“Go back to what you heard and believed at first; hold to it firmly and turn to me again. Unless you do, I will come suddenly upon you, unexpected as a thief, and punish you.”[1]
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5
(Revelation 3:3) The Warning: There Is the Warning. The
Believers of a Dead, Lifeless Church Are Warned to Do Four Things. |
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Chapter 3 Revelation 3:1–6 F. The
Message to Sardis: The Church That Has a Strong Reputation
but Is Dying |
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1. The
recipients a. The messenger of
the church b. The Sardis
churchDS1 2. The
speaker: Jesus 3. The
complaint: You have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead |
And
unto the angel of the Church in Sardis write, These things saith he that hath
the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou
hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. |
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4. The
counsel: Wake up! Strengthen what remains & is about to die |
2 Be
watchful and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I
have not found thy works perfect before God. |
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5. The
warning a. Remember & Obey what you
have received & heard b. Repent c. Know that judgment will come
suddenly, unexpectedly |
3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold
fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a
thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. |
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6. The
promise a. To the people
not soiled: They will walk with the Lord dressed in white b. To the
overcomers 1) Will be clothed
in white 2) Will never be
blotted from God’s Book 3) Will be
acknowledged before God |
4 Thou
hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and
they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy. 5 He
that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not
blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before
my Father, and before his angels. 6 He
that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.[2]
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6. The Challenge (Revelation 3:3)
“Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard,
and hold fast, and
repent” (Revelation 3:3). Here
is a threefold challenge.
• Remember. The Church
at Ephesus was also told to remember (Revelation
2:5) their past in which they did so well. Doing so would show them how
they had declined. Likewise, the Church at Sardis needed to remember how they used
to be richly endowed spiritually (“received and heard”) but now are bankrupt of
good spiritual blessings.
• Retain. “Hold fast.”
Instead of being so attracted to the latest programs, these folk needed to hold
fast to the old programs. Instead of all the recreational and entertainment
programs, they needed to hold fast to the great prayer meetings and preaching
times they used to have.
• Repent. “Repent.” Repenting includes acknowledgment and confession of sin, turning from sin, and changing one’s conduct to conform to God’s way.[3]
7. The Caution (Revelation 3:3)
“If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee” (Revelation 3:3). This text is a warning.
• A warning about performance. “If … thou shalt not watch.” The previous verse
spoke of being watchful. The watching involved attentiveness to the spiritual
health of the Church. So many in our churches do not care about the spiritual
health of the Church. But those who care maintain a good watch.
• A warning about punishment. “I will come on
thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know
what hour I will come upon thee.” The punishment will come at a time
they are not expecting it and will take away (as a thief robs) the blessings
they have. Churches will lose their spiritual blessings and privileges if they
do not attend to them well. Then when they become aware of their loss, it will
be too late to change.[4]
5 (Revelation 3:3) The Warning: There Is the Warning. The believers of a dead, lifeless church are warned to do four things.
1. They
Must Remember how they received and
heard the gospel; that is, they must remember how it gripped their lives
with a dynamic spirit of …
• devotion
• readiness and love
• alertness and energy
• hunger and thirst
• life and vitality
• service
• witnessing
• ministry
2. They Must Arouse, awaken, and hold fast to the original Spirit that gripped their lives.
3. They Must Repent. They had done wrong and sinned against Christ by losing their fervor and becoming lethargic. They desperately needed to confess they were wrong and repent; they needed to turn away from their error and turn back to Christ. They needed to have prayer meetings, seeking Christ to stir their hearts and set them aflame for Him.
4. They Must Know that the judgment of Christ will fall upon them if they refuse to repent, and it will fall unexpectedly. If the Church and its believers refuse to watch—refuse to arouse themselves—then Christ will come upon them as a thief. And note: they will not know what hour He is coming to judge them. The idea is that Christ will come and strip them of all their valuables, just like a thief. They will be left bare, without anything worthwhile. The Church and its believers will be worthless, of no value or worth to Christ and His kingdom. No matter what the Church and its members may think, they will be found vain, empty, and useless. They will have done no good whatsoever for the kingdom of God. Their profession will have been meaningless.
V “And the rain descended, and the floods
came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was
the fall of it” (Mt. 7:27).
V “For what shall it profit a man if he
shall gain the whole world. and lose his own soul?” (Mk.
8:36).
V “If any man come to me and hate not his
Father and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and
his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his
cross and come after me, cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build
a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have
sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is
not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him” (Lu. 14:26–29).
