“When Churches Die”
(Revelation 3:1-6)
Series: Understanding The Book Of Revelation
Rev. Todd A. Linn, PhD
First Baptist Church, Henderson KY
7-9-06 (AM)
- Please open your Bibles to Revelation, chapter 3.
We are early into our series of messages through the book of Revelation. We’re going verse-by-verse through this book and we are now looking at the seven churches of Asia Minor. Thus far, we have studied the church at Ephesus, Symryna, Pergamum, and Thyatira. This week we are looking at the church at Sardis. Most commentators refer to the church at Sardis as “The Dead Church” or “The Dying Church.”
I had to be careful in assigning a title to this message. I always try to think of how that title will appear on the church marquis out front or in Saturday’s newspaper ad. You know my sermon titles are always listed there each week. So I didn’t think it would look too good to see, “First Baptist Church: ‘The Dead Church!’” I happen to think our church is alive, but even if I believed otherwise I wouldn’t want to advertise it.
- Please stand in honor of the reading of the Word of God.
1 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, ‘ These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.
2 “Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God.
3 “Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.
4 “You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.
5 “He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but 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.” ‘
- Pray.
Introduction:
Last month our family was at the airport in Evansville as we were preparing for our trip to the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting in Greensboro. So we were making our way through the line there just outside the gate. Those of you who travel know you have to place things on this little conveyer belt so that it can go through an X-Ray machine that allows airport security workers to see inside your stuff so they can make sure nobody boards the plane with guns and other weapons. You know how you have to take your laptop out of your carry-on bag, and your pocket change, and cell phone, and so forth. You have to take off your shoes, too. The whole process reminds me of what I do every evening when I get home from work: I take out my laptop, car keys, change, and kick off my shoes. Well anyway, there we all were, going through the line and everybody managed to get through okay, but they wanted to run my bag through again. No surprise there. I watch them run it through again and the belt pauses on the inside of the machine. The workers wrinkle their brows as they’re trying to figure out what’s inside that bag. And there’s no telling. My bag has books and gadgets and coffee—you know, survival items. Then they take the bag to the side and put on some gloves in order to search through it. They tell me to step aside while they search the bag. Well, now I’m trying to figure out what’s inside that bag. When I learn that the lady is looking for a set of keys, I remembered that I put my keys in there so I wouldn’t have to mess with them during the trip. I told her which pocket they were in and then I remembered: on my set of car keys is a small, little knife. I could just picture this lady finding the knife and accusingly saying, “Well, what have we here?!” Then they would throw the cuffs on me and take me away. Fortunately she believed the truth, which was that I had just plain forgot all about that little knife. I ran it back outside to the van and went through security again, this time all clear.
Our Lord Jesus Christ speaks to these seven churches in Asia Minor. It is He who is speaking to each of these churches. And what Jesus is sharing with each church is the results of what He has seen with His all-seeing eyes. Jesus has X-Rayed each church and He sees things that either the church has covered-up or the things the church has forgotten were there.
And then he says at the end of each X-Ray report, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the spirit says to the churches.” And that is our invitation to perk-up our ears and to listen with attentive hearts, asking God to speak to us here at First Baptist Church. I want to share with you some things we can learn if we’ll listen this morning to the Spirit who teaches us. Three things:
**What we can Hear the Spirit Saying to the Church. Number one, we can hear:
I. How the Church’s Faithless are Rebuked (1)
The church at Sardis was a church that was dying on the inside. Like diseased cells in a physical body, these bad cells were attacking the good cells and the body was becoming affected to the point that Jesus actually calls the church “dead.” Now he’s using that word to describe the general condition of the church at Sardis. It doesn’t mean the church is full of unbelievers, though we can be sure there were a number of folks on the church roll who were not really saved. They were what we will call the faithless. They were the bad cells. It seems every church is comprised of good cells and bad cells. There are the faithful and the faithless. The problem at the church at Sardis is that there were many more faithless than there were faithful. So listen to how the church’s faithless are rebuked:
1 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, ‘ These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.
There’s the rebuke: “you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.” You have the reputation in your city of being a good church, but inside you are a spiritually diseased people. You are dead.
Now remember that Jesus is the one doing the speaking. He refers to Himself as “He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars.” We have said before that the seven Spirits of God is a reference to the work of the Holy Spirit. Seven symbolizes fullness and perfection. There may also be an allusion to the Greek translation of Isaiah 11:2 where is listed the seven workings of the Holy Spirit. Our Lord Jesus has with Him the Holy Spirit and He also has “the seven stars.” Remember that the star in these passages refers to the angel of each church. The star is the representative of each church. It reminds us that Jesus possesses each church. Jesus is the Lord of each church. He holds each church in His possession and He Himself has what this dead church at Sardis so desperately needs: the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.
