The letter to the church in Sardis warns that while they had a reputation of being alive spiritually, in reality they were dead. Jesus tells them to wake up, strengthen the remaining faithful, and remember and keep what they had been taught. Unless they repented from their dead works, Jesus would come in judgment upon them unexpectedly, like a thief. For the few who had remained faithful, they would be saved.

2. ―To the angel of
the church in
Sardis write…‖
The dead church

3. The Letter to Sardis
―To the angel of the church in Sardis write: He who has the seven
Spirits of God and the seven stars, says this: ‗I know your deeds,
that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. ‗Wake up,
and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I
have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God. ‗So
remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and
repent. Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and
you will not know at what hour I will come to you. ‗But you have a few
people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will
walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. ‗He who overcomes will
thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from
the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and
before His angels. ‗He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit
says to the churches.‘ ‖ (Revelation 3:1–6)

4. General Background on Sardis
• Roman province of Asia
• Once the capital of the ancient
kingdom of Lydia
• Became legendary for its wealth c.
500 B.C., ; when gold and silver
coins came into use
• Financially declined after
earthquake in A.D. 17
• Practiced worship of Tiberius
• Ruins of ancient church building next
to the temple found
• Target of Arab invasion in A.D.
716 and declined after that
• Small village named ‗Sart‘ is left
today

5. The Description of Christ
―He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven
stars, says this... ‖ (Revelation 3:1)
• ―Hence the Holy Spirit is called the Seven
Spirits; the perfect, mystical number seven
indicating unity through diversity (1 Cor. 12:4).
Not the sevenfold gifts of the Spirit are meant,
but the divine Personality who imparts them; the
one Spirit under the diverse manifestations.‖
Word studies in the New Testament
• ―As for the mystery of the seven stars which you
saw in My right hand, and the seven golden
lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the
seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the
seven churches. ‖ (Revelation 1:20) . The stars
are likely the pastors of the churches

6. The Condemnation
―I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you
are dead. ‖ (Revelation 3:1)
• Note that Christ has no commendation for
the church as a whole, unlike the others that
have preceded it
• Christ judges them by their deeds (lit. ‗work‘)
• ―You will know them by their fruits. Grapes
are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs
from thistles, are they? ―So every good tree
bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad
fruit. ―A good tree cannot produce bad fruit,
nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.
―Every tree that does not bear good fruit is
cut down and thrown into the fire. ―So then,
you will know them by their fruits.‖ (Matthew
7:15–20)

7. ―It is not God‘s design that men should obtain assurance in any other
way, than by mortifying corruption, and increasing in grace, and
obtaining the lively exercises of it. And although self-examination be a
duty of great use and importance, and by no means to be neglected;
yet it is not the principal means, by which the saints do get satisfaction
of their good estate. Assurance is not to be obtained so much by
self-examination, as by action.‖
-Jonathan Edwards
A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections

8. ―The only validation you will ever
have of your salvation is a life of
obedience, it is the only possible
proof that you really recognize the
Lordship of Jesus Christ. I'm going
to say that again because that's the
heart of the message. Obedience is
the only validation of your salvation. It
is the only possible proof that you
recognize the Lordship of Jesus
Christ. Because if there's no
obedience then you're confessing
Jesus is Lord is just so much verbal
exercise.‖
- John MacArthur

9. The Condemnation
―I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you
are dead. ‖ (Revelation 3:1)
• ―have a name‖ means that they have a reputation. The church, via
Christ‘s name, had a reputation in the world
• They were Christian in name only
• The world and unbelievers are noted for being dead, but the Christian is
supposed to be spiritually alive: ―Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is
born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.‖ (John 3:3) . The only
reason a person needs to be born ‗again‘ is because they are dead.

10. ―Seeing a lone fig tree by the road, He came to it and
found nothing on it except leaves only; and He said to it,
―No longer shall there ever be any fruit from you.‖ And at
once the fig tree withered. ‖
(Matthew 21:19)
―These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts
when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves;
clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees
without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted‖
(Jude 12)

11. The Condemnation
―I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you
are dead. ‖ (Revelation 3:1)
• Even so faith, if it has no works, is
dead, being by itself. " (James 2:17)
• For just as the body without the spirit
is dead, so also faith without works is
dead. " (James 2:26)
• ‗But we had to celebrate and rejoice,
for this brother of yours was dead
and has begun to live, and was lost
and has been found.‘ ‖ " (Luke 15:32)

