Reputedly Alive, but Almost Dead

It's good to worship with you guys.

Please turn with me in your Bibles

to the book of Revelation, chapter three.

This is the last book of the Bible.

If you don't have a Bible, please raise your hand.

We'd love to give you a copy that you could have

then take home with you.

We started this series a couple months ago.

We're in chapter three today, verses one through six.

Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's word.

Father, your word is truth.

And you are good.

Your love endures forever.

You are worthy of all our praise

and the praise of every nation, tribe, and tongue, and people.

We ask that you would address us from your word again.

Speak to us with the word that never returns void

so that our hearts are spurred on to exalt your name,

the name of your son, Jesus,

so that we might be changed, become more like him,

so that we might live with faith and hope and love

in eager expectation of the hope that will be revealed to us

at the second coming of our Lord Jesus.

Wake us up

so we might not be given to spiritual slumber,

but make us alert, watchful,

sober-minded.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

If you are able, please stand for the reading of God's word.

Revelation chapter three, verses one to six.

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.

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.

This is God's holy

and authoritative word.

You may be seated.

For those of you

who are new to the church,

we use a communication platform

called Slack

and on Slack earlier this week,

I asked some of you guys

questions

about what was the most important thing

and event that you missed

due to oversleeping

and I should have asked you guys

for permission

to share this beforehand,

but you guys shared it

on a public platform,

so I'm taking my license

and airing out your...

Aubrey mentioned

that she overslept

and missed her SAT exam.

David Foreman

missed his meeting

with an advisor.

Charlie Yang

and Andrew Rimm

missed a final presentation

and a final exam

in college,

respectively.

Nathaniel Jenkins,

is Nathaniel here?

Yeah,

he missed a human-powered

flying engineering competition.

It's a very geeky thing

to miss there,

but he's at MIT,

so that's not surprising,

for which he happened

to have all of his university's

tools in his car

and he missed it.

Sungmin confessed

to oversleeping

and missing church sometimes.

God forgives you.

Jen Cook missed

her own birthday party

that her friends and family

were throwing for her

because she overslept

and missed her flight

and thankfully,

they had a good sense

of humor about it

and had the party anyway

with framed pictures of her

to carry around everywhere

and she had photo evidence

to prove it

and one of Joseph Johnson's

sisters missed

their brother's wedding

this summer

because of a little nap

that went a little too long

and I thought

that would take the cake

and then Daniel Yuan

responded

and he said

that he has missed

multiple weddings

due to oversleeping,

including one

for which he was in charge

of the video audio equipment.

It's funny, yeah.

I thought you guys

would have some good stories

and you guys did not disappoint

so thanks for the

sermon fodder there

that Ed was quick

to catch on to.

Thankfully,

you all seem to have

recovered just fine

from all those things.

Missed exams,

missed classes,

missed, you know.

I think oversleeping

and missing something

is a familiar fear

for most of us

but there's a kind

of slumber

that you never

recover from

and that's

spiritual slumber

and I don't mean

that you can't

recover from it

now but rather

if you die

in that state

then you don't

recover.

There's no second chance

after that.

We are repeatedly

warned throughout

the New Testament

that Jesus will come back

like a thief

and that's not to steal

but to claim

what is his own

and when you come

to claim what is your own

that's not stealing

that's redeeming

and so he will come

back to redeem

but he will come

like a thief

in the sense

that he will come

unannounced.

No thief ever comes

after announcing

his coming

because then

the residents

of the house

will be ready

and he will not

be able to break in.

He comes unannounced

likewise Jesus

will come unannounced

and that's why

we are repeatedly

commanded throughout

scripture to be alert

and to be watchful

to be awake.

If we are found

spiritually sleeping

when the Lord returns

there's no makeup tests.

That's the end.

It's the second death.

The lake of fire

because spiritual sleep

is a metaphor

for spiritual death

as we see here

in verses 1 to 2.

You have the reputation

of being alive

but you are dead.

Wake up

and strengthen

what remains

and is about to die.

Our eternal life

is at stake

in us being awake.

And so I urge you

to listen to this passage

and what Jesus

has to say to us

in this letter

because our lives

depend on it.