Now the normal formula we have been observing in the way Jesus speaks to these churches of Asia Minor is that Jesus says, “Here are some good things you are doing and then here’s the bad stuff you’re doing.” But Jesus doesn’t begin that way here with the church at Sardis. He doesn’t begin with any good things this church is doing because the church as a whole had stopped doing good things. They were dying. He says, “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.” They had a “name” that they were alive. They had a reputation from a bygone era of glory days. They were once a living, thriving church, but no longer. They were now dying.
The city of Sardis had a well-known necropolis, or cemetery just outside the city gates and the church at Sardis was becoming an awful lot like that cemetery. You couldn’t see it on the outside. It looked okay on the outside, but on the inside it was dead. Vance Havner said, “[the church] had it all in the show window, but nothing in stock.” This church was like a cemetery with a steeple in the middle.
Given the context of what was problematic with many of these churches in Asia Minor, the Christians at Sardis were very likely giving-in to the temptations of the world around them. They compromised their beliefs for the praises of man. They so wanted to be esteemed by the non-Christian community that they tip-toed around them doing their best to offend no one. They had compromised their doctrine to the point they couldn’t even remember exactly what they used to believe. That’s why we read nothing here of persecution. This church at Sardis was not persecuted as was the churches of Ephesus, Smyrna, and Pergamum because they lived no differently than the culture around them.
Chuck Swindoll gives us five (5) main reasons churches die:
- Worship of the past (“the way we were”)
- Greater concern with cosmetics than with character
- Love of tradition over love for Christ
- Inflexibility and resistance to change
- Losing evangelistic and missionary fervor
As a church we must continually examine ourselves and inspire faithfulness among the membership or we, too, may hear the rebuke of the Lord. What can we hear the Spirit saying to the churches? We can hear how the church’s faithless are rebuked. Secondly, we can hear:
II. How the Church’s Fellowship is Restored (2-3)
There are five verbs in verses 2 and 3 that will tell us how the church’s fellowship with the Lord is restored. Remember as you study your Bibles that verbs, in particular, are helpful at getting at what God is saying to us.
2 “Be watchful,
That’s a good Greek word. It is the word “Gregehryown” from which we get the English name “Gregory.” Those of you named “Gregory” know that your name means “watchful.” It is a word that refers to the idea of keeping watch, as a person guarding a city. Stay awake. Be vigilant.
This word is particularly helpful to the Christians at Sardis because they knew their city’s history. The people of Sardis were proud of their citadel, located high atop the slope of Mt. Tmolus. There was a fifteen-hundred-foot precipice on three sides and a steep approach to the South. It was a fortress that was virtually unassailable and unconquerable. But twice in the city’s history a man climbed to the city and went through the gates while the watchman was not looking. So Jesus says, “Be watchful, church!” Stay awake. Never forget, Christian, the tendency to become sleepy and lazy with regard to spiritual things.
Yesterday afternoon we had our BodyLife Workshop for new members and this is one of the points we made about the importance of having a daily quiet time. I said we must beware of hindrances to spiritual growth. We can get distracted from having a regular time of Bible reading and prayer. We can begin to think that we’re okay; that we’re stronger than we really are. Like the citadel in Sardis, you may feel secure and unconquerable in your Christian faith, but Jesus says, “Be watchful.”
and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God.
There are some things that have not entirely died. Jesus says “strengthen them” for I have not found your works “perfect” before God. The word “perfect” there is better translated “complete” or “completed,” so that the text reads, “strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works completed before God.”
These works are likely works such as mentioned in previous churches, like the church in Thyatira, chapter 2, verse 19, works of love, service, faith, and endurance. These are works that were started, but remained unfinished. Interestingly, the city of Sardis had a temple that was built in honor of the goddess Artemis. But it was an unfinished temple. I imagine whenever people passed by that temple, they would shake their heads and wonder just when in the world that temple was going to be completed. Well, it never was. That half-built, unfinished temple was emblematic of the church at Sardis. So Jesus says, “Get busy with these works of love, faith, and service.”
3 “Remember therefore how you have received and heard;
Here the Lord tells the church to remember its doctrine. Remember the truths you had heard and received. Remember the teachings of the apostles. Don’t forget your Christian doctrine. The word is in the present tense. It means, “continue to remember.” Continue to remember the things you have learned. This speaks to the importance of regular attendance to the worship service and Bible studies. That’s what we do at least twice on Sundays and once on Wednesdays. We continue to remember what we have learned.
hold fast
That is, “keep” or “guard” the truth as a precious treasure. Do you love the things of God? Do you have a Bible and read it regularly? That’s the idea here. Hold fast the truth in your hand. Don’t let it go. Regard it as the precious treasure that it is.
and repent.
