Church of Sardis - Hypocrites

Revelation 3:1-5

“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.

Today, we talk about Jesus’ letter to the Church of Sardis.  Sardis was a wealthy village in Lydia, modern-day Turkey, centered around agriculture and textile mills.  Known for the manufacturing of wool, jewelry, pottery, and even early coin minting, Sardis was the early capital of Lydia in the 7th century BC.  Similar to the other cities we have discussed, Sardis was heavily influenced by Greek and Roman deities in the late BC and early AD periods. Sardis was also known as “the city of a thousand hills” for the massive graveyard, Bin Tepe, located just outside the city.

Jesus’ letter to the church focused on completion and fullness.  Referencing seven spirits and seven stars in His description draws attention to the completeness of God.  Biblically, seven is seen as a symbol of completeness, perfection, and spiritual harmony; so Jesus’ reference to the Seven Spirits and Seven Stars in his description sends a message to the church.  Seven spirits can be tied back to the characteristics of the Holy Spirit from Isaiah 11:2: Spirit of the Lord, wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, and the fear of the Lord.  The seven stars referenced in Revelation 1 point us to the seven angels of the seven churches.  In this case, the reference to angels is interpreted as messengers (or Pastors), not specifically angelic beings.  So, when Jesus comments to John, to write to the “angel of the church of …”, He is referring to the Pastor at that church.

The church of Sardis was built right next to the Temple to Artemis (Goddess of Fertility).  Started as a vibrant, highly sought-after church in a wicked city.  After 70 years, though, they had become very fake in their works.  With a strong demonstration of good works and actions, God knew that there was only a small remnant of true followers remaining.  The larger part of the members were acting the part, but did not have a true spirit within.  Jesus’ references to their works as being alive, but inside they are dead, demonstrates the fakeness of the church.  

Similar to Jesus’ words to the Pharisees in Matthew 23 – “Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites….like whitewashed tombs…beautiful outward…but full of dead men’s bones.”  He chastises the church of Sardis for acting the part, but not being true to His word.  He instructs them to remember how they came to love Christ and His teachings.  He then instructs them to repent and turn back to where they were at the start.  Here again, Jesus talks to the church of Sardis about His return, His coming back like a thief in the night, at a time they do not know.

To the remnant, though He gives an encouraging message, to those who have remained faithful, He references their garments (see what He did there – tied it to their culture of textiles) being unsoiled, and their names will not be blotted out of the book of life.  His promise is that they will be with Him in eternity, and He will stand for them before the Father.  What a magnificent promise, to have Jesus Christ stand for you when the day of judgment comes.  

My fear is that this form of pseudo-Christianity is pervasive across our society and the church body today.  Claiming a belief in Jesus Christ from the lips, but without any substance or actions representing the truth of His teachings and words, is everywhere.  From Hollywood, to politics, to sports, to worship, and even churches throughout the world, words are said from behind a microphone, and even actions in some cases, but the soul is truly empty, and lacking the spirit of Jesus Christ.  Certainly, I am not the judge of right or wrong, and oftentimes I fear that I am a whitewashed tomb, but we all must be careful not to become complacent and fake in the truth of our beliefs.  

God knows all things.  We can fool our family, our friends, neighbors, and even the church with the image we present.  We put on our best smile, clean clothes, and watch our actions carefully around those that we know are followers.  When the reality is that we are dead inside, we do not have a relationship with Jesus.  Many of us have fallen into the trap of once saved, always saved; or the trap of “it’s okay, Jesus forgives everything,” and go about our merry way, continuing in our sin, but outwardly showing the world we are Holy.  God knows the truth and will judge accordingly, for we can hide from those around us, but we cannot hide our secret sins from the Almighty.  My prayer for you today is that you are convicted to get right with Jesus once again so your name is not blotted from the Book of Life forever.