This passage teaches us

that we must wake up

and keep what we have heard

and received

so that our names

are never blotted out

from the book of life.

And first we're gonna talk

about the one

who has the spirit of life.

Secondly,

the church that is alive

in name only.

And third,

we'll talk about

the promise of life

for those who keep

Christ's name.

Now,

first let's look at

the one who has

the spirit of life

in verse 1.

That's how Jesus

introduces himself

in slightly different terms

in this letter

to the angel

of the church

in Sardis.

He says,

the words of him

who has the seven

spirits of God

and the seven stars.

The seven spirits of God

is alluding back

to chapter 1,

verse 4,

which introduced

the sender of these letters

to the seven churches

in Asia

and it was a Trinitarian formula.

He said,

grace and peace to you

from the one who is

and who was

and who is to come.

That's the father.

And from the seven spirits

before the throne,

that's the Holy Spirit.

And from Jesus Christ,

that's the son.

So the Trinity

is the author

of this book

and of these letters

in particular

to the seven churches

in Asia Minor.

But the expression

seven spirits

is a little confusing, right?

Because we're used

to thinking about

the Holy Spirit

being one.

And that's true

because Ephesians 4,

4 to 5 says,

there is one body

and one spirit,

just as you were called

to the one hope

that belongs to your call.

One Lord

and one faith

and one baptism,

one God

and Father of all.

So there is

the oneness of God

and the oneness

of the Spirit

is actually the basis

for unity in the church.

So there can't be

more than one spirit.

And John actually knows this

and you can see this

later in verse 6

when it says,

he who has an ear

let him hear

what the spirit

says to the churches

in the singular.

He knows that

there's only one Holy Spirit.

What's going on here then

is John using

the number seven

symbolically

as he frequently does

throughout the book

of Revelation.

Because God completed

the work of creation

in seven days,

the number seven

comes to represent

in the rest of Scripture

the fullness

or completeness

of something.

And so other translations

like the NIV

or the CSB

have a footnote

after the seven spirits

to explain

that it means

sevenfold spirit

and I think

that's a good translation.

The expression

seven spirits

conveys

the immensity

of God.

His fullness,

His omnipresence.

He fills

all in all.

He's everywhere.

Where shall I go

from your spirit?

Or where shall I flee

from your presence?

If I ascend to the heaven,

you are there.

If I make my bed

in Sheol,

in the realm of the dead,

you are there.

If I take the wings

of the morning

and dwell in the uttermost

parts of the sea,

even there,

your hand shall lead me.

God's presence

is full,

immense.

It is everywhere

and inescapable.

And that meaning

is later confirmed

in Revelation 5,

Revelation 5:6

verse 6,

which says that

Jesus,

the Lamb of God,

has seven eyes

which are the seven spirits

of God sent out

into all the earth.

So the seven spirits

are the seven eyes

of God sent out

into all the earth

to observe everything

in every corner

of the earth.

This is a particularly

appropriate way

for Jesus to introduce

Himself in this letter

to the church in Sardis

because the church

in Sardis

has the reputation

of being alive

but are dead.

and Jesus

is uniquely aware

of that

because He sees

everything.

He's the one

who has the seven spirits.

The church in Sardis

might be really good

at faking it

but they can't fool

Jesus who

has the seven spirits

and searches

both the surfaces

and the deeps

and sees through

the facades

and perceives things

as they really are.

This expression

is also appropriate

because the church

in Sardis

is about to die

as it says

in verse 2.

Their lamp

on the seven golden

lampstands

which represent

the seven churches

according to Revelation

1.20

that lamp

is about to die out.

Their flame

is just barely burning

like a smoldering wick

and what's the fire

that burns

in these churches?

We know

from other parts

of scripture

that Jesus baptizes us

with Holy Spirit

and fire.

It's the fire

of the Holy Spirit

that burns

in these churches.

That's why Revelation 4.5

says,

Before the throne of God

were burning

seven torches

of fire

which are

the seven spirits

of God.

So,

the spirit of God

is described

all throughout

the Old

and the New Testaments

as the one

who imparts life.

