1And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God,and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.
2Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. 3Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast,and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief,and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.
As we go through the four last letters, remember these are the churches that survived, they are the ones still around today. Ponder what is being said and apply it, for they are warnings and promises for us today.
Verse One; Notice the seven stars are mentioned again here. This is reminding us that God has the seven churches, the translation is that Christ is holding the seven churches, the ministry belongs to Him. The point being made is that the ministers of the Church are ministers of Christ, not to be influenced by the world, nor to conform to the world for it's promises are weak and not of Christ.
Next is the description of the church that is alive yet dead. What is being said is that there are Christians, baptized, excited about church, and taking the Lord's supper. Yet, they are missing the root of worship, they remain in their sin and in their lack of trust and faith in Christ. The Church they attended shies away from controversy, saying what is "politically correct" and not what is actually written in the Word. Wouldn't want to offend anyone would we! (my sarcasm and yet, true to this world)
Verse 2 and 3 tells how to fix this...."Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain.." Christ is calling us to repent, to remember (the Word) and to cast off the old sinful self. To grasp hold of the gospel again and live for Christ and the Word. Return to the fundamental truths of Christianity, whether they are "politically correct" or not, they are God's Word and a minister of Christ must proclaim them, teach them and live by them or, they are not a minister of Christ.
The next sentence tells us we need to be careful and remember that salvation only comes through faith, NOT works, and that He is watching~ He knows our behavior is not perfect, we are sinful and need to repent constantly and strive to be Christ-like. Since He is always the same...He is always watching. Time to get right with Him! The third verse is continuing the warning to come back, repent, hold fast, for He is coming, and since we do NOT know the time He will return, we need to be ready!
*Notice verse 2 and 3 are saying much of the same thing, when Christ says something twice, take notice!!
We will finish with Sardis on the next blog.
Until then, Blessings on all,
Calabash
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