There were people in this church of Sardis who remained faithful, who took what Christ gave them and made it grow as they were called to do. Jesus says we are worthy because He gave us grace and anointment for our sins; we are dressed in “white,” as being pure in Him before God. But we can easily “soil” our purity before Him when we keep sinning and refuse to acknowledge our sins and repent from them. When we have the maturity to repent and seek Him and follow Him and not our pride or the world’s ways, we become victorious. Our faith will be firm and we will never be erased from His Book of Life! We must listen to Him and remove anything that hinders our purity in our faith and devotion to Christ.

· People in Sardis. Jesus knows who are His own; He wants us to be His own (John 10:3).

· Not soiled their clothes. Pagan temples would not let worshipers in if they had on old or dirty clothes, as it was an insult to the god. This means we must seek to be our best for His glory; if not, we are insulting the real God-Christ!

· Dressed in white referred to the robes that the priests who represented a god wore. We represent Christ, and our faith and obedience is our clothing (Rev. 3:18; 6:11; 7:9, 13; 4:4; 19:14). How is yours?

· Worthy. Even though we were deeply loved even before the cross or our faith in Him, we will be accountable for our actions and where our trust, faith, and heart have been placed. Will it be in Christ, or in the world?

· The Book of Life is basically the heavenly roster of the saints who have been found by Christ as faithful, who received their election, and who persevered. All ancient cities had rosters of who lived there and those added and expelled, like a census. Like a city roster, the Book of Life contains the names of all the people who are currently living. When a person dies, those who have claimed Jesus as Lord, who have received their election, let it become rooted in them, and have been faithful and obedient remain in this book. All others are blotted out. Once our names are in His book and we are saved by His grace, we are secure in our faith and in eternal security (Ex. 32:32-33; Psalm 69:28; Dan. 12:1; Phil. 4:3; Rev. 13:8; 17:8; 20:12-15; 21:19, 27).