7 Letters: The Church of Sardis
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This sermon explores Jesus' letter to the Church of Sardis in Revelation 3:1-6. Sardis was a city that was riding on the momentum of past greatness. However, it had passed from glory to insignificance. The church of Sardis mirrored its city, believing itself to be vibrant, but having truly passed from life to death. It provides us with an example very close to the 21st century American church... a "perfect model of inoffensive Christianity". Inoffensive in that they had cow-towed to the pagan culture all around them.
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7 Letters: The Church of Sardis
- 3. Letter : The Church of Sardis The Danger of Coasting
- 4. First Point God grants heavenly citizenship to those who are spiritually alive.
- 5. Revelation 3 1 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. “‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.
- 6. Revelation 3 2 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.
- 7. Revelation 3 3 Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you.
- 8. The City of Sardis passed from glory to insignificance.
- 10. Temple of Cybele
- 12. The Decline of Sardis King Croesus Reign: 560 to 547 B.C.
- 13. The Decline of Sardis Antiochus the Great Reign: 222 to 187 B.C.
- 15. The Church at Sardis was shaped by the history of Sardis.
- 16. Second Point God grants heavenly citizenship to those who are spiritually pure.
- 17. Revelation 3 4 Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy.
- 18. Revelation 3 5 The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.
- 19. Revelation 3 6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
- 20. “Unsoiled Garments” 4a Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments…
- 21. Jesus’ 3 Promises to the Remnant 1.They will be clothed in white.
- 22. Jesus’ 3 Promises to the Remnant 1.They will be clothed in white. 2.Their names will not be blotted out from the Lamb’s Book of Life.
- 23. Revelation 20: The Great White Throne Judgment 11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.
- 24. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.
- 25. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.
- 26. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
- 27. Luke 10:20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.
- 28. Jesus’ 3 Promises to the Remnant 1. They will be clothed in white. 2.Their names will not be blotted out from the Lamb’s Book of Life. 3.They will have an “advocate confessor.”
- 29. The Church of Sardis is “a perfect model of inoffensive Christianity”. G.B. Caird
Editor's Notes
- The Church of Sardis
- First Point God grants heavenly citizenship to those who are spiritually alive.
- Revelation 3 1 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. “‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.
- 2 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.
- 3 Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you.
- The City of Sardis passed from glory to insignificance.
- In the sixth century BC, Sardis was one of the most powerful cities in the world. It was located atop the acropolis, located 1500 feet above the lower valley. The acropolis had nearly perpendicular rock walls; thus is was a natural citadel.
- Sardis housed the Temple to Cybele, identified with the Greek goddess Artemis. The Temple was 160 ft. by 300 ft. and had 78 Ionic columns which were each 58 ft. in height. This was a popular religious center, because it was believed that Cybele had the power to restore life to the dead. The worship of Cybele, the mother goddess, involved sexual immorality and debauchery. When you add wealth and a loose moral environment, you wind up with a cultural context that was shockingly like the hedonistic culture of 21st century America. So, Jesus’ letter to the church in Sardis will prove to be, to a considerable degree, a letter to us. All this soft living didn’t play out too well for Sardis on two occasions.
- Sardis was a prosperous city being at the junction of several important roads and trade routes. In fact, gold and silver coins were first minted in Sardis. Commentator William Barclay goes so far as to say that these coins were the beginning of money in the modern sense of the term. Excavations of the graves of the ancient city reveal a considerable amount of fine jewelry, indicative of a high standard of living
- In 546 BC, Cyrus of Persia had his eyes on capturing the fortress on top the acropolis of Sardis. The Greek historian Herodotus tells the story of a soldier who was intently studying the 1500 foot cliff seeking to find a means of ascent. There was no obvious answer. However, one day, a soldier of King Croesus of Sardis dropped his helmet down the cliff. He climbed down a hidden trail and recovered his helmet. That night he sent a detachment of troops up the trail. The Sardisians had so much confidence in their natural defenses that they left the walls unguarded. King Croesus and all of Sardis were defeated before they knew what hit them.
- Almost 200 years later, history repeated itself. In 216 BC, a Cretan named Lagoras discovered a possible means of ascent. He climbed the nearly perpendicular cliff, together with 15 men and opened the unguarded gates of Sardis from within, allowing the army of the Syrian King, Antiochus the Great, to capture the city. Once again, a lack of vigilance proved fatal.
- By the Roman period, Sardis had declined substantially. In 17 AD, a catastrophic earthquake leveled the city. Sardis was rebuilt by Tiberius Caesar at a cost equivalent to one million dollars + 5 yrs. remission of taxes. However, Sardis never reached its former glory. Historian Ramsay called Sardis "a relic of the period of barbaric warfare which lived rather on its ancient prestige than on its suitability to present conditions."
