The church at Sardis had a reputation for being alive!
This whole week I've been thinking about Christ's words to the church at Sardis. In Revelation 3:1 (NIV) Christ says, "To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead."
I was thinking about these words Friday night, while at the Illinois State Fair. The fairground was full of life! For the next week at least, it's the place to be! People were laughing. Parents were shuffling their kids from ride to ride. Entertainers, rock bands, cowboys, and politicians were all strutting their stuff. On the main drag, a vendor was yelling at me to try chocolate-covered, fried bacon. No thanks!
But isn't it true that the fair has a reputation of being alive? And isn't that why we go to the fair? To feel alive? We go for the ambiance, the great music, the dancing, the sights and smells, the tasty food, the fireworks, the deafening roar of the monster trucks, and the adrenaline rush!
But after the adrenaline wears off, we're left to contend with the deadness of our souls again. Though we laugh and smile, our heart aches. Though we eat and drink, we're never satisfied. If anything, we feel as if life is passing us by. The adrenaline has a way of numbing our souls to the spiritual realities lurking just beneath the surface.
To the church at Sardis, Christ says, "...you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead." Isn't it funny that Christ should say such a thing to his Church? Do we not have the bread of life, Jesus Christ? Do we not have living water welling up within us, the promised Holy Spirit? Have we not laid claim to eternal life through faith in Christ? Is not Christ alive in us? Are we not Christ's body, and are we not members of his body, and isn't it true that we no longer live, but Christ lives in us?
No, here is what Christ says to his Church. "You've made a name for yourself of being alive, but you are dead. I see you for what you are. I see your deeds." What a chilling indictment Christ is making! He's not indicting the culture, not the world, but on the "supposed" godly, the "supposed" elect in Christ. Could it be that you or I, though maintaining the proper appearances of being alive spiritually, are in fact dead?
Sardis was an interesting city, geographically and historically.
Christ is speaking to the church at Sardis. Sardis was an interesting city. Something you may not know is that Sardis stood atop a mountain. A central feature of Sardis was the acropolis. The word "acropolis" literally means, "city on the edge" or "city on the extremity" or "high city." That was Sardis. Sardis stood on the edge of a mountain, its rock walls rising 800 feet high. During times of trouble, people would flee to the acropolis for safety from advancing armies. Sardis was one of the most feared cities in the ancient world.
Sardis had a bustling wool industry, and according to some, pioneered a process for dying white wool to make various colored fabrics. The city flourished economically.
Something else you should know is that the people of Sardis were intrigued with the mysteries of life and death. Seven miles outside of the city of Sardis stood the necropolis. The necropolis literally means, "city of the dead." The necropolis was a place where people would bury their dead. The countless mounds of dirt, under which the dead lay, was an overwhelming sight.
Interesting enough, the city of Sardis was a city in decline. Several times in its history it had been destroyed by earthquakes. The city was always rebuilt, but the fear of earthquakes kept the people from building more ornate temples and structures like you found in Ephesus or Smyrna.
On numerous occasions, the city of Sardis was also compromised. In 546 B.C., the Persian king Cyrus laid siege to the city for 14 days. One day, a shrewd Persian soldier observed a Sardian soldier descending down a long, winding path on the southern edge of city to retrieve his helmet. In the middle of the night, the Persian army followed his path back up the summit and captured the whole city, taking the entire city by surprise. It so astounded the Greek world that, "capturing Sardis" became a saying for achieving the impossible! "If you can capture Sardis you can do anything!"
Alexander the Great defeated this city and several others. Once, Sardis was defeated when a guard fell asleep at his post. The enemy scaled the wall, overtook the sleeping guard, and soon overtook the whole city. In both of these instances, Sardis was taken in the middle of the night, by total surprise, because of the negligence of a few watchmen.
Christ rebukes the church in Sardis for her pride.
All of this background will help you understand the sharpness with which Christ addressed his Church. He was essentially telling the Church, "You pride yourself in being this towering acropolis, this fully alive church. But in reality, you're more like the necropolis, a city of the living dead."
He was telling his Church, "You pride yourself in your secure position, in your standing as my redeemed, as baptized believers, and as a worshiping community. In reality, you are vulnerable to the enemy. You're letting your guard down. You're asleep. You're weak. You've forgotten history."
