Thursday
Thursday
The Letter to Sardis—Sincerity
I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.
Revelation 3:1
The letter that the risen Jesus dictated to John for delivery to the church of Sardis is the only one that contains no commendation of any kind. Its criticism is almost unrelieved. Only a few simple words were needed by which to expose its spiritual bankruptcy: “You have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.” The church in Sardis had acquired a name. It was well known by the other six churches in the province for its vitality. No false doctrine was taking root in its fellowship. We hear of neither Balaam nor Nicolaitans nor Jezebel.
But outward appearances are notoriously deceptive, and this socially distinguished congregation was a spiritual graveyard. It had a name for vitality, but it had no right to the name. As the eyes of Christ looked beneath the surface, he said, “I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God” (v. 2). The reputation that Sardis had acquired was a reputation with human beings but not with God. This distinction between reputation and reality, between what human beings see and what God sees, is of great importance everywhere. “The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7).
To be obsessed with appearance and reputation leads naturally to hypocrisy, which Jesus hated. Originally the hupokrit
s was an actor who plays a part on the stage. But the word came to be applied to any charlatan or pretender who assumes a role. Hypocrisy can permeate the life of a church, especially its worship. It makes no difference whether the service is liturgical or nonliturgical, whether it is marked by Catholic ritual or Protestant austerity; the same unreality can be present. Hypocrisy is make-believe, whereas a true and living church is characterized by sincerity.
For further reading: Revelation 3:1–6