Sardis was a wealthy city with two locations. The first location was the older part of the city and was located on a mountain. Overtime, the population outgrew that location and relocated to a valley below. At some point in its history, we know this city suffered from a terrible earthquake and was built back by the Roman Emperor Tiberius, and included a theater, a stadium, a marble road, and multiple temples.
As far as the church goes, Jesus doesn’t really give them much of a commendation. Instead, Jesus calls this church to wake up and repent. Why does he do this? Jesus does this not because they were tolerating false teachers as other churches were, but because they had become spiritually dead despite their reputation in the community for being spiritually alive.
I believe Jesus’ letter to the church in Sardis is a letter every church needs to understand. Why do I believe this? I believe this because right now America has many spiritually dead churches, despite having reputations for being alive.
Where are we going in this blog? My aim this morning is to help you understand that just because a church has a reputation for being a spirit-filled church, does not mean it is. So, in the words of Jesus in verse 6, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” If you have ears this morning, make sure you hear what Jesus says to this church.
We begin with Jesus’ opening statement.
John writes in verse 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.” We know these are the words of Jesus that John is scribing and we know “the seven stars” are the pastors of the seven churches. But what about the “seven spirits of God”? Who are they? What are they? And what do they do?
First, I want you to understand you will see the “seven spirits of God” mentioned all throughout Revelation. For example, we see in Revelation 1:4, the seven spirits of God are before the throne of God. In Revelation 4:5, we see the seven spirits of God are “before the throne” of God “burning seven torches of fire.” In Revelation 5:6 we read that these seven spirits of God have “seven horns” and “seven eyes”, and are “sent out into all the earth”.
So, who or what are “the seven spirits of God”? We don’t exactly know. However, there are three interpretations. First, some interpret “the seven spirits of God” as symbolic of the one Holy Spirit. The second interpretation is that “the seven spirits of God” are a reference to seven angelic beings, most likely the seraphim and cherubim, which you can read about in Revelation 4. And the third interpretation is that “the seven spirits of God” are gifts of the one Holy Spirit based on Isaiah 11:2, which states, “And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.” So, we don’t exactly know who or what “the seven spirits of God” are, but most believe “the spirits of God” are the one Holy Spirit.
Jesus expresses his knowledge of the deeds of the church.
Jesus says to them, “I know your works.” Which means, Jesus knows all the things this church did. He knows all that they have accomplished and all that they have achieved. He also was fully aware of what kind of deeds this church was up to. And such is true with every church; Jesus knows the deeds of all his churches.
Jesus expresses his awareness of their reputation in the community.
Jesus said, “You have the reputation of being alive…” What is a reputation? It’s the estimation or summary of what others think of you, and it is typically determined by a person’s conduct and character. For example, if you have a reasonably good character, good mannerism, you live a good moral life, good work ethic, and you have behaved well, you’ll probably have a good reputation in the community. But, your reputation in the community is probably poor, if you have a not-so-good character and have not behaved well. So, what is Jesus saying to this church?
Jesus is saying to the church in Sardis, ‘I know what the people in Sardis think of you. I know they believe you are alive.’ Jesus knew this church had gained a good reputation with the people for being a church full of energy, a lively church, an active church, a vibrant church, a spirited church, and a church that was spiritually alive and well. And this is true for every church, Jesus knows the reputation of all his churches; he knows how and what people think of his church.
While Jesus knows their reputation, he also knows the truth.
You see, having a reputation is one thing, but truth is another. What people think of you is one thing, but who you really are is another thing. You can fake your character and conduct to cause people to believe good things about you, and be someone completely different when those same people aren’t around. You can cause people to think good things about you that you know simply are not true. You can cause people to think you are a Christian, when you know you really aren’t one.
Church can be the same way. Jesus told the church in Sardis, “You have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.” When people thought of this church, they thought this was a spiritually alive church, but Jesus, knowing the truth concerning all things, knew the truth about this church, and that truth is: even though this church seemed spiritually alive on the outside, they were actually spiritually dead. What does this tell us?
This tells us that just because a church has a good reputation among the people, just because a church has made a good name for itself in the community, doesn’t mean it is. The reputation of a church may not truly indicate the spiritual reality concerning its spiritual well-being. What a church looks like and what it actually is are two very different things.
From the outside, a church may look like it is a spiritually vibrant church, a church may appear to be a spirit-filled church, a church may look like an energetic church, and a church may appear to be a lively church, but just because a church looks like it is spiritually alive or spiritually healthy from the outside doesn’t mean that it is. What a church may look like or appear to be, may not be what is true. It may look spiritually healthy, it may appear to be spiritually alive, all-the-while the truth is that the church is actually spiritually dead. And that was certainly true for the church in Sardis; the church of Sardis was in a deep spiritual coma.
How can a church be spiritually dead? In the case of the church in Sardis, this church became spiritually dead because it tolerated sin. By tolerating sin they had abandoned the gospel and ceased to pursue holiness.
You may ask, how do we know it tolerated sin? We know because the “works” Jesus was referring to were evil, and we know this because Jesus commended a few people within the church for remaining righteous. In verse 4 Jesus said, “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.”
