SARDIS The dead church Revelation 3v1-6.
"Thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.......".
- The condition of the church at Sardis.
- The cause of their condition.
- The cure for their condition.
- The counsel from the Lord.
- The compensation for overcoming.
The condition of the church at Sardis.
Their condition was simply that in the eyes of the Lord they were dead. Like the city in which they resided, the church was living on past glories. This city had known times of wealth and status and influence, as well as being an impregnable fortress; but all that had gone and now they were in reality a nonentity. Kingdoms rise and fall, cities rise and fall, and it appears it is the same with churches. A football manager knows that his players are only as good as their last appearance, so with Christians. Their reputation was intact "I know thy works that thou hast a name that thou livest," but the reality of spiritual life had gone. They still had the name but no longer the power. They had become like those Paul had predicted in 2nd Timothy 3v5 "having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof." Externals were still in view, but the internals had disappeared. Sardis was an empty religious shell. It was like Ezekiel's "valley of dry bones." The evidence of past life was there but there was only death. It was a church of false pretention, with unfulfilled potential, and unfinished works, dead in spirit, whilst alive in name. What they preached didn't equate with what they were. If ever there was a church which depicted the reality of many churches today, it is this one.
The divine eye pierces through the sham of Sardis. They were Christians only in name. They confused works done before men with spiritual exercise to God. They were happy to call themselves both individually and collectively by the Name, and happy that others outside of them thought the same. It was not that they were not doing any works. He says "I know thy works" but they were doing it for the sake of reputation, to maintain the former image. They still taught the children, sang the hymns, said prayers, listened to the sermons. There was evidence of things going on. Perhaps too much was going on, but for the wrong reasons. They were in the words of Jesus "doing their alms to be seen of men." They had the reputation but not the character, and the divine assessment was that they were dead.
Is it possible for a church to be dead? The church is "the church of the living God." It was breathed into life on the day of Pentecost by the Holy Spirit. Each individual member since then has been indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God since the day they were saved. In just over 30 years the power of the Holy Spirit swept across three continents, the numbers increased, the quality increased, they overcame all difficulties and took the faith of Christ across the world. They were altogether of one accord, they loved one another fervently,(and this was visible). The life of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit dwelt in them and flowed through them. Can any church which is a part of all that die? He does not mean dead in the eternal sense (although this condition may raise doubts) He means dead as far as their spiritual lives and their usefulness to God was concerned.
Even Satan knew they were dead. the activity of Satan mentioned in the churches of Smyrna, Pergamos & Thyatira, at least gave the reality that there was some life amongst them despite the problems. This church is so spiritually lifeless that Satan didn't need to bother them. There is no mention of persecution as at Smyrna; there is no false doctrine as at Pergamos; there is no moral depravity as at Thyatira. There is just one great big NOTHING. It was just a name and nothing else. It was a church bereft of spiritual life and power. Phrases like "clouds without water" and "trees without fruit" are relevant to this church.
The clue perhaps lies in the meaning of Sardis - "things remaining." In the church at Thyatira, we considered the people remaining as a godly remnant of a corrupt church. At Sardis we have the remnant, not of people but of the things of God that have been so watered down that anything of godliness about them is ready to die. A lifeless church, paddling in the shadows when there is an ocean to swim in; eating at the scraps of spiritual life when there is a five star restaurant laid out for us every day; drinking at the broken cisterns when there is a fountain of living waters provided for us; living in the flesh when the Spirit seeks to flood our souls with the glory of God. Taking a modern look at it we could point to bible-less sunday schools; lifeless repetitive prayer meetings; poverty stricken worship; the absence of holy ghost preaching; the minimizing of bible teaching. All these are an evidence of spiritual death. The apostle James said " as the body without the spirit is dead so faith without works is dead." James 2v26 Are we grieving the Holy Spirit in our individual lives? Are we quenching the Holy Spirit in our churches? If so the result will be the same as Sardis, spiritual death. For a church to be alive it requires the active free operation of the Spirit.
The divine eye pierces through the sham of Sardis. They were Christians only in name. They confused works done before men with spiritual exercise to God. They were happy to call themselves both individually and collectively by the Name, and happy that others outside of them thought the same. It was not that they were not doing any works. He says "I know thy works" but they were doing it for the sake of reputation, to maintain the former image. They still taught the children, sang the hymns, said prayers, listened to the sermons. There was evidence of things going on. Perhaps too much was going on, but for the wrong reasons. They were in the words of Jesus "doing their alms to be seen of men." They had the reputation but not the character, and the divine assessment was that they were dead.
Is it possible for a church to be dead? The church is "the church of the living God." It was breathed into life on the day of Pentecost by the Holy Spirit. Each individual member since then has been indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God since the day they were saved. In just over 30 years the power of the Holy Spirit swept across three continents, the numbers increased, the quality increased, they overcame all difficulties and took the faith of Christ across the world. They were altogether of one accord, they loved one another fervently,(and this was visible). The life of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit dwelt in them and flowed through them. Can any church which is a part of all that die? He does not mean dead in the eternal sense (although this condition may raise doubts) He means dead as far as their spiritual lives and their usefulness to God was concerned.
Even Satan knew they were dead. the activity of Satan mentioned in the churches of Smyrna, Pergamos & Thyatira, at least gave the reality that there was some life amongst them despite the problems. This church is so spiritually lifeless that Satan didn't need to bother them. There is no mention of persecution as at Smyrna; there is no false doctrine as at Pergamos; there is no moral depravity as at Thyatira. There is just one great big NOTHING. It was just a name and nothing else. It was a church bereft of spiritual life and power. Phrases like "clouds without water" and "trees without fruit" are relevant to this church.
The clue perhaps lies in the meaning of Sardis - "things remaining." In the church at Thyatira, we considered the people remaining as a godly remnant of a corrupt church. At Sardis we have the remnant, not of people but of the things of God that have been so watered down that anything of godliness about them is ready to die. A lifeless church, paddling in the shadows when there is an ocean to swim in; eating at the scraps of spiritual life when there is a five star restaurant laid out for us every day; drinking at the broken cisterns when there is a fountain of living waters provided for us; living in the flesh when the Spirit seeks to flood our souls with the glory of God. Taking a modern look at it we could point to bible-less sunday schools; lifeless repetitive prayer meetings; poverty stricken worship; the absence of holy ghost preaching; the minimizing of bible teaching. All these are an evidence of spiritual death. The apostle James said " as the body without the spirit is dead so faith without works is dead." James 2v26 Are we grieving the Holy Spirit in our individual lives? Are we quenching the Holy Spirit in our churches? If so the result will be the same as Sardis, spiritual death. For a church to be alive it requires the active free operation of the Spirit.
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