Revelation 3:4-6 4“Yet even there in Sardis, some haven’t soiled their garments with the world’s filth; they shall walk with me in white, for they are worthy. 5 Everyone who conquers will be clothed in white, and I will not erase his name from the Book of Life, but I will announce before my Father and his angels that he is mine.
6 “Let all who can hear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.[1]
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6. The Promise (Revelation
3:4–6). |
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Chapter 3 F. The
Message to Sardis: The
Church That Has a Strong Reputation but Is Dying, Revelation 3:1–6
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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
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] |
8. The Commendation (Revelation 3:4)
“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” (Revelation 3:4). This is a commendation of the
faithful in Sardis. Four things are said of the undefiled.
• Their number. “Thou has a few
names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments.” It is “few,”
not “many,” who are undefiled. It is always this way. “Few”
characterizes the godly compared to the others (Matthew
7:13, 14) and the undefiled compared to the defiled. But some walk
in holiness. Some couples are not divorced. Some young people are chaste. Not
many but a few. Holiness will never be the popular brand of life in this world.
But it is the right and best way of life.
• Their nature. “Have not
defiled their garments.” This is figurative language for an
undefiled character. Our churches are filled with those who live an unholy
life. Immorality, divorce, and cheating at work are all common, but some stay
true. Their nature is chaste, honest, and virtuous.
• Their nobility. “They shall walk
with me in white.” This is a great honor. It puts one in a noble
class to walk with the king in special garments. Divine rewards are the best.
• Their noteworthiness. “They are worthy.”
The world may not consider them worthy of any honor or recognition, for the
world saves their honors for the unholy. But when God gives His honors, they
will go to the truly worthy. And the truly worthy are those of high character
in God’s evaluation.
9. The Compensation (Revelation 3:5)
Every letter has a message about the overcomer—the
one who overcomes the evil in the church. There is a threefold compensation for
the overcomer in Sardis in this text.
• The clothing in the
compensation. “Shall be clothed in white raiment” (Revelation 3:5). This is honor in eternity.
• The certifying in the
compensation. “I will not blot out his name out of the book of life”
(Revelation 3:5). Overcoming does not
save but gives assurance of salvation, for the promise here is one of
assurance.
• The confessing in the
compensation. “I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.” (Revelation 3:5). “He who shrank not from the
confession of the Name of Christ … shall be singled out in the august presence
of the Father and His angels and have his name confessed [honored] before that
grand assembly” (Scott). There is no worldly honor that compares to this honor.
10. The Charge (Revelation 3:6)
“He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith
unto the churches” (Revelation
3:6). This charge, which is given to all the churches, is a charge
of stewardship that involves three things.
The capacity to hear. “He that hath an
ear.” Use the ability, assets, and advantages God gives you to honor
God.
The character of hearing. “Let him hear.”
Be attentive, interested, and respectful.
The communication for hearing. “What the Spirit saith.” “What the Spirit saith” is the Word of God (Ephesians 6:17). Too many use their ears only to hear defiling things.[3]
6 (3:4–6) Overcomers—Promises: There Is the Promise To The Overcomers. Note: there is a promise to those who do not defile themselves as well as to the overcomers.
1.
There are those who had not defiled themselves. This means there were a few
faithful believers in the church. They had not defiled, dirtied, or spotted
their lives with the worldliness of the day. They had kept themselves
“unspotted from the world” (Js. 1:27).
They were not activity-centered nor program-centered but Christ-centered. They
did not use the church …
•
as a religious salve for their
conscience
•
as a social activity
•
as a place for fellowship alone
•
as a place for social and business
contacts
•
as a place to build their public image
• as a place to provide activities for the family
The faithful believers kept themselves pure. They focused upon Jesus Christ and His purpose: they were still growing spiritually and reaching out to share Christ with a needful world.
Note
the promise: the faithful and pure believer “walks with
Christ in white.” This means …
•
that the faithful believer walks
day by day in the presence of Christ and has the presence of Christ looking
after and taking care of him—keeping him pure (white).
•
that the faithful believer walks
day by day and moment by moment in open confession before Christ, that he keeps
himself clean by constantly confessing all sin and having Christ forgive his
sins. Christ keeps him clean (white).
