Sardis was once one of the greatest cities of the world. It had been the capital of the ancient kingdom of Lydia, and in the 6th century B. C. was ruled by a fabulously wealthy king whose name, Croesus, became a byword for uncounted wealth. Several times armies had tried to overthrow it but were unable to do so. But twice in its history it had fallen to foreign assault, once by the Persians, and once by the Greeks, and both victories were achieved by stealth. Sardis was so confident it could not be overcome that it failed to guard its walls adequately. In the dead of the night a band of brave soldiers climbed up the sides of the ravine and entered an unwatched gate and overthrew the city. Thus, Sardis was a city characterized by a complacent spirit. The church in this city is the least attractive of the seven churches to whom these letters are written. Our Lord finds nothing to commend about it. As in all these letters, the life of the church is revealed in its deeds. Our Lord says, as he does in most of the letters, "I know your deeds; I know your works." In Sardis these were works that were done to impress people They had a good reputation, but it was actually a dead church. The members of it were for the most part not even believers. They were not spiritually alive. This indicates a church made up of people who outwardly professed Christ -- probably many of them thought of themselves as believers -- but who actually possessed no spiritual life. They were Christians in name only. Sardis had grown comfortable and content and was living on its past reputation. There was reputation without reality, form without force. Like the city itself, the church at Sardis gloried in past splendor, but ignored present decay. In fact, even what they did have was about to die! Why? Because the beleivers had gone to sleep or what I like to call Zombies. They were lifeless!!! The impression is that 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 desireable. They were decent people with a dying witness and a decaying ministry.
The first step toward renewal in a dying church is honest awareness that something is wrong. When a organism is alive, there is growth, repair, reproduction, and power, if these elements are lacking in a church, then that church is either dying or already dead.
However, a remnant of dedicated people often exists in even a dying church. The Lord admonished them to strengthen what remained and not to give up because the church was weak. Where there is life there is hope!! The remnant in the church at Sardis had not compromised with the pagan society around them, nor had they grown comfortable or complacent. It was this devoted spiritual remnant that held the future of the church's ministry. WAKE UP!!! BE WATCHFUL!!! REPENT!! REMEMBER the WORD you RECEIVED and OBEY IT!! In another words stop being a Spiritual Zombie. It is not enough to be true to the faith and have a great history. The faith must produce life and works.
The warning to the church at Sardis is that we can't grow comfortable in our churches we will find ourselves slowly dying. The encouragement is that no church is beyound hope as long as there is a dedicaed remnant in it, willing to strengthen the things that remain.
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