7 Letters: The Church of Sardis

Letter :The Church of Sardis

The Danger of Coasting

First Point

God grants heavenly citizenship to those who

are spiritually alive.

Revelation 31 “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.

Revelation 32 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.

Revelation 33 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.

The City of Sardis passed from glory to

insignificance.

SardisAcropolis

Temple of Cybele

Gold Coin of

Croesus

The Decline of Sardis

King Croesus Reign:

560 to 547 B.C.

The Decline of Sardis

Antiochus the GreatReign:

222 to 187 B.C.

The Church at Sardis was shaped by the history of

Sardis.

Second Point

God grants heavenly citizenship to those who

are spiritually pure.

Revelation 34 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.

Revelation 35 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.

Revelation 36 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

“Unsoiled Garments”4a Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments…

Jesus’ 3 Promises to the Remnant

1.They will be clothed in white.

Jesus’ 3 Promises to the Remnant

1. They will be clothed in white.2.Their names will not be

blotted out from the Lamb’s Book of Life.

Revelation 20: The Great White Throne Judgment

11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.

12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.

13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.

14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Luke 10:20

Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.

Jesus’ 3 Promises to the Remnant1. They will be clothed in white.2. Their names will not be blotted out

from the Lamb’s Book of Life.3.They will have an “advocate

confessor.”

The Church of Sardis is

“a perfect model of inoffensive Christianity”.

G.B. Caird