In his commentary on World Net Daily posted on April 21, 2009, David Welch wrote the following words:
One of the most massive and widespread occurrences of identity theft has happened, and it is not even attracting the attention of local, state or national leaders. This particularly insidious method targets a minority group, stealing their most precious possession, and yet even more compelling is that the perpetrator assumes nearly permanent "residency" in the victim's identity.
The mastermind behind this worldwide ring has cells in every city and town in America – including operatives in many unsuspecting homes. The evidence of this outrage is right before our eyes, but we have simply chosen to ignore its existence, pretending that the consequences will be insignificant.
The "victim" is biblical Christianity, and the operatives of this fraud are millions of Americans, both clergy and laity, who are walking around using that identity with no right to do so.
Welch’s commentary, which was titled “Christians in Name Only”, could have just as easily been written nearly 2,000 years ago in the city of Sardis where the church there was full of those who were Christians in name only. If you turn to Revelation 3, you can follow along as I read the words of Jesus to the church there in Sardis.
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. 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.’
Once again, we’ll use the same outline that we’ve been using for all the churches in order to examine this passage.
1. Church – Sardis
The city of Sardis was located about 50 miles east of Ephesus on a northern spur of Mt. Tmolus. The acropolis, with its nearly perpendicular rock walls rising 1,500 feet below the valley below, provided the city with natural protection from its enemies. As the city grew, it expanded to along the banks of the Pactolus River below.
Sardis was a city of wealth and riches, where gold and silver coins were first struck. But it was also known for its apathy and immorality. Its inhabitants were notoriously known as loose living, pleasure and luxury loving people. Seven hundred years before this message was delivered to the church in Sardis it was one of the greatest cities in the world. But by the end of the first century, it had decayed greatly. Today, it is merely a pile of ruins near the small village of Sart.
Again, we know very little about how the church there had been established. As with the other churches in the area, it is likely that this was the result of the missionary activities of the church in Ephesus during Paul’s three year stay there. And by the end of the first century, some commentators believe it was the largest of the seven churches addressed here in Revelation.
2. Christ
…him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.
Jesus’ description of himself is consistent with the pattern we’ve seen in the other messages. First, it draws from John’s vision of Jesus in chapter 1 and second, it is particularly relevant to this specific church.
In this case Jesus actually goes back to John’s opening greeting in Revelation 1:4, where we are first introduced the seven spirits. As you’ll remember from our study of that passage, the seven spirits are almost certainly a reference to the fullness of the Holy Spirit. As we study the church in Sardis more fully, we’re going to see just why Jesus describes Himself as having the Holy Spirit.
The second part of His description is very similar to how Jesus described Himself to the church in Ephesus. The fact that He has the seven stars, which are identified in chapter 1 as the angels of the seven churches, indicates that He is the one who is to be the Lord of His churches.
3. Commendation
Except for the message to Laodicea, where there is no word of commendation at all, this is the only message where the commendation comes after the condemnation. And, as we’ll see, it is also by far the weakest and least flattering of Jesus’ words of commendation.
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.
As we’ll see as we progress through our study of this message, the idea of “name” is central to the message, in much the same way that “works” was central to the message to Smyrna. Names are not nearly as significant in our culture as they were in Bible times. Although many parents do consider the meaning of the name when naming their children, it is much more common in our culture to choose names based on a lot of other factors, including the novelty of the name. How else do you explain that actor Rob Morrow actually named his daughter Tu (Tu Morrow). Perhaps he and his wife got their inspiration from the list of unusual names that I found this week that included names like these:
• Eileen Dover
• Howie Dewett
• Anita Man
• Anita Newman
• Robin Banks
• Pearl E. Gates
However, names were very significant in the late first century, when this message was given to the church in Sardis. A person’s name often indicated the character or the function of a person. We certainly see that in the Bible where God often gave a person a name or even changed someone’s name to indicate something about that person’s character or God’s task for them:
• Abram (exalted father) became Abraham (father of a multitude)
• Jacob (supplanter) became Israel (struggled with God)
• When Hannah asked God for a son and God answered her prayer, she named the boy Samuel, which means “heard of God”.
