February 18, 2022
“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. 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. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Revelation 3:4-6
“ . . . even in Sardis . . .” ! The reformers recognized Babylon the Great from her description in Daniel 2:40-43; 7:7-8,11,19-25 and Revelation 17. They obediently applied their energies to help others make the clear distinction between the erroneous ways of the apostate church and God’s truth as laid out in the Bible. But, like the corrupted Jewish leadership in the 1st century AD and those who followed them, the majority were reluctant to change. Jesus commented:
“For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.” Matthew 13:15
The letter to Sardis stands as a somber testimony to the time of escaping the falsehoods that characterize “Babylon.” The dragon (Revelation 12) is behind the myriad of conflicting teachings in the Christian world today, causing a high level of confusion both inside and outside the churches. But isn’t the role of God’s people that of taking the gospel message to the world? The discrepancies between denominations are the result of corrections of some—but not all—of the errors that are what made the Dark Ages dark.
Each denomination had corrected understandings on one or even several points while simultaneously holding on to errors from the Roman church that went unrecognized. The Lord’s extreme patience in His dealings with us is truly amazing! It is clear that He is giving individuals time to come into possession of all truth (see John 16:13) by the study of His Word under the guiding of His Holy Spirit. Tomorrow we will begin to look into a church that agreed to come together from various fractured divisions to study God’s Word together, for it is indeed possible to contend earnestly for the faith while avoiding foolish and ignorant disputes.
But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing they generate strife. And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will. 2 Timothy 2:23-26
Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. Jude 3