- The Church at Sardis was shaped by the history of Sardis. They had a reputation of being alive. However, their reputation was based upon past achievements and past glory. In actuality, Sardis was spiritually dead. There is an old French proverb which states, "The reputation of a man is like his shadow: It sometimes follows and sometimes precedes him; it is sometimes longer and sometimes shorter than his natural size. Reputations are subject to distortion, and more often than not, the distortion is one of exaggeration. So it was with the church at Sardis. They had an excellent reputation, a reputation which boasted of life and vitality. Jesus shocks them with the stern diagnosis, you are dead. 2. Cyrus of Persia destroyed the Temple of Cybele. Hundreds of years later, Alexander the Great began rebuilding the Temple on its original foundation. However, the Temple was never completed. It stood as a picture of the Sardisian church. Jesus said in verse 2, I have found your works not completed before My God. 3. One commentator drew this analogy: The church at Sardis "had lapsed from it pristine vitality, just as the township of Sardis had by this time declined from its historical prestige." 4. To this city, with a history of succumbing to nightly visitors, Jesus issues the stern warning, "If you do not watch, I shall come as a thief, and you do not know in what hour I shall come upon you." This is not an articulation of the blessed hope of the return of the Lord, which is also referred to with this image. This is a threat of impending judgement. The Sardisians knew all too well that the thief in the night brings destruction.
- Second Point God grants heavenly citizenship to those who are spiritually pure.
- Revelation 3 4 Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy.
- 5 The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.
- 6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
- A. At this point, Jesus acknowledges the presence of a small and precious remnant; a minority who had not compromised with the prevailing culture. Jesus refers to them with a figurative language which all understood. He says that they, in contrast to the majority of this church, have unsoiled garments. 1. In the pagan religions of Asia Minor, soiled clothes disqualified the worshipper and dishonored the god. 2. Furthermore, Sardis was the primary center in Asia Minor for the manufacture and dyeing of wool. Thus, the image of defiled garments spoke vividly to the people of Sardis. To call the Sardisians dirty clothes is like calling someone from Detroit an old rust-bucket that the Japanese wouldn't use as a latrine. This insult struck at the core of who they were.
- Jesus’ Promises to the Remnant They will be clothed in white. This promise of white clothing is rich in imagery. A picture of purity. The High Priest wore white garments on the Day of Atonement, as a picture of a restored relationship with God. A picture of victory. The Romans wore white togas following military victories. In chapter 7 of his apocalypse, John relates an image of the redeemed in heaven. All are dressed in white robes, robes paradoxically bleached by the Blood of the Lamb.
- 2. Their names will not be blotted out from the Lamb’s Book of Life. As Gentiles, these Sardisians were aware of the Roman practice of removing the name of a convicted criminal from the civic register, thereby stripping him of his citizenship. The dead were also removed from the citizen’s list. Hence, Jesus’ reference to the Book of Life is a statement concerning citizenship in God’s kingdom. As Christians, they may have been aware of the Jewish threat against Christians which was incorporated into the 18 Benedictions: "For apostates, let there be no hope, may the kingdom of the haughty quickly collapse in our days, and may the Nazarenes .... suddenly perish, may they be blotted out of the Book of Life and not enrolled along with the righteous. To the faithful of Sardis, these were powerful words of comfort. He were assured of a heavenly citizenship which would not be revoked.
- Revelation 20: The Great White Throne Judgment 11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.
- 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.
- 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.
- 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
- Luke 10:20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.
- 3. Finally, the faithful Sardisians are assured of an advocate confessor, the Lord Jesus Himself. Sardis was a church that by and large knew no persecution. They were not persecuted, because they failed to confess Christ. They were no different that the pagans all around them. However, in a place of compromise, the few who stand up are always sorely rebuked. These few were bold witnesses, and they are promised that in turn, Jesus will bear witness on their behalf. His words are reminiscent of the warning in Mt. 10:32: "Everyone who acknowledges me before men, I will acknowledge before My Father who is in heaven.
- Biblical Commentator G.B. Caird called the Church of Sardis "a perfect model of inoffensive Christianity." The church at Sardis did not bring conviction; it was not a challenge to pagan ethics and behavior. It fit in perfectly with the pagan culture all around. By everyone's estimate, Sardis was a nice church; everyone but Jesus. The true disciple of Christ is not inoffensive. a. In a pro-choice world, he is pro-life. b. In a pluralistic culture, he preaches that there is salvation only in Christ. c. In a culture which practices situational ethics, he preaches that there are moral absolutes. d. In a world that speaks of "alternative life-styles" he speaks of sin." e. In a world that speaks of universal salvation, he preaches both heaven and hell. He is offensive.