The Counsel-Revelation 3:2-3

The Counsel-Revelation 3:2-3

THE COUNSEL

Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God (3:2).

Be watchful – There was no time for indifference. They could not just go with the flow, they had to reverse it. The remedy for lethargy and routine religion is an awakening to the imminence of the return of Christ. (Matthew 24:42)

Strengthen the things which remain – Christ exhorted the true Christians at Sardis to fan into flame the dying embers of the remaining spiritual graces in the church.

I have not found your works perfect before God – Their deeds were insufficient and unacceptable in God’s sight. They were the pointless, lifeless motion of corpses, and their good works were merely grave clothes of the unregenerate. The Sardis church was living a lie (Daniel 5:27).

Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you (3:3).

How you received and heard – They needed to go back to the truths of the Word of God, remembering the gospel and teachings of the apostles (2 Peter 3:15-16). They needed to reaffirm their belief in the truth about Christ (1 Timothy 6:20). They needed to establish a solid doctrinal foundation to serve as a base for renewal.

Hold fast and repent – They needed to keep the truths of Scripture, and with remorse and sorrow the believers at Sardis were to confess and turn away from their sins.