DEAD OR ALIVE?

Revelation 3:1-6
Bob Bonner
October 16, 2005

Earlier this week, I was fishing for Steelhead. A self-proclaimed Christian man I did not recognize, come over to greet me, saying, “Hello, Pastor Bonner.” For the next hour or so, we fished and chatted together about church and the Lord. After catching two wild Steelhead and then releasing them, we expressed our disappointment that we had not been able to catch a hatchery fish that we could keep and I confessed that I had been tempted to break the law and just take one. Then he proceeded to tell me that the other day, he had caught ten wild Steelhead and was so frustrated that he had to let them all go, that he kept the last one. Knowing this was against the law, he then proceeded to tell me, “Now, I can do that, but you can’t as a Pastor. It would bring too much embarrassment to the name of Christ if you did that.” I responded, “Oh really? You don’t think our God, “El Roi” who sees everything isn’t just as displeased with your theft as He would be of mine?”

I wish I had memorized these words by J. B. Phillips. For if I had, I would have quoted them right then and there to my brother in Christ. I would have reminded him that they are true of all of us and that we should keep them in the fore front of his mind, as we make daily choices in life. In response to an invitation to do wrong, Phillips responded, “Excuse me please. I am a member of the royal family of heaven. God is my Father, His Son is my Saviour, His Spirit is my Comforter and Guide, the Lord’s people are my companions. If I did what you suggest, I should bring dishonor on the Name I bear. Excuse me, please.”

All of us are surrounded by major and minor temptations. We can choose to honor Jesus or choose to fulfill our own wishes. One of the reasons we as believers are not impacting our society is that we rate temptations as major or minor, serious and less serious. We forget that to fall to any of them brings shame upon Christ’s name, because whether anyone else on earth sees it, God and the hosts of heaven, including the believers who have died for their faith in heaven see it. It brings shame to them and all they represent. Not caring about bringing shame to Christ’s name is one reason why Christians today have little to pass on to non-Christians. It’s why many of them don’t take seriously what we have to say to them about Jesus.

The same was true of the Christians in the church at Sardis. Jesus knew it and confronts these believers about their lifestyles and their choices that were having a serious impact on their mission to reach the lost in Sardis for Jesus Christ. In Revelation 3:1-6, we read these words of Jesus Christ: “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.’”

The city of Sardis was located about 30 miles east of Thyatira on an important trade route that ran east and west through the ancient kingdom of Lydia. It actually was situated at the junction of five main roads. As a result of this location, it became a major city and center for trade. It was known as “The first Metropolis of Asia.”

Sardis was the capital city of the ancient kingdom of Lydia, because of its geography. Not only was it at a major intersection of highways, but it was also located on an almost inaccessible plateau. The acropolis of Sardis was about 1,500 feet above the main roads, and it formed an impregnable fortress. Hence, it became a major military center for Rome, one from which they could launch an offensive attack, if need be. Before being made part of Rome, in 1200 B.C., Sardis was the center of opposition to European forces during the great conflicts between Asia and Europe.

The important industries of jewelry, dye, and textiles, made the city exceedingly wealthy and powerful as to its influence on all of Asia.

In A. D. 17, the city was devastated by an earthquake, but through the kindness of Emperor Tiberius, the city was able to recover. In appreciation, the city minted a special coin in honor of Tiberius, and they erected a temple to this “son of Zeus” as well.

Sardis was a very religious city. Besides empire worship, most of the city practiced pagan worship, and there were many mystery cults or secret religious societies. The Temple of Artemis, dating from 4 B. C. Was one of the points of interest and still exists as an important ruin today. Artemis was a multi-breasted goddess of sex and fertility, who was also fervently worshiped in Ephesus. Right next door to that temple is the remains of a Christian church building. Religious persecution was not a problem in Sardis, because great was its religious tolerance, even though just 30 miles to the west in Thyatira, there was little or no religious tolerance toward Christians.

It is a remarkable historic fact that western Asia Minor, now Turkey, was once the brightest spot on earth as it would concern reaching the lost for Christ. Today, it is one of the darkest. In fact, today, it has become a center of Moslem influence. Why?