• When God called Hosea to marry Gomer and bear children, He gave the children names that indicated how He was going to deal with Israel:
o Jezreel = the Lord sows
o Lo-ruhama = she has not received mercy
o Lo-ammi = not my people
So when Jesus says that there still a few names left in Sardis who have not soiled their garments, He is referring there to the faithful remnant whose character is consistent with the name of Jesus.
These are not those who are Christians in name only, but rather those who have remained faithful to Jesus.
The other significant aspect of referring to the faithful remnant as “a few names” is that it indicates that Jesus knows His true followers by name. Although they are part of His body, the church, Jesus has a personal relationship with each believer. That is certainly consistent with the definition of the church that we’ve developed on Thursday nights – those called out by name as witnesses of the Messiah.
In this verse, we also find the first of many references to white garments or robes in the Book of Revelation. We’ll see another one in just a moment when we get to verse 5. As we’ve already seen in our study, white is a picture of purity. And in this verse, there seems to be two aspects of the purity of these faithful Christ followers.
First, these believers have been made pure and are worthy to walk with Jesus because they have committed their lives to Him and allowed Him to cleanse their lives from the sin that would stain them. The prophet Isaiah described that process like this:
Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord:
though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red like crimson,
they shall become like wool.
Isaiah 1:18 (ESV)
This passage, as well as others, makes it clear that it is God who is the one who is able to cleanse us from our sins and make us pure in His sight. And it is only through faith in Jesus that it is possible for that to occur.
But you’ll also notice that Jesus says that these people have not soiled their garments. Obviously He isn’t saying that they haven’t sinned. But what He seems to indicate is that the way that they are living their lives is consistent with who they are in Jesus and therefore that they haven’t soiled their testimony for Him. This idea of walking worthy is expressed frequently by Paul in his letters:
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called
Ephesians 4:1 (ESV)
Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ…
Philippians 1:27 (ESV)
so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.
Colossians 1:10 (ESV)
Walking with Jesus is a picture of intimacy with Him, similar to the way Adam and Eve walked with God in the Garden before they sinned. It’s not that this faithful remnant has necessarily earned the right to that kind of intimacy, but because they are interested in the things of God and are living in a manner consistent with those things, the result is that they experience a greater depth of intimacy with Jesus than those who don’t. Jesus expressed that same idea like this:
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Matthew 5:8 (ESV)
4. Condemnation
“‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.
These words of Jesus remind me of the church that was so dead that when a member died during the service one day, the paramedics carried out five people before they got the right one.
Neither the people living in Sardis nor the other churches in the area would have considered this to be a dead church. There were all kinds of activities going on there – worship services, ministry events, prayer meetings, committee meetings. So the church had a reputation of being alive. The word translated “reputation” in this verse is actually the same word translated “name’ in the rest of the passage. In other words, this church had made a name for itself, probably both inside and outside the Christian community.
But Jesus, from His position in the midst of the churches can see below the surface and discerns that most of the people in this church are really Christians in name only. They might look like Christ followers and appear to be alive, but they are actually dead. Although we just don’t have enough here in this passage to determine the exact nature of the problem here in Sardis, the words of Jesus in verse 2 give us some clues about what had happened to this church:
…for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.
Although their works may have appeared to be quite effective from man’s perspective, they were not complete in God’s sight. In the church to which Jesus describes Himself as having the Holy Spirit, the problem seems to be that all this activity is being accomplished by human effort based on human understanding rather than relying upon the guidance and the power of the Holy Spirit.
It’s not hard to imagine what had occurred in this church, since we see this same pattern in many of our present day churches as well. When the church first started the people were on fire for Jesus. They were persistent in prayer, relying upon the Holy Spirit to both reveal to them what they should do and for the power to accomplish those tasks. And, because they were obedient to God, the church prospered.
