“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. “‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you.

Revelation 3: 1-3

As we grow older it is easy to rely on our past, to kind of rest on our laurels and in the process, relax our standards and essentially fall asleep, spiritually speaking.

The city of Sardis felt secure for good reason. In his commentary on Revelation, John MacArthur, wrote, “the hill on which Sardis was built had nearly perpendicular walls on three sides and the city could only be approached from the south via a steep, difficult path.Its seemingly secure location caused the inhabitants of Sardis to become overconfident and on two occasions the city was conquered. Overconfidence and complacency led to defeat as they let their guard down.”

Notice how Jesus responded. He acknowledged their works, those works were incomplete. Why? The church in Sardis relied on its reputation and had fallen asleep. We don’t have other details, but Jesus’ prescription is clear. Wake up!

Still, like in Thyatira, there were some in the church who were still alive. They had not “soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches (Revelation 3:4-6).”

The verses above underscore the importances of perseverance of faith in Christ. It is a sobering thought and should keep us from becoming complacent in our lives.