Correct.
"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.' Revelation 3:1(NAS)
Jesus goes on to say:
"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.
3Remember therefore what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent.
If therefore you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not
know at what hour I will come upon you. 4But you have a few people in
Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in
white; for they are worthy. 5He who
overcomes shall thus be clothed in
white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I
will confess his name before My Father, and before His angels."
Revelation 3:2-5 (NAS)
Many of the Christians in Sardis had "soiled (or defiled) their garments."
According to Jesus, there were only a few in Sardis who had not soiled their
garments.
What does it mean for Christians to "soil or defile
their garments?"
In the New Testament, our outward bodies are sometimes referred to as a
tent (or outer cloth).
"For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down,
we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the
heavens. For indeed in this (tent or house) we groan, longing to be
clothed with our dwelling from heaven; inasmuch as we, having put it on,
shall not be found naked. For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan,
being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed, but to be clothed, in
order that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life." 2 Corinthians
5:1-4 (NAS)
In the New Testament, Jesus' focus was on the
true righteousness of an individual, not the outward
appearances. Jesus warned the Pharisees (the
Jewish religious leaders) of their hypocrisy and
lawlessness:
"Woe
to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you
clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but
inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence.
26"You blind Pharisee, first clean the
inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the
outside of it may become clean also. 27"Woe
to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you
are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside
appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead
men's bones and all uncleanness. 28"Even
so you too outwardly appear righteous to men, but
inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness."
Matthew 23:25-28 (NAS)
Defiling the body:
Those that have become Christians must not lead a willful life of sin (which
defiles that which covers us). There are many scriptures which talk of
this; a few of which include:
So
also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet
it boasts of great things. Behold, how great a
forest is set aflame by such a small fire! 6And
the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity;
the tongue is set among our members as that which
defiles the
entire body, and sets on fire the course of
our life, and is set on fire by hell. James 3:5-6
(NAS)
And He (Jesus) was saying,
"That which proceeds out of the man,
that is what
defiles the man. 21"For from
within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil
thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries,
22deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as
deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and
foolishness. 23 "All these evil things
proceed from within and
defile the
man." Mark 7:20-23 (NAS)
Do you not know that you are a
temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in you?
17If any man destroys the temple of God,
God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy,
and that is what you are. 1 Corinthians
3:16-17 (NAS)
Walking with Jesus in white garments:
Both in the Old Testament and New, God refers to a washing that will make us
new or clean again, like wool as white as snow:
Isaiah 1:16-18 -- "Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; remove the evil
of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil, Learn to do good; seek justice,
reprove the ruthless; defend the orphan, plead for the widow. Come now,
and let us reason together," says the LORD, "Though your sins are as scarlet,
they will be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be
like wool." (NAS)
Titus 3:5-6 -- "He saved us, not on
the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His
mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom
He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior..." (NAS)
Ephesians 5:25-26 -- "...just as Christ also loved the church and
gave Himself up for her; that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by
the washing of water with the word..." (NAS)
Mark 16:16 -- "He who has believed and has been
baptized shall be
saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned." (NAS)
Romans 6:3-4 -- "Or do you not
know that all of us who have been
baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized
into His death? Therefore we have been buried
with Him through
baptism
into death, in order that as Christ was raised from
the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too
might walk in newness of life." (NAS)
"For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For
all of you who were
baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with
Christ." Galatians 3:26-27 (NAS)
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