When Jesus spoke to the church at Sardis (Revelation 3:1-6), he could have just as easily addressed thousands of contemporary churches today.
Sardis had “the reputation of being alive,” but was actually dead.
Someone once said that the rumors of his demise had been greatly exaggerated. In this case, the rumors of a church’s life had been greatly exaggerated.
That a congregation of those who profess faith in Jesus Christ, who claim to be born again by the power of the gospel and to be indwelt by the Holy Spirit, could be dead is alarming.
Jesus doesn’t mean here that biological life had ended, but that spiritual life was absent. The church in Sardis was lifeless, ineffective, powerless, incompetent and useless in kingdom work, in gospel ministry. They weren’t physically dead, but in terms of God’s mission for them, they might as well have been.
Continue Reading “How to Raise the Dead (and know if you are)”
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