus has had some compliments for each church. But the church in Sardis receives only criticism. It is their reputation, what men see, that is Jesus’ main complaint. Men saw this church as alive, active, full of programs and church activity, but Jesus saw and knew they were without true spiritual vitality; they were dead.

By the world’s standards, they were successful, and they were probably proud of themselves and their church. They were always hustling and bustling, constantly filled with activity, a lot like many of our churches today, and yet Jesus said they were dead.

Why would Jesus say such a thing to them? When they received this letter, I can imagine how confident and sure they were that it was filled with nothing but praise. Also, I can imagine how indignant, disgruntled, and resentful they must have been upon reading the letter. I can hear their protest, “How can He say we’re dead? Look at all we do!”

It wasn’t that they were losing the battle; a dead body has already been lost. That Jesus would say this indicates no struggle, no fight, and no persecution. In all of the previous letters, Jesus encouraged them to stand strong against false doctrine or persecution, but there was no such encouragement for the church in Sardis. There wasn’t a significant danger of these things. Because they were “dead,” they presented no threat to Satan’s domain, so it wasn’t worth attacking.

For the unbeliever, death means to be without spiritual life, unregenerate and separated from a relationship with God- without God. But for the believer, death is sometimes used as a symbol for being out of fellowship with God, being asleep, or being separated from Christ as the source of abundant life. (John 10:10)

What Could Have Caused This Death

This should be a warning to all churches that they are in danger of death. Many things can cause this death. For instance, when a church begins to worship its own past or history, its reputation or name, or the ‘elite names’ in the churches, could be one cause. When it is more concerned with a body count than with the spiritual quality of life it is producing in its body; this can be a cause of death. When it is more involved with management, growing in building size, or formality than it is in function, ministry, or physical over the spiritual, it is in danger of death.

The impression is that the assembly in Sardis was seen by the unsaved in the city as a respectable group of people who were neither dangerous nor desirable. They were decent people with a dying witness and a decaying ministry.

“Some may have been only professing Christians engaged in religious activities which had never truly trusted in Jesus Christ. More than likely, however, they were carnal believers who had made a good start but had failed to move on, to grow and experience true spirituality. They were active, engaged in works, but temporarily dead, out of fellowship with Christ.” (Steve Gregg)

Verses 2-3

Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief and you will not know at what time I will come to you.

Though the spiritual condition was pretty bad, it wasn’t hopeless. There was still something that remained, and that being Jesus Himself. Christ is the head of the church, and He can bring new life. The Holy Spirit is what gives life to the church.

It was not too late. Jesus had not given up on them. He tells them He sees their works, but they are not complete. By saying this, we know they had some works; they didn’t measure up to Jesus’ standards. The presence of works isn’t enough because Jesus requires a particular intent and purpose in all of our works. Our works should be done in a certain manner and with a heart that shows them to be perfect before the Lord.

Obey And Repent

First, they must remember what they have received and heard, that being the Word of God. Then they must obey it and repent. Repent; change what they are doing. They must restore the gospel to authority over their lives. They needed to be mindful of the early days of their life in the Word when the Word was received by faith and was their source of strength and wisdom for all of life.

1 Thessalonians 2:13: For this reason, we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.

In Revelation 2:5, Jesus threatened the Ephesian church by removing its lampstand if it did not repent. In Revelation 2:16, He threatened the church at Pergamos with His sword if they did not repent. To the church of Sardis, He threatens to judge them by coming against them like a thief at an unexpected time. They would understand His meaning because Sardis had succumbed to an unexpected military attack twice in its history because of its failure to watch.

Verses 4-6

Yet you have a few people even in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life but will acknowledge his name before my Father and His angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Soiled Clothes

Even among the dead Christians, there were a faithful few. In Pergamos and Thyatira, there were a few bad among the good. In Sardis, there were a few good among the bad. “Even in Sardis” shows that it was remarkable that there were any at all that was still faithful to the Lord.

When Jesus said they had not defiled their garments, he was referencing the belief of the pagans that they could not approach their gods with dirty clothes. The analogy works because Jesus gives His people white garments. We shall walk with Him in white. I can not wait to walk in person with Jesus! My mind can not fully grasp what Heaven will be like, but I can fully grasp what walking with Jesus will be like, and I can not wait.

“And I will not blot out his name from the book of life”

In ancient times, a criminal conviction or death could blot out a citizen’s name from the city’s book of the living, used as the city register. It was as if they never existed. We humans like to think that when we pass from this life into the next, we will leave a piece of ourselves behind for generations to come. With that in mind, think about if you were blotted out as if you never were. No pictures, no grave, no trace of you. Poof! Gone and forgotten. As sad as that seems, now think about if God were to blot you out as if He never created you. To me, that is too unbearable even to fathom.

Can We Lose Our Salvation?

Can our name be in the book one day and not the next? Knowing that my name is in that book brings me joy. It should you as well. But should we be worried that every time we sin, our name is being blotted out? This is THE BOOK of all books for Christians. As it should be, it’s a big deal because anyone whose name is not found in the book of life will be cast into a lake of fire. (Rev. 20:15)

There are five different references, in the Bible, to people being blotted out of the book of life. So we should take it seriously. In all five references, this is said of people who had lost their faith, their walk, and their trust. They simply stopped persevering. Check out these verses for yourself. (Exodus 32:32, 33; Psalm 69:28; Rev. 3:5; Rev. 22:19)

So the ‘name blotting’ happens when the person being blotted out says, “I don’t believe anymore” or “I don’t want to do this anymore.” Maybe, they were never truly saved. Or perhaps, they never truly believed. Or it could be, their name was never in the book, to begin with. They just thought it was because they “said” they believe. This is why it is imperative to know without a doubt what we believe and not build our faith on sinking sand.

The End Of The Letter

At the end of each letter, so far, Jesus has said, “He who has an ear let him hear what the Spirit says to the church.” These letters are for all people (past, present, future) who are Christians.

In the church at Sardis, we see that it’s easy to drift in sleepy apathy toward spiritual death. Especially when you have a good reputation. But there is hope because Jesus knows how to raise the dead.

The letter to Sardis teaches us that we must beware of our success. The city was wealthy, living was easy but it made them soft and spoiled. Much like many of us today. Sardis thought itself unconquerable so it was conquered.

We must beware of believing that there is anything we would never do. In my life experience, almost everything I believed at a younger age, I would never do, I have done. With each one, after confessing to my Savior and repenting (changing my actions, thoughts, beliefs, or words and not repeating them), there was a lesson to be learned. And that being a lesson in the love Jesus has for me.

If we truly believe we are saved our names are written in the book of life and nothing will cause it to be blotted out. Jesus’ letter to the church at Sardis should teach us to beware that we don’t get too comfortable and become apathetic in His forgiveness, grace, and love.

Romans 8:38-39;

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Changing Things Up

For Revelation chapters 2 & 3, I did the whole chapter at once. My number one fan, my husband, has stated it’s a bit much for him all in one sitting. So from now on, I will be breaking the chapters into sections to make it more reader-friendly. I hope you are enjoying the blog, and it is blessing you in some way. Thanks for reading.