12. ―I‘ll believe in the
Redeemer when the
Christians look a little
more redeemed.‖
- Frederick Nietzsche

13. ―How do you communicate with
a generation that listens with its
eyes and thinks with its feelings?
You will need an apologetic that
is not merely heard, but is also
seen. If my Christian life is not
visible to my neighbor, no
amount of prophetic utterance
is going to convince that
neighbor that Christianity is
true. Is your life in private that
which you claim in public?‖
- Ravi Zacharias

14. The Exhortation
‗Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about
to die" (Revelation 3:2)
1. Wake up – Jesus tells them to snap out of the spiritual sleep that they
are in
2. Strengthen the things that remain – Sardis was in a weakened state
spiritually, and needed to refuel what remained

15. The Exhortation
‗for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God."
(Revelation 3:2)
―Then the hand was sent from Him and this inscription was written out. ―Now
this is the inscription that was written out: ‗MENĒ, MENĒ, TEKĒL,
UPHARSIN.‘ ―This is the interpretation of the message: ‗MENĒ‘—God
has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it. ― ‗TEKĒL‘—you have been
weighed on the scales and found deficient. " (Daniel 5:24–27)

16. The Exhortation
―So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and
repent. " (Revelation 3:3)
3. Remember – Jesus tells them to
snap out of the spiritual sleep that
they are in
4. Keep – Sardis was in a weakened
state spiritually, and needed to
refuel what remained
5. Repent – Jesus tells them to turn
around from their current ways,
listen to his rebuke and exhortation,
and get the church in order once
again

17. ―Why do you call Me, ‗Lord, Lord,‘ and do not do what I
say? ―Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and
acts on them, I will show you whom he is like: he is like a man
building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the
rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against
that house and could not shake it, because it had been well
built. ―But the one who has heard and has not acted
accordingly, is like a man who built a house on the ground
without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and
immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was
great.‖ " (Luke 6:46–49)
―But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely
hearers who delude themselves." (James 1:22)

18. ―By this means [false religion
and misleading affections] he
[the devil] deceives great
multitudes about the state of
their souls; making them think
they are something, when they
are nothing; and so eternally
undoes them; and not only so,
but establishes many in a strong
confidence of their eminent
holiness, who are in God‘s sight
some of the vilest hypocrites.‖
- Jonathan Edwards

19. Five Steps to Restoration
1. Wake up
2. Strengthen
3. Remember
4. Keep
5. Repent

20. The Warning
―Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will
not know at what hour I will come to you." (Revelation 3:3)
• Does not refer to the second coming
of Christ, because the condition is ―if
you do not wake up‖ – that is what
would precipitate Christ‘s thief-like
coming to them
• His coming would be in judgment on
the church; that their lampstand would
be removed
• Greek proverb: ―The feet of the
avenging deities are shod with wool.‖

21. ―But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what
hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be
broken into. ―You too, be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an
hour that you do not expect.‖ " (Luke 12:39–40)
―For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come
just like a thief in the night. While they are saying, ―Peace and safety!‖
then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a
woman with child, and they will not escape. But you, brethren, are not
in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; "
(1 Thessalonians 5:2–4)
―But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens
will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with
intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. "
(2 Peter 3:10)

22. The Remnant
―But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their
garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. "
(Revelation 3:4)
• ―Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate
is wide and the way is broad that leads to
destruction, and there are many who enter
through it. ―For the gate is small and the way
is narrow that leads to life, and there are few
who find it" (Matthew 7:13–14)
• ―Soiled‖ means to stain or pollute. Garments
represent character; it (white) is the evidence
of saving faith. The others had stained
themselves by not having a pure devotion to
Jesus and mixing with the world
• ―Walk with Me‖ – spend eternal life with
Jesus

23. ―Wherever a profession
of conversion is not
accompanied by holiness
of life it must be
understood that the
individual concern is not
a Christian.‖
- Jonathan Edwards

24. The Victory of the Overcomers
―He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will
not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name
before My Father and before His angels." (Revelation 3:5)
1. Clothed in white garments
2. Names are secure in the book of life
3. Name is confessed before the Father and His angels

