#34 – Sardis You Are In Need Of A White Robe

(Revelation 3:1-6)…..“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, ‘These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. ² Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God.³ Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast andrepent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you. ⁴ You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. ⁵ He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. ⁶ “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’

This was a dead church full of unregenerate people, but there were a few Christians there also (3:4). God always has a few remnant set aside for Himself. Not everybody bows the knee to Baal (Romans 11:1-6). There was some wheat in the church full of tares, a few spiritual among the unspiritual, a few sincere among the hypocrites, a few humble among the proud, a few separated among the worldly, and a few regenerate among the unregenerate. There were a few true Christians in Sardis, described as those who have not soiled their garments.

The word “defiled (NKJV)” is an interesting word used here. It is the (Gr. Moluno), which means to smear, to pollute, or to stain. The word was even used to refer to dyeing something. So they would understand what Jesus was saying since Sardis was known for the dying of garments and rugs.

Garments, (Gr. Himation), is a reference to character. Garments are what clothe a person. In pagan worship when people went to worship their gods, they had to put on clean clothes. It was not uncommon when they came in to worship their god, if they had dirty clothes, they wouldn’t let them in because there was a certain kind of proper garment that you had to have even to worship a pagan god. So Jesus is saying to these people…..”you still can come into the presence of the true God because your garments have not been defiled, smeared and polluted.

That is the issue for us who profess Christ as our Savior. We are to have a garment unspotted by the flesh as we walk through this world (Jude 23)(Hebrews 12:12-17) (1 John 3:1-3) (2 Peter 1:2-4).

A few of them are still faithful in the midst of this unfaithful, dead church. These white robes that He talks about stand for holiness and purity. So what is Jesus telling the believers here in (3:4-5). Since you have a measure of holiness and purity now, I’m going to give you perfect holiness and perfect purity in the future, such white robes of purity are reserved for…….

1. Christ Himself – (Matthew 17:1-2) (Mark 9:1-3)
2. Unfallen angels – (Matthew 28:1-3) (Mark 16:1-5) (Acts 1:10) (Revelation 15:6)
3. The redeemed (Church) – (Revelation 19:6-9)

He that overcomes shall be clothed in white – white being the color of triumph (Revelation 19:11) (Revelation 19:14). These are the garments of absolute purity and holiness. In other words, you have been holy, I’m going to make you perfectly holy forever. This is the reward for the one who overcomes. And who is an overcomer according to Scripture? The overcomer is defined by John the apostle in (1 John 5:1-5). The overcomer is the one who then believes that Jesus is the only begottenSon of God, believing that Jesus is all He claims to be, and did what He said He did, and believes all that He will do, essentially believing the whole gospel of Jesus Christ contrary to those in Sardis who worshiped Caesar as the son of god (Zeus).

They have a few names that have not defiled their garments. These are white garments, our white garment of righteousness – (Revelation 19:8). These are the clothes that Jesus expects us to wear in His kingdom (Matthew 22:11-13). To defile such garments is to stop living a life of righteousness, and it is to turn to a life of wickedness. True believers whose faith has overcome the world, you’re going to be clothed in white garments

There’s that wonderful concept again and those white garments mean righteousness and holiness. And again this is the promise that someday in the future, we’re going to wear perfect holiness. Keep in mind that the righteousness that you will wear is not your own, but Christ’s righteousness that has been imputed to you (Isaiah 61:10-11) (2 Corinthians 5:21) (Romans 10:10). In the ancient world, white robes stood for festivity, the faithful believer will be in the festive occasion called the marriage supper of the Lamb. White robes also sometimes stood for victory, for those faithful believers who have won the victory over sin and death, through Christ will receive rewards at the Bimah seat of Christ. White however, is most uniquely identified with purity. And those of us who know Christ will someday be clothed in the brilliance of eternal purity and holiness.

It appears that there is a book of life that contains all the names of those living, which was brought up first in (Exodus 32:32-33). His book is referenced in (Psalm 87:6) (Philippians 4:3) (Hebrews 12:23) (Revelation 3:5) (Revelation 13:8) (Revelation 17:8) (Revelation 20:12) (Revelation 21:27). Jesus said that this was the real reason for rejoicing (Luke 10:20). But notice the promise to the believer’s in Sardis (3:5)…“I will not blot out his name out of the book of life.” By the way, God is not saying that He blots out names. This verse is often used by people who try to say that Christians can “lose their salvation. It is not a verse that serves as a threat of loss, it’s a verse that offers a precious promise of absolute security to all those who believe in Jesus. If you have any question about that you need to read (Romans 8:26-39). Rather, God put the names in before the foundation of the world. He put them in there because He was going to bring about eternal salvation and under no circumstances will He erase those names. Is that exciting or what? Listen, your salvation was sealed before the world began.

Now see the precious promise Jesus makes to Sardis, “but I will confess his name before My Father, and before His angels.” In a sense, Jesus is doing that for every believer today (Matthew 10:32-33) (Romans 8:16) (Romans 8:34). I look forward to Jesus ushering His redeemed ones into the presence of the hosts of heaven and possibly saying, “This is one of Mine! And he/she was not ashamed of me and I am not ashamed of him/her!” Just think he majority of the people in the church in Sardis were not just cold and out of God’s will, they were lost dead sinner. And then the final word to Sardis is seen in (3:6)…..“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Now listen very carefully, are you listening? – Is t – is there anyone who does not believe the gospel of Jesus Christ. Dead people who aren’t saved, you’re dead in trespasses and sins. You’re going to be judged due to the fact you were born a sinner, and you have lived a life of rebellion against God’s commands. Because God is holy and righteous, his wrath must be poured out on us and our sin. We can’t hide in the church, we can’t hide anywhere, because the Lord knows us, He sees us, He knows our condition, He knows our deeds, He knows everything about us. He is coming to judge those who hold on to their life of sin and rebellion.

Wake up! You have heard the gospel so many times, strengthen what remains. Remember (re-establish the doctrinal foundation) commit yourself to obey, repent from your sins. That’s the message to Sardis, a great message to hear today!