Paul calls him

the spirit

of life.

Romans 8.2

John says in 6.63

that it is

the spirit

who gives life.

So,

it's the flame

of the spirit

of God

that's about

to go out

in this church

flickering precariously.

So,

to whom

should they turn?

Of course,

the one

who has

the seven spirits.

He's the one

who can

fan

that flame.

make them

alive again.

So,

Jesus

is the one

who is the

life-giving spirit

as it says

in 1 Corinthians 15.45

and he is here

inviting the church

in Sardis.

Wake up!

Repent!

Turn to me!

Turn back to me

because I am the source

of all spiritual life

and I can make you

live again.

I can make you

burn

again.

But the fact

that Christ

has the authority

to impart

the spirit

also means

that he has

the authority

to remove.

And the next

part of Jesus'

self-identification

is a reminder

of that.

The words

of him

who has

the seven

spirits of God

and the seven

stars.

We were told

explicitly

earlier in

chapter 1

verse 20

that the seven

stars represent

the angels

of the seven

churches.

The angels

are,

these angels,

seven angels

are the representatives,

heavenly representatives

of these seven

churches

on earth.

So then the fact

that Jesus

has the seven

stars in his

right hand,

as said in

chapter 1,

is a symbol

of his authority

and sovereignty.

He's full control

over all of these

churches.

It doesn't matter

to Jesus

that the church

in Sardis

has a sparkling

reputation

among their peers.

What matters

is Jesus'

assessment,

Jesus'

judgment,

judgment,

and Jesus

says that

they are

dead.

So this

is the warning.

I am the

one who is

in charge

of the

book of

life.

Repent

and confess

my name.

So that's

Jesus,

the one who

has the

spirit of

life.

And Jesus

has to

remind the

church in

Sardis

of this

because they

were a

church that

is alive

in name

only.

That's

my second

point.

It says

at the

end of

verse 1,

I know

your works.

You have

the reputation

of being

alive,

but you

are dead.

The word

reputation

is the

same word

in the

Greek

for the

word

name.

So they

have the

name

of being

alive,

but they

are dead.

That's a

key word

in this

passage

actually.

That word

name

occurs

four times

throughout

this

passage,

this

letter

to the

church

in

Sardis.

So in

other

words,

these are

a church

full of

nominal

Christians,

Christians

in name

only.

They're not

completely

spiritually

dead,

because we

know from

verse 2

that they

are about

to die,

so it's

hyperbolic,

the part of

verse 1

that says

you are

dead.

They are

dying,

not quite

dead yet,

but if you

lived in the

first century

and you met

a fellow

Christian while

you were

traveling who

was from

Sardis,

and they

say,

oh yeah,

I'm a

member of

the church

in Sardis,

you would

have been

impressed.

Oh,

wow.

You would

have been

a church

in Sardis.

I've heard

great things

about that

church.

That was

their

reputation,

but they

were in

reality about

to die.

There are

many churches

in the world

that are

like that,

like the

church in

Sardis,

alive in

name only,

and there

can be many

reasons for

that.

a church

might have

the reputation

of being

alive because

of its

traditionalism,

because it's

an ancient

church with

impressive

cathedrals and

sparkly

vestments.

I'm not

discounting

tradition here.

I actually

value tradition.

I think it's

important.

Tradition preserves

the experience and

wisdom of the

old, but

traditionalism

preserves tradition

for tradition's

sake.

As 20th

century church

historian

Yaroslav Pelikan

once said,

tradition is the

living faith of

the dead.

Traditionalism is

the dead faith

of the living.

And I suppose I

should add,

it is traditionalism

that gives

tradition such a

bad name.

Antiquity and

traditionalism alone

are no signs of

spiritual life.

As Jesus says in

Mark 7, 13,

they make void

the word of God

by their

tradition.

Some churches

have the reputation

of being alive

because of their

experientialism or

emotionalism,

because of the

therapeutic or

cathartic experiences

that they provide,

whether that's

through interpersonal

accountability sessions

or topical sermons

that are geared

toward meeting

people's felt needs

or the emotional

release of

exuberant

concert-like

musical or

theatrical production

or performance

or the performance

of charismatic

miracles.