This tells us the majority of this church, with the exception of a few, soiled their garments with sin and were deemed unworthy to walk with Christ. So, even though this church had earned them a “reputation for being alive” among the community, it was a church that was infested with sin, a church that had abandoned the gospel, and a church that no longer pursued holiness; and a church that tolerates sin, has abandoned the gospel, and no longer pursues holiness, is a spiritually unhealthy and spiritually dead church, regardless of how they may appear from the outside.
The same is true for today.
In our culture we regard a spiritually healthy church as one who has a great Sunday morning attendance, they are active in the community, they have nice facilities, have cultural influence, effective in outreach, they have an amazing children’s church program, they have an amazing praise and worship band, they have a well-known, celebrity type pastor, and so on. But a church can have all these and more, and still be a spiritually dead church. Being a spiritually healthy church has very little to do with these things.
A church may have a great pastor, an awesome praise and worship experience, they may do many great things in the community, they may have a large following, they may have an effective outreach team, and therefore have a great reputation, but if that church tolerates sin among its believers, has abandoned the gospel, and no longer pursuing holiness in Christ, as many churches are doing today, in the eyes of Jesus they are spiritually dead and unworthy to walk with Christ.
So, we should never judge the spiritual health of a church by how it may appear from the outside looking in. Just because a church has a good reputation does not mean it is a spiritually healthy church. I have found how we judge the spiritual health of our churches is not how Jesus judges the spiritual health of a church. While we judge by outside appearances, Jesus looks at the heart. I believe, according to Ephesians 4 & Matthew 28, what Christ cares about for his church is spiritual growth. Jesus wants his church making disciples and then helping those disciples grow in holiness and grow in knowledge of him.
Despite the church in Sardis being spiritually dead, it was not beyond being made alive again.
Jesus said in verses 2-3, “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. Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent.”
This was a wake up call to them. To awaken from their slumber, to rise up, and to strengthen whatever life they have remaining in them. This was an urge or an appeal to compel this church to go back to what they had first believed. To remember and return to the basics of the gospel. To pursue holiness. And it was an imploration for the church to repent for its sin.
I believe many churches in our nation need to heed this very urge. Churches in this nation need to wake up. Many of our nation’s churches are accepting things that God calls sin, and they do so because they have abandoned God’s Word, and you can see the result of that in the culture of America. Many churches in this nation need to awaken from their slumber, remember the gospel, return to it, and repent. If they do not then their future is bleak.
After Jesus urges the church in Sardis to wake up and repent, he gives them a warning.
Jesus said, “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.” Jesus is talking about the time that he raptures his church. If this church has not woken up, returned to the gospel, and repented, when Jesus raptures his church they would not be going with him to his kingdom. Instead, they would become subject to his wrath during the great tribulation still to come. And we do know the day nor the hour that Jesus will do this.
The same is true for every church that remains spiritually dead. My fear is that on the day Jesus raptures his church from this world many who claim Christ will be left behind. My fear is that on the day Jesus raptures his church, the church building will not be empty, because many in the church are not what they claim. They will be left to endure the wrath of the Lamb until Jesus makes his glorious appearance. And my prayer is that it will not be you. What about those few in the church at Sardis who remained spiritually alive? To them Jesus has four things to say.
First, Jesus promises them fellowship with him.
Jesus said, “Yet you have a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. The unsoiled garments symbolize these believers have consistently and courageously maintained their faith in Jesus, and for that reason they are worthy to walk with Christ in heaven when he returns. The same is true for anyone who keeps their garments clean by keeping their faith in Christ! If you maintain your faith in Jesus, when he returns, you will be found worthy to walk with Jesus and fellowship with him in heaven.
Secondly, Jesus promises to clothe them.
Jesus said, “The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments.” which means those who remain loyal to Christ, despite all of life’s circumstances and trials, he will clothe them “in white garments” which symbolize purity by faith in Jesus and that they belong to God. The same is true for you all. If you stay loyal to Jesus, despite all the trials of this life, he will clothe you “in white garments”, demonstrating your purity by faith in Jesus and your belonging to God.
Thirdly, Jesus promises to never remove their names from the book of life.
Jesus said, “…and I will never blot his name out of the book of life.” What is “the book of life”? It is the same as the Lamb’s book of life. According to Revelation 20, the book of life is the book that will be opened as people stand before the Great White Throne of Judgment. It contains the names of every person who has confessed that they believe in Jesus by faith to be the Son of God and is raised from the dead, and surrendered to the Lordship of Jesus.
The book of life acknowledges that you belong to God. If your name is found in the book of life, when you stand before God on the Day of Judgment, you will be permitted to enter into the kingdom of God. However, if your name is not found in the book of life, the Bible says, you will be “thrown into the lake of fire”. No one whose name is not written in the Lamb’s book of life will be allowed to enter into the kingdom of God, only those who believe and follow Jesus by faith.
Lastly, Jesus tells the believers in Sardis he will acknowledge them to God the Father and to the hosts of heaven.
Jesus said, “I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.” In addition to this verse, Jesus said in Matthew 10::32, “everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven.” Again in Luke 12:8, Jesus said, “everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God.” This means, if you faithfully follow Christ in this world, and are always willing to confess Jesus as your Lord, when you stand before God on the Day of Judgment, not only will you be permitted to enter into the kingdom of God, but Jesus himself will introduce you to the Father and to the hosts of heaven as one who belongs to him.