This is another in a series of excerpts from The Book of Life: What the Bible Says about God’s Registry of the Redeemed from High Street Press and available at Amazon. This except comes from Chapter 16: I Will Never Erase His Name: Revelation 3:5.

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“But you have a few people in Sardis who have not defiled their clothes, and they will walk with me in white, because they are worthy. In the same way, the one who conquers will be dressed in white clothes, and I will never erase his name from the book of life but will acknowledge his name before my Father and before his angels” (Rev. 3:4-5).

Christ’s letter to the church in Sardis echoes a troubling thought proclaimed in other Scriptures: the possibility that certain people may have their names erased from the book of life. Jesus tells believers in Sardis that “the one who conquers will be dressed in white clothes, and I will never erase his name from the book of life” (Rev. 3:5). 

Is Jesus simply reassuring the faithful in Sardis that their names are securely recorded in heaven? Or is Jesus hinting that it’s possible for genuine believers to lose their salvation? 

If believers may lose their salvation, how and when might it be lost? Can they get it back? Under what circumstances is the golden chain of redemption, which Paul reveals as God’s saving work across time and eternity, broken (Rom. 8:29-30)? Put another way, is it possible for the redeemed to sever God’s foreknowledge, predestination, calling, justification, and glorification? If so, does human freedom trump God’s sovereignty?

These are challenging questions that confront the doctrine of eternal security. So, we might ask: What point is Jesus trying to make in his message to the church in Sardis?

Let’s begin with a look at Christ’s letter to the church. Then, we’ll survey numerous passages of Scripture that address the blotting out of names. Finally, we’ll turn our attention to what it means to be “the one who conquers,” and how that relates to the book of life.

The letter to the church in Sardis

Christ’s letter to the church in Sardis is the fifth in a series of seven letters sent to first-century churches in Asia Minor, now modern-day Turkey. While the Lord commends some churches (Smyrna and Philadelphia) and castigates others (especially Laodicea), his letters feature a consistent pattern: Christ’s self-description; his evaluation of the church’s condition; his words of comfort and/or correction; his urge to listen; and his promise to the victor. 

Write to the angel of the church in Sardis:

Thus says the one who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars: I know your works; you have a reputation for being alive, but you are dead. Be alert and strengthen what remains, which is about to die, for I have not found your works complete before my God. Remember, then, what you have received and heard; keep it, and repent. If you are not alert, I will come like a thief, and you have no idea at what hour I will come upon you. But you have a few people in Sardis who have not defiled their clothes, and they will walk with me in white, because they are worthy.

In the same way, the one who conquers will be dressed in white clothes, and I will never erase his name from the book of life but will acknowledge his name before my Father and before his angels. Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches (Rev. 3:1-6).

Sardis is an important commercial city in the first century. It’s situated on a major east-west trade route. Key goods produced there include jewelry, dye, and textiles. From a religious perspective, Sardis is a pagan city with a temple to Artemis, the ruins of which remain. Archaeologists also have located the remnants of a small Christian church next to the temple.

Sardis is a chief city of Asia Minor in John’s day. It’s perhaps the first city in that part of the world converted by the preaching of John. It also may have been the first city in that region to abandon Christianity and come to ruin. Christ’s stern message is not completely in vain, however, for we know of the second-century bishop Melito, who distinguishes himself with piety and learning. Even so, the local church does not endure, nor does the city; only a village called Sart remains today among the ruins.

Christ’s self-description

Jesus identifies himself as “the one who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars” (Rev. 3:1). The seven stars, of course, are the angels of the seven churches featured in Revelation 2-3. The phrase “seven spirits” ties back to Revelation 1:4 and may be translated “the seven-fold Spirit,” likely a reference to the Holy Spirit. 

However, since Jesus describes himself as having the seven spirits, he may be reminding the church of his place in the Godhead and his authority as one who has all the fullness of the Spirit (see Isa. 11:2-5; Rev. 5:6). The number seven represents fullness or completeness; it is the number of God. 

And since there are seven churches and seven angels, Jesus may be telling the churches he has equipped each of them with the Holy Spirit for ministry and thus accepts no excuses for their failure to bear fruit. In other places in Revelation, the seven-fold Spirit of God is pictured as seven burning lamps, or fiery torches (4:5), and seven all-seeing eyes (5:6). 

Christ’s evaluation of the church’s condition 

Jesus has no words of commendation for the church. There is no mention of endurance, faithfulness, suffering, or persecution. Warren Wiersbe comments, “There was reputation without reality, form without force. Like the city itself, the church at Sardis gloried in past splendor, but ignored present decay.”

“I know your works,” Jesus says, “you have a reputation for being alive, but you are dead” (Rev. 3:1). The word “reputation” may be translated “name.” The church in Sardis is not obscure. It is not unimportant to the community. Quite the contrary, the people of Sardis – and perhaps other church members throughout Asia Minor – speak highly of the church. Its name is known. Its star is rising. Its reputation is flourishing. Things are happening at this church – or so people say. But Jesus holds an opposing view.

Evidently, there’s no opposition to the church in Sardis because the church isn’t preaching the cross, which is an offense to the unbelieving world (Gal. 5:11). Instead, the pagans of Sardis see Christians as nice, respectable people – neither dangerous nor desirable. The “dead” church – with the Spirit suppressed and the Word of God watered down – is no threat to Satan’s kingdom and therefore is perfectly acceptable to a world filled with religion. Paul warns us to avoid believers who embody the reputation of Sardis, holding to “the form of godliness but denying its power” (2 Tim. 3:5).

