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Past Ponderings

Friday, December 10, 2021

Is Your Good Reputation Fair? (Revelation 3:1-6)

VIDEO 

Is Your Good Reputation Fair? (Revelation 3:1-6) 

GIST: You can fool the world, but you can't fool God, so wake up before you can't and live!


Hey guys, we made it to chapter 3 ☺️! This morning, we’re coming to the fifth letter of the seven letters written by Jesus to these churches...which also carry messages for us. Today, we’re coming to the church at Sardis. Like several of the other cities we have studied, Sardis was very wealthy and prominent. In fact, before being absorbed into the Roman Empire, it was the capital of the Lydian Kingdom and was known for extreme riches and an ideal, seemingly impenetrable location. Their acropolis (the fortified part of their city) was at the top of a very steep and dangerous hill/mountain, giving them a clear military advantage. 

However, this led to over confidence, and twice in their history, they were soundly defeated by armies who carefully climbed those walls and were able to invade the city because no one was watching! They were so self-assured, they didn't even think to guard against attack. And again, this happened twice (549 and 195 BC). The parallel here to their spiritual situation is striking. Let's look at that.


“1 "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. 2 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. 3 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. 4 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. 5 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. 6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'”

This is a convicting letter. Like last week, Jesus’ opening address sets us up for that, too. Remember, how He designates Himself gives us some insight into the meat of the remaining letter. Here, He starts with:  “The words of Him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.” This refers to Jesus in the context of His work amongst the Church. The term seven spirits here is one of the more difficult descriptions we found in chapter one, but has long been taken to refer to the full work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit brings life to the Church. He reveals the will of God, convicts of sin, brings encouragement...etc. Similarly, the seven stars refer to the angels or messengers of the seven churches which, in turn, represent the Church as a whole. So, what is Jesus reminding this church about with His opening words? I am the God of the Church. It exists through and for Me. That then feeds into His message to them. Here’s our gist: You can fool the world, but you can't fool God, so wake up before you can't and live!


I. You Can Fool The World But Not God

Look again at what He says right after the opening address: “I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.” Now, that can be scary because it may seem like none of us can then be sure. Are we living, or just deceived? The message of the Bible is never: 'you can't know if what you have is real, so just keep trying and hope for the best.' Sadly, I have known many professing Christians trapped in that lie. If that's you, please know the Bible is very clear: “9... if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). 

The problem in Sardis is that this church is not living for Christ at all; they’re just putting on a good show. Every letter has started with "I know your works", followed by an explanation of them. In this letter, Jesus, the source of the church, essentially says, “I know your works...and you don't have any!” This letter is so convicting because Jesus immediately calls this church dead. There is no commendation. Though we see there is a fragment of spiritual life, even the fragment is about to die. Nonetheless, it has a reputation for being alive. The world looks in and sees a vibrant, faithful church...They're wrong.

That doesn't mean they weren't doing anything. I'd say they were probably doing quite a bit, or they had been at some point, because this reputation had to come from somewhere. It seems like either now, or at some point in their history, at least some of their members were going through the right motions. But what about the heart behind those motions? This is not a new admonition in the Bible. Look at a couple:


Hosea 6:4,6 “4 What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? Your love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes early away. ... 6 For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.”


Matthew 23:27-28 “27 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”


And one of the saddest and scariest verses in the entire Bible→ Matthew 7:21-23 “21 Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”


Again, this is not a scare tactic designed to make you doubt. You can know if you’re saved, but just “doing the right stuff” is not what Christianity or salvation is about. Remember Isaiah 64:6b? “...all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.” We can fool the world with moral living or put on passion, but God sees our hearts. Do we love Him? Are we giving Him our lives? This warning cuts deep. Let it. And→ 



II. Wake Up Before You Can't

“2 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. ...3b 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.” 

Given this state, they are told to wake up, to snap out of their spiritual stupor and start paying attention. They are also told to strengthen what remains. There is a shell, a fragment, a remnant of true Christianity in perhaps their beliefs, or practices, or in some of their members. Whatever it is, it’s incomplete and dying too. He’s coming, so if they don't wake up, they won't be ready. Guys, not being ready for Christ's return means choosing Hell. 

This is serious, but how do they (how do we) wake up? “3a Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent.” This will feel a bit like takeaways, but let’s go ahead and break these down a bit→ 

Remember. They were established on the truth. It's actually crazy to think how quickly this church declined. They could not have been started more than 30, maybe 40, years before this letter was written (during the missionary journeys of Paul). In that time, they gained a reputation for being a vibrant, living church… and completely neglected the truth of Christianity! Nevertheless, the foundation was there. They knew the truth. 

Maybe you do too. Maybe you know the gospel. God is holy and loving, and you are a sinner who deserves punishment, but Jesus came and willingly died for you, and if you give Him control of your life, you will be saved. Maybe you know this means living for Him and not yourself. Maybe not, but at least you've heard it now. Cling to that truth, and→ 

Repent. Stop going through the motions. Turn to Jesus and ask Him to completely change your life. Start actually living for Him, and→ 

Remain. (I had to keep with the “r” thing here ☺️). It's not enough to just feel bad about it. Repent and keep. These go hand-in-hand. The problem here is rooted in their “not keeping” of God's word. The only repentance that matters is the a repentance that is true, and a repentance that is true is maintained. Turn to Jesus. Stay with Jesus→ 


III. And Live

“4 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. 5 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. 6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

We've pointed this out before. The promise attached to each of these letters is ultimately Heaven. However, the imagery is specific to the situation of the church and shines special light on just what this eternal blessing will be like. Look at the contrast in this promise.

This is a spiritually dead church— if they repent, like those few faithful who remain, they will be clothed in white garments. These represent righteousness and purity— spiritually alive! Those who are saved here are wearing them now in the sight of God and will wear them for all eternity. Right now, they are clinging to fragments of life or truth— if they repent, their names will be written in the book of life and never blotted out! They will be immersed in the Truth forever. When you’re made alive in Christ, you’re alive forever!

This church has a false reputation before men. They appear to be alive but are not— if they repent, Jesus will confess their names before the Father and His angels; they will have a true reputation with God! The only one who matters!

Ok, there’s a lot to chew on here, but let’s just recap a bit in our→ 

TAKEAWAYS

  1. Examine Yourself. While thinking about this passage, I kept coming back to a question. This letter was written to a church, so the congregation-wide implications are explicit. This was a group of people who, for whatever reason, had a good reputation but were actually dead. However, just like their good reputation could have been the result of the few faithful among them, their actual “dead-status” was the result of “dead-individuals” living with the reputation of being alive. They were drifting under the positive perception and good opinion of the community, but weren’t deserving of that reputation. Often, when we talk about reputations in church, we’re looking at passages that talk about living above reproach, so false accusations against you have no warrant. Today, I want to ask all of us this question, and this hits me hard: Are you worthy of your good reputation? How does the world see me? Is that who I really am? 

This was really convicting to me because I’m a pastor. Everyone knows I’m a pastor. Everywhere I go, there is an expectation that I’m somehow spiritually “advanced”. One of my best friends even jokingly calls me “Bobbity-Cricket” and says I’m like her conscious ☺️. But guys, I’m a broken sinner just like you, and I don’t want to live my life based on the strength of my reputation. Self-reflection is unpleasant. It is easier to distract ourselves with TV or some other mind numbing task (we all have our favorite mindless distractions) than to look seriously at our spiritual condition. Pray for help with this. Consider the eternal weight.

  1. Wake Up. Like Sardis or not, we all need a wake up call now and then. Return. Repent. Remain.

  2. And Live. Jesus “came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10b)

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