But, over a period of time, the focus began to shift from the empowering work of the Holy Spirit to the programs, practices and traditions themselves. Things were going so well, that the church no longer needed to rely upon God. So the people just kept on doing what they had always done, but they were no longer seeking the guidance and empowerment of the Holy Spirit.
Perhaps the initial success of the church was also attractive to those outside the church and unbelievers began to engage in some of these activities. Maybe some of them came because they really wanted to find out more about Jesus, but others probably came for other reasons – to be with their friends or family, to engage in networking opportunities that would benefit their business, to achieve a place of prominence and power. As a result, the church in Sardis had become a church in name only, because most of the people there were Christians in name only. They were dead and they didn’t even know it.
This church in Sardis was so devoid of life that there is no mention of pressure from either outside or from within the church. Notice the difference between it and the other churches. There are no Jewish accusers of this church even though there was a large colony of Jews in the city of Sardis. There were no false apostles here. There were no domineering Nicolaitans who needed to be guarded against. There were no female seducers. Because the church was no threat at all to him, Satan was content to just let this church go on with all its activities.
5. Counsel
Jesus provides a comprehensive word of counsel for this church, giving them five commands:
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.
As I read these verses, I was struck by the patience and grace of Jesus. Even though the church in Sardis was dead, Jesus didn’t just give up on the people there or completely disown them. There was still a small hint of life there that could be the source of revival if the people would heed the counsel of Jesus. Let’s look at the five commands He gives:
• Become one who is watchful
This is a present tense command which means that it is something that needs to be done continually. The idea here is not just that of waking up, but of being continually watchful and alert.
This command would have been understood by the people of Sardis in light of the history of their city. As I mentioned earlier, Sardis was located at the top of perpendicular rock walls which provided natural protection for the city. But the city had been taken twice in the past – first by Cyrus in 546 BC and later by Antiochus the Great in 216 BC. Both times the city was taken after being infiltrated by a small band of men who had discovered the hidden trail into the city that was left unguarded because the people thought they were invincible.
The church in Sardis had died, at least in part, because they considered themselves invincible and therefore were not even aware that they had been infiltrated and conquered. The first step in making sure that we don’t follow in their footsteps is to constantly be watchful and alert. We must never think that the same thing couldn’t happen to us. Paul gave a similar warning to the church in Corinth:
Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.
1 Corinthians 10:12 (ESV)
• Strengthen what remains
Jesus doesn’t tell them to completely abandon that which is in place. Apparently some of the activities they were engaged in did have at least some hint of life in them. They were about to die, but they were not yet completely dead – probably because of the participation of the faithful remnant. So Jesus commands them to build upon what they already have.
• Remember how you received and heard
The ESV and many other translations render this command “remember what you received and heard”, but the Greek particle is literally the word “how”. Given what we know from the rest of the text, the command to remember “how” they received and heard, rather than “what” they received and heard actually makes much more sense.
As we’ve seen, the principle problem here is that the people had abandoned their dependence on the Holy Spirit and were relying upon their own human wisdom and power. So Jesus is calling on them to remember how they came to know and serve Jesus in the first place. As Paul reminds his readers, it is not human wisdom and effort, but rather the work of the Holy Spirit that is the source of our life in Jesus:
So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.
1 Corinthians 2:10-13 (ESV)
Jesus is telling the people in Sardis to remember that it is the Holy Spirit who enable them to know the things of God and to have a relationship with Jesus and serve Him.
• Continue to keep it
This is another present tense command, so it is not something that can be done just once, but rather it is to be a lifestyle. But what is “it” that they are to continue to keep? The word “it” isn’t in the original text, but is added in our English translations for clarity. In the Greek it is clear that this command is directly related to the preceding command to remember how they received and heard. So the idea here is that they are to continue to keep up their dependence on the Holy Spirit as opposed to their dependence on themselves.
