A lesson from Sardis

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. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. 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. 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. 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. – Revelation 3.1-5

Sardis was a church in a lot of trouble – but it the kind of trouble that is not unfamiliar today.

The Sardis church looked grand from the outside. They had a name that there living and vibrant and going strong. Nobody would have guessed that there was anything wrong.

The problem is that there was no depth. The looked alive, but deep down it was dead. There was nothing there. Their ‘alive-ness,’ if you will, was only skin deep.

But even in skin deep Sardis there were a few names that have not defiled themselves with worldliness. There were a few names that truly were alive and who would forever be with Jesus.

Today is no different. There are still massive numbers of churches where it looks like everything is grand are the outside but are crumbling within. There are churches where compromises are made and sin is allowed and the church changes itself to get along better in the world. In the west what calls itself Christianity is already dead even though it looks okay.

If we are among ‘the few’ we need to be sure that we are not drawn away from the truth to what looks like success.

Being among the few is not a bad thing when we don’t allow ourselves to be defiled by error.