Revelation 3:4
“Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.”

People thought the church of Sardis was full of spiritual vitality. But God, who can peer into the hearts of men, knew the church was truly dead. The church was full of sin and God warned them to repent. In the midst of this backslidden church, a few Christians still lived out their profession of faith. Although others around them were sinning, they kept their lives pure before God. Because they lived holy lives through Christ, God promised them a future with him.

I’m a lover of Christian history. The more I read I learn that there always seems to be a small remnant that will serve God no matter what others around them are doing. Men like Jeremiah and Elijah stood for God, despite Israel turning away from him. In Germany, Martin Luther preached that “the just shall live by faith” against the strength of the Roman church. In England, John Wesley wasn’t allowed to preach his message of faith and holiness in the state churches, so he took his sermons to the highways and byways compelling people to follow Christ. In Switzerland, men like Conrad Grebel, Georg Blaurock, and Felix Manz took the risky step of preaching that only those that made a confession of Christ should be baptized. This went against the state practice of baptizing infants and earned them the name Anabaptists, or re-baptizers.

What do you see when you look around you? Most likely you see sin abounding. You see people turning away from God. You see so-called Christians making a mockery of the faith. But if you look a little closer, you might also see a small remnant of believers standing up for truth.

I hope you are among the group that God calls worthy. These worthy few are not worthy in themselves, but rather they are worthy because they trust in the worthiness of Christ. They have turned their lives completely over to him. Where he leads, they will follow. Are you among that number?