I searched out some websites and the history they provided was a reliable source of information pertaining to the history of the seven churches. If we want to get a full meaning of what the Word of God says, history is one of the important elements.
Bible ask ministry- Multiple Flaws
The church at Sardis had a number of faults, although some were faithful. They were spiritually dead overall, despite having a reputation of being spiritually alive (Revelation 3:2). Jesus, in his evaluation of them, found them deficient in regard to doing enough good works (verse 3).
Those in Sardis desperately needed to spiritually wake up and repent. They had the knowledge of the truth, but were not practicing it, since they needed to do what they had heard and received. Jesus warned them to wake up and repent before He returned.
God’s Message to the Church in Sardis (Revelation 3:1-6):
In Revelation, the message to the church in Sardis begins with an acknowledgment of its reputation: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead” (Revelation 3:1, NKJV). Despite having a reputation for vitality and vibrancy, the church in Sardis is spiritually lifeless.
Hypocrisy characterized this church, which was not what it pretended to be. Professedly, the Reformation churches had discovered what it means to be saved by faith in Jesus, but they eventually fell into a state resembling, in certain ways, that of the organization from which they had withdrawn.
The sin of hypocrisy called forth Jesus’ most strong denunciations against the religious leaders of His day (Matthew 23:13–33). Rather than being made alive in Christ (Ephesians 2:5; Colossians 2:13; Galatians 2:20), as this church claimed to be, in reality it was “dead” (2 Timothy 3:5). As applied to the Sardis period of the church, the message can be considered in terms of the church toward the close of the Reformation period and may be dated 1517 to 1755.
Some decades after the early part of Reformation, the church experienced doctrinal controversy. Eventually, differences of opinion were settled by the adoption of definitive creeds that tended to discourage the search for additional truth. And the churches of the Protestant world generally accepted the form of godliness without its power.
Another important reason that led its spiritual fall was the rise of rationalism in the 17th and 18th centuries. Under the impact of scientific discovery, many scholars came to believe that natural law was sufficient to account for the workings of the universe. Thinking men turned to the new philosophical rationalism. This encouraged the spiritual coldness that characterized much Protestantism in the centuries following the Reformation.
God’s message to the church continues with an admonition to “be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die” (Revelation 3:2). The church is urged to repent and return to the teachings of Christ, lest its lampstand be removed from its place.
The messages to the church in Sardis serve as both a warning and an encouragement to believers, urging them to repent and return to the teachings of Christ.
My words - The message to the church today is the same as it was to Sardis. Since no church is perfect, there is warning to repent and encouragement to motivate the church to keep moving forward. Which sign is pertaining to your church, or is it more than one sign? Are you included in the remnant (the few)?
Ps. Just because some churches are dead, God is not dead!
His handmaiden, Betty A. Burnett ~ burnettministries.org
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