But if you win

people to Christ

with such

experiences,

then you will win

them to such

experiences.

And that's what

they'll want over

and over again.

Seeking one

subjective

experiential high

after another.

instead,

we need to turn

to the person

of Jesus Christ

so that our

assurance does not

rest on these

other things,

but this ever-fluctuating

rollercoaster of emotions

and experiences,

but rather on the

bedrock of who Christ

is and what he has

done for us.

In Luke 11,

when the crowds

were increasing

because of his

miraculous signs,

Jesus denounced

the generation,

saying,

this generation

is an evil

generation.

It seeks for a

sign,

but no sign

will be given

to it except

the sign of

Jonah,

and that's

referring to

his death

and resurrection

on the third

day.

A church

might elicit

woos and

wows with

their spectacular

performances

and signs,

but those

experiences fade.

Only the word

of God

stands forever.

Some churches

have the reputation

of being alive

because of their

formalism.

Everyone wears

their best Sunday

clothes on Sunday

and puts on

their best Sunday

smiles and have

their polite Sunday

lines memorized

to a T.

God is good

all the time.

I'm doing better

than I deserve.

I'm a sinner

saved by grace.

These are all

good and true

things,

and I hope

all of you

say them,

but in a

formalistic church,

they don't mean

it when they

say it.

Their faith

is a formality.

They have

perfect attendance,

but all their

Christian activities

are merely

boxes to check

off their

to-do list.

They don't have

a vital,

personal relationship

with God,

and so on the

inside,

in the privacy

of their lives,

they're full

of all kinds

of sin.

They're hypocrites,

as Jesus said.

in Matthew 23,

27,

whitewashed tombs,

which outwardly

appear beautiful,

but within are

full of dead

people's bones

and all uncleanness.

Some churches

have the reputation

of being alive

because of their

activism.

Activism is not

bad in and of itself,

but there are

churches that are

so consumed

with doing justice

and loving kindness

that they don't

have any time

to proclaim the

gospel and make

disciples.

their church

members have

those yard signs

that says,

no human is

illegal,

and love is

love,

and kindness

is everything.

They're so

consumed with

meeting people's

felt needs

that they've

lost sight

of what the

Bible says

is their

greatest need.

They're so

focused on

saving the

world that

they've

forgotten that

God already

sent his

only son into

the world to

save it.

Jesus says in

John 6,

26,

that many

people followed

him not

because of

him,

the bread of

life,

but because

they ate

their fill of

the loaves.

They came

for the food

that perishes

and not for

the food

that endures

to eternal

life.

Likewise,

there are many

churches nowadays

who cater to

peoples who

want their fill

of the loaves

and offer food

that perishes

but without

offering them

Jesus,

the bread of

life who

nourishes

unto eternal

life.

some churches

have the

reputation of

being alive

because of

their legalism.

You have

never found

a group of

people who

seem so

serious and

so zealous

for God.

You think

you're serious

about following

God?

These guys

take it to

the nth

degree.

You think

you're a good

Christian because

you attend

Sunday worship

every week?

These guys

do dawn prayer

every prayer

every day,

Wednesday night

prayer and

CG and Sunday

morning and

evening services

and they're

doing personal

devotions.

Bible reading

prayer every

day, maybe

for twice as

long as

many of you.

You think

you're a good

Christian because

you haven't had

sex before

marriage?

These guys

don't even

kiss before

marriage.

These are

not bad

practices in

and of

themselves but

because they

think it's

their own

theological

rightness or

their own

moral righteousness

that make

them acceptable

to God and

not the

atoning work

of Christ

on the

cross.

They are

ultimately

depending on

themselves and

not on

Christ and

that leads to

spiritual pride

when they're

keeping up with

their spiritual

disciplines but

it leads to

spiritual despair

when they fail

and fall short.

They have no

humility before

God and other

believers because

they have not

received for

themselves the

grace and

mercy of God.

they have

trouble extending

that mercy to

others.

They are like

the scribes and

the Pharisees who

tithe mint and

dill and cumin and

have neglected the

weightier matters of

the law, justice,

mercy, and

faithfulness.