• that the faithful believer walks in victory and purity with Christ forever and ever.
Note that the faithful and pure believer receives this promise because he is worthy. Christ is ever so pleased that the believer focuses upon Him, his Lord; therefore, Christ loves him with a very special love and counts the believer worthy.
2. There are the overcomers. Three promises are made to the believer who keeps his spirit alive and focuses on Jesus Christ and His spiritual purposes for the church.
a. The
overcomer will be clothed in white. This is the garment of righteousness,
purity, and perfection that shall be given to the believer when he enters
heaven. The believer is given this garment of righteousness and purity …
•
because he trusted the righteousness of
Christ.
•
because he followed Christ by living a
righteous life.
V “And when the king came in to see the
guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment” (Mt. 22:11).
V “But the father said to his servants,
Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and
shoes on his feet” (Lu. 15:22).
V “Even the righteousness of God which is
by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is
no difference” (Ro. 3:22).
V “For he hath made him to be sin for us,
who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Co. 5:21).
V “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” (Re. 3:5).
V “I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried
in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be
clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine
eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see” (Re. 3:18).
V “And round about the throne were four
and twenty seats: and upon the seats, I saw four and twenty elders sitting,
clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold” (Re. 4:4).
V “After this I beheld, and, lo, a great
multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people,
and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white
robes, and palms in their hands” (Re. 7:9).
V “And to her was granted that she should
be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the
righteousness of saints” (Re. 19:8).
V “And he believed in the lord, and he
counted it to him for righteousness” (Ge. 15:6).
V “I put on righteousness, and it clothed
me: my judgment was as a robe and a diadem” (Jb.
29:14).
V “I will also clothe her priests with
salvation: and her saints shall shout aloud for joy” (Ps.
132:16).
V “I will greatly rejoice in the lord, my
soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of
salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom
decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels”
(Is. 61:10).
V “And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with a change of raiment” (Zec. 3:4).
b. The
overcomer will not be blotted out of the book of life. This
is a book that God keeps. The picture of Scripture is this: every person’s name
is written in the book of life when the person is born. But at death, the names
of unbelievers are erased from the book, and they are judged to eternal death.
The names of true believers are never touched. They receive eternal life.
V “Notwithstanding in this rejoice not,
that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names
are written in heaven” (Lu. 10:20).
V “And I entreat thee also, true
yokefellow, help those women which labored with me in the gospel, with Clement
also, and with other my fellow-laborers, whose names are in the book of life” (Ph. 4:3).
V “And whosoever was not found written in
the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” (Re.
20:15).
V “And there shall in no wise enter into
it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, nor maketh a
lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Re. 21:27).
V “And the Lord said unto Moses, whosoever
hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book” (Ex. 32:33).
V “Let them be blotted out of the book of
the living, and not be written with the righteous” (Ps.
69:28).
V “There shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, everyone that shall be found written in the book” (Da. 12:1).
c. The
overcomer will be acknowledged by Christ before God.
Christ will confess that He knows the believer who overcame by keeping his
spirit alive and focused upon the Lord.
V “Whosoever, therefore, shall confess me
before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But
whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which
is in heaven” (Mt. 10:32–33).
V “Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall
confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels
of God” (Lu. 12:8).
V “That if thou shalt confess with thy
mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him
from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Ro. 10:9).
V “And that every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Ph. 2:11).
V “Who is a liar but he that denieth that
Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.
Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: [but] he that
acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also” (1 Jn.
2:22–23).
V “Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God” (1 Jn. 4:15).[4]
“Yet even
in Sardis, there are some who have not
soiled their garments with evil deeds. They
will walk with me in white, for they are
worthy. All who are victorious will be
clothed in white. I will never erase their
names from the Book of Life, but I will
announce before my Father and his angels that they are mine.” Revelation
3:4–5 NLT
Not every believer in Sardis was condemned for complacency and compromise with the world. Christ pointed out that some had not soiled their garments with evil deeds. These believers were being faithful. It must have been encouraging to those few who had been attempting to live for Christ in this dead church that Christ was commending them as worthy of his name. Christ promises a threefold reward for these faithful few:
1. They will be clothed
in white.
