Sardis – The Dead Church – Sermon 15 September, 2013

Sardis – The Dead Church

Rev. 3:1-6

So far, we have examined four of the seven churches in the book of Revelation; the Church in Ephesus, the Church in Smyrna, the church in Pergamum and the church in Thyatira. The church of Ephesus did many good deeds, but they had forsaken their primary love. Therefore Jesus calls them to repent and turn back to their first love. The church of Smyrna had faced many persecutions and kept the faith and Jesus was happy to award them with the crown of life. The church of Pergamum was tolerating the teaching of Balaam who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and the teaching of Nicolaitans. Jesus orders them to repent. The church of Thyatira had compromised the Gospel and followed the teachings of the woman Jezebel, which was unacceptable to God. Jesus commands them to repent and for those who have not followed her teachings to hold what they had.

Today we will look at the Church in Sardis.

Sardis was the capital of ancient Lydia and geographical located at the junction of trade routes. Sardis was the first city in that part of the world that was converted by the preaching of John. It was known as a wealthy and wicked city. The citizens of Sardis lived in luxury, which led them to moral corruption and decline. Sardis was also the first that revolted from Christianity, and one of the first that was laid in its ruins, in which it still lies, without any church or ministry.

The Condemnation: Rev 3:1-3

“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 deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 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”.

Christ says that He knows their deeds. They have a reputation of being alive, but they are dead. We can fool people in making them think that we are really on fire for Christ, but we can’t fool Christ. Jesus knows our inner most thoughts. Why do we try to impress others anyway? Can they save us? The One we need to impress is the One that can condemn us to eternal suffering in hell. Going to church doesn’t save us. Doing good deeds doesn’t save us. Impressing others doesn’t save us. The only thing that can save us is to truly accepting Jesus Christ as our Saviour and letting Him be the Lord of our life.

The church at Sardis had gained a great reputation. They appeared to be doing great works throughout the city, but at the inside they were dead. Today there are many magnificent church buildings, but inside the Christians are no longer filled with the spirit. Yes they attend church most Sundays if they don’t have anything else to do. Even some churches fill most of their pews, but can’t find people to serve, to lead, to teach, or even do morning tea. Outwardly they appear to be alive, but inwardly they don’t want to get involved with church ministry, serving or witnessing.

Because of His love, Christ is telling the Church of Sardis to wake up and strengthen what remains before it dies. A Church doesn’t have to close and lock its doors to be dead. If the members are not serving God and the Church, then the Church and its members are spiritually dead. Christ wants us to serve. The pastor is led by the spirit to minister and to preach the teachings of Christ to the members of the church. The members are led by the Spirit to serve. They are to help with the day to day routine of the church and to teach, to lead and to witness to others. Jesus gave us the great commission to go out and teach the gospel to everyone. Many churches today have become so spiritually dead that they even don’t care what is happening in the world today. They don’t care if people don’t hear the gospel. They don’t care if people suffer. Just as the Christians of the Church of Sardis were spiritually dead, many Christians today are just as spiritually dead. Being a mature Christian means that the church should be working more for Christ, teaching the new Christians in the way that Christ expect them to live. The church should be doing everything that it can to help people. The church must listen to Christ’s warning to the Church of Sardis.

The Warning: Rev 3:3 “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.”

We must always remember what God did for us in giving His Son for our sins. Jesus loves us so much that He was willing to suffer and die on the cross. We should be doing everything that we can in serving Him, including working in our Church.

The Commendation: Rev 3:4 “Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy.”

Out of a very large church, Christ could only find a few people that were following His teachings and had not soiled their clothes with sin. As Christians we are not to sin and to ask forgiveness for our sins. We are to live a righteous life. Jesus said that these few righteous people will walk with Him dressed in white for they are worthy!

The warning: Rev 3:5-6 “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”.

Christ is telling us if anyone overcomes their disbelief, and repent from their sins and accept Him as their Saviour and Lord, then they too will be dressed in white. Jesus has promised us that He will never blot out our names from the book of life if we have truly accepted Jesus.

Sitting in a church pew every Sunday and doing good deeds doesn’t get your name in the book of life. Being baptized with water doesn’t get your name in the book of life. We may fool others by saying that we have accepted Christ as our Saviour, but God knows our hearts. He knows if we have truly accepted His Son Jesus Christ as our Saviour and Lord.

How can someone call on the name of the Lord if they don’t believe and how can someone believe in Christ if they haven’t heard the gospel message? Are we as Christians fulfilling the great commission of going out and spreading the word of Christ? Let us ask ourselves when was the last time that we talked to a non-Christian about Christ. Are we obeying Christ’s teachings or are we like the Christians of the Church of Sardis?

Are we dead/dying or are we alive and active?

The Lord is looking for lively church; a church that is well alive and by obeying Christ’s command serving and witnessing for Him.

Krikor Youmshajekian