A Hundred Sermons on Revelation, Sermons · Sermon 15
¶ He blameth certen thinges in the congregation of Sardis: notwithſtanding he ſheweth ſtreight wayes a remedy, wherby they may be healed, & be ſafe. The .xv. Sermon.
AND write to the meſſenger of the congregatiō of Sardis, this ſaith he that hath the ſpirites of God, and the .vii. ſtarres. I knowe thy workes: Thou haſt a name that thou liueſt and thou art dead. Be awake, and ſtrength the thinges which remaine, that ar redy to die. For I hauehave not founde thy works perfit before God. Remember therfore howe thou haſt receiued and heard, and holde faſt & repent. If thou ſhalt not watche, I wil come on thee as a thefe, and thou ſhalt not knowe what houre I wyll come vponupon thee.
Two kindes of men in one churche.In one congregation of Sardis were two ſortes of people, profeſſing on either ſide the name of Chriſt. But ſome in dede anſwered but litle to the holy profeſſion, liuing more licenciouſly, than became them: And the others in holines of lyfe ſet forth the doctrine of our ſauiour that they profeſſed. The firſt ſort the Lord Ieſus accuſeth in this Epiſtle by S. Iohn: And ſheweth alſo a medicine for the diſeaſe. And the later he exhorteth to perſeueraunce, commending their integritie. Therfore this Epiſtle is deuided in two partes, verey fit and profitable for our time.
The firſt part of the Epiſtle cōteineth thoſe things which we hauehave now recited: Nether doth he procede herein in other order, than we hauehave ſene him to hauehave proceded hitherto. For firſt he ſheweth to whom it is dedicated, and ſent: Namely to the Paſtour of the congregation of Sardis,Sardis. and therfore alſo to the whole church. Sardis is ſaid to hauehave ben the head citie of Lydia or of Maonia, the metropolitane citie of Creſus the moſt riche king of Lydia, whom Herodotus writeth that king Cyrus ouercame, a towne moſt famous, and pricked and painted with pride, that it was a wōder: And addicte to voluptuouſnes. For Strabo in the .xiii. boke of Geographie teſtifieth that al the maidens therof were harlots, who mentioneth more of the ſame citie. Certes it ſemeth to hauehave kept his olde wonte, euen at ſuche time alſo as it had receiued the name of the Lord: And therfore to hauehave bene more geuen to fornication, and al maner of filthy luſt. The which thing the Lord ſemeth to hauehave blamed in them, as S. Paul likewyſe perſecuted the ſelf ſame viſe in the Corinthians. The worlde can hardly beleue that ſimple fornication is ſinne wherupon in that great counſel of the Apoſtles,Actes. 15. both thei and the elders and the whole aſſemblie with one minde decreed, that the gē tiles ſhould abſteine from fornication. The deuill at this day goeth about many times to defile the church again with fornication, to ſet vp ſtewes, and that by authoritie and openly whordom might be practiſed. For ſo being caſt out, he taketh ſeuen worſe ſpirites, enterpriſing to poſſeſſe that place again out of the whiche he was exiled by the preaching of the Goſpel. We muſt therfore reſiſt him, leaſt the Lorde Ieſus him ſelf do accuſe vsus, as he doth here accuſe them of Sardis moſt greuouſly.Chriſt hath and ſēdeth the ſpirite. Then is the Lord Ieſus declared to be authour of the Epiſtle, not without praiſe. For he is ſaid to hauehave the ſeuen ſpirites of God, that is to hauehave the ſeuen fourmed ſpirit, whom he alſo powreth out vponupon the faithful, or els he is one only ſpirit, and not ſeuen: but ſeuen, that is to witte, his graces be many and diuerſe, as I declared in the firſt chapter, for the ſame hath alſo in his right hand ſeuen ſtarres, to witte, the whole multitude of all preachers and miniſters, keping and inſtructing thē. And this beginning agreeth not amiſſe with this argument, which he treateth in this Epiſtle. For of the ſpirite of Chriſt is life: Of the want of the ſpirit, death. Chriſt preſerueth the miniſters, how angrie ſo euer mē ar in the churche, with thē for accuſing their wickednes. Priuely therfore he warneth them, to craue the ſpirite, to noriſhe the lyfe ſpirituall: And to truſt in Chriſte, which wil defende the miniſters, and auaunce them.