Christ’s words of comfort and/or correction 

“Be alert and strengthen what remains, which is about to die,” Jesus says, “for I have not found your works complete before my God” (Rev. 3:2). Twice in the history of Sardis – a nearly impregnable fortress 1,500 feet above the main roads – the citadel has been captured, each time because the city’s sentries failed to keep watch. Jesus tells the sentries of the church – its leaders – to wake up and guard what remains. In other words, there’s still hope of resuscitation for this dead church. 

What does Jesus mean when he says to “strengthen [or guard] what remains?” Some commentators see this as a reference to believers holding fast to their faith, while others argue that Jesus is pointing to their practices because he says, “I have not found your works complete.” Evidently, according to Matthew Henry, “there is something wanting in them; there is the shell, but not the kernel; there is the carcass, but not the soul – the shadow, but not the substance.” 

Jesus offers three commands to the church: “Remember, then, what you have received and heard; keep it, and repent” (Rev. 3:3). Believers are to remember the finished work of Christ, proclaimed through preaching and sound doctrine. They are to keep these teachings as they partake of church ordinances – the Lord’s Supper and baptism. And they are to repent of their lethargy with respect to Christian service. If they disregard the Lord’s commands, he will come “like a thief” and bring swift judgment on them. 

Previously, Jesus warned the church at Ephesus he would remove its lampstand (Rev. 2:5). He told the church at Pergamum he would fight against the Nicolaitans with the sword of his mouth (Rev. 2:16). And he told the church at Thyatira he would wreak havoc on the false prophetess Jezebel and her followers (Rev. 2:22-23). But for Sardis, the lofty and secure fortress, he threatens to come in stealth, when their watchmen are drowsy, and bring swift judgment. 

Numerous times before, Jesus warns of his second coming as a surprise (see Matt. 24:42-43; Luke 12:39-40), and the apostles pick up on this message (see 1 Thess. 5:2, 4, 6; 2 Pet. 3:10). But in the case of Sardis, Jesus is speaking of temporal, not final, judgment. It comes swiftly, well in advance of his personal, physical, and glorious return to earth. There’s a Greek proverb that says, “the feet of the avenging deities are shod with wool,” depicting their noiseless approach in judgment. How much more will Christ’s coming be like that of a thief in the night.

Even so, Jesus says, “you have a few people in Sardis who have not defiled their clothes, and they will walk with me in white, because they are worthy” (Rev. 3:4). Candidates for Christian baptism in the ancient church wore white robes as a symbol of the imputed righteousness of Christ. Some at Sardis have remained faithful since that initiatory rite, and for them, the Lord promises his intimate presence. 

Paul writes in Ephesians 5:27 that Jesus gave himself for the church “to present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or anything like that, but holy and blameless.” And in Revelation 19:8, we see the church depicted as a bride, “given fine linen to wear, bright and pure. For the fine linen represents the righteous acts of the saints.” On earth, believers are declared righteous, or justified; in heaven, they are maderighteous, or glorified. In either case, their white robes depict the righteousness of Christ.

Christ’s urge to listen

Jesus repeats the familiar charge from his previous church letters: “Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches” (Rev. 3:6). Many churches today are in trouble, not because they fiercely reject sound doctrine or practice open rebellion against the Lord, but because they inadvertently allow false teachings and ungodly practices to creep in. The result is the same, however: dead churches the world admires and the Lord despises. 

“Wake yourself, wake yourself up!” Isaiah cries to his fellow countrymen on the brink of judgment. “These two things have happened to you: devastation and destruction, famine and sword. Who will grieve for you? How can I comfort you? Your children have fainted; they lie at the head of every street like an antelope in a net. They are full of the LORD’s fury, the rebuke of your God” (Isa. 51:17a, 19-20). 

Paul, possibly quoting an early Christian hymn based on passages in Isaiah, writes to the church, “Get up, sleeper, and rise up from the dead, and Christ will shine on you” (Eph. 5:14).

Christ’s promises to the victor

Jesus says, “[T]he one who conquers will be dressed in white clothes, and I will never erase his name from the book of life but will acknowledge his name before my Father and before his angels” (Rev. 3:5). 

Matthew Henry writes:

Christ will not blot the names of his chosen and faithful ones out of this book of life; men may be enrolled in the registers of the church, as baptized, as making a profession, as having a name to live, and that name may come to be blotted out of the roll, when it appears that it was but a name, a name to live, without spiritual life; such often lose the very name before they die, they are left of God to blot out their own names by their gross and open wickedness. But the names of those that overcome shall never be blotted out.

John refers six times in Revelation to the book of life, also called the Lamb’s book of life. Some commentators distinguish the two by stating that the book of life is God’s list of all human beings. The lost are blotted out of this book when they pass a point of no return in their rebellion against God, perhaps in life but certainly no later than at death. Meanwhile, the Lamb’s book of life features only the redeemed, whose names are entered when they trust in Christ for everlasting life. Therefore, at the end of time, both sets of books are reconciled and in perfect agreement. 

Yet, John seems to use the terms “book of life” and “Lamb’s book of life” interchangeably; they are one and the same book. This is not to say Christians may lose their salvation through grievous sin, for the Bible clearly teaches eternal security – a doctrine John emphasizes in his other writings (see John 5:24; 10:27-30; 1 John 5:6-13). On the contrary, Jesus assures true believers in Sardis and elsewhere that he keeps them in his book, as well as in his hand.

As one commentary explains: 

The statement that their names will not be erased from the book of life presents a problem to some. But a person who is truly born again remains regenerate…. While this passage may imply that a name could be erased from the book of life, actually it only gives a positive affirmation that their names will not be erased.

Next: Erased from the Book of Life