Death of a Church

How does a church die? The church in Sardis (Revelation 3:1-6) is pronounced dead. We are not really told why. Was this a result of following one or more of the errors of the churches round about? Had they accepted false teaching, like Pergamum and Thyatira (Revelation 2:12-29)? Had they lost their first love, like Ephesus (Revelation 2:1-7)? Had they become lukewarm, like Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-22)? We are not explicitly told. Perhaps we are not told to prevent us from jumping to the conclusion that if we just avoid this one particular thing, we are safe. How then do we avoid going down that road?

We need to be firmly grounded in the Word of God, and not just in our few favorite sayings, but all of it (2 Timothy 3:16,17; Acts 20:27-32; 17:11). Also, there needs to be more than a superficial knowledge (remember Ephesus); we need not only to know the Word of God but to integrate it into our life and follow it (James 1:21-25; Colossians 3:16; Psalms 19:7-14).

We need to be willing to repent (2 Corinthians 7:10; Proverbs 28:13; 1 John 1:9). If there is any theme that seems to run through the letters of Revelation, it is this. Now this is not a matter of making resolutions or gritting our teeth and trying harder. It is a matter of acknowledging our sin and turning to God and trusting in His power to overcome it (2 Corinthians 3:18; Philippians 2:13; John 15:5). But repentance is often hard to do. We will do many things to avoid it. We will rationalize our sin, blame other people, try to pretend our sin is not there, or trust in our own ability to grit our teeth and do better. And the great irony of all this is that God is willing to restore us and begin to work to change us if we just acknowledge our sin and come to Him.

We also need to ground ourselves firmly in the gospel. It is only if we remember what Christ has done for us that we have a basis for loving and serving God (2 Peter 1:9; 1 John 4:19; 2 Corinthians 5:14,15). We need to remember that we are sinners (Romans 3:23; Jeremiah 17:9; Isaiah 64:6) and that Christ died to pay the penalty for our sin (1 Peter 2:24,25; Colossians 2:13,14; 2 Corinthians 5:21) so that we might be saved by faith in Him (Ephesians 2:8,9; Romans 4:4,5; Philippians 3:9). If we remember this, we will be motivated to build our church and our life on the Word of God and to repent when we turn aside from it.

I do not want to be purely negative. Christ is at work in His church, and we can trust Him to be at work in His people (Matthew 16:18; Ephesians 4:15,16; Colossians 2:19). But we do need to exercise vigilance so that we do not depart from God’s truth and end up like the church in Sardis.

Implications of No Condemnation

Romans 8:1 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” This is a wonderful truth to rejoice in. But it also has another aspect. If there is no condemnation for me if I am in Christ Jesus, there is also no condemnation for that other person who is in Christ Jesus. This can sometimes be a difficult truth to live. Now do not get me wrong; I am not saying that there is no place to correct another believer--Scripture clearly teaches there is (Galatians 6:1; Matthew 18:15,16; Hebrews 12:12,13). Nor does it mean we should not seek to examine our own lives for things we need to change (Proverbs 28:13; Hebrews 12:1-3; 1 John 1:9). Rather, it requires a different attitude. If Christ has indeed paid the entire price for my sin (2 Corinthians 5:21; Colossians 2:13,14; 1 Peter 2:24,25), then I am declared righteous in His sight by faith in Him (Romans 4:4,5; 3:28; Galatians 2:16). This being so, my motivation for doing good works is my love of God for what He has done for me, not servile fear (1 John 4:19; 2 Corinthians 5:14,15; Romans 8:15). This means that, while I do need to examine myself to see where I need to change, I can put my sin behind me and go on in Christ (2 Corinthians 7:10; Philippians 3:12-16; Hebrews 9:12). As a result of my sins being paid for, I do not need to be discouraged or defeated by them but can go on with Christ, confident of His forgiveness. Much less should I be disheartened by not meeting those standards laid on me by other people.

But if I claim this for myself, I also need to grant it to other believers. (Even when dealing with unbelievers, I need to deal with them in light of the fact that this same forgiveness is offered to them if they only accept it.) This does not mean that I should not correct them as the Scripture requires, but it does mean that my goal must be to put them back on the right track. It cannot be to write them off or to tear them down (Romans 15:1,2; Ephesians 4:12-15; 2 Corinthians 13:10). This can often be a hard goal to achieve. There are those who simply will not listen. In some cases we may need to even impose discipline on them (Matthew 18:17; 1 Corinthians 5:4,5), but the goal of this should be restoration (2 Corinthians 2:6,7; 2 Thessalonians 3:14,15). But I am less concerned here about official church action than I am about how we treat those other believers we meet on a regular basis. Do we treat them as Romans 8:1 requires they be treated, or do we look down on them or mistreat them because they do not meet our standards? “No condemnation” needs to be applied to everyone and not just myself.

Trusting Externals

It is easy to take for granted that God is with us due to our background, our part in a specific group, or our involvement in certain external rituals. The Jews in Jesus’ day had these problems (Romans 9:4,5; 2:17-20: Matthew 3:9). Now as far as the historical facts went, they had a basis for their belief (Romans 3:1; John 4:22; Ephesians 2:11,12). But God is not interested in externals but the condition of the heart (Matthew 6:1-18; John 4:24; Malachi 1:10). The same is true for us today. It easy to see the external trappings--being born into a Christian home, being members of a church, having gone through the sacraments of baptism and communion--as a basis for believing we are Christians or mature Christians. But it is not these externals that ultimately matter but God’s view of the inner man (Matthew 7:21-23; Hebrews 4:12,13; Romans 2:16). The foundational issue is whether we have put our faith in Christ for His salvation (Romans 4:4,5; Ephesians 2:8,9; John 3:16-18). This should result in inner transformation (Titus 2:11-14; Ephesians 2:10; Romans 6:12-14) through the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives (2 Corinthians 3:18; Philippians 2:13; Colossians 1:29). The result of this is involvement in the externals of worship (Hebrews 10:24,25; Matthew 28:18-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26). But participating in the externals without the right heart attitude accomplishes nothing (Romans 2:25-29; 4:9-12; Colossians 2:20-23).   

Now it is important not to go too far in minimizing the externals. God did institute them (assuming we are speaking of things genuinely commanded in Scripture), and He did so for a purpose. They are meant to be aids to assist us in coming to Christ and to help us to grow in Him. There is a danger of developing an artificial spirituality that is focused totally inward and avoids all external supports. But it is equally dangerous to confuse the form and the substance and to believe that because we have gone through the motions, we have the reality. This is true as regards salvation, but it also can be true as regards living for Christ. We can think that being involved in the right activities, going to the right meetings, following the right forms, are what commend us to God. But the ultimate truth is that the thing that really matters is not what we do, but what Christ has done in dying for our sins (1 Peter 2:24,25; Colossians 2:13-15; Romans 5:6-8). We were sinners (Romans 3:23; Isaiah 64:6; Jeremiah 17:9) and unable to save ourselves (Romans 7:18; 8:8; John 15:5) when God intervened and made it possible for those who put their faith in Him to become His children (Romans 8:14-17; John 1:12,13; 1 John 3:1). We need to live our lives, both in the internal and external realms, in the light of what Christ has done for us (1 John 4:19; 2 Corinthians 5:14,15; Romans 12:1,2). And when we do so, we will have the externals in perspective.