Revelation 2: The Church at Sardis

The Problem of Compromise in the Churches

So, as most of you know, we've been going through the letters to the churches in Revelation. This came up as sort of a providential study needing to cover, but it's turned into this, and I think it's useful.

As I mentioned from the very beginning, you know, there's so many people who are looking to hear from the Lord today, and usually, though, when they seek a fresh word from God, it's always something positive, something encouraging, something that more than likely tickles their ears.

But the Lord has spoken, He has revealed Himself, and the Spirit of God that has carried men along to share this revelation is also the Spirit that resides in us, helps to illuminate the Scriptures for us, encouraging us where we need to be encouraged, convicting us where we need to be convicted, and instructing us where we need to be instructed.

And so, with that in mind, we've been taking a look at the letter to the churches here in Revelation and seeing what we might have to apply to ourselves, what encouragement we can take, what correction we can take.

So, we've gotten, how many churches have we done so far? Does anyone know? I do, but it's sort of cheating, because, maybe, three or four, well, there's seven total, and we haven't finished them, so, I give you a hint, pick a number between one and seven, it's four, right?

We've covered the letter to the church in Ephesus, that was our first one, and then we covered Smyrna and Pergamum in the second one, and then we spoke about Thyatira last week, and we talked about Jezebel, and previously we had talked about Balaam and the Nicolaitans, and what was the issue with the Nicolaitans, who seemed to embody the teaching of Balaam, alluding back to an Old Testament problem that continues even to then, and also Jezebel, what were the problems with the Nicolaitans and Balaam and Jezebel?

What did they encourage? Oh, thank you, Ryan. Their morality. What specifically did they deviate from God's standard of morality? Eating food sacrificed to idols, yes, and what else? Two things in particular, the food sacrificed to idols, no, as far as, that was the issue with the church in Ephesus for getting their first love, but as far as the Nicolaitans and the teachings of Balaam, the teachings of Jezebel, sexual morality, right?

And so, as we read these letters, we see these things keep coming up. The issue of compromise for the church, indulging in eating food sacrificed to idols, and sexual morality, and so, are these problems that we have to deal with today, was a question that came up.

Is this just like, whew, glad that was back then, but we don't have to worry about it.

Now.

Are these issues for today? Yes, why? They're still around. I mean, the sexual morality is a gimme, right? We all see that everywhere we go. We live in a society that is just sexual deviation, perversion, it's totally in your face all the time.

And there's all sorts of ways, right? Obviously, there's fornication, there's adultery, now we have homosexuality, well that was still.

Then.

Transgender is a bit new. They didn't have the means to start doing surgeries to try to change your sex, but we also have, you know, where here they had these feasts and festivals and sexual morality parties that would follow.

But today, we have pornography, you know, easily accessed by any toddler with a smartphone, with internet access, right? So these things are still raging on. But what about the food sacrifice to idols?

Is that an issue for today? If you go to a buffet and they got a little Buddha there, we still see it happening, right? But they're not asking you to eat that orange or whatever after the fact, as far as we know.

Is it still an issue today, food sacrifice to idols? Yeah, for most of us, right? I'm sure there's some places around the world where that might still be happening. For us in the West, though, no, you don't generally see that.

You don't generally see temples where they're sacrificing to Apollo or Zeus or something to that effect. But it keeps coming up, and if it's something that we have to worry about today, what's the principle behind it?

And we talked a little bit about this last time, and I just wanted to review before we moved on to the church in Sardis. I just wanted us, because I want it in our minds, because it is something that still occurs today.

It just, the heart matter, the principles. What is the issue with food sacrifice to idols? Yes? It's an issue of compromise? What's the problem with it? I mean, Paul tells us in some places, right, that an idol is nothing, right?

And if the food's actually in the marketplace, don't ask where it came from. Just buy it. It's on sale.

Buy it.

Go home and thank God for it. And that's the end of it. But he says you can't actually go and partake when they're actually sacrificing it, and when they're having their feast and festival then. You can't have anything to do with it.

