“I know your works. You have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.” Revelation 3:1
Jesus holds nothing back when He sees something that needs correcting within His church. Sardis was an active church that had the reputation of being a place where things were happening. I don’t know what it meant in those days, but in today’s culture an active church is one that has lots of things to offer in the way of children’s meetings, youth ministry, women’s ministry, Bible studies, social events, etc. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that if the purpose is to minister to everyone and bring the church to maturity. But there is something very wrong with activity, just for the sake of activity.
We live in a consumer driven world, and sometimes that attitude can creep into the church, and it becomes more of a social club than a place were God’s people come to meet with Him and have intimate fellowship with one another. Many people who move to a different area, look for a church with lots of activities rather than a place which evidences a depth of love for God and one another.
Jesus’ greatest criticisms were against the religious leaders of the day. He called them “whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones”! Matt 23:27. The religious leaders of Jesus’ day were dead on the inside, and this was His concern about the condition of the church in Sardis and the condition of His people today.
I work with ladies with breast cancer and I often hear how shocked they were on hearing their diagnosis. They were feeling great, no pains, lumps or bumps that they had noticed. They didn’t look ill or feel ill, but a mammogram showed they had a cancerous tumour growing inside them. It can be the same with our own lives and the life of the church we are in. We can feel great about ourselves, our reputation and all the good things that we are involved in, but that is no indication of a healthy spiritual life.
Here are a few indicators that we are not as alive as we think we are:
We have no passion for God’s Word or prayer. We may go to bible studies and prayer meetings out of a sense of routine or duty, but our hearts are not really in it.
We have no compassion for the lost people around us. We may give out tracts and invites to church events, but have no real time to cultivate caring relationships with our neighbours or colleagues, or dedicate time to praying specifically for them.
We feel no challenge from good preaching or bible reading to put any real thought or effort into becoming more like Christ.
We are more concerned about our own interests and concerns than the wellbeing of those around us.
A church can be big and busy, but that is no indication of spiritual life and maturity. Let us check our own hearts and see if we are just busy doing Christian things, rather than being filled with the Holy Spirit and becoming more and more like Jesus.