That word repent covers the previous four verbs in verses 2 and 3. Repent. That is, turn back to God. Change the way you think about God and spiritual things and change your behavior. Get back to doing the things you know you should be doing. Some of you need to get back to doing the things you know you should be doing. Some of you need to be teaching in Sunday School next year. Some of you need to get into the choir. Some of you need to serve as greeters and ushers. Get busy serving. Get busy reading your Bible daily. Don’t fall asleep spiritually, be watchful and wake up. “What happens if I don’t?” Jesus says:
Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.
This is not a reference to the second coming, but rather a soon coming of judgment upon the person who doesn’t wake-up spiritually. If you and I persist in just coming Sunday mornings—and Sunday mornings only—just going through the forms of worship without the fire burning in our hearts, then we are ripe for judgment.
What can we hear the Spirit saying to the churches? We can hear how the church’s faithless are rebuked, we can hear how the church’s fellowship is restored and, number three, we can hear:
III. How the Church’s Faithful are Rewarded (4-6)
4 “You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.
There are a few in the church who are not dying. There were not many, but there were a few. They are the church’s faithful. They have “not defiled their garments.” Their garments are “white” and so they will “walk with the Lord in white, for they are worthy.”
The faithless had soiled their garments by giving-in to the culture around them, by contaminating themselves with the worldly behavior of the non-Christians in their city, acting just like they were acting, going to the same places, thinking the same way, talking the same way, drinking the same way. By accommodating themselves to the environment around them they had “defiled their garments.”
But then there were the faithful few. They had not defiled their garments. They stayed faithful to the Lord and you could tell it. Like gloriously white clothing, they really stood-out as being different than the non-Christians around them. Their behavior was attractive. They really stood-out in a positive way. They are rewarded with the promise of “walking with the Lord,” enjoying the unceasing fellowship of Christ for eternity.
5 “He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments,
The faithful to Christ will be forever clothed in white garments. This phrase reminds us of our need for forgiveness. If I am not a Christian, God looks at me and sees my sin. But if I trust Christ as my Lord and Savior, God looks at me and sees me clothed in Christ’s righteousness. It is as though I am clothed in white garments, wearing the righteousness of Christ.
and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life;
This is not to be taken as a warning, but as a promise. When we receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, our Lord writes down our name into the registry of heaven. Just as I ask you to sign the red registration book at the beginning of each worship service, so our Lord has a registration book called the “Book of Life” and in that book are recorded all the names of the faithful Christians. Is your name written down in that book?
but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.
Jesus alludes to what He had said to His disciples in the gospels, such as in Matthew 10:32-33, where He says, “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.”
If we have truly been saved, truly born-again, we will let others know about it. We will not be ashamed. We’ll be as Paul who said in Romans 1:16-17, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes.” Do others know about your Christian faith? Do you regularly confess Christ before your family, friends, and co-workers? If so, the Lord Jesus will confess you before His Father and before His angels. You will die and stand before the God of judgment. And Jesus will say to the Father, “He is mine.” And Jesus will say to the angels, “He is mine.” And Jesus will say to everyone, “He is mine.” I am so grateful that I know I belong to Jesus. I belong to Jesus. He is mine and I am His.
6 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ‘
Conclusion / Invitation:
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Do you hear the Spirit this morning? Do you belong to the Lord Jesus Christ? Do you confess Him regularly and unashamedly before others? The church at Sardis “had a name that they were alive, but were dead.” What they were on the outside did not accurately reflect what was on the inside. On the outside, they looked okay to everyone else. But like a security worker at the airport, Jesus can see right through the superficial and look inside of our hearts. He sees your sin and He sees my sin.
If we remain in sin, we remain separated from God. If we die in sin, we spend eternity separated from God in a place called hell, a place where judgment of sin takes place forever and ever. The good news is that Jesus Christ is in the resurrection business. Just as the church in Sardis could be resurrected from the dead, so can you. The Bible says in Ephesians 2:1 that while we are dead in sins, Jesus Christ makes us alive. You say, “What do I do?” Well, you must know that you need your sins forgiven. “And then what?” Then you come to Jesus. “How?” In just a moment we will have our hymn of invitation and I will invite you to leave your place in the aisle and make your way down here to the front. I’ll be standing here along with others to receive you. If you’re coming to Jesus this morning, all you need say is, “I want to go God’s way.” One of us will pray with you and one of our Decision Friends will take a few minutes to record your decision in one of our offices outside the sanctuary and pray with you and encourage you.
Some of you have trusted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior and you need to be baptized. Baptism is the main way of confessing Jesus Christ before others. We’re not ashamed to be baptized because we’re not ashamed of Christ. If you need to be baptized, you come, too. Others of you have been worshiping with us and you believe God is leading you to join this church today. You come this morning and join with us.
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