They Are Mostly Dead

[Christsfreeservant]

“To the angel of the church in Sardis write: He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars, says this: ‘I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God. So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you.” (Revelation 3:1-3 NASB1995)​

The church is the body of believers in Jesus Christ, as well as it is the gatherings of the people of God. But, as in nearly all gatherings, not everyone present is a genuine believer in Jesus Christ, and not every believer in Christ is living as they ought to live in obedience to our Lord’s commands in holy living. So, all throughout the New Testament we have examples of this where the church, in specific locations, was in need of correction, discipline, repentance, and renewed faith in the Lord Jesus.

Now my understanding of how this worked is that the church in any specific location, such as in Sardis, for example, was the body of believers in Jesus Christ in the whole city. And back then they did not all gather in some very large building called “church”. They met in people’s homes, and their homes were not large, so each gathering was probably the size of a small group home Bible study in our day. So, the church overall, in the city as a whole, had a certain reputation of being alive spiritually, but they were mostly dead.

Now, in the gatherings of the church (or in what is falsely being referred to as “the church”) today, in the USA, they are mostly all presenting an image that they are of God, that they are believers in Jesus Christ, and that what they preach is the truth of God’s Word. Yet it appears that the vast majority of them are businesses of human origin, in partnership with the world and with the government, in unholy unions which are being marketed to the people of the world. And so they compromise truth to “win the world.”

Although they profess that they are of God, and that they believe in Jesus Christ, so much of what is called “church” today is compromised with the world, and with big business, and with the government. And they are not, in truth, following Jesus Christ and the teachings of the Scriptures in their correct biblical context. But they are teaching the Scriptures out of context and are twisting them in order to appease human flesh and to not offend the ungodly who they are trying to draw into their ungodly worldly gatherings.

So, God/Jesus Christ is calling out to his idolatrous and adulterous church who are living more like the world, and who are catering to human flesh, and who are altering, diluting, and misconstruing the teachings of the Scriptures to make them more acceptable to the ungodly and to human flesh. He is calling them to remember the teachings of the Scriptures, to keep (obey) the commands of God, and to repent (turn from) their sins of idolatry and adultery to now live for Jesus Christ in righteous living.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

The Letters

Based off Revelation 2-3
An Original Work / December 17, 2013
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

To the angels of all the churches write:
These are the words of your Lord and your God.
I know all your deeds, and your witness, too,
And who holds to My words and tells what’s true.
I know all your hard work and your perseverance,
Yet I hold against you: you’ve forsaken Me.
Listen to what I say to you.

You have people there who deny My name,
And who put the cross of Christ up to shame.
They entice the people to Me, profane,
And their worship of Me is all in vain.
They are so adult’rous as they chase their idols,
And you put up with them easily enough.
Listen to what I say to you.

You give off an image of godliness,
But what you present is so fraudulent,
Or else you lack passion for Jesus Christ,
So you look to others to tell what’s right.
I say turn from your sin, or you will face judgment.
He who overcomes will have eternal life.
Listen to what I say to you.

I know your afflictions and poverty;
How you suffer for your Lord patiently.
Do not fear the devil and company.
You be faithful to your Lord endlessly.
I know all your weakness and your dedication.
You have kept My Word and not denied your Lord.
I will write on you My new name.

They Are Mostly Dead
An Original Work / February 20, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love