He was telling his Church, "You pride yourself in your ability to die wool, and to fabricate the finest garments in all of Asia Minor. But in reality, you've soiled your clothes. You're unacceptable to me. I know your deeds. You have this reputation of being alive, but you are dead."
Look what Christ says next, in Revelation 3:2-3 (NIV). "Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief (like the formidable Cyrus, like the formidable Alexander the Great), and you will not know at what time I will come to you."
Satan is not overtly attacking the Church in Sardis.
A commentator pointed out an interesting thing about the church at Sardis. Sardis is different from all the other churches which are addressed in Revelation. First, it is the only church that doesn't receive a positive commendation. But more important than that--Sardis is the only church not overtly being attacked by Satan.
In Ephesus there are false apostles, the Nicolatians, and hardships. In Smyrna, there are the Jews from the synagogue of Satan, the believers are being falsely imprisoned, and Christ is asking them to remain faithful unto death. In Pergamum we read how a believer named Antipas was put to death and refused to renounce his faith. In Thyatira, there is tremendous physical suffering as Satan seduces believers into sexual immorality.
But in Sardis? In Sardis, no overt attack is needed by Satan. Satan's strategy in Sardis is the same as that of Alexander the Great and King Cyrus! His strategy is to lull the believers into a deep sleep, to let them feel secure and comfortable in their high place, only to sneak in and destroy them.
This is Satan's strategy for the American Church too. It's not to kill and destroy, or persecute, or cause us to suffer. Not yet. Satan's strategy is to lull us into a deep sleep, to weaken our resolve, to busy us with commerce, with making wool, dying wool, and fabricating appearances.
"Wake up!", Christ shouts! "Strengthen what remains but is about to die! I've not found your deeds to be perfect! Remember what you've seen and heard, obey it and repent."
I'll tell you something that is really bizarre about what Christ tells the church at Sardis. He tells them that it isn't Satan they should be worried about. Does that sound odd? We're always talking about Satan as if he is to be most feared of supernatural beings, as if he holds the power of life and death. Look again at what Christ says.
Revelation 3:3 (NIV) says, "But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you." The whole point of these letters is that we must ultimately contend with the coming Christ Jesus, the King of kings and the Lord of lords.
Jesus tells us to not be afraid of Satan, because Satan cannot destroy us.
Do you remember what Jesus told his disciples in Matthew 10:28 (NIV)? "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell."
Or maybe you've forgotten how Christ introduced himself in Revelation 1:17-18 (NIV). "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades." It's not Satan's coming, but rather Christ's coming that we should be alarmed about.
Or maybe you've forgotten Jesus' own words in Matthew 24:43-44 (NIV). "But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him."
Or maybe you've forgotten Paul's admonition in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3 (NIV). "Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, 'Peace and safety,' destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape."
Or maybe the apostle Peter's words in 2 Peter 3:8-13 (NIV) are of little concern to you? "But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare."
"Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness."
Some churches and Christians are in for a rude awakening.
The Church is in for a rude awakening. We are asleep. It takes every ounce of energy just to get out of bed for church on Sunday, let alone tend to spiritual nourishment during the week.
We are weak. We do very little outside of Sunday to strengthen our spiritual lives. At best, we are spoon-fed, Sunday-only Christians who've never learned to truly know Christ's word, share our faith, or pray prayers that move mountains.
And we are forgetful. We're unacquainted with God's salvation history. We readily forget what Christ has done for us on the cross, in his death, in his burial, and in his resurrection. We forget to pray, forget to read our Bibles, forget to go to church, forget to fast, and forget to meditate. For us, obedience is optional, repentance is non-existent, and the thought of Christ's glorious return barely evokes a yawn.
If we desire to dwell in the city of the living, we must contend with the one who holds the keys of death and Hades.
Is your name written in the book of life?
I need to say this. It's too important not to take the time right now. In Sardis, it was forbidden to approach the temple of Artemes with soiled clothing. Only those who were dressed in white were allowed to approach the deity.
Another detail is that the only people who were allowed to remain in Sardis were those whose names were written in a book of the living which was kept at the city gates. When a person died, or committed a crime, or was found unworthy, his name was blotted out of the book of the living and his corpse was transported to the necropolis, the city of the dead. Those whose names remained in the book, counted it a joy to hear their names called out and acknowledged when they arrived at city gates. So it will be on that last day.
In Revelation 3:4-5 (NIV) Christ says, "Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."