What is the issue, okay? Approval of what exactly? What would you say? Of the idol. Approval of the idol? The idol.

Yeah. Yes.

Excellent. I thought I saw a hand.

No? No?

Okay.

No.

Move on. Right, exactly. It's, you're professing that this idol has given you provision, right? I mean, why do we, why do we offer our sacrifices to God when it comes to, I mean, in the Old Testament, when they were giving their sacrifices, what were they representative of?

And if you were around for my Leviticus study, you should really know this. That was a long time ago. When, under the Old Testament, under the system of law and the sacrifices, what were those sacrifices representing when they were given to God?

I mean, they're representing a number of things, but representing our sin and our needing for a covering there, yeah. Thanksgiving, yeah, there were sacrifices of Thanksgiving, right? There were peace offerings.

But what was one of the main things that you had to give? What was part of their economic structure? Has to do with a percentage of things. A tithe. Why did they give the tithe? What was the tithe? He required the tithe of them, but the idea was he had given them everything.

And by them giving the first fruits, by them giving the first tenth off of what they were, you know, reaping, they were acknowledging that he had provided it, right? So exactly as Pastor Anthony said, the sacrifices often were an acknowledgment of the provision of the one they're sacrificing to, right?

And so if they're sacrificing to these idols, they're acknowledging, you have given me this. And so they're heaping praise and glory to this false god. So it's professing provision for that. It's professing approval, as Ryan said.

It's also professing allegiance, right? Because the sacrifices are required. And if the people, I mean, we know that there were those who were poor, though they were rich. And why? Because they would not engage in honoring the patron gods of those trade guilds, right?

And so they were likely being boycotted, canceled, you know, whatever it was. They were on the outs. But they refused to profess allegiance to this, to their own hurt financially. But so doing that was showing allegiance to that which is actually against God.

It's not neutral. It's not, well, that's just stupid. No, I mean, this idol is setting itself up against God. The people who are establishing the idol and worshiping the idol are doing it contrary to God.

So there's provision, there's allegiance. It's aligning yourself with the worldview which denies God. Again, these idols, there's no neutrality. You're giving, what does God say about his glory? I will not share it with another, right?

What are you doing then if you're dabbling with idolatry? What are you doing? You're giving your glory to another. And he expressly forbids it. You're also demonstrating that the Lord is not sufficient for all things.

Again, going back to the provision. You know, going back to like, I have to do this to function in this society. I need this God. I need the protection of this God. I need the alliance of this God and those who worship it.

Whether it be a him or her or whatever it is. I need their help. And so I'm going to cooperate with them and give honor to what they give honor to so that they will consider me part of them, right, that they'll cooperate with me, that it'll go well with me in the land.

Contrary to God. We're saying, sorry Lord, you're not enough. What else are we saying about God? Along the same lines here. If God says you cannot worship any other gods but me and you worship other gods, what are you saying to God?

That you're not God? Yeah. That you don't, you're not worthy of total obedience. I don't have to obey you. That's what you're saying. You say this, I'm going to do that. You're not worthy of all my obedience.

You're not worthy of all my trust. I've got to be pragmatic. Does that still happen today? All those different things that we say, does that still happen today? And so this is the issue of when we're talking about things that are current events in our society, when we're talking about things about how we make a living, what lengths we'll go to get along with everyone else.

Does it require compromise? Does it require a denial of God's word? A denial of God's truth? That we might have good relations with the enemies of God. What's the priority to us? That we would be on good terms with them?

They wouldn't hate us? They wouldn't mock us? They wouldn't shut us out? They wouldn't make us to be poor because they won't cooperate. They won't buy our goods. They won't hire us. They won't employ us.

They won't keep us employed if we don't follow lockstep. Before someone takes it further than I intend that to go, that doesn't mean that you can't work for unbelievers. Think about some of our heroes in scripture who were at times right hand man of unbelieving pagans.

Right?

