Revelation 3: 3-6

Apparently, even in its lethargy, the church hadn’t forgotten why it was founded. So Jesus advised it to keep remembering the original love and devotion it had for Him. That would be the church’s hope. For Jesus wasn’t saying to simply recall what had been heard and received in the beginning, but to keep the memory alive by putting it into action. In order to do that, the decision must be made to turn around and do away with the church’s present condition. “Repent,” Jesus told the church.

Jesus also advised the church to stay watchful. The church — living off past glory and the reputation of being alive and active with works — had become overconfident. Consequently, it had become careless in guarding against the enemy’s strategy; that is, to cause sleep among God’s people as worldly influences infiltrate the church. Jesus exhorted the church to keep its eyes on Him and His return. Otherwise, it would not be ready and His coming would take it by surprise.

Many a church in our time are industrious in outreach, as the Sardis church was. And many are well-known for these activities. I’m thinking of some of the mega-churches that are often lauded just for their size. Numbers don’t mean anything, though, if the gospel isn’t preached and practiced, and the topic of sin isn’t even approached for fear of offending someone.

Most of the participants in those churches are Christians in name only, having a godly form without redemptive power. They have fallen asleep, hearing in their dreams only that which they want to hear. And the ministers (wolves in sheep clothing) accommodate with pop psychology that puffs up “self.” Those in this situation should leave such a climate and find a church that keeps all of God’s commandments and faith in Christ. It should be a church that enables lives to experience true change that comes from devotion to Jesus and His gospel.

For those who do, who hear the wake-up call and respond accordingly, the same promise is in effect as the one given to the remnant in the Sardis church. These are the faithful, the worthy who haven’t defiled their faith by compromising. Upon victory, having overcome, they will permanently receive garments of white, washed in the blood of Jesus; their names will be acknowledged before the Father and angels; and their names will remain registered in the Lamb’s book of life.*

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* The following, about the book of life, is an excerpt from my long-form article 3 Phases of End-Time Judgment:

“In the “books of deeds,” next to everyone’s name, the sins committed will be listed. If one is a believer and the sins are confessed, they are covered by the blood of Jesus and blotted out of the books. In the “book of life” (a single, separate book, again found in Revelation 20: 12), the believer’s name is then retained. If the sins aren’t confessed and covered by the blood, then the name is retained in the “books of deeds” and blotted out of the “book of life.” (All who profess Jesus are initially placed in the “book of life.”)