Revelation 3:1-6
The Lord’s fifth letter to the seven churches, written to the church in Sardis, identifies a local congregation that was “dead.”
Sardis was the capital city of ancient Lydia, a province of Asia Minor. The Lord noted that the congregation there had “a name that you are alive.”
It must be noted that God does not see things the way man does (cf. Isaiah 55:8). That the church in Sardis was seen to be alive (perhaps by others, perhaps by themselves), held no sway with the Lord. He reserved his strongest condemnation for this congregation, and called them to repentance.
Note that their “works” were not “perfect before God.” God judges us by the things we do, whether good or bad (cf. 2 Cor. 5:10). He demands righteous and steadfast obedience to His will. This is a serious consideration as any congregation examines her standing before God.
