The Church at Sardis
Revelation 3:1-6 (NIV) “To the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits. That is, the sevenfold Spirit of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, 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. 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. 5 The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels. 6 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”
Here’s the question of the hour: “How does a church die?” Isn’t the church the Body of Christ? Does the body of Christ have a lifecycle, even though Jesus is eternal? The answer is simple, and yet very profound. A church body, just like the human body, will die if it only lives off the glory of the past. If all you do as a human is celebrate the best meals you had, “back when…”, and you do not prepare nutritious meals today, you will eventually starve to death. This is the state of many churches, and many Christians today, and the next issue God is pointing out through this church in Revelation. Wake up! Stop living in the glory of yesterday, off of leftovers that have been kept in the spiritual fridge of your life.
This church is what many would refer to as the “Country Club Church.” They had a reputation of being alive but are now dead. Their outward appearance is that of commitment, faithfulness, servanthood, but that had really been a while ago. Those days are gone and have become nothing more than ruins – unfinished, decayed, and broken down. They were busy; working, running, but not getting anywhere, not accomplishing anything.
The Interpreter’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 12, says that this process of decline in the church at Sardis was so subtle that no one even noticed it. (pg. 390) Man, that sounds like a lot of churches today. They are dead, they just haven’t run out of money yet. They have form and ritual, but they do not have any power to sustain them. They need a fresh meal, something new, something exciting that will bring the life back.
The answer for “Good Ol’ Days” Christians: stop looking at the past, the reputation of what once was, the outward appearance, but start with the heart. This church, as well as many Christians, needs a total heart transplant. They have to stop looking at what was and instead look to what is. It is time for every Christian to realize God is in fact doing a new thing. We see that more now than ever… We are recreating church right now. Live stream video, Zoom Small Groups, Easter Sunday online, Drive-In Church. It’s a new day, so stop longing for the old; embrace the new and let’s see what God has in store together!
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