25. The Victory of the Overcomers
―He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will
not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name
before My Father and before His angels." (Revelation 3:5)
• These white robes are presented in the future
• White robes worn by those celebrating victory in a battle
• White robes worn for festive occasions like weddings: ―Let us rejoice and be glad and
give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made
herself ready.‖ It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the
fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, ―Write, ‗Blessed are
those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.‘ ‖ And he said to me,
―These are true words of God.‖ " (Revelation 19:7–9)

26. ―Then he said to his slaves, ‗The wedding is ready, but those who
were invited were not worthy. ‗Go therefore to the main highways, and
as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast.‘ ―Those slaves
went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both
evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests. ―But
when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man
there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, and he said to him,
‗Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?‘ And the
man was speechless. ―Then the king said to the servants, ‗Bind him
hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place
there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.‘ ―For many are called, but
few are chosen.‖ "
(Matthew 22:8–14)

27. The Book of Life
―He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will
not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name
before My Father and before His angels." (Revelation 3:5)
In John's day, a king always kept a register. If a man committed a crime
against the state, or if he died, his name was erased. It was used to
keep the register of the city accurate. When you died, your name was
erased, you were taken off the roll.

28. The Book of Life
―He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will
not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name
before My Father and before His angels." (Revelation 3:5)
• Some try and teach that this verse
says a person can lose their salvation;
they point to this verse as evidence:
―The Lord said to Moses, ―Whoever
has sinned against Me, I will blot him
out of My book. " (Exodus 32:33)
• The charge is that a name was there,
but it was removed and is not there
any longer

29. ―But now, if You will, forgive their sin—and if not, please blot me out from Your book which You
have written!‖ " (Exodus 32:32)
―May they be blotted out of the book of life And may they not be recorded with the righteous. "
(Psalm 69:28)
―Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will
arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that
time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued. "
(Daniel 12:1)
―Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names
are recorded in heaven.‖ (Luke 10:20)
―All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the
foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain. " (Revelation 13:8)
―The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go to
destruction. And those who dwell on the earth, whose name has not been written in the book of life
from the foundation of the world, will wonder when they see the beast, that he was and is not and
will come. " (Revelation 17:8)
―and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but
only those whose names are written in the Lamb‘s book of life. " (Revelation 21:27)

30. The Book of Life
―He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will
not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name
before My Father and before His angels." (Revelation 3:5)
• Nowhere is recorded in Scripture the
actually erasing of someone‘s name
from the book of life
• The verses in Revelation state that
believers do not participate with the
world precisely because their names
are recorded in the book of life; being
there prevents their sinful activity
• The statement is a promise that
overcomers are secure rather than a
threat.

31. ―The triumph required in 3:5 is
guaranteed in 13:8 and 17:8. This is not
a contradiction any more than for Paul
to say, ―Work out your salvation . . . for
God is at work in you to will and to do
his good pleasure‖ (Philippians 2:12-13).
It is not nonsense to state the condition:
if you conquer, God will not erase your
name (3:5); and to state the assurance: if
your name is written, you will conquer
(13:8 and 17:8). God‘s ―written-down-
ones‖ really must conquer, and really will
conquer. One side highlights our
responsibility; the other highlights
God‘s sovereignty.‖
- John Piper

32. “I know you”
―He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will
not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name
before My Father and before His angels." (Revelation 3:5)
• ―Therefore everyone who confesses
Me before men, I will also confess him
before My Father who is in heaven. "
(Matthew 10:32)
• ―And then I will declare to them, ‗I
never knew you; depart from Me, you
who practice lawlessness.‘ " (Matthew
7:23)
• ―Confess‖ can either mean
‗acknowledge‘ (as in a relationship) or
‗praise‘.

33. The Repeated command to Hear
―He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to
the churches.‖ (Revelation 2:29)
This phrase is repeated each time in Christ‘s
address to the seven churches of Revelation. In
the gospels (it is never used in John), it is
always used to highlight radical truths, great
principles, and promises.
Note that Jesus says it is the Spirit speaking
to the churches, even though He is the actual
one talking: ―All Scripture is inspired by God
and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for
correction, for training in righteousness‖
(2 Timothy 3:16)

34. Conclusions
• This letter is a warning to those who are playing church and
who have no fruit in their lives to back up their reputation –
their ‗name‘ as being a Christian
• The formula for revival is to: Wake up, remember, repent,
strengthen, and keep Christ‘s Word
• God always keep for Himself men and women who haven‘t
bowed the knee to Baal; they are guaranteed eternal life

35. ―To the angel of
the church in
Sardis write…‖
The dead church