V “Every man’s work shall be made
manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire;
and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work
abides which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s
work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet
so as by fire” (1 Co. 3:13–15).[5]
“Remember
then what you received and heard; obey it,
and repent. 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.” Revelation 3:3 NRSV
Christ commanded the Church at Sardis to obey the Christian truth they had heard when they had first believed in Christ—to get back to the basics of the faith and remember … what you received and heard. They needed to return to the apostolic teaching that had changed their lives and once again make it their central focus. These believers had slipped away from that teaching into compromise with the world, so they would need to obey and repent. Only a change of heart could save them from punishment. That would mean taking God’s Word seriously and purposefully obeying it. If they refused to wake up and see what was happening to them, Christ would come like a thief, unexpectedly, as had the soldiers who had climbed the walls to capture the city. The soldiers had brought destruction; Christ would bring punishment, giving them what they deserved. In this context, the phrase “like a thief” refers not to the Second Coming (1 Thessalonians 5:2; 2 Peter 3:10) but to judgment.
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WAKE UP! |
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Sardis
needed to wake up (Revelation 3:2). Their
wealth and comfort had lulled them to sleep. Their self-satisfaction caused
them to die spiritually. Not only had they wandered from the apostles’
teachings, but they were no longer growing in faith or evangelism. They
lacked compassionate service to others and had no unity or love. Are you
watchful and alert? If God has given you a place of responsibility to teach,
lead, or serve, use that position to encourage those around you to be
spiritually awake and morally prepared. [6]
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Revelation 3:1–6—The Epistle to the Church at Sardis.
Were anyone visiting the actual
sites where the several Churches spoken of in these letters once stood, he
would, ere he came to Sardis, have gone a long way round the circle on the
circumference of which they all were. Beginning with Ephesus at the southern
end and proceeding northwards along the seashore, he next would come to Smyrna,
then to Pergamos, then to Thyatira, and then, coming down the inland side of
the rude circle we have imagined, he would reach Sardis, and proceeding on
would come first to Philadelphia and then to Laodicea, the last of the seven.
But now we have come to Sardis—a
notable city in the ancient world because associated with the great names of
Cyrus, Croesus, and Alexander. With this historic fame, however, we have
nothing to do but with the religious condition of the Church there, as shown in
this letter. And, as in all the previous letters, so here, the title assumed by
the Lord Jesus has special reference to the condition and need of the Church
addressed. Ephesus needed encouragement and warning alike. The Lord, therefore,
speaks of himself as “he who holdeth the seven stars in his right hand.” Smyrna
needed strong support under her heavy trial. The Lord, therefore, speaks to
them as “The First and the Last, who,” etc. Pergamos needed that the Word of
God should be sharply and severely brought to bear upon her. The Lord,
therefore, tells of himself as “he who hath the sharp sword with the two
edges,” etc. Thyatira needed to be reminded of the holy and awful wrath of the
Lord against such as she was harboring in her midst. The Lord, therefore,
declares himself to be “he whose eyes are as a flame of fire,” etc. And now
this Church of Sardis needed to be won back again to true godliness, for though
she had a name that she lived, she was dead. The Lord, therefore, speaks of
himself to her as “he who hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars.”
Now Note How This Name of The Lord Bears—
I. On the sin with which the Church was chargeable.
Observe
concerning this sin:
1. It was not that of others.
Nought is said of Nicolaitans and followers of Balaam or of such as Jezebel
was. Nothing of false doctrines or of vicious life. These things which are
denounced so terribly in other letters are not charged against this Church, and
we may therefore assume that they could, perhaps they did, thank God that they
were not as those other Churches were.
2. Nor was it that they did nothing. On the contrary, their works are mentioned repeatedly. No doubt, there were all wanted ministries, religious observances, charities, and missions.
There
must have been, for:
3. They were no scandal to others. On the contrary, they had a name, a reputation, and an honorable character, as a living Church. Laodicea deceived herself, thinking she was rich, but it is not said she deceived others. This Church, Sardis, did deceive others; she was reckoned by them to be really living, though, in fact, she was dead, and very probably, she had deceived herself also.
But:
4. Their works were not perfect before God. Well enough before men, but before him quite otherwise. They were of such sort that he said of those who did them that they were “dead.” They were done, as were the prayers, alms, and fastings of the hypocrites, “to be seen of men.” Assuredly not with a single eye or with pure motive. They had their reward: people talked of them and gave them credit as having life. But before God, they were dead. Let us remember that it is as “before God” everything is to be estimated. Let all who engage in any form of Christian service remember this. It is terribly apt to be forgotten. Remember how St. Paul said, “It is a small thing to me to be judged of you or of any human judgment: he that judgeth me is the Lord;” “I labor to be accepted of him.” The one question for us all is, how will our work appear before God?