Typically, whenever you have a large wealthy city, at the hub of great commerce, allowed to grow in its productivity under the oversight and protection of a great army, you find greater tolerance for not only various religious beliefs, but also for looser living. The citizens of such countries live very self-assured, boastful and independent lives. This was true of Sardis.

This letter to Sardis is a searching message to churches today in the United States that exist under the protection of this country’s strong military defenses, its religious tolerance and wealth. Our nation was birthed in an environment of dependence upon God, but that was also mixed with a self-assured, independent pioneer spirit. Much of the rest of the world would not be so gracious in their description of us. They would just flat out call us arrogant. And they are right. The truth hurts.

It’s unfortunate, that this country’s unique historic relationship to Jesus Christ has dissipated over the past two hundred years, and the independent human spirit has turned its back upon God, the Holy Spirit. Our churches are full of activity and housed in beautiful buildings but are so often lacking in evidences of genuine or vital eternal life. It was exactly the same at Sardis. This church at Sardis existed into the 14th century, but it was never prominent or an effective change agent amidst its culture. The church in the U.S. was a change agent in the world, but we have lost much of our heritage.

In Jesus’ words to the church at Sardis, He instructs the church at Sardis, and us as well, as to what’s necessary to revive the church.

Similar to the description in 1:4, Christ addresses the church in Sardis as the one who holds the “seven spirits” in His hand, which is a reference to the Holy Spirit. By choosing to refer to the Holy Spirit as the seven spirits, Jesus uses the number seven to indicate that all churches have the perfect and complete power of the Holy Spirit to fulfill their calling. So, if there is failure in the local church, it is not due to lack of power on God’s part, but rather due to the failure to access that power on our part.

As in 1:20 the “seven stars,” represent each of the seven leaders of the seven churches mentioned in chapters 2 & 3. They, too, were also in His hands, personally cared for and under His control and protection. Yet, having Christ’s power and protection, we will see that this church was fruitless or worthless in fulfilling their mission in Sardis, because the believers had failed to take seriously the priority of their relationship with Jesus. They chose not to avail themselves of His power or purposes.

Different from His opening comments in the letters to the other churches we have read so far, there are no words of commendation to the believers at Sardis. Nor did the Lord point out any doctrinal problems that required correction. Neither is there any mention of opposition or persecution. The church would have been better off had there been some suffering, for it had grown comfortable and content and was living on its past reputation. There was reputation without reality, form without force. The assembly in Sardis was not aggressive in its witness to the city. There was no persecution because there was no invasion of the enemy’s territory. No friction usually means no motion! The unsaved in Sardis saw the church as a respectable group of people who were neither dangerous nor desirable.

Jesus notes that they had “a name.” They evidently had a reputation for being alive and apparently were regarded by their peers as a spiritual church, one that had an effective ministry for God.

For many of us, our reputation is only what people think we are; our character is what God knows us to be. This church had a “name,” a reputation, but it was not the truth about their spiritual condition. Jesus says to them, “You are a decent people with a dying witness and a decaying ministry.”

From God’s perspective, this church was spiritually “dead” meaning devoid of spiritual life, not eternally separated from God. It looked good on the outside, a facade, but they were spiritually comatose on the inside.

The sign that a bride is physically healthy and that she and her husband are intimate is that she gives birth to new life. Likewise, a sign that a church is healthy is that the bride gives birth to new believers. If we are not actively pursuing people for Christ, we are not healthy, nor are we doing our job!

One glimmer of hope for this church, is that there must have been a small handful of believers there who had true spiritual life and were touching others for Jesus, otherwise, in verse 2 Jesus would never have said, “strengthen the things which remain.”

This church is about to die and it doesn’t even know it. Hence, in verse 3 Jesus mentions four progressive steps desperately needed for their recovery and for them to receive the blessing of Christ in this world and the next. These steps are spoken in words that are sharp, short, to-the-point commands. They are like receiving a slap in the face or like taking a deep sniff of one of those ammonia capsules they make a fighter breathe when he gets his bell rung.