We don't know

exactly what was

going on with the

church in Sardis and

these are only a

partial list of

possible problems but

we do know that they

were spiritually dead

and so Jesus

exhorts them this

way in verse 2,

wake up and

strengthen what

remains and is

about to die for

I have not found

your works complete

in the sight of

God.

Remember Jesus said

in verse 1, I

know your works and

this is what he

knows about their

works, that their

works are not

complete in the

sight of God.

Recall that with

each letter written

to the seven

churches of whom

Jesus is the

author, Jesus

evaluates the

spiritual condition

of these churches

and usually that

evaluation is a

combination of

commendation and

correction.

Some churches only

receive commendation,

two of them, and

the evaluation always

begins with Jesus

saying I know,

usually I know your

works and that's

usually followed first

by the commendations

but not the church

in Sardis.

It goes straight to

corrections because

there's not much to

commend about this

church at all.

The only redeeming

factor about the

church in Sardis is

that not all of

them are like this.

A few of them,

verse 4 says, have

not yet soiled their

garments.

But the rest, they

have the reputation

of being alive but

are dead.

They have no works

for which Jesus can

commend them.

That's really sad to

see because that

means they have no

toil or patient

endurance or

intolerance of evil.

intolerance of evil

like the church in

Ephesus that Jesus

commended them for.

They have not endured

tribulation or poverty

like the church in

Smyrna for the name

of Christ.

They have not held

fast to Christ's name

in the midst of deadly

persecution like the

church in Pergamum.

They have no love and

no faith and service

and patient endurance

like the church in

Thyatira.

They lack these works.

This is a church that

has the name of being

alive but are dead.

Apart from this, we're

not told exactly what

the spiritual malady of

the church of Sardis

was.

They don't seem to be

dealing with the

Nicolaitans and Jezebel

and sexual morality and

idolatry like the

churches in Pergamum and

Thyatira.

But nonetheless, their

critique, this critique

is so severe because

their condition is so

deficient.

deficient.

There's a level of

entanglement and

defilement because apart

from the few mentioned in

verse 4, they've all

soiled their garments.

But I do think we can

infer a little bit more

about what they might be

struggling with by looking

at what Jesus commands

them to do in verse 3.

He says,

Remember then what you

received and heard.

Keep it and repent.

The pair of verbs,

receive and hear, most

often occur in the New

Testament together to

refer with the object as

the word of God.

Hear the word of God.

Receive the word of God.

For example, in 1

Thessalonians 2.13, when

you receive the word of

God, which you heard from

us, you accepted it not as

the word of man, but as

what it really is, the

word of God, which is at

work in you believers.

Similarly, the parable of

the sower in Matthew 13

talks about those who

hear the word and

immediately receive it

with joy, at least for a

time.

So when Jesus is exhorting

the church in Sardis to

remember the word of God,

remember what you received

and what you heard, that's

the gospel of the word of

Christ.

Remember that and keep it,

hold on to it, because

presumably they are not

keeping it.

It seems like the church

in Sardis is not bearing

witness to Jesus in any

way.

I think this condition,

that this is what is

going on, is confirmed

later by what Jesus

promises to do to those

who repent and conquer

in verse 5.

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.

Jesus said in Matthew 10

that if his disciples

confess his name before

men, that he will

himself confess their

name before the father

and his angels.

I think that's what

Jesus is referring to

here in this letter to

the church in Sardis.

It seems like the issue

is that the church in

Sardis is not confessing

openly the name of

Christ.

They've gone incognito.

They've blended in so well

to society that they're

really Christians in name

only.

Nothing stands out about

them as Christians.

But how could these

Christians in Sardis

manage to do that

without partaking in

Roman idolatry like

these other churches

that Jesus called out

explicitly?

One way that they could

do that would have been

to blend in with the

Jews and to come under

the auspices of the

Jewish synagogue.

The Jewish community in

Sardis was one of the

largest and most

prominent in Asia Minor.

They boasted, Sardis

boasted the largest

Jewish synagogue built in

the ancient world that

could seat almost a

thousand people.

