The Word of God - A Survey of the Bible - Part Eighteen - H Mar 01, 2020 by: John Herbert | Series: The Word of God - A Survey of the Bible Audio Study Notes PDF https://s3.amazonaws.com/cornerstonejax/sermonfiles/T005_20200301.mp3 Refresh A Recap from the Sermon Re 3:1 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write........ Today we will begin to look at the church in Sardis. The full text of this message can be found by clicking the PDF button. Sunday March 1st 2020 The Word of God A Survey of the Bible – Lesson 18H ‘I Know Your Works….’ 1). Re 2:20 Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. 21 And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent. 22 Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds. 23 I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works. We had seen last time that there were those in the church in Thyatira who had embraced the teaching of ‘that woman Jezebel’, a doctrine intimately connected to the doctrine of Balaam seen in Pergamos, and that her teaching had seduced them ‘to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols’. a). And we had seen that the situation in the church in Thyatira paralleled events seen in Israel during the reign of Ahab, Israel’s wickedest king, and his wife Jezebel – 1 Ki 16:30 Now Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord, more than all who were before him. 31 And it came to pass, as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians; and he went and served Baal and worshiped him. 32 Then he set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. 33 And Ahab made a wooden image. Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him. Through the ministrations of Jezebel, Baal worship became the accepted, normalized practice among those adopted to be God’s firstborn son thereby producing spiritual adultery. An immoral union whereby the powers of darkness became established within the midst of God’s people. The ‘final straw’ for God in this whole sorry episode was the killing of Naboth, the Jezreelite, to take his vineyard, the inheritance of his fathers. b). As a result of all this, everything surrounding Ahab and Jezebel was completely eradicated. Ahab’s lineage being destroyed for all time – 2 Ki 10:6 Then he [Jehu] wrote a second letter to them, saying: If you are for me and will obey my voice, take the heads of the men, your master's sons, and come to me at Jezreel by this time tomorrow. Now the king's sons, seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, who were rearing them. 7 So it was, when the letter came to them, that they took the king's sons and slaughtered seventy persons, put their heads in baskets and sent them to him at Jezreel. 8 Then a messenger came and told him, saying, “They have brought the heads of the king's sons.” And he said, “Lay them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until morning.” 9 So it was, in the morning, that he went out and stood, and said to all the people, “You are righteous. Indeed I conspired against my master and killed him; but who killed all these? 10 Know now that nothing shall fall to the earth of the word of the Lord which the Lord spoke concerning the house of Ahab; for the Lord has done what He spoke by His servant Elijah.” 11 So Jehu killed all who remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men and his close acquaintances and his priests, until he left him none remaining. And in addition to his embrace of Baal worship, Ahab also rebuilt Jericho, something God had expressly forbidden – Jos 6:26 Then Joshua charged them at that time, saying, “Cursed be the man before the Lord who rises up and builds this city Jericho; he shall lay its foundation with his firstborn, and with his youngest he shall set up its gates.” Baal worship and the re-building of Jericho are intimately connected. The overthrow of Jericho we will remember forms a type of the complete destruction of Gentile world power in conjunction with the overthrow of Satan at the end of the Tribulation. And as such, the re-building of Jericho can only be seen as an attempt to change that which God has set in place. c). It amounts to re-establishing the kingdom of Satan above the Kingdom of God, with a view to the destruction of God’s firstborn son with respect to his inheritance. d). That seen in the re-building of Jericho may find a parallel with the building of the tower of Babel by Nimrod who is the foundational type for the Antichrist – Ge 10:8 Cush begot Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one on the earth. 9 He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord.” 10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel………..11:1 Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. 2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. 3 Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. 4 And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” We will conclude from the parallels we have drawn, that those Christians in Thyatira who were seduced by the teaching of ‘Jezebel’ were responsible for bringing into the church, in among those for whom Christ had died, not only the perverse and corrupt practices of the world, but also elements of false religion resulting in the worship of that which was other than God, as they sought to build for themselves ‘a city and a tower whose top is in the heavens’, and to ‘make a name’ for themselves. e). And such practice has been demonically inspired – 1 Ti 4:1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, 3 forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. And here again we will see how ‘Nicolaitanism’, the formation of a superior, priestly class, fits readily into this picture. f). And we had also seen last time what the outcome for these Christians would be if they did not repent – Re 2:21 And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent. 22 Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds. 23 I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works. However, not every Christian in the church in Thyatira had embraced ‘Jezebel’s’ teaching – Re 2:24 “Now to you I say, and to the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this doctrine, who have not known the depths of Satan, as they say, I will put on you no other burden. 