Free Grace Women

Introduction:

The church of Sardis is the fifth church of the seven the Lord addresses in Revelation 3:1-6. Sardis was a commercial city perched on a plateau located about 30 miles southeast of Thyatira. In its former days, the city had thrived as the capital of the ancient kingdom of Lydia. However, their golden era had slipped away into a thing of the past.

Philippe Sterling comments:

In the sixth century BC, King Croesus of Sardis had amassed vast golden treasures. The city had a strong fortress. Despite its great fortress and steep cliffs, Sardis was caught off guard and captured multiple times, most notably by the Persians and later by the Greeks. (Philippe Sterling, “What Would Jesus Say? Wake Up Call: The Letter to Sardis (Revelation 3:1-6)”- see full article here)

Then in 17 AD, when the city was under Roman rule, an earthquake hit Sardis. Although the city received money from Rome, they never fully recovered from the destruction brought upon them by the catastrophic event. Their once flourishing reputation was now beginning to wither and so also was their spiritual state. 

Description of Christ: 

In this letter, the Lord depicts Himself as:

He that hath the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars. (verse 1a KJV)

In The Grace New Testament Commentary, Robert Vacendak says about this verse: 

“The Lord is telling this church that He knows their true spiritual condition because He possesses the omniscient Spirit of God,“ (pg 625)

This quality renders Him the perfect judge as He can see past the exterior and into man’s heart, revealing his true motives and spiritual state. Therefore no one will be able to say He has judged them un-righteously as our wise Lord can see the whole picture and deeper than the eyes of men.

the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7 NKJV

Works: 

As the passage continues, the Lord then deals with the works of the church at Sardis saying: 

I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. (verse1b KJV)

Although the church had a reputation for being alive, our all-knowing Lord could see the reality of their spiritual circumstances. The church was dead and the works they had once produced were beginning to reflect their lifeless condition. 

The problem was not that they weren’t producing any works, but rather that the ones they were producing were “dead” or unprofitable. It’s important to remember that the Lord addresses the church and, therefore, born-again people. The term “dead” doesn’t refer to their eternal destiny. Rather, it should be understood as a description of their spiritual walk. While their works couldn’t reflect evidence of their new birth, they most certainly could reflect the state of their intimacy with the Lord. 

For example, how many churches do we know today that fill the schedules of their members with countless programs? Yet how many of these programs are fulfilling the biblical responsibility of the Church? If the Church is failing to equip its members with sound doctrine and discipleship, the amount of seemingly good activities and programs are meaningless. If works being produced are unfruitful and serve only as busywork towards its congregation, the Church has the appearance of being alive but remains experientially dead.

Praise/Rebuke and Instruction:

Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. (verse 2 KJV)

Unfortunately for this church, there was no praise except for the faithful few whose garments were not defiled (verse 4)–those who had devotedly followed and served Christ. As for the rest of the church in Sardis, the Lord warns them that their works were not yet perfect before God. However, our faithful Lord doesn’t leave them at this, instead, He encourages the church body to step up to the task as there still is time. 

Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. (verse 3a KJV)

If they wanted to be overcomers and receive praise at the Bema (1 Corinthians 3:10-15, 2 Corinthians 5:10), they needed to change direction and take heed of His instructions. 

First, they needed to be watchful, that is they needed to remain alert and not fall into a state of spiritual sleepiness before His coming. The Lord warns that if they do not watch and are not ready, He will come upon them as a thief; and that the day when all the works of Church-age believers are judged will overtake them at an hour they do not expect.

Second, they needed to strengthen the things that remained, meaning that the quality of the work they had produced would be at risk if they did not show persistence in protecting the good that was left.

Third, they were to remember and hold fast to the instructions they had received from the Lord and His apostles. As sound doctrine is crucial in our walk with the Lord, the result could be detrimental to their sanctification if they fail to do this. Again, it should be noted that this instruction was for believers. The Lord wouldn’t tell an unbeliever to remember and hold fast to His instructions. 

Fourth, the Lord calls them to repent. This is not a call to receive eternal life, as repentance isn’t a requirement for one to have eternal life, but rather a call to restore fellowship. In order to do so the church at Sardis needed to turn from their sins and trade in their spiritual lethargy for spiritual alertness. 

If we are to avoid shame at the judgment seat of Christ, we too must listen carefully to the Lord’s instructions and apply them in our daily walks with Him.

Reward:

He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. (verse 5 NKJV)

If we choose to follow in the footsteps of the few in Sardis who were faithful, the Lord’s promise here applies to us as well and we will be rewarded at the time of His coming. One of the rewards He promises us if we remain faithful is the honor of being clothed in white. 

Vacendak comments about the white garments: 

This could refer to the actual clothes that the overcomer will wear in Christ’s eternal kingdom or, more likely, to the purity and brilliance of the glorified body the faithful believer will “wear” as a badge of authority for all eternity (GNTC page 625)

Jesus also promised to not blot out overcomers’ names from the Book of Life. This statement does not imply that the unfaithful believer will go to hell. Instead, the Lord is using a figure of speech to convey that he will not remove our commendable reputation, but rather will confess our names before the Father and His angels as those who were His friends. If we remain obedient to the end, Christ is a faithful judge and stays true to His promise of rewarding those who have been faithful. The reward we will be given will be well worth the effort, not only in the Millennium but in the world to come and for all eternity.