The first step is Christ’s shout, “Wake up to your desperate condition!” These Christians were asleep spiritually. They were apathetic about their commission to reach the lost in their town. They were unconcerned and indifferent to their friends’ and family’s spiritual condition.

An important question shouts to us from these verses: “Are we like them?” Ray Stedman admonishes us, “We must not shrink from the convicting words of the letter to Sardis. Rather we must bravely face them and ask ourselves, ‘What has gone wrong with my spiritual life? Why does my worship and Christian service seem so dreary? Why does my church seem so lifeless and unattractive? Why don’t people want to come?”

Although they were apathetic, there is a ray of hope here. Jesus believed they could turn it around, otherwise, He would not have commanded them to “Wake up!”

Christ’s second step for recovery is to “strengthen what remains.” In verse 1, Jesus said, “I know your deeds” even though He doesn’t list them. Then He commands them to “strengthen what remains.” His point is that there is still a little glow left in the coals, but not real fire or passion in the church for Christ. It’s not totally over for this church. But if they hope to come to life again, they must take deliberate action, rearrange their priorities and get back into the game. He basically tells them that their efforts were incomplete and unfinished.

As we look at the third step, I must disagree with that fine Bible translation, the NASB, and point out that verse 3, should not read, “Remember, therefore, what you have received...” but rather, “Remember, therefore, how you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent.”

Jesus is not stressing “what” they heard. We know that they heard the gospel of Jesus Christ and that they had not forgotten that. What they had forgotten was “how” it had come to them. It had come to them in supernatural power. The ministry of the believer is not something carried out in the power of one’s own human ability or imagination or plans. But rather, that power comes from the leading of the Holy Spirit, and being Spirit controlled.

In verse 1, I believe Jesus emphasized His power came from holding the Holy Spirit in His hand. This very Holy Spirit power that had transformed their lives in the beginning and enabled them to reach others for Christ was missing from these believers’ practical everyday life. They needed to get back to living the spirit-empowered life.

So, how does one lay hold again of the power of the Holy Spirit in one’s life? Jesus mentions two things here: First, He says, “keep” or “obey” or more correctly, “Keep on obeying what your Master says is right for you to do.” Study how you buy, how you play a game, how you study for classes or take exams, how you fish, how you speak about or to others. Are you living as Christ has taught you to live? Are you submitting to those laws and those authorities that Christ has placed over your life? If so, keep on doing it.

But if you are not, then, Jesus says, “Repent” or turn around or turn away from that which you know to be wrong and remember to do that which is right. Admit to yourself and the Lord that what you were doing was stealing, cheating, lying or just plain ignoring Him and it was wrong. Ask Him to forgive you and He will. Receive His forgiveness and get back to work! By faith, His Holy Spirit will show up and empower you to supernaturally touch people’s lives for Christ.

The fourth step and final step to recovery or revival for the church is revealed in Christ’s words, “If therefore you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come upon you.” Several times throughout the New Testament, there is mention of the expectant return of Jesus Christ. One of the classic statements is that He “will come like a thief” in the night, surprising many people, including many Christians. The Apostle Paul describes this event in 1 Corinthians 15, the great resurrection chapter, when he says, “Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye.” This is the dynamic hope of the church. Hence, I see Jesus saying, “Recover your hope.”

Those Christians at Sardis had lost sight of the hope of Christ’s return. Likewise, many of us Christians today, we go about our days living without that hope or expectation of Christ’s immediate return. We don’t live expectantly that He could arrive at any moment. Hence, we become lazy in our spirits. We ignore the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We don’t consider the serious condition of our family and friends who don’t know Jesus. We need to regain what Sardis had lost, the understanding, the truth, that Jesus could return at any moment to snatch away those who claim Jesus as their Savior and Lord, and then live as though we believed it. The church is the great unclaimed and unrecognized treasure of this world. But one day, Jesus will come like a thief and remove it from the planet. Shortly thereafter, I believe by the end of seven years, the world as we know it, without the church, will self-destruct at the hands of godless leaders.

As soon as Jesus comes, the very next moment, every Christian will see Jesus face to face and will have to give an accounting of how they have invested their lives for Him and His purposes.