For:
5. Their condition was one most displeasing to him. The severe tone of the letter proves this. True, we have had such severity before and shall have it again; for rebuke, and often stern rebuke, was what was needed then and still is by the majority of Churches, always and everywhere. Nevertheless, there is no one of these letters in which the tone is more severe, or the smiting of the Sword of the Spirit sharper, or the solemnity of the appeals addressed to them more arousing or impressive. The epistle to Laodicea is the only one which can be compared with it, and it is to be noticed that the wrong in that Church, whilst very great, is like this in Sardis, that it is free from the foul stains either of vice or heresy. In the sight of the Lord of the Church, there is, it is evident, something more hateful to him than even these. Love to the Lord may linger in hearts even where these are, but if love, the true life of every Church and every individual soul, be gone, then are they to be described as no others are, for they are “dead.” Hence in this letter, there is no softening, mitigating utterance at all, no mention of good works, but the keynote of the epistle is struck at once, and a startling one it is.
But:
6 What was the cause of it all? Now
the name our Lord takes to himself in this letter reveals this cause. He, by
that name, declares that in him and from him is all-sufficient grace. Treasure
store inexhaustible, riches unsearchable, both for pastor and people. For his
were “the seven Spirits of God,” and his “the seven stars.” And yet, in spite
of all this, they were as they were. Oh, was it not shameful, is it not
shameful, utterly inexcusable, when the like exists now, that, though an abundance
of grace is in Christ for us all, we should yet be what he terms “dead”? It was
plain; therefore, they had not sought that grace; the fulness of the Spirit’s
help neither pastor nor people had implored; and so, as we find, they had given
in to the world’s ways. It is evident from the honorable mention of the “few”
who had “not defiled their garments” that the rest had. That is to say; they
had given in to the world’s ways. Hence St. James speaks of pure religion as
being in part this, “Keeping your garments unspotted from the world.” And in
proof of this, there seems to have been a good understanding between the Church
and the world at Sardis. They seem to have gotten along together very well. In
every other Church, save this and Laodicea; mention is made of some “burden” that
the enmity of the surrounding world laid upon the Church. But not here. As it
has been well said (Archbishop Trench), “The world could endure it because it,
too, was a world.” This Church had nothing of the Spirit, of the “two
witnesses” (Re. 11:10) who “tormented them
that dwelt in the earth” by their faithful testimony, or of the Lord Jesus
either, who “resisted unto blood, striving against sin,” and because he would
not yield was crucified (12“Let us lie in wait for the righteous
man because he is inconvenient to us and opposes our actions; he reproaches us
for sins against the law and accuses us of sins against our training.”[7]
Wisdom of Solomon. 2:12, etc.).
But
there was nothing of all this at Sardis. It might have been said of them, as
was once cynically said of a certain section of ministers of religion, that
“you would find them very well-bred, and you might be quite certain they would
say nothing to you about your soul.” It is an ill sign since the Church and the
world are so happy together. There has been compromising somewhere, and it is
rarely the world that makes it. It is bad to have no life at all in God’s love;
it is worse to have had it and to have lost it; but it is worst of all—and may
God in his mercy deliver us therefrom—to have the name and reputation of
possessing this life, and yet to be, in fact, as it was with Sardis, dead in
regard thereto. For all around us conduces to deepen such fatal slumber of the
soul, and there is an everlasting soothing of them by themselves, the Church,
and the world alike, saying continually, “Peace, peace,” when there is no
peace.
II. On the punishment with which the Church is
threatened. (Re. 3:3)
This solemn warning of danger speaks of the Lord’s advent to judgment.
But:
1. What is that judgment? The name the Lord has assumed in this letter reveals it. Now, that name was meant partly to show that they were without excuse but also to remind them that, as the Spirit is his to give, so also is it his to withdraw and to withhold. As he can open the doors of grace, and then no man can shut; so also, can he shut them, and then none can open. This, then, was what they were to fear, lest he should leave them alone, lest he should take his Holy Spirit from them. David dreaded this and implored that the Lord would not deal so with him. Better any punishment, any suffering, any pain, any amount of distress, than that the soul should be thus left alone by the Lord.
2. And this judgment would come “as a thief;” they
should not know when or how. There was an ancient proverb that the feet of the
avenging gods are shod with wool. Dii laneos
habent pedes. The meaning is simply what is here said that the Divine
judgment comes silently, stealthily, secretly, invisibly, unexpectedly, “as a
thief.” Who can mark the hour when God’s Spirit leaves a man? Who sees the
master of the house rise up and shut the door? It is not always true, as the
much misleading verse tells—
“While
the lamp holds out to burn,
The
vilest sinner may return.”