• Repent
This is the same command that we find in all six messages where Jesus has a word of condemnation. There is a sense of urgency to this command. The people need to immediately make a u-turn from their self-dependence and return to their dependence on the Holy Spirit.
Jesus has an ominous word of warning for the church if they fail to heed His counsel. He will come like a thief in the night and bring judgment against them. This language was particularly relevant to a city that had been conquered in the past when their attackers came like a thief in the night because they failed to keep watch.
Although there is some similarity here to the description of the second coming of Jesus in Matthew 24 and in 1 Thessalonians 5, this is almost certainly not a reference to that event. It is instead a warning of impending judgment that is going to come upon the church when they least expect it. Unfortunately, although we may not be able to pinpoint a specific event, we know this is exactly what happened since the church no longer exists and there is not even a single known Christ follower in the village of Sart today.
6. Challenge
Jesus makes three promises to those who will overcome by enduring to the end:
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.
Three promises to those who overcome:
• Clothed in white garments
We’ve already seen the faithful remnant walking with Jesus in white, which was a picture of purity. And certainly the white garments promised here also convey that same idea. But there is something even more going on here. As we progress through the book of Revelation, we’re going to find Christ-followers dressed in robes of white at least three more times. And what is really interesting about all three of those accounts is that those dressed in the white robes are always in the presence of Jesus.
The idea that the white robes represent our future physical presence with Jesus is completely consistent with what we’ve seen in the previous four messages to the churches. In each case, whatever was promised to those who overcome – the tree of life, the crown of life, the hidden manna, the white stone, and the morning star – is a picture of our physical presence with Jesus. The same is true with the white robes.
• Their name will never be blotted from the book of life
Once again, we see the importance of a name here. Jesus knows His followers by name and He promises that He will never blot out their name from the book of life. In the Greek, there is a double negative used here which emphasizes that this is positively absolutely true.
In John’s day, each political entity kept a register, or a book that contained the names of its citizens. If a person died or committed a crime that resulted in a loss of their citizenship privileges, that person’s name would be covered up or blotted out of the book.
What Jesus is promising here is that He will never blot out the name of any of His followers from the book of life. This promise has troubled some people because they think it somehow implies that one’s name can in fact be blotted out of the book and that therefore a Christ-follower can lose his or her salvation. But Jesus does not say anything at all here about blotting anyone’s name out of the book of life. He is merely reassuring those who are proven to be His true followers by enduring to the end, that He won’t ever blot out their names. He is actually assuring His followers that there is no possibility of them losing their salvation since they didn’t do anything to earn it in the first place.
• Their name confessed before God the Father
Again, we see the significance of each individual believer, who will have his or her name confessed by Jesus before God the Father and the angels.
I can still remember the time that I first introduced Mary to my parents. I was really excited about that because I wanted them to know the person that I was getting to know more deeply each day. And when I brought her home and introduced her to my dad and mom, I was proclaiming that she was associated with me and my parents accepted her into their home based on that association.
One day, Jesus is going to do that for me. He is going to bring me into the presence of His Father and say, “Father, this is Pat Damiani.” And because of my association with Jesus that resulted from my faith in Him, God the Father will welcome me into my new home.
Perhaps this message, more than any of the others, describes the church in America today. We’re really busy with activities that are carried out in the name of Jesus. But frankly, there isn’t a whole lot of pressure being exerted on the church and I wonder if that’s because our churches are full of those who are Christians in name only who no longer are dependent on the Holy Spirit, but who are operating in their own human wisdom and power.
So let’s make sure that we become those who are watchful so that we don’t fall into the trap of self-reliance. Let’s remember how the Holy Spirit led us to commit our lives to Jesus and how He once empowered our lives and then let’s hang on to that. Let’s take those things that we have and strengthen them while there is still a bit of life present there. And when we fail to do these things, let’s stop, make a u-turn and repent. That’s the only way to guard against being Christians in name only.
