Title Sardis Church/Revelation 3:1 3
Content Sardis Church/Revelation 3:1 3
Key Verse: “To the angel of the church in Sardis wrote to the one who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars, I know your works, you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead” (Revelation 3 :One)
The Lord rebuked the church in Sardis, saying, “You have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.” The church in Sardis was a very prosperous church in the past, but as the zeal gradually disappeared and faith grew cold, only memories of the past remain and now it is empty. It refers to such a church. We would like to think about what lessons we can learn from the Sardis church.
First, you have to be careful about formalism and foodiety.
“Woe to you… It looks beautiful on the outside, but on the inside... full of filth” (Matthew 23:27)
These are the words of the Lord that the Lord rebuked you greatly. You should look back on whether you are accustomed to habit and inertia, settling for reality, and boasting only of past merits and traditions. We need to reflect on whether we are filled with the spirit of
Second, we must learn lessons from the church that was corrupt in the Middle Ages.
In the Middle Ages, their faith was so corrupt that they even sold the atonement book. This is a commercial activity designed to collect donations as a way to raise funds for the construction of Peter's Cathedral. No matter how serious a person commits a crime, the moment they buy this indulgence, their sins are forgiven. It was going to heaven.
Tezel, who was in charge of the sale of these indulgences, deceived the church members and collided with them, saying, “As soon as money is clattering and falling, the souls of parents and siblings ascend one after another from hell to heaven.”
Third, we must return to the early church.
Martin Luther's Reformation in 1517 was a movement that boldly threw away the hypocrisy and pretense of formalism and returned to the original idea. He opposed Catholic rituals and formalities, especially the issuance of indulgences, and wrote the 95-point Reformation Statement on the door of the Wittenberg church. and started a movement to escape from the 'Catholic State of the Dead'.
Prayer: Lord, help our faith not to be formalized and pretentious, I pray in Jesus name, amen.
Lord's Prayer