I believe this is the major theme and purpose of this book. Jesus tells us to keep reading this book, to heed it’s warnings, because Jesus is coming again, and you and I will be held responsible for how we have invested our lives. He doesn’t want us to live one day, forgetting this message or this lens through which we are to view our days. He is coming again to call us to account for each of our deeds here on earth. Without that perspective and purpose, all Christians would eventually live their lives totally for themselves, trying to get the best of this world rather than looking to receive a return in the next world from the way we invest our lives today. That’s just how the Christians at Sardis were living and how many today are living.

As in every age of church history, there are usually a few faithful believers who heed Christ’s words found in these verses. Christ refers to them as those who have “not soiled their garments.” Some believe this expression comes from the well known open licentious activity produced by the morally lax city of Sardis. Jesus labels these faithful who have “not soiled their garments” by seeking after this world, but who repent, “overcomers.” To these faithful Christians, Jesus makes three promises in these verses.

The first promise is that you will be clothed in white. Being clothed in white garments is usually a sign of being redeemed, or purchased and cleansed by the blood of Jesus and given the right of adoption as one of His children. But mentioning this here as something given to these faithful overcomers, these spirit-filled Christians, I believe, refers to a special place of honor that Christ will only grant to certain believers who have lived each day as though they expected Christ to return at any moment. “Clothed in white” will be the royal apparel of the overcomer, the one who is not legalistic, but obedient in the small as well as major actions of life.

It’s interesting to note that in Revelation 4:4 there are 24 unnamed elders who are dressed in special white robes standing around the throne. Other separate groups mentioned in Revelation are dressed in white robes. Presumably, they are not all the same white robes. Each group is rewarded for its efforts to live as overcomers in the unique gifting of special white robes of honor.

The second promise is the promise of being reassured of one’s salvation.. Jesus says that this overcomer’s “name will not be erased from the book of life.” Some insist that not having their name erased from the Book of Life, implies that it could be erased from the Book of Life, or that they could lose their salvation. However, this verse actually gives a positive affirmation that their names will not be erased. Nowhere in Scripture is there any support for the idea that we could lose our salvation, once we are saved. Jesus told His disciples in Luke 10:20 to rejoice because their names were “written in heaven.” In that passage, the Greek verb is in the perfect tense, which means the emphasis of the translation is (as Kenneth Wuest writes in his Expanded Translation), “your names have been written in heaven and are on permanent record up there.”

There are many Christians, who are not living the spirit-empowered, or spirit-controlled life and thus are not living for Jesus and His purposes or looking forward to His coming. One indicator of this kind of Christian, who is not living as an overcomer, is that he continually wrestles with the fear of losing his salvation. However, those who keep looking up, expecting that the Lord will return, and thus, are busy about His business, will experience right now, the strong reassurance that they are saved. I do not know of a spirit-filled Christian who continually worries about whether or not he is saved.

The third promise to those Christians who overcome, is the promise of being specially recognized before God the Father and His angels. All Christians will be recognized and accepted by God as those who have been covered by the blood of Jesus. But the overcomers, those who remained faithful to the end, even while others around them drifted away, will be treated with this special honor.

Finally, as with His other letters, Jesus closes with a warning to all who read or hear this book of Revelation read. The warning is simple: Hear and respond to what has been said.

How do you respond to Jesus Christ? Have you entrusted your life to Jesus? If you haven’t, why not? If you have, are you living today in the power of the Holy Spirit, living in obedience to what you know is right to do? Can the backdrop of your life be witnessed to by others as your anticipation of Christ’s immediate return and His holding you accountable to what you are doing for Him today?

I close with these words from J. B. Phillips. He writes: “Every church is born in a time of revival, in some time of the Spirit’s moving. It is only when the first movings of God are forgotten that a church settles down and becomes institutionalized. The drive, the dynamic of the former years is replaced with a more formal, ritualistic, traditionalized, stereotyped, and complacent form of activity. The movement becomes monument.”

May your walk with Jesus Christ and your personal activity in your church and in your city be such that you are not adding to the complacency and the solidifying of a monument, but rather to exposing of the vibrant supernatural life of Christ.

back to top