Sardis | The Dead Church The 7 Churches of Revelation | Episode 6
Sardis was founded in the 12th century
and built upon a crumbling rock at an elevation of 1500 feet,
and it became the capital of the Lydian kingdom,
one of the richest kingdoms of the ancient world.
Coined money is reported to have been invented here.
The almost perpendicular walls of the elevation
on which the stronghold of the city was built
made the inhabitants of the city overconfident and proud.
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During the reign of Croesus,
one of the strongholds of the city was captured by Cyrus in 549 B.C.
when one of his soldiers scaled the rock face at night
and opened the gates to the Persians.
He learned the secret route up after watching one of the guards
who had fallen asleep at his post of duty
go and retrieve his helmet that had fallen off his head.
The inhabitants of the city did not learn their lesson,
and 300 years later suffered the same fate
when Antiochus the Great captured the city.
Carelessness, sleepiness, and overconfidence
led the city to destruction.
This area, that was once the bustling centre of the Lydian kingdom,
now lies barren and deserted.
Sardis, the city that was once alive, is now dead.
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The church in Sardis begins with the message,
'You have a name that you are alive, but you are dead'.
Like the city, the church in Sardis started with great promise but quickly faded.
No church or individual Christian can survive on past reputation,
no matter how good this might have been.
It was once stated that next to cowardice and treachery is overconfidence,
leading to neglect and slothfulness.
Let us be wary of overconfidence, for 1 Corinthians 10:12 says,
'Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.'
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The church that had been hard working but loveless during the time of Ephesus,
that became persecuted during the time of Smyrna,
was compromised in Pergamos,
apostate in Thyatira, is now dead in Sardis.
Historically we take this time period to be the end of the Reformation,
and just after the end of the Reformation.
The leaders of the Reformation were those of vigour and consecration,
but over time, their followers, happy with the gains that their leaders had made,
settled down into organised religion.
Whilst improvements had been made from the mother church that they broke away from,
the movements of Knox and Luther settled down
into being a state religion supported by the public treasury.
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Even in Sardis, there was still hope: 'You have a few names.'
In fact, the name Sardis means, 'That which remains'.
Despite the majority of Protestantism falling into dead formalism,
there would be some who would overcome.
Historically during this time period we see the rise of the American colonies
which form the foundation to a new nation,
providing new opportunities for the church.
Those who overcome in Sardis receive perhaps the best promise of all:
'They shall walk with Me in white...
and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life.' (Revelation 3:4-5)
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If your spiritual life has become consumed with dead formalism,
then the counsel to Sardis applies to you.
Hold fast and repent.
Repent of a lifeless religion of forms, routine, and monotony,
and pray for renewal.
Those who overcame in Sardis would be clothed in white robes.
The white toga in Rome was a symbol of victory and joy.
This city, this church,
which suffered capture due to carelessness, is told to watch.
May we watch our spiritual condition, that we don't become overconfident,
and keep a careful eye on our relationship and our walk with God.