After my mother died, I watched the life slowly Ebb out of Dad. I believe the emptiness led to his congestive heart failure some six months after her death. Though it was no mistake to call medical help when he had the heart attack, he chided my sister and me both for putting him through the next few weeks of rehabilitation in the critical care unit. During the next 18 months, he rarely moved from his chair and found little joy in going anywhere. One of his greatest joys, eating, no longer seemed to appease him. The only times I saw some joy in him was when he was in the midst of a family gathering where he was, as it should be, the center of attention. For all intents and purposes, his main reason for living was gone.
The church at Sardis seemed to be going through the motions and presented the appearance of Christianity by not having any heresies, and was busy with completely inoffensive religious activity but carried no indication of persecution from a pagan society. They may have been physically alive, like Dad, but their spirit was dead. Even though they had become one of the greatest cities in the world due to their virtually impregnable location and success under Croesus, it was their love of luxury, money, and immorality that caused Christ to warn them that they had better wake up (Chapter 3:2). The fact is that Sardis was already in decline or dead, because there were unbelievers in positions where believers belonged. Once the tolerance for sin exists, the church begins to die and instead of the church living in the world, it becomes the world posing as a church.
A church like Sardis obtained a positive reputation to the world because of good deeds performed in the community. It was a well run church using administration, forms, systems, and processes to replace Christ’s love. Materialism replaced the Gifts of the Spirit. It was always a pleasant place to go because nothing bad was going to happen because if it did, it would have an effect on their activities and fellowship. For all those good things happening, it did not provide the spiritual food to be stretched to new levels in Christ. Without that stretching, there was no power or movement of the Spirit of God. He simply was not there. That’s why there was a wakeup call for the few faithful. There was a need to refocus on the “White robe” of festivity, victory, purity, and glory so they would not be blotted out of the book of life (verse 5).
Just because a building has the label “Church” attached, doesn’t make it so. You’ve heard the phrase: “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” This can apply to a church also. You should never take the world’s recommendation of what a church should look like. Look for substance. Most of all look for love and purity. All the programs and buildings cannot replace what the Spirit of the Living God can impart to those who love Him. Build your support system on a solid foundation.
Love,
Dad