Sardis: The Comatose Church

What is the role of works in the Christian life?  While we all agree that works cannot save us, do they play no role in how God completes his work in us?  What happens when a church embraces what you might call cheap grace, the belief that grace releases us from the burden of being concerned about holiness?  The church in Sardis is a comatose church, a church that is nonresponsive to God, and therefore indifferent toward works.  The peril to their souls is real, which is confirmed as Christ comes to them with warning, as well as the promise that if they take hold of God's grace truly then nothing can blot out their names from the book of life.