But they had boundaries. They had limits to how far they would go. We're going to Daniel. Talk about a guy who rose to the top in a pagan land and yet never compromised his standards. He did what was necessary and if it put his life on the line, so be it.

So something to keep in mind because this food sacrifice idols that we see all the time and we just kind of like dismiss like we don't have to worry about that anymore. There's no neutrality. Be careful of our worldview.

Be careful of what steps we're taking thinking, well, I'm not engaging in idolatry. Are you? If something is more important than God, if something requires us to disobey God to do it, we are in fact engaged in idolatry.

And as we read Revelation, we see it's a constant, constant threat for the church. So I wanted to just revisit that statement, that question before we moved on to our next church. Any questions or comments about that?

Any other observations or that not make sense? Okay. Then we'll move on. So we're going to read the letter to the church in Sardis. It begins in chapter three, verse one, and it goes to verse six. Can I have someone to read that out for me?

Nice and loud.

Right.

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 reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 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.

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. 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.

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. He who has an ear, let him hear what the spirit says to the churches.

Amen.

Dead Church, Faith Without Works, and the Call to Repent

So, what's going on here in Sardis? Who finds that to be a comforting letter? That's a terrifying letter. A reputation for being alive, but you are dead.

Yikes.

So, what's going on, do we think? What is their problem? Very possibly, could be false converts, but he's writing to them, so keep in mind it's the church. This is the interesting thing because here he's talking about individuals, you still have a few names, people who haven't soiled their garments, so at the same time we're talking about individuals, but we're talking about a corporate entity, just like on Sunday preaching about Ephesus, talking about removing your lamp stand, so he's talking about them as a church, and so we have to remember, we have to identify ourselves as part of the church, that what's going on with them is going on with us in some measure, right?

When Daniel is praying, he's reading the scriptures, he's reading Jeremiah, he recognizes the time of 70 years is coming to a close, right? And he is praying and confessing the sins of Israel. Do we think he was really partaking in all the sins of Israel?

He was a guy who was a standout, that the Lord God himself says, if Daniel was, if there was three guys and Daniel was one of them, they could only save themselves and the rest of Israel would just be, they're going to be wiped out, right?

And yet he is confessing the sins of Israel as it's, he's part of it. We have sinned, they're still sinning, they still haven't fully repented. The mercy that God shows them is because he has deemed that he was going to show them mercy, he has deemed that he was going to bring them back.

But Daniel identifies himself with Israel. Their problems are his problem. So what do we see going on here? There's possibly false converts there, right? Oh, Alex?

Right.

Yeah?

Yeah, I mean, what does James tell us about faith and works, right? He's not contradicting Paul, but if we say we have faith and there's nothing to actually show that that faith is there, then perhaps that's a dead faith.

Say you believe, well, that's great. The demons also happen to believe, you know? The demons, as evil as they are, aren't foolish enough to be atheists, right? So they believe, and they have probably somewhat better theology than some professing Christians, but it's not going to save them, right?

So I mean, we hold to the doctrines of grace here, and that includes the perseverance of the saints. And we believe, based on what Scripture tells us, you know, the Apostle John, the Lord wants us to have an assurance of faith, right?

But at the same time, there's also evidence that he doesn't want us to have a presumption of that salvation if there are no corresponding works, whether it be the work of repentance. Again, these works are enabled, they're only possible because we are regenerate, they're only possible because the Spirit enables us to be able to repent, the Spirit enables us to do the things that we ought to do, it's God who's working within us, right?

For his good pleasure, to do his work. But we're called to examine ourselves, we're called to see if we are in the faith, to be careful of evil and unbelieving hearts, to avoid being hardened by the deceitfulness of sin, to not claim a faith that has no works, to help demonstrate the genuineness of it.

So what is he referring to here? Is that a stretch or a hand raise?

I was going to say it's kind of similar to using the Lord's name in vain. Like, they're not really, like, yes, they're Christians in name, but they're not really doing any, they're not showing that Christ is alive through their faith.

