Who is Alive but Dead?

If you want Christians to work harder, there are two scriptures you can trot out to boost productivity. The first is the one about being lukewarm; the second is this one from the letter to Sardis:

I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. (Rev. 3:1)

This passage is usually interpreted as follows: “The Sardians were complacent, comfortable Christians who weren’t working hard enough and allowed their faith to die.”

Short version: work harder for Jesus!

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