They were dead.
Do you know why Christ told them that they were dead? Because they were dead.
Not socially inactive or program deprived. Dead.
They seemed alive. In fact, they had a reputation that they were alive.
What went wrong? They had the gospel wrong. At some point in the history of this church they had forgotten the gospel they had originally received. The gospel they now had brought “life” as humans view life, solutions for the here and now, the passing pleasures of sin, but not eternal life.
And whether it was the size of their church, their many activities, their community involvement … there was something was so outstanding about the church at Sardis that they were know as being alive, a happening place we would say today.
But they were dead because their gospel was false. One gospel brings life, the gospel of God’s grace and righteousness, redemption, the forgiveness of sins through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
They were dead, so we know they did not have this gospel.
- (Ephesians 2:8–9 ESV) For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
REVELATION MESSAGE 8 – Sardis: The Alive but Dead Church!
Revelation 3:1-6
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