I mean, he doesn't say specifically again, you know, and so just like we were talking about with Ephesus, what is he referring to with the first love, you know? He's telling them to go back and do the deeds that they did at first.

Here it says, remember then what you have received and heard it, keep it and repent. If you will not wake up, I'll come like a thief and you won't know the hour that I'll come against you. So as I mentioned, Beal is one of the commentaries I've been looking at, and he believes, again, that this has to do with a lack of witnessing, a lack of being a light to the world.

And he points to the seven spirits and the seven stars as a portrayal of, again, of the portrayal of the provision of heavenly aid available to these Christians. Again, this is, it's going to be strongly convicting, but it's not a just out and out condemnation.

He's still calling them to repent. He's still showing them that he is there ready and willing to help them repent, help them to do what they ought to do, help them to wake up and strengthen what remains and is about to die.

So on the one hand, he goes, you're dead. And on the other hand, he says, wake up and strengthen what remains is about to die. So the dead is either something of a hyperbole to show them just how, how catastrophic their situation is, how dangerous the ground they're on is.

He communicates to us like that. He uses this kind of language. On the other hand, he could be talking about the church in general is dead. And yet there is a faithful remnant and they need to wake up and do what they ought to.

Do.

What, what happens in a church? If you have a church that is in a situation like this, what is that a sign to us, to us.

Of?

What happened or what didn't happen that they got here? Church discipline. How do you get to this point unless no one's practicing church discipline? No one's calling out sinful behavior, sinful habits.

No one's calling the lack of love. No one's encouraging one another unto good works. If it's about, if it's about being a witness, what does Hebrews tells us? Don't forsake the assembling. We're called to encourage the saints, right?

All the more as we see the day drawing near. So they're not witnessing, but if they have this reputation for being alive, but they're dead and if they're not witnessing, and he says, you still have a few names who haven't soiled their garments.

What could soiling their garments be a reference to? Keeping in mind what we've just been reading in the other churches, bringing a reproach on the name of Christ by what means? Walking in darkness, sinning, what are the other churches doing that's a problem?

Yeah.

Are they engaged in just being undercover Christians, right? Are they in a place where there would be great persecution against them if they show themselves to be faithful Christians who don't compromise?

And so for the most part, they're just going along to get along. They're soiling their garments. Comments about that?

Thoughts?

Observations?

Anyone? No?

We've got to really be on guard for these things because you read it in the scripture and it's like, well, how could they possibly do that? It's so clear that you'd compromise, but that's not the way that the devil comes to you.

He comes as an angel of light and it looks appealing and it's very slow and it's the frog in the water and you don't even know. You have to be aware of what's going on around you. Like you say, every week we're being catechized.

They're pushing in their direction and if you're not aware and on guard constantly, you can fall into that same trap. Everybody's like, we think about how did the Jews get rounded up and killed in Nazi Germany.

That way?

Look what's going on here, how it's just a slow encroachment and we keep losing powers and powers and powers. Before you know it, we could be in the same situation. We would never have gotten in that situation if the church stood up and did what it should have done way back when, but they either didn't see it or didn't want to compromise and here.

We are.

Yeah, was this a surgeon who said that wisdom is not knowing the difference between right and wrong, it's knowing the difference between right and almost right? Like you said, the frog in the water is always, in that pot, is always a good example.

Everyone familiar with that? Throw a frog in a pot of boiling water, that thing is going to jump right out, right? But if you leave it in just nice, lukewarm water, calm water, cold water, and you just slowly inch up the heat, a little bit, a little bit, a little bit, a little bit, in no time you'll have frog soup, right?

He'll just stay there comfortably getting more and more acclimated to his environment and that's what the church does at times, churches, right? We have the problem of right and almost right. It's not that someone necessarily comes and jumps out and says, hey, let's start worshipping Satan, right?

No, it'll start off with, let's redefine what love is. Let's focus on this aspect of God and then inch it away from actual biblical standards and definitions, right? So we start accepting things, we start being, well, let's not chase people away.

