It Doesn't Pay to Copy the Failures of the World (Rev. 3:1-6)

Today we consider a new church in the list of seven that the Lord addresses. Verses 2 and 3 of Rev. 3:1-6 set the tone for today’s lesson: “Be watchful … If therefore thou shalt not watch.” Other versions have “wake up,” (NAS, NIV, NLT, RSV). I don’t like that translation because it loses the thought of a sentinel’s duty. “Watch” is better. The guard’s job is to be alert to encroaching danger and, if needed, to alert the others. The issue in Sardis has to do with failing to be alert, neglecting one’s duty. What was true in the history of the city was true of the history of the church there. Neglect! Dereliction of duty! The theologian and Bible teacher Dr. S. Lewis Johnson entitles this passage, “Sardis: a Model of Past Glory.”

I. Sardis, the city, neglected its duty and lost its glory. In the sixth century B.C. there was no greater city than Sardis. It was the capitol of the kingdom of Lydia. It was the residence of the kings of Lydia, Croesus being one of them. His name is proverbial for his immense wealth. Cyrus is said to have taken $600 million worth of treasure from the city when he captured it in 548 B.C. Its fertile land and its ideal location made it a very important commercial city. The upper city (acropolis) was on a hill that towered 1,000 feet above the valley. It gave the city an almost impregnable stronghold. There was no city greater, but this was all lost through the failure to watch. The acropolis was successfully scaled in 549 B.C. by a Median soldier and in 218 by a Cretan. The Ionians burned the city in 501 B.C. but it was quickly rebuilt and regained its importance. In 334 B.C. it surrendered to Alexander the Great. Just 80 years before Christ wrote this letter the city was destroyed by an earthquake and never recovered its former glory.

II. Sardis, the church, neglected its duty and lost its glory. There was a Christian church in this city. Indeed, most of the citizens worshipped at the temple of Artemis, the goddess of fertility, and honored Hera, the goddess of marriage and Demeter, the goddess of the fruits of the earth and paid their vows to the divine Roman emperor. However, God wonderfully raised up a company of believers in Jesus Christ who formed a local church. How glorious is that thought! God raised up a people for His name in a community of Jews and pagans. God built His church in that city but much like the city itself, they failed to watch and so, lost their glorious start. Jesus said, “I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead” (3:1) “I have not found thy works perfect before God” (3:2). There was activity in the church, but the activity was not coming to perfection. They were not getting the job done. Nothing they had done from their beginning had succeeded in establishing and grounding them in the faith. Remember this church follows the one in Thyatira like the Reformation followed the Dark Ages when the Roman Catholic Church reigned. Martin Luther describes the church in Sardis as suffering from spiritual dry rot. That’s interesting since the church in Sardis describes the conditions following the great Reformation in the 16th century. The city’s greatness lay in the past; so did the church’s.

Why is this important? There are churches like this today. Their greatest moment was the fleeting blaze of their momentous beginning. Since then they have not amounted to much. There were several converted at first, they readily put up a meetinghouse and called a preacher. However, soon after that things began to dwindle. Some may have become discouraged from the ridicule of former friends. Others lost their time for Bible study, prayer, evangelism and the assembling of themselves with other believers.

Begs the Question? How can a church be dead and not know it? Do others see us or our church as alive? How? What are the evidences?

III. Sardis, the church, has a Savior who can restore them to former glory. The Lord identifies Himself as the One “who hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars” (v. 1). This is a reference to the Holy Spirit in the fullness of His power. See Isaiah 11:2. The Lord has that power as He comes to His struggling churches. The church can be reached only through the powerful Lord working through “the seven stars” who are the messengers or pastors of the churches. The pastors must be submissive to Him and they much preach His Word faithfully if the churches are to be revived. If they fail to “watch” and alert the congregation to the enemy, if they strive to avoid being offensive to their pagan environment, the church will die. Christ is able to restore us again.

So then, we must be vigilant. If we do not hold fast to Truth, we will lose the glory gained by those who preceded us. Next week we will consider the power that our omnipotent Savior gives to struggling churches.

Verse for Today: "For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears." (Acts 20:29-31)

Your Step for Today: List at least three ways that you can alert your Christian friends to the attacks of antichristian forces.

Your Prayer for Today: Pray that churches in our land may be vibrant in their Christian witness and continue to be able to worship, work and witness.