25 But hold fast what you have till I come. 26 And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations— 27 ‘He shall rule them with a rod of iron; They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter's vessels’—as I also have received from My Father; 28 and I will give him the morning star. And again, here in this group who did not have Jezebel’s doctrine, we will find a parallel with the days of Ahab and Jezebel- 1 Ki 19:14 And he [Elijah] said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.” 15 Then the Lord said to him: “Go, return on your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; and when you arrive, anoint Hazael as king over Syria. 16 Also you shall anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel. And Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place. 17 It shall be that whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill; and whoever escapes the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill. 18 Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.” The Lord always retains a remnant of those who will remain faithful to the truth who will patiently endure amidst the enemy’s deception, amidst the deep things of Satan, the doctrines of demons brought by the birds of the air into the branches of the church. g). And those who comprise this remnant, as seen in Thyatira, who ‘have not known the depths of Satan, as they say’, are those who did not leave their first love, those who were ‘faithful until death’ in the midst of trial; those who held fast to His name and not deny His faith, even in the days of persecution. PowerPoint – Slides 1-3 2). Re 3:1 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, “These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: ‘I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. 2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God. 3 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. 4 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. 5 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. 6 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’ In the letter to Thyatira, the previous church, the Lord had said that He would kill the children of Jezebel with death if they did not repent, and as we begin looking at the church in Sardis, we see those who ‘have a name that you are alive, but you are dead’. These then are those Christians pictured through the individuals in Thyatira, who are metaphorically the children of Jezebel, that the Lord would kill with death. a). They had a name that they were alive because they were eternally saved and therefore had eternal life, but with respect to life in the age to come, they were dead. But despite their described condition they were still offered the opportunity to repent. Such is the goodness of God. b). And in Thyatira we had also seen the remnant who did not have the doctrine of Jezebel, the deep things of Satan, and these are the Christians, ‘a few names’, that we now see in Sardis ‘who have not defiled their garments’. c). With respect to the age to come then we should understand defiled garments = death and undefiled garments = life. d). And the reference to the undefiled garments and the overcomers’ promise to those in Sardis of being clothed in white garments can take us to only one place – the wedding garment that is essential for all those who would be part of the Bride of Christ – Mt 22:1 And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables and said: 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, 3 and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding…………..11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. 12 So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.” [called out of the called] And how this wedding garment that must be possessed by those who make up the Bride is made, we know – Re 19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” 8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. 9 Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.” There are 2 things we will note from this – the fine linen, clean and bright which is the same as the white garments from the overcomers’ promise in Sardis, can be made of only one thing, the righteous acts of the saints. Works of righteousness performed through faith with respect to our heavenly calling. e). And it is these works of righteousness, or absence of them, that is the Lord’s focus in His dealing with all Christians at His Judgment Seat. 7 times He repeats ‘I know your works’. And it is works and works alone that will be judged in that Day. Works that do note emanate from faith and works that do. And these are works that can only be undertaken by those who have already passed from death to life. Consequently, the Scripture is clear that it is Christ’s ‘wife’ who ‘has made herself ready’. Works that have been performed by faith by those who will be called out of the called – Eph 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, [the righteous acts of the saints] which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. These are works then that we are to perform out of faithfulness to our calling. f). And it is in the Book of James that we have seen the relationship between our works and the fulfillment of our heavenly calling set out for us – Jas 2:14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? The 2 questions asked in this verse, because of the structure of the Greek language, are self-answering, both requiring a negative response. And we might better understand this verse translated this way – ‘My brethren, if anyone says he has faith, but does not have works, he cannot profit can he? [No] Faith cannot save him can it?’ [No] [Arlen Chitwood] Jas 2:15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead….20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?............... 26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. Over and over again we see that faith without righteous acts, without works ‘is dead’. And as those in Sardis are said to be ‘dead’ in relation to the judgment of their works – ‘I know your works’ – these ‘dead’ Christians are the perfect example of what James describes. g). Without works emanating from faith there can be no ‘profit’ and without ‘profit’ the salvation to be revealed in the last time cannot be attained. 3). Mt 25:11 “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ 12 But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming. 14 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. 15 And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. Lk 19:11 Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately. 12 Therefore He said: “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. 13 So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Do business till I come.’ The parables of the ‘talents’ and the ‘minas’ give the clearest examples of the relationship between profit and reward – Lk 19:16 Then came the first, saying, ‘Master, your mina has earned ten minas.’ 17 And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.’ Mt 25:20 “So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ 21 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ In Matthew Chapter 25 the parable of the talents follows on from the parable of the wise and foolish virgins, giving further clarification of that parable. And in Luke Chapter 19 we see the parable of the minas given in relation to what all Christians are supposed to do as they wait for the Lord’s return. a). In both Matthew and Luke there is an initial investment that must then be worked with to produce a profit. If a profit is made, reward will follow. If profit is not made, then only loss can follow – Mt 25:30 And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ Lk 19:26 ‘For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 1 Co 3:11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is. 14 If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. Now, we have already seen from James that without works emanating from faith we cannot profit and without profit we cannot receive the salvation of our soul. b). And so, if works emanating from faith are the only way a profit can be made, and they are, then we can see a direct connection between the initial investment in Matthew and Luke and the faith. c). The initial investment is not faith of itself, but that from which faith comes – Ro 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. We have then been given the Word of God. We have been given the living Word made flesh, whose death and shed blood has given us spiritual life and we have been given the written Word which is alive, which is the lamp to our feet and the light to our path to lead us to our inheritance in Christ’s Kingdom. d). We are then to believe, to have faith, in that which God has said from the beginning about His purpose for Man, the reason for our eternal salvation and the process necessary to the salvation of our soul; to believe that which God has said about our heavenly calling with regards to rulership in the age to come. e). And out of this faith, what we believe through the Scriptures, must come works that are completely commensurate with the fulfillment of our calling, the purpose for our creation and the purpose for our eternal salvation – the righteous acts that make the wedding garment, the fine linen clean and bright. f). The Christians pictured through those in Sardis who are said to be ‘dead’, do not have these works. And there is a direct link between not having works commensurate with fulfilling our calling and the outworking of the doctrine of Balaam, the doctrine of the Nicolaitans and the doctrine of Jezebel – a direct link with the outworking of the destructive heresies introduced by the tares sown among the wheat, the leaven placed in the 3 measures of meal. Let’s remember once again what the Lord has said to those Christians in this position – Re 3:2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God. 3 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. And let’s look again at the promise for those who repent and those who have not defiled their garments – Re 3:5 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. 6 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’ For this overcomers’ promise to hold true, the opposite of what is said here must be the experience for those who remain ‘dead’ with respect to the faith, who do not produce works of righteousness emanating from faith to their calling, those who will be overcome by the world, the flesh and the Devil. g). For these eternally saved Christians, their names will be blotted out of ‘the Book of Life’ and the Lord will not confess their names before His ‘father and before His angels’. h). So, what would it mean for an eternally saved Christian to have their name blotted out of ‘the Book of Life’? Next time – if the Lord is willing. The Word of God - A Survey of the Bible - Part Eighteen - H Mar 01, 2020 Speaker: John Herbert Series: The Word of God - A Survey of the Bible Category: Sunday Morning https://s3.amazonaws.com/cornerstonejax/sermonfiles/T005_20200301.mp3 Download Audio x
