Sardis - The Church that was Dead - Revelation 3:1-6
INTRODUCTION:
This morning we begin the fifth of the seven letters dictated by our Lord to the apostle John. These letters were written to seven churches in Asia Minor that were in existence at the time when John recorded them, but they have significance for the church in all ages. Last week we finished up chapter two and this morning we begin chapter three.
The letter to the church in Sardis that we will look at this morning is a short letter, but it is a sad letter in that this letter begins with rebuke and condemnation instead of encouragement by way of commendation. Sardis was an important city in her time connecting the city of Smyrna with the east as an important trade route passed through this city. Let’s pray and get into our passage for this morning.
--PRAY--
SCRIPTURE:
Turn in your Bibles to Revelation 3:1-6 our passage of Scripture for this morning. Please stand, if you are able, in honor of the reading of God’s Word.
Revelation 3:1-6,
“To the angel of the church in Sardis write: He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars, says this: ‘I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God. So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you. But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’” (Revelation 3:1–6, NASB95)[1]
THE AUTHOR, THE CHURCH, THE CITY (Revelation 3:1a)
The author again begins this letter as He has begun each of the previous letters by identifying the church that was to receive the letter, the city where the church was located and a description of the author. Let’s begin by looking at the description of the author and then the church and finally a little background on this city.
The author identifies himself as, “He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars, says this:” (Revelation 3:1a, NASB95)[2] The risen, glorified, and exalted Lord Jesus Christ describes Himself as “He who has the seven Spirits of God…” We saw this description of the Holy Spirit back in chapter one, verse four where the Seven Spirits are described as being before the throne of God the Father. This description of the Holy Spirit describes His sevenfold governmental role during the millennial kingdom. Right now, we know the Holy Spirit as the One who indwells the believer at the moment that a person places their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation. We know Him as our teacher, our counselor, and our comforter. Paul describes the ministry of the Holy Spirit at this present time, as our seal and pledge in Ephesians 1:13-14, “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.” (Ephesians 1:13–14, NASB95)[3] The Holy Spirit seals us in Christ the moment we believe and He is given to us as a pledge of our future inheritance in heaven. During the millennial kingdom, when Christ reigns on this earth for 1000 years the Holy Spirit will have a different role, it is a sevenfold role in relation to Jesus Christ, the King of kings. This sevenfold role is described in Isaiah 11:2-3, where Isaiah writes, “The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him [the Lord Jesus Christ], The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And He will delight in the fear of the Lord…” (Isaiah 11:2–3a, NASB95)[4] In these two verses we see the Holy Spirit’s sevenfold purpose or role when Jesus Christ reigns as King on the earth. (1) He will attest to the Deity of Christ as the Spirit of the LORD (Yahweh) rests on Him. (2) He is the Spirit of wisdom. (3) He is the Spirit of understanding. (4) He is the Spirit of counsel. (5) He is the Spirit of strength. (6) He is the Spirit of knowledge. (7) He is the Spirit of the fear of the LORD. This sevenfold role of the Holy Spirit in the millennial kingdom is the work of empowering the Messiah, Jesus Christ to fulfill His role as the King of kings. Here Jesus Christ is pictured to the church of Sardis as the One who is empowered as the righteous Ruler and Judge of all the earth. Secondly, the Lord Jesus Christ describes Himself as “He who has…the seven stars.” This was from John’s vision and is the description which Jesus also gave to the church in Ephesus. Jesus explained what these stars were in chapter one, verse 19, they are the seven angels (messengers) of the seven churches. It is important the that leaders of the church in Sardis understand that they must answer to the Lord Himself for the condition of the church. He is the authority in the church and over them. Just as church leaders today are under the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ and we too will have to answer to Him. James wrote in James 3:1, “Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.” (James 3:1, NASB95)[5] We as leaders in the church must know why the church is going in the direction it is going or as in the case of Sardis, know why the church is not going at all because it is before the Lord that we must give an answer.
There is not much known about the church in Sardis, a church building has been excavated in the ruins of Sardis built next to a pagan temple, it is not certain that this was the church in existence when John penned this book. The church was most likely founded during Paul’s ministry in Ephesus. From church history, we know that in the end of second century the pastor of the church was Melito, he was an apologist, a defender of Christianity. He wrote the earliest known commentary on passages of Revelation. No mention is made of persecution, opposition, or false doctrine, or compromise so what had happened in this church?