Before that lamp is quenched, the Holy Spirit’s blessed flame may have been quenched, and he resisted, grieved, done despite to, may have forever gone away. And it is equally untrue to affirm that the point of death bars all return. It is not death, but the determined character of the soul, which decides that matter. Death cannot shut the Spirit out, nor life ensure that he remains, but the fixed bias and character into which we have settled down.
And
then:
3. There follows the blotting out of the name,
etc.
(Re. 3:5). Of him who overcomes, Christ
says, “I will by no means blot out his name.” Hence it is implied that the rest
he will blot out. Yes, the name may be in that book; through the blessed
atonement and sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ, our names are there; but the
question is—Will they be allowed to stay there? The branch may be in the Vine;
it is so, but “if it bears not fruit, then,” etc. Christ has put us all in, but
we can force him, all unwilling, to blot us out again. And to be as Sardis was,
will do this. Have mercy upon us, O Lord!
III. On their restoration.
Their sin had not altered the fact that he still had “the seven Spirits,” etc. And should the Lord’s earnest word have the effect designed, it would, and we may well believe it did, awake many that slept, and arouse them from the dead, that Christ might give them life. And how would they be encouraged by this revelation of the Lord’s grace? “How sweet the name of Jesus” would sound in their ears? Did it not enable them to say to their adversary, “Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me.” The effort they would have to make would be severe, but here in this name was an abundance of grace for all their needs.
And to
encourage them, the Lord points them:
1. To the “few” who had overcome. There was, then, no irresistible might in the thraldom in which they were held. These had overcome, so might they. The grace that enabled these was waiting for them likewise. Not only would these “few” be greatly strengthened by the Lord’s remembrance of and special promise to them, but the rest also would learn that victory was possible for them through him who had the “seven Spirits,” etc.
2. To means that, if faithfully used, would be effectual.
(1)
Let them become wakeful—such is the meaning. This was a primary and imperative
need.
And
when thus awake, let them (2) remember how they had received and heard.
With what earnestness and joy and devotedness of Spirit, they had begun their
Christian career! Let them look back on that.
And
let them (3) hold fast, i.e.,
keep what remained, for all was not lost yet. The door of hope was not shut.
And
let them (4) repent, i.e.,
have done with all habits, practices, and conduct, with all ways of thinking
and speaking, which had lured them into and all but lost them in their
deceitfulness. Let them confess it all before the Lord and come away from it at
once and forever.
And (5) let them strengthen the things which remained. As the traveler crossing the Alps in a snow-storm, all but benumbed, striking his foot against the body of one who had just before passed that way and had sunk down in the snow, overcome by the deadly torpor of the cold—as he, roused by the blow and proceeding to use all efforts to awaken the fallen one, happily succeeds, he is made at the same time altogether wakeful and alive himself: so let any whose own spiritual condition is feeble try to make others strong, and they, too, in the endeavor will win strength. Let them thus act.
And next, he points them to:
3. The reward of those who overcome.
(1) The white robe is a symbol of victory, purity, and joy.
(2) The fellowship with Christ. “They shall walk with me in white.” What enhancement of their blessedness this!
(3) The retention of their names in the book of life. “I will by no means blot out,” etc. All the loving purposes which he cherished for them when he entered their names there, they shall realize and enjoy.
(4) The confession of their names before his Father and his angels. What compensation for the contempt of the world! How insignificant and despicable is that contempt when placed over against this honor which Christ here promises! Ah! Who would stay in the sad state of Sardis when a way like this is opened out of it for them? All grace is his, and his for us, if we will avail ourselves of it; for he “hath the seven,” etc.—S. C.[8]
Revelation 3:3 The Believers of a Dead, Lifeless Church Are Warned
DS
Deeper Study
[2] Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 1996. Revelation. The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible. Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.
[3] Butler, John G. 2010. Analytical
Bible Expositor: Revelation.
Clinton, IA: LBC Publications.
[4] Butler, John G. 2010. Analytical
Bible Expositor: Revelation.
Clinton, IA: LBC Publications.
[5] Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 1996. Revelation. The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible.
Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.
NRSV
Scripture quotations marked NRSV are taken from the New Revised Standard
Version of the Bible, copyrighted, 1989 by the Division of Christian Education
of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of
America, and are used by permission. All rights reserved.
[6] Barton, Bruce B. 2000. Revelation. Edited by Grant R. Osborne. Life Application Bible
Commentary. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
[7] The
Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. 1989. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.
[8] Spence-Jones, H. D. M., ed. 1909. Revelation. The Pulpit Commentary. London; New York: Funk &
Wagnalls Company.
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