Sardis was once one of the greatest cities of the world. It was at one time the capital of the ancient kingdom of Lydia, and today its ruins can be visited near the city of Izmir, Turkey. In the sixth century B.C., Sardis was ruled by a fabulously wealthy king whose name, Croesus, became a byword for unimaginable wealth. Sardis was built on a mountain spur about 1500 feet above the valley floor. It was regarded as virtually impregnable against military assault. Many armies laid siege to Sardis, but only two – the Persians ad Greeks – ever succeeded. Both victories were achieved by stealth, not force, because the overconfident military of Sardis failed to post an adequate guard by its “impregnable” walls. Both times, small bands of spies climbed the sides of the ravine and entered an unwatched gate. So if there is one observation we could draw about the character of Sardis, it is that the city possessed a smug, complacent spirit.

Seeing how Jesus uses the local history and terrain of the churches in Revelation as material for His letters reminds us that these messages were intended for actual churches in the time of the apostle John. In challenging the church of Sardis, Jesus uses the well-known history of that city (v. 1). Sardis was known for being overconfident and boastful. Yet behind the reputation there was no substance. This was all name and no reality, all reputation and no life. Perhaps it was the financial stature, or the worldly influence of its members, or a great deal of activity and programs, that gave the church in Sardis its reputation for life. The reality, however, was very different: “You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead” (v. 1).

Today we would call the Christians at Sardis “nominal Christians.” They were Christians in name only. The church of Sardis was made up largely of people who outwardly professed Christ, but who possessed no real spiritual life. Unfortunately, such churches have only grown more numerous in our own day. It is churches such as these which have largely created a negative image of Christianity in the world today. People see the outward profession of Christianity and hear the pious-sounding words – but they see no life, no reality, to back it up.

The letter to the church of Sardis is the most dire and somber of the seven. There are serious issues at stake in this letter – eternal issues. There was a time when the Sardis church was truly alive, quickened by the Spirit of God. The people in the Sardis church once served the needy out of a genuine love for Jesus. They worshiped out of a heart of devotion to their Lord. As a result, they won a reputation for being active and alive. But as the book of Revelation was being written, the life had departed.

The Lord has a message for the church at Sardis – and for you and me. The message is “Wake up!” It is an urgent alarm for a dead church to rouse itself back to life (vv. 2-3). The first need of a church that is dead or near death is to “wake up” to its desperate condition. The words of Jesus’ message to Sardis are sharp commands in the original Greek. They are like a slap in the face, a splash of cold water, a sniff of ammonia, a shout of an urgent cry of alarm. As Christians we must not shrink from the convicting words of the letter to Sardis. Rather, we must bravely face them and ask ourselves “What has gone wrong with my spiritual life? Why does my worship and Christian service seem so dreary? Why does my church seem so lifeless and unattractive? Why don’t people want to come?” As individual Christians and as collective bodies of believers, these are the questions that confront us in the letter to the church at Sardis.

If the first need of the church at Sardis was to rouse itself and wake up to its dying condition, the second is to strengthen what remains. We may wonder what was left at Sardis worth strengthening. But remember in verse 1, Jesus said, “I know your deeds.” Clearly, the church at Sardis was doing some good deeds, or else it wouldn’t have had a reputation (however misplaced) for being “alive.” The Christians at Sardis were doing good works, but these works were incomplete, unfinished. Their actions were right, but their motives were wrong. By doing the right things for the wrong reasons they robbed their good deeds of power.

The Christians at Sardis were like so many Christians today – busy doing good things, but doing them primarily to impress people. They were trying to enhance their reputation for being alive. But as Jesus warned them, even these good works, as incomplete and falsely intentioned as they were, were about to die. Soon the church at Sardis would end up bereft of even its flimsy reputation and phony good deeds. All through the Scriptures we see that God judges not merely our actions but the intentions of our hearts. Often, the same activity that is done out of love and gratitude toward God also be done for the reasons of our own pride and our desire to impress others. God is watching not only our behavior but our hearts, monitoring whether we are living to please ourselves or to please Him.

Many Christians have the gospel, but do not seem to have the life-giving presence of the Spirit. How do we bring the Spirit’s life back into our lives and our churches? According to this letter from Jesus, there is only one way: Remember, obey, and repent! Look at yourself, your wrong outlook, and your tainted motives. Recognize that all your prideful religious busyness is a little more than a covering of filthy rags for your poverty and sin. Cast yourself upon the grace of the Lord Jesus, believe, and receive His grace. Let it take root in your heart, and then He will give you the life of the Spirit of God. That is what the Christians in Sardis needed. And that is what you and I need today as well.

Another thing they needed at Sardis was to recover the hope of the Lord’s return. “If you do not wake up,” says the Lord, “I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.” The hope of the Lord’s return is alluded to many times throughout the New Testament and particularly in the book of Revelation. But Sardis had lost its expectation of that coming. Without this hope the church was dead. In every age in history and in Sardis-like “dead” churches, there are usually a few faithful believers. It is to these faithful few that the Lord delivers a special promise (vv. 4-6).

White garments are always a symbol of redemption in Scripture. In Revelation 7, we will read of great multitudes who emerge from the great tribulation, and who have “washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” Clearly, white garments are a sign of being redeemed and saved by the grace of God (see Isaiah 1:18). In Sardis, and in other dead churches, there are usually a few believers who walk with Jesus, dressed in white. God calls them “worthy” – not for any works of righteousness they have done, but because they are covered by the righteousness of Jesus.

These, then, are the models for those in the church who wish to be “overcomers,” as mentioned in verse 5. To these believers, the Lord promises three things: (1) They will be dressed in white, the righteousness of Jesus; (2) their names will not be blotted out of the Book of Life; (3) Jesus will acknowledge them before His Father and the angels.

Here, the Lord calms the fears of the redeemed. To anyone who worries that he might lose his salvation and the grace of God, Jesus says, in effect, “Those who place their trust in Me rather than in their own efforts, those who are covered by My righteousness, can never be blotted out of the Book of Life. Their names are written in indelible ink and sealed with the seal of My own promise.” The word “never” in the original text is the strongest negative possible in the Greek language. To convey the true force of this word the passage should actually be rendered, “I will never, ever, under any circumstances, blot out your name from the Book of Life!” And when, in eternity, the book of our lives is opened, and everything we have done in our earthly lives comes spilling out – the good, the bad, and the ugly – Jesus will be there to acknowledge us before the Father and the angels.

Church attendance is good, but church attendance won’t save you. Church membership is good, but church membership won’t save you. Giving money to the church is good, but giving won’t save you. Activity in the church – teaching, serving, leading, witnessing – all of this is good, but being active in the church won’t save you. You can only be saved when you repent of your self-reliance and self-will and self-centered pride. You can only be saved when you place your trust in the One who settled it all for you on the cross. We who have ears to hear, let us hear what the Spirit says to the church of Sardis, and to us.

Revelation 3:1-6 Study Questions:

What are the charges against the church at Sardis (vv. 1-2)?

What does it mean that this church’s works were “incomplete” in God’s sight?

What words of Jesus in this letter are intended to remind the church at Sardis the lesson from their history?

How might we heed the call to wake up and strengthen what remains of our own works before it’s too late?