The city of Sardis was founded about 1200 B.C. and had been a great city and the capital of the very wealthy kingdom of Lydia. Aesop, the famous writer of fables is said to have come from Sardis. Much of the wealth of Sardis was gold taken from the nearby river. Sardis is known to be the first to mint silver and gold coins. They were also known as a center for wool production and the garment industry. Sardis is even credited with the discovery of how to dye wool. Sardis is about 30 miles southeast of Thyatira and 50 miles east of Smyrna and had both the north to south and the west to east trade routes through it. The city was built about 1500 feet above the valley floor on one of the hills jutting up from the valley. The city was nearly invincible. The hill on which it was built had smooth, nearly perpendicular rock walls on three sides. The city could only be reached from the south by going up a steep, difficult path. Today only ruins lay at the top of the hill and a small town by the name of Sart lays at the bottom of the hill. This seemingly invincible location caused the inhabitants of Sardis to become overconfident. Through carelessness Sardis was conquered twice. The first time was in 549 B.C. while the inhabitants of the city slept and the military only guarded the southern entrance the Persian army scaled the cliffs under the cover of darkness and entered the city and took it over without even a fight. This same history repeated itself in 195 B.C. when Antiochus the Great conquered Sardis by the same means. His army entered the city while the military was guarding the one known approach from the south. Sardis never gained independence again and came under Roman control in 133 B.C. An earthquake destroyed the city in 17 A.D. but was rebuilt with financial help from Emperor Tiberius. In gratitude, the inhabitants of Sardis built a temple in his honor. The primary object of worship was the goddess Cybele—the same goddess worshipped in Ephesus as Artemis. In John’s day Sardis was prosperous, but decaying. Both the city and the church in it had lost their vitality.
THE CONDEMNATION (Revelation 3:1b, 2b)
As I said in the introduction this is a sad letter because it begins with rebuke and condemnation. The Lord Jesus Christ, the all-knowing God says that He knows their deeds, nothing is hidden from Him, all is open before Him and He says that you have a name that you are alive, apparently to the churches in the surrounding cities and towns the church in Sardis had a reputation of being alive, a thriving church that had an effective ministry and a good testimony, they had all the right programs, but that which is not visible to man is perfectly visible and clear to the all-seeing eyes of our Lord, it is an open book before Him. Instead of commending them for their deeds, He rebukes them for this appearance of being alive, it was a façade, it was a mask. You are not alive, you are dead. It was defiled by the world, inwardly it was decaying, and it was filled with unbelieving people playing church. In the New Testament death is always associated with a sinful root. Paul in Ephesus 2:1 describes the unbelieving as dead in their trespasses and sins. In the second half of verse two Jesus continues His condemnation by saying, “… for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God.” (Revelation 3:2, NASB95)[6] Not only was the church dead, but the deeds were not complete, a sign of a lack of faith. What does James say about the lack of deeds and the effect that lack would have on faith? James says that faith not accompanied by action is dead. Head knowledge of God does not give us the assurance of salvation. Salvation is obtained through faith in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith in Him, when we understand the grace of God, moves us to action, to good deeds. James says that faith is made complete by what we do, in other words, the result of true faith is good deeds. The lack of faith in the church in Sardis was why their deeds were not complete, because they lacked faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Because of this they are rebuked for being dead.
THE COMMAND (Revelation 3:2a, 3)
Going back to the first part of verse two now, I skipped it so I could cover the entire rebuke. In the first part of verse two and in verse three we find the warning and an exhortation to the church, there were some in the church that were not dead, there was a remnant and these are who Christ exhorts. If the church in Sardis is to survive this remnant must act quickly. The Lord Jesus lays out a plan for them that will lead to spiritual restoration if followed, it has five steps:
First, they are to wake up, don’t be like those who slept while the enemy slipped in to the city by the unguarded cliffs, wake up and look at what is happening to the church, confront sin, make a difference. Second, they were to “strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die.” The idea here is a dying fire that has just burned down to embers and they are to fan it to life again, stir up those truths that this church was built on, began to fan the flames of the Gospel so it spreads to the whole church. Third, in verse three they are told to remember what they had received and heard, they needed to go back to the truths of God’s Word and the teachings of the apostles. By this time the letters of Paul were in circulation and the rest of the New Testament had been written. They needed to reaffirm their belief in the truth about Jesus Christ, sin, salvation, holy living, the basic doctrines of the church upon which the church had been founded. Fourth, the Lord Jesus says that having gone back to the truths of Scripture, they need to keep them, they need to obey what they say. As we have already spoken correct beliefs apart from obedient lives would not revive the church. Faith and works go hand in hand. Fifth, Jesus says they are to repent. They needed to repent of the indifference they had shown when the church was dying, they needed to repent of the façade they had put up so others thought they were a thriving church. If they would do these five steps, and follow them with all diligence the church would see revival.
