Message to Sardis

3 “To the angel of the church in ^(A)Sardis write:

He who has ^[a](B)the seven spirits of God and ^(C)the seven stars, says this: ‘^(D)I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, and yet you are ^(E)dead. ² Be constantly alert, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God. ³ So ^(F)remember ^[b]what you have received and heard; and ^[c]keep it, and ^(G)repent. Then if you are not alert, ^(H)I will come ^(I)like a thief, and you will not know at ^(J)what hour I will come to you. ⁴ But you have a few ^[d](K)people in ^(L)Sardis who have not ^(M)soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me ^(N)in white, for they are worthy. ^5 (O)The one who overcomes will be clothed the same way, in ^(P)white garments; and I will not ^(Q)erase his name from the book of life, and ^(R)I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. ^6 (S)The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

²¹ “^(A)Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. ^22 (B)Many will say to Me on ^(C)that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many ^[a]miracles?’ ²³ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; ^(D)leave Me, you who practice lawlessness.’

The Two Foundations

²⁴ “Therefore, ^(E)everyone who hears these words of Mine, and ^[b]acts on them, will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ And the rain fell and the ^[c]floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. ²⁶ And everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not ^[d]act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. ²⁷ And the rain fell and the ^[e]floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and its collapse was great.”

⁸ For ^(A)by grace you have been saved ^(B)through faith; and ^[a]this is not of yourselves, it is ^(C)the gift of God; ^9 (D)not a result of works, so that ^(E)no one may boast. ¹⁰ For we are His workmanship, ^(F)created in ^(G)Christ Jesus for ^(H)good works, which God ^(I)prepared beforehand so that we would ^(J)walk in them.