The Jewish community was

very well established in

Sardis and they were

acknowledged by the Roman

governing authorities

because of their

antiquity and the Romans

tolerated the Jews

despite their refusal to

worship the emperor as

long as they honor the

emperor.

So if the Christians in

Sardis, many of whom

would have been Jewish by

their ethnic background

anyway because most

Christians, converts back

then were Jewish at first,

they could have just fit in

with the Jews, go into the

synagogue, don't ruffle any

feathers, don't make anyone

mad, then they would have

been able to fly under the

radar and avoid all kinds of

persecution and maybe even

idolatry.

But that required a level of

unacceptable compromise.

It required that they soil

their garments, that they

don't confess the name of

Jesus.

This is actually not unlike

what we call the insider

movement among some Muslims.

There are Muslims who

supposedly come to faith in

Jesus but then continue to

identify as Muslim.

They still observe Islamic

religious and legal

practices, remain in the

mosque as their social

community.

They regard Muhammad as a

true prophet of God and

Quran as a true scripture of

God.

They call themselves

messianic Muslims.

But they're like the Jews

that John 12 describes who

believed in Jesus but for

fear of the Pharisees they did

not confess his name so that

they would not be put out of

the synagogue for they love

the glory that comes from

man more than the glory that

comes from God.

The lack of confrontation

with the sinful world is sure

evidence of our complicity with

the sinful world.

But this kind of compromise

doesn't occur merely in foreign

missions contexts.

It occurs right here in the U.S.

Do you profess the name of

Christ in your life?

Do your coworkers know that

you're a Christian?

When they ask you about your

weekend do you mention that you

went to church?

Is your lifestyle

distinguishable from theirs in

any way?

Do you talk differently from

them or are you as vulgar and

foul-mouthed as they are?

Do you date people differently

or do you have little regard for

God-given physical boundaries

before marriage like the rest of

society?

Do you think differently from

them or is the way you process

current events and cultural

trends identical with the way

with the world that doesn't know

the gospel and doesn't have the

wisdom of God from his word?

Does the way you spend your time

and money look any different from

your unbelieving friends?

When your friends bash

Christianity or take the Lord's

name in vain do you say anything?

You just hush up and just blend in.

There are people who have not been

transformed by the Spirit from the

inside out and are only Christians

in name only.

And in a group this large it's

likely that there's some of you

here.

Spiritually asleep.

And Jesus says,

wake up.

Strengthen what remains and is

about to die for I have not found

your works complete in the sight of

my God.

Whether we die first or Jesus comes

first, that hour will come when we

don't anticipate it.

But Jesus doesn't leave them only

with that grim prospect.

He ends with the promise of life for

those who keep Christ's name in

verses 4 to 5.

He says, yet you still have 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.

Note the repetition of the word

garments here.

It's those who have not soiled their

garments that will later receive will

be clothed in white garments.

So this doesn't mean that we are

saved by our good works because

those two garments are not the same.

If we justify ourselves by our own

good works then we would not need

new white garments to receive

because we'd already be clothed in

white.

But they're not the same.

On the one hand we see later in

Revelation 19.8 that the church,

the bride of Christ, will be ready for

the marriage of the Lamb because it

was granted her to clothe herself with

fine linen bright and pure.

For the fine linen is the righteous

deeds of the saints.

So on the one hand, in a sense in

which our righteous deeds do adorn

us for the future and they are

pleasing to God.

So that's one sense true.

However, it's not our righteous deeds

that justify us and we see that

clearly in Revelation 7 which says

that those who belong to Christ from

every nation will be clothed in

white robes.

And how did those robes get white?

Revelation 7.14 says they have

washed their robes and made them

white in the blood of the Lamb.

Even the most righteous among us

cannot get the stain of sin out of

our robes.

Many of you have tried that and know

how futile that is.

The only way to do that, only way to

have clean robes is to wash them by

the blood of the Lamb.

It's only those that wash their robes

by the blood of the Lamb that can do

righteous deeds that are pleasing to

God because without faith it is

impossible to please Him.

