Revelation 3:1-6 contains Jesus' letter to the church at Sardis. It is likely that the church was large, rich, and influential, giving it the appearance of being a thriving congregation. But the tone of the letter is largely negative, and contains a stern rebuke and call to repentance.

Simon Kistemaker has authored a commentary on the book of Revelation and makes the important point that the letters to the seven churches in the province of Asia are not intended only for the churches they are addressed to, but are intended for the Church as a whole. I found this to be especially clear in reading the letter to the church at Sardis. Kistemaker comments:

The gospel that the local Christians proclaimed and applied was too weak to be offensive...the kind of gospel that the inhabitants of Sardis heard from the Christians posed no threat to their pagan religions...

Of the seven churches Sardis was among the lowest in spiritual fervor. Its accommodation to its religious environment shielded the church from persecution, for hardly anyone took notice. Its inoffensive lifestyle yielded religious peace with the world but resulted in spiritual death in the sight of God. Apart from a few faithful members who kept the fire of the gospel burning, the church itself was gradually dying, like a fire that lacks fuel and air...

Almost the entire church had capitulated to the surrounding world of pagan religion and Judaism, and instead of being an influence on the culture, it had become influenced by that culture (149, 150).

Reading this, my immediate reaction was equate the climate of the church of Sardis with the general character of modern evangelicalism. The church at Sardis is a concrete example of some of the problems I've tried to highlight before that plague the modern Church. In both cases, the concession to cultural influence is one of the main factors in the declining fidelity of the churches.

Some promising and important things emerge from the letter, however. Despite the stern words of Jesus, His grace shows forth in issuing the call to repent. Christ is withholding His judgment from the church to give them time to repent and return to Him. This call to repentance is not just for the Sardisian church, it is for the Church universal. While His grace is evident in the allowance of time for repentence, we cannot ignore that Jesus also declares that there will be severe consequences for the failure of the church to remain faithful in her love for Him and in holding on to the gospel.

This should be a great encouragment to us as well. Despite our sinfulness and misdirection, Jesus grants us time to repent and return to Him. We need to recognize that his words of rebuke also apply to us to the extent that we have been unfaithful to Him. And like the church in Sardis, the consequences of losing our first love are very real. However, His promise stands that if we confess our sins and repent, He will cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). If we remain faithful and persever to the end, what was promised to the church in Sardis is promised to us as well, that we will be clothed in white garments and never have our names erased from the book of life.

"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches" (Rev. 3:6).