 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
More Revelation commentaries
Revelation 1:1-8
Jesus is coming again
Revelation 1:9-16
John sees seven golden candlesticks (Churches)
Revelation 1:17-20
Outline of the book of Revelation (v. 19)
Revelation 2:1-7
The Church that lost its first love
Revelation 2:8-11
The Persecuted Church
Revelation 2:12-17
The Compromising Church
Revelation 2:18-29
The Corrupt Church
Revelation 3:1-6
The Spiritually Dead Church
Revelation 3:7-13
The Faithful Church
Revelation 3:14-22
A Lukewarm Church
Revelation 4:1-11
Worship in Heaven
Revelation 5:1-7
The Lamb takes the scroll
Revelation 5:8-14
What is true worship?
© Family Times | About Us | Donate | Contact Us
Search for sermons by: Commentaries | Scripture search | Topics
The Spiritually Dead Church
Revelation 3:1–6
» View this passage in NIV (Bible Gateway)
Each week in America, paramedics arrive on the scene of an accident where the victim has crossed the barrier between life and death. There is no heartbeat. Breathing has stopped. All the vital signs of life are absent. But the paramedics do not accept this death as final. They be … More
Sardis is about 30 miles south of Thyatira, a wealthy city, and the capital of Lydia. The people were proud and thought they could not be overtaken but Cyrus the Great of Persia stormed the city and took it over in the sixth century. From a religious standpoint it was a center of pagan worship and site of the temple of Artemis, which ruins still remain. Sardis was a dead church, full of empty professions. Like the Pharisees, their outward appearance was a facade hiding their lack of life (v. 1). They were exalted to wake up from their spiritual slumbers and to repent of their falling away (vv. 2-3). His message to them was to REMEMBER, REPENT AND OBEY.
While the church as a whole was dead or dying, Christ recognized a godly remnant who had remained true to the Lord (v. 4). He promised that true believers will be dressed in white (symbolic of the righteousness of God) and their names will be recorded in the book of life (vv. 5-6). The letter to Sardis should be a searching message to churches today that are full of activity and housed in beautiful buildings but never see anyone saved or changed lives among the Christians. They are unable to recognize the difference between profession and possession. The need today is the same as it was in the Church at Sardis and that is to “remember,” “repent” and “obey”.
Application
Lord help me to evaluate the present true spiritual status of my family and my own personal life? Am I doing all I can to keep myself and my family spiritually alive and productive?
Revelation 3:1-6 (English Standard Version)
"And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: 'The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. "'I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."'
View this passage in NIV (Bible Gateway) »
Post your comment or question below.