Refresh A Recap from the Sermon Re 3:1 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write........ Today we will begin to look at the church in Sardis. The full text of this message can be found by clicking the PDF button. Sunday March 1st 2020 The Word of God A Survey of the Bible – Lesson 18H ‘I Know Your Works….’ 1). Re 2:20 Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. 21 And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent. 22 Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds. 23 I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works. We had seen last time that there were those in the church in Thyatira who had embraced the teaching of ‘that woman Jezebel’, a doctrine intimately connected to the doctrine of Balaam seen in Pergamos, and that her teaching had seduced them ‘to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols’. a). And we had seen that the situation in the church in Thyatira paralleled events seen in Israel during the reign of Ahab, Israel’s wickedest king, and his wife Jezebel – 1 Ki 16:30 Now Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord, more than all who were before him. 31 And it came to pass, as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians; and he went and served Baal and worshiped him. 32 Then he set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. 33 And Ahab made a wooden image. Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him. Through the ministrations of Jezebel, Baal worship became the accepted, normalized practice among those adopted to be God’s firstborn son thereby producing spiritual adultery. An immoral union whereby the powers of darkness became established within the midst of God’s people. The ‘final straw’ for God in this whole sorry episode was the killing of Naboth, the Jezreelite, to take his vineyard, the inheritance of his fathers. b). As a result of all this, everything surrounding Ahab and Jezebel was completely eradicated. Ahab’s lineage being destroyed for all time – 2 Ki 10:6 Then he [Jehu] wrote a second letter to them, saying: If you are for me and will obey my voice, take the heads of the men, your master's sons, and come to me at Jezreel by this time tomorrow. Now the king's sons, seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, who were rearing them. 7 So it was, when the letter came to them, that they took the king's sons and slaughtered seventy persons, put their heads in baskets and sent them to him at Jezreel. 8 Then a messenger came and told him, saying, “They have brought the heads of the king's sons.” And he said, “Lay them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until morning.” 9 So it was, in the morning, that he went out and stood, and said to all the people, “You are righteous. Indeed I conspired against my master and killed him; but who killed all these? 10 Know now that nothing shall fall to the earth of the word of the Lord which the Lord spoke concerning the house of Ahab; for the Lord has done what He spoke by His servant Elijah.” 11 So Jehu killed all who remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men and his close acquaintances and his priests, until he left him none remaining. And in addition to his embrace of Baal worship, Ahab also rebuilt Jericho, something God had expressly forbidden – Jos 6:26 Then Joshua charged them at that time, saying, “Cursed be the man before the Lord who rises up and builds this city Jericho; he shall lay its foundation with his firstborn, and with his youngest he shall set up its gates.” Baal worship and the re-building of Jericho are intimately connected. The overthrow of Jericho we will remember forms a type of the complete destruction of Gentile world power in conjunction with the overthrow of Satan at the end of the Tribulation. And as such, the re-building of Jericho can only be seen as an attempt to change that which God has set in place. c). It amounts to re-establishing the kingdom of Satan above the Kingdom of God, with a view to the destruction of God’s firstborn son with respect to his inheritance. d). That seen in the re-building of Jericho may find a parallel with the building of the tower of Babel by Nimrod who is the foundational type for the Antichrist – Ge 10:8 Cush begot Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one on the earth. 9 He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord.” 10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel………..11:1 Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. 2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. 3 Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. 4 And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” We will conclude from the parallels we have drawn, that those Christians in Thyatira who were seduced by the teaching of ‘Jezebel’ were responsible for bringing into the church, in among those for whom Christ had died, not only the perverse and corrupt practices of the world, but also elements of false religion resulting in the worship of that which was other than God, as they sought to build for themselves ‘a city and a tower whose top is in the heavens’, and to ‘make a name’ for themselves. e). And such practice has been demonically inspired – 1 Ti 4:1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, 3 forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. And here again we will see how ‘Nicolaitanism’, the formation of a superior, priestly class, fits readily into this picture. f). And we had also seen last time what the outcome for these Christians would be if they did not repent – Re 2:21 And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent. 22 Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds. 23 I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works. However, not every Christian in the church in Thyatira had embraced ‘Jezebel’s’ teaching – Re 2:24 “Now to you I say, and to the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this doctrine, who have not known the depths of Satan, as they say, I will put on you no other burden. 