I can't tell you how many churches will not engage in any sort of church discipline. Everyone thinks a church discipline, they think their mind goes right to excommunication. Like, oh, gee, you know, kicking them out.

Well, Jesus says to do that at times, but it doesn't start there. It starts by if your brother offends you, you go to them, right? And if they hear you, you have what? You've won your brother, right? The purpose is reconciliation, restoration.

That's what informal church discipline all the way up to formal church discipline is.

About.

It's about reconciliation. It's about restoration. It's about having short accounts and not allowing sin to accrue and to grow. We don't do that. Talked about Philemon, I'm terrible with time, and I taught it.

It was weeks ago or months ago. It was in 2023, I shared from Philemon. And I asked the question, how many people, if you knew someone had something against you, they saw you in sin or they had some sort of offense and it was affecting their relationship with you, how many of you would want to know?

And every hand went up. I said, you wouldn't want them to think, oh, they won't hear me. They'll never accept it. But I said, how many of us have had an issue with someone, either a concern about sin or an offense or something, and we didn't go to that brother or sister in the Lord?

Most of us were all up there, you know? So we want it, we say we would accept it, but we don't believe others would, right? And listen, some of us have been at other churches and we know if you're trying to go to them about their doctrine or their practices or signs, they're not going to want to hear.

You.

And so you can try to have the conversation and if you see, then you may have to move.

On.

But as far as we are with each other, when we're part of a local body, when we're united to one another, when we're members of one another, when we have an accountability that's supposed to be there, we have to, we have to confront each other.

We have to encourage one another. And too often we don't. That's what the world does too, by the way. You know why the world does it? Exactly. They don't care about each other. You know who they care about?

Themselves.

And their own peace and quiet, their own lack of conflict, their own lack of drama. And so they avoid those things.

Why?

Because the idol of their heart is their comfort and convenience. And so when we do the same thing the world does, what are we engaging in without realizing.

It?

Idolatry.

What did Calvin say about the heart? An idol making factory, right? There we are. So how do you get to the point of having a reputation of being alive, but you're dead? Very easily, unfortunately. Very easily.

So he says, not, time's up, it's over, just pack it up. He says, 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. He says, remember then what you received when you heard the gospel and the life-altering impact that it has, how it affects every area of your life, not just what you're doing on a given Sunday, but every area of your life, every relationship in your life, everything.

Remember what you received and heard, keep it, 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. Presuming on, I have tomorrow, I have the next day, I'll get right with God, I'll get my act together eventually, Jesus says, you are on incredibly dangerous ground to think that's what you can do.

You still have a few names and sorrows, people who have not soiled their garments, they're not compromising, they're not walking in idolatry. They will walk with me in white for they are worthy. The one who conquers, and what does conquering mean again with Christ?

It's a reminder of those who are truly saved, who truly persevere, who conquer and overcome sometimes by death. Sometimes we conquer like Christ conquers, that the persecution comes and we die, but Christ used it for glory, He used it to judge the unbelievers, He used it to win the world.

The blood of the martyrs is the seedbed of the church because when people see that you're willing to die for something, it's going to make them ask, why? Why that serious? Why that big a deal? Why can't you just go along with everyone else?

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's, I'm sorry, before my father and before his angels.

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. When he says, I will confess his name before my father, what does that allude back to? What do we remember about him talking about confessing him, confessing people before the father?

Right.

So, if you confess me, I will confess you. And the flip side, if you deny me, I will deny you. So how many different ways are there to deny Christ? We can just say, I'm not a Christian, I'm not like one of those crazy religious fanatics.

I believe in God, but let's not go nuts. I believe we should respect everyone's faith. Where do you see that in the Bible? Respect everyone's faith. Does God respect everyone's faith? All the different religions?

Think we should be welcoming and affirming to all the different, they all lead to God after all?

No.