It's Christ's once and for all

sacrifice on the cross that enables

us to be living sacrifices,

pleasing and acceptable to God.

Jesus was the sacrificial lamb that

was slain to make atonement for our

sins and it's because His blood was

shed in death in our place that our

sin-stained robes can be washed clean,

as white as snow.

And it's as those who have put their

faith in Jesus, as those who have been

justified, that we ought to confess the

name of the one who saved us.

Until that glorious day when we'll be

clothed with the white garments of the

bride of Christ.

Let's look at the rest of the promise in

verse 5.

I will never blot out His name out of the

book of life.

I will confess His name before my Father

and before His angels.

If the church in Sardis repents of being a

Christian in name only and then in

reputation only and if they start to live

like those few names in Sardis that are

not yet soiled their garments, then their

name will never be blotted out of the book

of life and Jesus will confess His name

before His Father and before His angels.

See, the repetition of the word name there,

the converse is also true.

If you do not confess the name of Jesus

before men, He will not confess your name

before the Father.

If you do not keep the name of Jesus Christ

until the end, then your name will

not be found in the book of life.

To your dismay.

Scripture consistently teaches us that there

are people in the church who claim to be

Christians and may seem to be Christians

even to others around them, but who

nevertheless prove that they were never

true Christians by failing to persevere in

faith until the end.

1 John 2, 19 describes them this way.

They went out from us, but they were not of us.

For if they had been of us, they would have

continued with us.

But they went out, that it might be complained

that they are not of us.

The Jews around the time Revelation was written

had a curse that they regularly uttered

about Christians.

And it went like this.

And I know some of you guys have Jewish

backgrounds, so I hope you're not thinking

that I'm...

Our Savior is Jewish.

This is not an indictment of Jews in general.

Rather, this is just the reality on the ground.

And of course, Christians have sinned past as well.

But this is a curse that the Jews regularly uttered

in that time.

It says, may the Nazarenes and the Minim

suddenly perish, and may they be blotted out

of the book of life.

The Nazarenes is a reference to Christians,

and the Minim can also be a reference to Christians.

It refers to all those who separate themselves

from the Jewish community, the Jewish synagogue.

Perhaps the church in Sardis feared that curse.

They tried to blend in with the Jews,

not cause any trouble.

Because they didn't want to be blotted out

of the book of life.

But Jesus assures them,

if you are cursed by men for confessing my name,

and if your name is blotted out of the synagogue,

and out of the registry of your community

because of your allegiance to me,

if you become a social outcast

because of your faith in me,

I will never blot out your name

for the book of life.

I will confess your name before the Father

and before his angels.

And that's the most precious promise

we can have as God's people.

At the final judgment,

during that heavenly roll call,

God's not going to be just rummaging around

and I don't see your name.

He's not going to turn to us and say,

I never knew you.

Depart from me, you evildoers.

Jesus will confess your name.

If you hold on to your faith in Jesus,

Jesus will confess your name before the Father.

He will say,

Sean, he's mine.

Pay for him with my blood.

And we'll get to enter into the joy of our master.

Don't you want to be identified with Christ?

Imagine your very name on the lips

of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Your very name on the lips of our Heavenly Father

saying, come.

If Christ is rejected by our society,

let us be rejected with him.

If Christ is ridiculed by our society,

let us be ridiculed with him.

For if we confess his name here on earth,

he will confess our name there in heaven.

Some of you are spiritually dead

because you have never put your faith in Jesus.

Some of you think that you're Christians

but are spiritually asleep and about to die.

But the solution for both is the same.

Repent of your sins.

Turn in faith to the one

who has the seven spirits of God

and the seven stars.

He is the one who has the life-giving spirit of God

and if you turn to him

and you cling to him,

he can make even the bone-dry dead

alive again.

Awake, O sleeper,

and arise from the dead

and Christ will shine on you.

Let's pray.

Yes, Father,

wake us all up

and make us alert and watchful.

Thank you for

taking our soiled garments

and giving us new white garments

washed in the blood of the Lamb.

Help us not to lose the wonder

of what you have done for us

so that joyfully we confess

the name of Jesus

in all of our lives

until the end of our lives.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.