(Revelation 3:1-6) "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 therehow 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." Sardis was located in Western Central Asia Minor some 100 miles from the Mediterranean sea; about 30-35 miles south east of Thyatira. It was located on the northern ridge of Mt. Tmolus some 1500 feet over the Hermus or Pactolus river. In history prior to the first century, it was an extremely wealthy city. It was in fact the ancient capital of Lydia. History shows that they mined gold and that money was minted there. It is reported that there were sheer walls on three sides making the city virtually impregnable, giving its citizens a strong sense of comfort and secuirty. Consequently, the city did experience a fall in approx. 549-546 B.C., when Cyrus king of Persia took the city. Tradition says that a soldier found a crevice in the rock hill up which he led a band of soldiers to the summit, taking the city by surprise. Some 330 years later Antiochus the Great took the city in the same way. Sardis had been caught napping each time it was taken.
Sardis apparently started out strong, performing good works, as noted in the leter of "having a name and "strengthen the things that remain", suggesting they once had more. But somehow they wavered or faltered. They failed to persevere. Sardis was apparently trying to ride on the reputation of the past; but she was suffering from neglect and indifference.
This time frame covers the "Church of the Reformation." It could be nicknamed the "Dead" church or "Alive in Name only" church. The word "Sardis" means "escaping ones" or "those who came out." Martin Luther was the key element in the Reformation. He discovered by reading scripture that "the just shall live by faith." This sparked a resurgence and interest in the Holy Scriptures. Prior to that time the reading of the Bible had been forbidden by the "laity" or the people. Consequently, Bibles weren't available to the vast majority of the people and those that were available were written in Latin. This is a picture of those Reformation churches that have come out of the Roman Church of Pergamos and Thyatira. Sardis is called the dead church because God says that they had a name that they were alive, but in reality they were dead. Most of us probably wouldn't have considered those churches that came out of the Roman church during the Protestant Reformation as dead. Why did Jesus say they were dead?
These churches became state churches. They retained many of the elements of the Roman Catholic Church. Martin Luther worked with and sought out the approval of the political leaders, the Lutheran church would become the state church of Germany. Entire countries became Protestant without being "born again"...ie....the Anglican church of England. They were steeped in ritualism. Much was the same way as when Constantine made Christianity the official religion of Rome. He strongly encouraged all citizens to convert. The Reformation church included the entire population of the country, often without a true conversion and personal acceptance of Jesus Christ as Savior. That's similar to the shape America's churches are in today.
Another thing to note about the Sardis church was they didn't change much of what they left in the Roman church. Those that came out of the Roman church continued many of the same rituals as the Roman church practiced such as infant baptism, baptism by sprinkling, as well as much of the ritualism of the Roman church and the sacraments. Just as the city of Sardis stayed "living in their past" glories and works became careless and neglectful, the Reformers were right about the doctrine of justification by faith, but they they didn't fully reform the church. They stopped short of what the Bible calls for. They prided themselves and rested on their past glories and works and became careless and neglectful.
God tells the church to be watchful. The Reformation lacked prophetic teaching and watching for Jesus and his return. The eschatological teaching of Christ's imminent return pretty much died in the third church age which was Pergamos. This church also failed to separate from the world. Only when the church is watching for and expecting Christ's return do we keep his word and remain separate from the world. God also told Sardis to "strengthen the things which remain." Those in your church that are following the Word of God that have underwent trials for their faith need to be strengthened. They were told to hold fast to the scripture and live by faith.
It's very easy to become trapped into the rituals of the church. Everything we do for Christ can be mechanical and not heartfelt. We can go through the emotions with our prayer life, Bible reading, church attendance, our roles in the church, and the list continues. It's important that not only do we have a name that we are alive, but we must be alive. We don't want the things of God to be a ritual to us. Our walk with the Lord is serious and very important. The fact that we allow the things of God to become a ritual to us is evidence how desperately the church needs to be revived in these last days. (Psalms 86:5)
No comments:
Post a Comment