Jesus warns them that there would be consequences if they did not revive the church, and the consequences would be severe. Jesus says if they do not wake up, then He will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come. The picture of Jesus coming as a thief always carries the idea of imminent judgment. Again, this coming does not refer to the second coming, but His coming to this church in local judgment. He will come and destroy the church if there is no revival. This church had no time to waste, a change, a waking up had to happen immediately, otherwise it might be too late and the church would suffer the losses.
THE REMNANT (Revelation 3:4)
The Lord Jesus Christ never forgets those who remain faithful to Him and even in this church that was dead there was a small group, a remnant whom Jesus describes as those who have not soiled their garments. They had remained faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ, they had not fallen asleep, they had stayed the course even while the rest of the was dead and dying. Garments in Scripture often symbolize godly or ungodly character. This faithful remnant could come into God’s presence because they had not defiled or polluted themselves, but had shown godly character. Because they had not soiled their garments, Jesus promises to replace those garments with divinely pure ones because of their remaining faithful to the Lord Jesus they are worthy of these garments and they will walk with the Lord Jesus. Those who seek to walk in purity and holiness that is found in remaining faithful to Jesus Christ will be given perfect holiness and purity in the future.
THE PROMISE AND COUNSEL (Revelation 3:5-6)
Jesus again ends this letter with a promise to the one who overcomes and with a word of counsel to the individuals in the churches. Remember an overcomer is one who has agreed with God that they are a sinner and that in themselves they can do nothing to make themselves right before God, but they believe that Jesus Christ died in their place, paying the penalty required for sin, believing that He was buried and on the third day rose from the dead forever triumphing over sin and death. This faith makes one an overcomer, it is this faith that will lead us to action. The first promise is that we will be clothed in the white robes just as the remnant of believers in Sardis were promised. Second Jesus promises that He will not erase the name of the one who overcomes out of the Book of Life, but will confess their name before the Father and His angels. Why does the Lord Jesus say that He will not erase or blot your name out of the book of life? What does this mean? This statement has been one of great discussion over the years. Some have contended that it teaches you can lose your salvation. But considering other Scriptures, I do not believe it teaches that at all, Scripture does not contradict itself. Dr. John Walvoord gives an answer to this difficult verse, he writes, “Some have indicated that there is no explicit statement here that anybody will have his name blotted out, 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 a role of those saved, but rather a list of those for whom Christ died, that is, all humanity who have possessed physical life.”[7] The idea that Dr. Walvoord is making here is that those who never put their faith in Christ for salvation are blotted from the book when they die physically. In Psalm 69, we find David crying out to God against his enemies, sinful men who were against him and he prays in verse 28 that they be blotted out of the book of life and not recorded with those who are righteous, God-fearing men. I agree with Dr. Walvoord’s statement about the Book of Life, it is a list of all humanity and you are left in or blotted out or erased according to your faith in Christ. The greater promise here is that the Lord Jesus Christ will confess our name before God the Father and His angels, He will call us His own and we will be recognized as saints belonging to Jesus Christ throughout all eternity.
Jesus Christ ends this letter with the familiar words of counsel, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” (Revelation 3:6, NASB95)[8] This letter ends with the exhortation to follow the counsel, commands and promises it contains. The spiritually dead people in the church need to listen and understand Christ’s warning of impending judgment. The believers who are asleep need to wake up before it is too late to rescue the church. The faithful remnant can take comfort in the knowledge that their salvation is eternally secure. We as individuals in the church need to examine our own hearts in view of this letter.
CONCLUSION:
What happened at the church in Sardis? Was it revived? Did they heed Christ’s rebuke and warning? The fact that the godly apologist Melito served as the pastor of this church several decades after the apostle John recorded this letter argues that some revival took place.
Dead and dying churches are still with us today, but they can be revived by following the command given by the Lord, examine your own heart is it dead, are you asleep spiritually, is your faith producing works of righteousness? Jesus says, “Wake up and be watchful, fan those embers of the faith back to flame, remember those truths of the faith that you received and heard, making sure of those basic doctrines of the church concerning Jesus Christ, sin, salvation, and holy living, and then keep it, obey it and walk in it. If you are sleeping, repent of your indifference and begin living again in Christ.
[1]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[2]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[3]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[4]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[5]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[6]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[7]Walvoord, John F., The Revelation of Jesus Christ. Chicago, Ill. : Moody Press, 1966
[8]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995