Sermon

Today's sermon was entitled, "A Tragic Embodiment of Nominal Christianity." It was from Revelation 3:1-6
Here are some of the most compelling and informative points of the sermon:
1. This is a letter to the church at Sardis. The church at Sardis was like a beautifully adorned corpse in a funeral home. Beneath the outward facade of beauty, was death and spiritual putrefaction of the vilest sort.
2. Only a "few names" in Sardis "have not soiled their garments" (v.4). The majority had incurred defilement; idolatry and immorality.
3. A church can be widely known for its activity and influence ,all the while "dead" in the estimation of Christ.
4. There are a couple of wrong responses to this. One would be to respond with righteous indignation, and say, "Yes, but that's not us." These are the ones who are in particular jeopardy of spiritual mediocrity. The second wrong response would be to "throw in the towel," and abandon the local church because of its frailties. Nowhere in these seven letters does Jesus even remotely suggest that the local church is dispensable. Failure of the local church is not synonymous with abandoning the local church.
5. There are promises rewarded to those who persevere. First, in verse 4, they will "walk" with Jesus "in white, for they are worthy." Our worth is a gift of  God's grace, not a reward for our obedience. However, at the same time Jesus calls on us to walk in a way that is "worthy" of our calling, which is to say we are to live in a way that accurately reflects the glory, beauty, holiness, and great privilege of being a child of God.
Lastly, the "overcomer" will be "clothed in white garments." This refers to the experiential holiness of life now, by the virtue of the gracious, sanctifying work of the Spirit, as well as the righteousness of Christ himself that is imputed to us by faith.