2. I will never erase their
names from the Book of Life.
3. I will announce before my Father and his angels that they are mine.
To be “clothed
in white” means to be set apart for God, (sanctified) cleansed
from sin, and made morally and spiritually pure. Revelation mentions white
robes several times. The believers in Laodicea are told to buy white robes to
cover their shame (Re. 3:18); the
martyrs awaiting justice wear white robes (Re. 6:11);
the twenty-four elders in heaven wear white robes (Re.
4:4), as do the people in the great multitude who have washed their
robes in the blood of the Lamb and made them white (Re.
7:9, 13). The armies of heaven are also clothed in white (Re. 19:14). The white of these garments
symbolizes the purity that comes when one has been “washed” in Christ’s blood.
Evil deeds soil garments, but
Christ can clean those sins away. Isaiah had said, “No matter how deep the
stain of your sins, I can remove it. I can make you as clean as freshly fallen
snow. Even if you are stained as red as crimson, I can make you as white as
wool” (Isaiah 1:18 nlt). Only those who have allowed Christ to
cleanse them from their sins and clothe them in white will be able to reign
with him (Re. 2:27). In pagan
religions, it was forbidden to approach a god with soiled garments, so a person
had to be clean in order to come into a temple. Christ, however, invites
soiled, sinful people to come; he
will give them clean clothing.
“The Book of Life” refers to the
heavenly registry of those who have accepted salvation in Christ. This
expression appears elsewhere in the Bible. The picture of God’s “book” first
appears in Exodus 32:32–33. Also, the
psalmist had cried out against his enemies, “Erase their names from the Book of
Life; don’t let them be counted among the righteous” (Psalm 69:28 nlt).
Daniel had prophesied, “At that time, every one of your people whose name is
written in the book will be rescued”(Daniel 12:1
nlt). This “book”
symbolizes God’s knowledge of who belongs to him. At that time, cities had
registry books, so having one’s name removed meant losing citizenship. A city
would also erase a person’s name from the registry when he or she died. For the
citizens of heaven, however, death is not a cause for one’s name to be removed;
instead, it is the way of entrance.
Some have suggested that Christ’s statement that he
will “never erase” certain names leaves open the possibility that he might
erase some names and may imply that people can lose their salvation. In other
words, can a name be written in the book and then later erased? It would be
shaky to base one’s theology of salvation on this symbol, so it is best to take
Christ’s statement at face value. Those who remain faithful to him are promised
future honor and eternal life—they are guaranteed citizenship in heaven.
The names of all believers are registered in the Book of Life, and Christ will introduce them to the hosts of heaven (“my Father and his angels”) as belonging to him. Christ had stated, “If anyone acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will openly acknowledge that person before my Father in heaven” (Matthew 10:32 nlt). Believers can have no greater reward than to stand in heaven with Christ and have him announce to the entire assembled host, “They are mine.”
“I desire to have both heaven and hell ever in my eye while I stand on this isthmus of life between these two boundless oceans, and I verily think the daily consideration of both highly becomes all men of reason and religion.” – John Wesley
“Anyone who
is willing to hear should listen to the Spirit and understand what the Spirit
is saying to the churches.” Revelation 3:6 NLT
Again, Christ emphasizes the importance for the readers of Revelation to listen and understand. The message in this letter is also for you.[5]
Revelation 3:4-6 The Promise; To Everyone Who Conquers Will Be Clothed In White, And I Will Not Erase His Name From The Book Of Life
[1] Taylor, Kenneth Nathaniel. 1997. The Living Bible,
Paraphrased. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.
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] Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 1996. Revelation.
The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible. Chattanooga, TN: Leadership
Ministries Worldwide.
NLT
Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by
permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All
rights reserved.
nlt Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation,
copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.,
Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
nlt Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation,
copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.,
Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
nlt Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation,
copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.,
Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
nlt Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation,
copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.,
Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
NLT Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation,
copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.,
Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
[5] Barton, Bruce B. 2000. Revelation.
Edited by Grant R. Osborne. Life Application Bible Commentary. Wheaton, IL:
Tyndale House Publishers.
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