THE CHURCH THAT WAS DEAD AND DIDN'T KNOW IT!

The book of Revelation was dictated to the apostle John by Jesus Christ. Imprisoned by the Romans on the miserable little island of Patmos off the coast of Turkey, John had an incredible encounter with Jesus “in the Spirit.” What is it about painful circumstances that bring us close to the Lord? Why can’t they happen when I’m at Disneyland?

John had been the pastor/elder of the church at Ephesus and the overseer of the churches in Asia Minor. It was to the church John pastored and six others that Jesus had words of correction and commendation, but mostly correction. I can’t imagine that it was easy for John to hear what Jesus had to say about these churches that he was responsible for, but yet he had to know that what the Lord was saying was true.

The fifth church that Jesus addressed was the church of Sardis:

“I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 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” (Revelation 3:1-3, ESV).

The ancient city of Sardis had seen its best days and was in decline. Sardis had a reputation for being a rather tawdry city that loved its luxury, apathy and immorality. It was still a wealthy city, situated at the junction of several important trade routes. The combination of wealth and pleasure-loving gave the city a notorious reputation for decadence.

The love of soft living and the lack of discipline were historical problems for Sardis. Situated on a mesa surrounded by cliffs, it seemed to be a city safe from attacking enemies.

About 550 B.C., Cyrus of Persia attacked the city but could not find a way to capture it. One of his soldiers studied the problem carefully and one day saw a defender accidentally drop a piece of equipment over the wall and down the cliff. The enemy soldier watched as the defender climbed down a hidden trail and retrieved the dropped item. The Persian soldier marked the location of the hidden trail and that night led a detachment of Persian soldiers up the trail and into the city.

When the Persians got to the top and came to the city walls, they found the city totally unguarded. The people and soldiers of Sardis were so confident in their natural defenses that they felt no need to keep a diligent watch. No one was on guard and the city was easily captured!

Jesus said of the church at Sardis, “You have the reputation of being alive but you are dead.”  This was a church full of activity—the calendar was loaded with activities and it was really a happening place. But the broken heart of the Savior said, “You are dead!” He then went on to say, “I have not found your works complete.” In other words, “What you are doing, the way you are living, is not pleasing to Me or to My Father.”

Jesus’ challenge to His church in Sardis was, “Wake up and strengthen what remains. Remember what you received and heard (were taught).” The church was as lax in its vigilance as the defenders of the city were and the arrogant church was wide open to spiritual attack.

And then Jesus says something that sets on edge the teeth of those who over-emphasize the grace message. Jesus says to His Church, “Repent.” There is a deviant teaching going around right now that says if you have given your life to Christ and received Him by faith, you never need to repent again. Well, those who teach that have a problem, but not with me. They have a problem with the Lord Himself because He is the one calling His Church to repent.

Jesus was not speaking here to pagans but to His church at Sardis. He is calling them to repent, to stop their bad behavior, to turn around and live like they really are God’s children.

The church at Sardis was full of activity, probably full of people, but they had lost their way spiritually and there was very little of the life of the Lord flowing in their midst. Their casual attitude and their love of the “good life” made them easy prey for the intrusions of the enemy. To that the Lord speaks with authority, “Wake up! Repent!”

As I have studied the churches of Revelation at length, I do not hear an angry, vengeful Lord ready to damn His Church to hell. No, not at all. What I hear is a concerned and brokenhearted Savior who wants so badly to be active with His Church, all of them. He is deeply disappointed and sad at the deviant and bad behavior patterns that are seen in five of the seven churches.

Our Savior stands ready to lead His Church forth in victory: “He who has an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”