After, the ſame that he teſtifieth in all other Epiſtles, he repeateth here alſo. I knowe thy workes. Wherof I hauehave ſpoken before. The Lo…de is ignoraunt of nothyng that is done in the churche, whiche is alſo the ſearcher of hartes. And eſpecially he blameth this in this Churche,The ſickenes of this church. that ſhe thought her ſelfe a lyue, where ſhe was dead. He ſpeaketh not of the corporall, but of the ſpirituall lyfe and death. For Chriſte lyueth by his ſpirite in his ſainctes, and faythfull, and ſheweth lyuely workes by them. Lyke as the Lorde teacheth in the .vi. of Iohn, and in many other places of the Goſpel of S. Iohn. The Apoſtle ſaid alſo, that he liued not now,Galat. 2 1 Tim. 5 but that Chriſt liued in him: The ſame Apoſtle ſaid, yt wydowes liuing in wātones, being aliue were dead. They be dead therfore which hauehave not Chriſt liuing in thē by faith & ſpirit. Which hauehave not the vertue of Chriſt workyng in thē, that is which bringeth not forth liuely workes.Math. 8 For the Lord is red to hauehave ſaid alſo in the Goſpel: Suffer the dead to bury their dead. The Sardenſians therfore had the name of men liuing that is to ſay, they were called Chriſtians, ſpirituall, regenerated and holy worſhippers of God: but they were dead, to witte, hipocrites, in whome no ſpirite nor Chriſten life appered. The fleſhe, the world and corruption, as yet liued in thē. But ſuch churches diſpleaſe Chriſt: There be many ſuche at this day. But whether doth Chriſt reiect them? Verely he blameth ſuch, but not to confounde them, (for ſo the worlde blameth) but that they ſhould repent. For he willeth not the death of a ſinner, but rather that he ſhould conuert and liue. And therfore conſequently he prepareth a medicine for the diſeaſe.
A medicine prepared for the ſicknes.And firſt he preſcribeth to the ſtarres or Byſhops, what they ſhould do in this caſe: Then telleth he alſo the whole cō gregation their dutie. Wherof we learne howe like diſeaſes of churches are to be holpen. That belōgeth to the Paſtours that he commaunded them to watche, verely ouer the flock: And to confirme that remained of the flock, not yet in dede loſt, but next vntounto perdition, vnleſſe it be holpē in time with ſound and holſome doctrine. He alluded doubtles to that cure and charge paſtorall, whiche the Lorde deſcribeth in the xxxiiii. chapt. of Ezechiel. The flock is confirmed by the word of God: by the ſame it is retyred from death, and preſerued in lyfe. &c.
The workes of that church not ful before God.Now alſo he addeth the reaſon, why he commaundeth to confirme the flocke leaſt they ſlyde in to death. For I hauehave not found thy workes full or perfit before God. The Greke copie Complutenſian and Aretas hauehave, my God. By workes he vnderſtādeth al things that are done, wordes works, and the whole conuerſation of men. The workes doubles euen of Sainctes be euermore vnperfit, if we hauehave reſpecte to humane imbecillitie. For always ſo long as we lyue here, ye fleſh fighteth againſt the ſpirite: In ſo muche that Iob ſayd, how he feared all his workes, and therfore fled to the clemē cie of the iudge: Notwithſtanding they be perfit and full in reſpect of Chriſt. For he is our fulnes, and in hym we are cō plete, Iohn. 1. Epheſ. 1. Coloſſ. the 12. And he maketh vsus pertakers of his fulnes by faythe. They of Sardis were deſtitute of trewe fayth, wherfore eueryevery worke of theirs muſte nedes be vnperfit before God: whiche alloweth nothinge but that is of the ſonne and moſte pure. Therfore the Lorde cōmaundeth to teache faith diligently, and beate it in, that they maye b… made perfit in Chriſte. This is the beſte medicine for the deadly diſeaſe of Chriſtes churche.
Here followeth the dutie of the people,The true apoſtolike repentaūce how they may be healed, by the apoſtolicall repentaunce. Whereof the chiefe poincte is: to remember the lordes wordes, in what we hauehave hearde and receiued the ſame. We are not commaunded to diuiſe newe formes of religion and repentaunce: but we are ſent to the olde tradition, not of men, but the which we hauehave in the Scriptures of Euangeliſtes and Apoſtles. Theſe, I ſaye, we oughte to remembre. For throughe cuſtome of ſinning, we forget Gods worde. And truely the beginnyng of Peters repentaunce was, to hauehave remembred the wordes of the Lorde. Therfore ſuch as will not be reproued and inſtructed by gods worde, ſhall neuer come to, or attayne the trewe repentaunce. Furthermore it is neceſſarie, that we kepe and reteyne the wordes of God, that is, the trewe doctrine of Chriſt, leeſte we forget it ſtreight wayes, or that we ſette it in vayne contemplation, and not in effectuall worke. The doctrine of Chriſt muſt be kept, and perfourmed in worke. For in the laſte place it followeth: and repente. Trew repentaūce conſiſteth in worke: that in minde & body we ſhould tourne awaie from euil, and tourne vntounto God, and do good, beyng ſorie for our wicked dedes paſte, this is the trewe Apoſtolicall repentaunce.
VntoUnto the whiche repentaunce nowe,By threatninges he exhorteth to repentaunce. after the diuine prophetical & apoſtolical maner, he draweth thē by the threatnings. Whiche are in dede to be referred aſwell to ye miniſters, as to the people, in the congregation. Againe the Lord vſeth parables, whiche we reade that he vſed in S. Matth. 24. Where with the ſame he exhorteth to watchyng & ſobrietie. Whiche place ſins it is there expounded at large, I nede not to vſe many wordes aboute it here. To the Lorde be prayſe and thankes geuyng for euermore.