25 But hold fast what you have till I come. 26 And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations— 27 ‘He shall rule them with a rod of iron; They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter's vessels’—as I also have received from My Father; 28 and I will give him the morning star. And again, here in this group who did not have Jezebel’s doctrine, we will find a parallel with the days of Ahab and Jezebel- 1 Ki 19:14 And he [Elijah] said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.” 15 Then the Lord said to him: “Go, return on your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; and when you arrive, anoint Hazael as king over Syria. 16 Also you shall anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel. And Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place. 17 It shall be that whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill; and whoever escapes the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill. 18 Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.” The Lord always retains a remnant of those who will remain faithful to the truth who will patiently endure amidst the enemy’s deception, amidst the deep things of Satan, the doctrines of demons brought by the birds of the air into the branches of the church. g). And those who comprise this remnant, as seen in Thyatira, who ‘have not known the depths of Satan, as they say’, are those who did not leave their first love, those who were ‘faithful until death’ in the midst of trial; those who held fast to His name and not deny His faith, even in the days of persecution. PowerPoint – Slides 1-3 2). Re 3:1 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, “These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: ‘I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. 2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God. 3 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. 4 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. 5 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. 6 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’ In the letter to Thyatira, the previous church, the Lord had said that He would kill the children of Jezebel with death if they did not repent, and as we begin looking at the church in Sardis, we see those who ‘have a name that you are alive, but you are dead’. These then are those Christians pictured through the individuals in Thyatira, who are metaphorically the children of Jezebel, that the Lord would kill with death. a). They had a name that they were alive because they were eternally saved and therefore had eternal life, but with respect to life in the age to come, they were dead. But despite their described condition they were still offered the opportunity to repent. Such is the goodness of God. b). And in Thyatira we had also seen the remnant who did not have the doctrine of Jezebel, the deep things of Satan, and these are the Christians, ‘a few names’, that we now see in Sardis ‘who have not defiled their garments’. c). With respect to the age to come then we should understand defiled garments = death and undefiled garments = life. d). And the reference to the undefiled garments and the overcomers’ promise to those in Sardis of being clothed in white garments can take us to only one place – the wedding garment that is essential for all those who would be part of the Bride of Christ – Mt 22:1 And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables and said: 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, 3 and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding…………..11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. 12 So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.” [called out of the called] And how this wedding garment that must be possessed by those who make up the Bride is made, we know – Re 19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” 8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. 9 Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.” There are 2 things we will note from this – the fine linen, clean and bright which is the same as the white garments from the overcomers’ promise in Sardis, can be made of only one thing, the righteous acts of the saints. Works of righteousness performed through faith with respect to our heavenly calling. e). And it is these works of righteousness, or absence of them, that is the Lord’s focus in His dealing with all Christians at His Judgment Seat. 7 times He repeats ‘I know your works’. And it is works and works alone that will be judged in that Day. Works that do note emanate from faith and works that do. And these are works that can only be undertaken by those who have already passed from death to life. Consequently, the Scripture is clear that it is Christ’s ‘wife’ who ‘has made herself ready’. Works that have been performed by faith by those who will be called out of the called – Eph 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, [the righteous acts of the saints] which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. These are works then that we are to perform out of faithfulness to our calling. f). And it is in the Book of James that we have seen the relationship between our works and the fulfillment of our heavenly calling set out for us – Jas 2:14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? The 2 questions asked in this verse, because of the structure of the Greek language, are self-answering, both requiring a negative response. And we might better understand this verse translated this way – ‘My brethren, if anyone says he has faith, but does not have works, he cannot profit can he? [No] Faith cannot save him can it?’ [No] [Arlen Chitwood] Jas 2:15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead….20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?............... 26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. Over and over again we see that faith without righteous acts, without works ‘is dead’. And as those in Sardis are said to be ‘dead’ in relation to the judgment of their works – ‘I know your works’ – these ‘dead’ Christians are the perfect example of what James describes. g). Without works emanating from faith there can be no ‘profit’ and without ‘profit’ the salvation to be revealed in the last time cannot be attained. 3). Mt 25:11 “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ 12 But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming. 14 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. 15 And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. Lk 19:11 Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately. 12 Therefore He said: “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. 13 So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Do business till I come.’ The parables of the ‘talents’ and the ‘minas’ give the clearest examples of the relationship between profit and reward – Lk 19:16 Then came the first, saying, ‘Master, your mina has earned ten minas.’ 17 And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.’ Mt 25:20 “So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ 21 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ In Matthew Chapter 25 the parable of the talents follows on from the parable of the wise and foolish virgins, giving further clarification of that parable. And in Luke Chapter 19 we see the parable of the minas given in relation to what all Christians are supposed to do as they wait for the Lord’s return. a). In both Matthew and Luke there is an initial investment that must then be worked with to produce a profit. If a profit is made, reward will follow. If profit is not made, then only loss can follow – Mt 25:30 And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ Lk 19:26 ‘For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 1 Co 3:11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is. 14 If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. Now, we have already seen from James that without works emanating from faith we cannot profit and without profit we cannot receive the salvation of our soul. b). And so, if works emanating from faith are the only way a profit can be made, and they are, then we can see a direct connection between the initial investment in Matthew and Luke and the faith. c). The initial investment is not faith of itself, but that from which faith comes – Ro 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. We have then been given the Word of God. We have been given the living Word made flesh, whose death and shed blood has given us spiritual life and we have been given the written Word which is alive, which is the lamp to our feet and the light to our path to lead us to our inheritance in Christ’s Kingdom. d). We are then to believe, to have faith, in that which God has said from the beginning about His purpose for Man, the reason for our eternal salvation and the process necessary to the salvation of our soul; to believe that which God has said about our heavenly calling with regards to rulership in the age to come. e). And out of this faith, what we believe through the Scriptures, must come works that are completely commensurate with the fulfillment of our calling, the purpose for our creation and the purpose for our eternal salvation – the righteous acts that make the wedding garment, the fine linen clean and bright. f). The Christians pictured through those in Sardis who are said to be ‘dead’, do not have these works. And there is a direct link between not having works commensurate with fulfilling our calling and the outworking of the doctrine of Balaam, the doctrine of the Nicolaitans and the doctrine of Jezebel – a direct link with the outworking of the destructive heresies introduced by the tares sown among the wheat, the leaven placed in the 3 measures of meal. Let’s remember once again what the Lord has said to those Christians in this position – Re 3:2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God. 3 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. And let’s look again at the promise for those who repent and those who have not defiled their garments – Re 3:5 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. 6 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’ For this overcomers’ promise to hold true, the opposite of what is said here must be the experience for those who remain ‘dead’ with respect to the faith, who do not produce works of righteousness emanating from faith to their calling, those who will be overcome by the world, the flesh and the Devil. g). For these eternally saved Christians, their names will be blotted out of ‘the Book of Life’ and the Lord will not confess their names before His ‘father and before His angels’. h). So, what would it mean for an eternally saved Christian to have their name blotted out of ‘the Book of Life’? Next time – if the Lord is willing.