So we can deny him with our words, we can deny him with our actions. What we do, what we don't do. Pragmatism, you know, just trying to get along at whatever it costs to make things easier in this earth, in this time, not realizing this is a vapor and then you have eternity.

And what have you really been working towards? So the one who conquers, there's the encouragement at the end, right? You know, the other churches, sometimes there's commendation, usually the commendation is first and then a rebuke if necessary.

Here he really starts with the rebuke. There's a commendation for a few and the challenge to repent. And then the one who conquers will be clothed with us in white garments, I will never blot his name out of the book of life.

Something to remember, we're talking about eternity, we're talking about your soul, we're. So get your priorities straight, right? I will confess his name before my father and before his angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Any questions?

There's not a chance I can go to the next church.

Witness, the Great Commission, and Not Denying Christ

So I'm not really clear on the whole, so this is a conversation I have with Jack a lot.

Sure.

Like, I feel like, let's just say Jewish people, you're saying we should use our words and our actions to like speak against them?

What I mean is, I'm giving an example of how some people will, they don't want to be viewed as some religious fanatic. So they'll say, well, they're a Christian or they believe in God, but they don't want to be viewed too extremely.

What we're called to do is we're called to be a light to the world and to be a witness of Jesus Christ. And the witnesses, Jesus said, before he ascended at the end of Matthew 28, he says, all authority in heaven and on earth belongs to me.

He says, therefore go, right? And make disciples of all the earth, of all the nations, you know, teaching them all that I've commanded you. And so when we read through the book of Acts, we see that they are, they are proclaiming a risen Messiah, a risen King.

And they're telling everyone they have to repent and believe the gospel. They have to believe in Christ if they want to be right with God. So he, Jesus will reference the Jews in these letters a couple of times and refer to them as the synagogue of Satan.

He goes, they say they are Jews, but they're not. But rather they're the synagogue of Satan. And just like Jesus was going back and forth with the Jewish leaders of the day, they're like, we have Abraham as our father.

He goes, if you had Abraham as your father, you would do the works Abraham did, which was to believe in me. He goes, your father is the devil because he was a liar and a murderer from the beginning. So there are people who, who think that they're right with God based on their ethnicity, right?

And so Jews say, you know, I'm, I'm a son of Abraham. I'm a daughter of Abraham and therefore I'm chosen. And the people of Israel were chosen by God. He established a nation. He gave them all the oracles of God.

He brought the Messiah from the lineage of Israel. But as Paul tells us, it's not the Jew or the Israelite who is one outwardly, but inwardly. The Christ is the true Israel. He's the true seed of Abraham.

He's the one who inherited everything. And if we want to be united to him, we have to believe in him. It's not about our ethnicity. It's not about our parents, our grandparents. It's about where are we with Christ?

Where do we stand with Christ? So when we're talking to people of other faiths, you know, whether it be Judaism, which is a shell of what true Judaism was in the time of Jesus day, we're talking to someone who's holds to the Islamic faith and they're Muslim.

We're talking to a Buddhist, a Hindu. We're talking to a secular humanist because that's a religion as well, whether they want to acknowledge it or not. We have to proclaim that Christ is king. We have to proclaim that, you know, as the apostles did, there is no other name under heaven in which men might be saved except the man, Christ Jesus.

So we have to preach the gospel, which consists of Christ, salvation by Christ in Christ alone, that there's no other way.

Right?

Jesus says, I'm the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through me. We have to proclaim that to others. And the gospel is the good news of a savior who takes away our sin, gives us his righteousness and gives us eternal life.

We can't earn it. We can't do anything to merit it. It's his free gift, right, Jack? He was sharing the other day on Sunday. What's one of your favorite verses to share with someone who asks you, give me a Bible verse, Jack.

And what does it say?

Right.

Gives you the bad news and the good news and the one who provides the good news, all in one little verse. That's what we have to share, that the wages of sin is death and we all are condemned, we all deserve hell, and yet Christ offers us eternity with him if we would believe in.

Him.

So does that help as far as how we use our words in dealing with people of other faiths?