Anchored

by Scott Vance on June 15, 2022

Hebrews 6.9-12
13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, 14 saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” 15 And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise. 16 For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. 17 So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. 19 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, 20 where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
 
One of the things that my wife and I have begun to enjoy is camping.  Actually, a more apt description would be that we’re “glamping,” which is to say that we don’t camp out in a tent.  Instead, we have a trailer that we tow behind my truck which basically allows us to have all the creature comforts of home.  When we first started towing a trailer I had much to learn.  One of the massively key things to learn was to make sure that the safety chains of the trailer were secured to the truck in the very remote chance that the trailer somehow became unhitched from the truck.  The safety chains serve to anchor the trailer to the truck.
 
I was thinking about anchors as I read this passage because one is mentioned in verse 19.
If you remember, in the previous passages, Hebrews has encouraged us to stand firm and hold fast to our faith and hope in Christ.
 
But why should we do that?  What assurance do we have that our faith and hope in Christ is not futile?  In other words, how do we know that our faith in Christ is anchored and secure?  This passage answers the question with a simple response: because God made a promise.
 
First, God made promises to Abraham (Genesis 12.1-3, and chapter 15).  Those promises are not tied to the faithfulness of Abraham, but to God’s faithfulness alone, and those promises find their fulfillment in Jesus the Messiah.
Second, God swore an oath by Himself that He would keep His promises, and His promises are unbreakable (verse 13).
These are the two unchangeable things that Hebrews says are the sure and steadfast anchor that we can hold onto as we entrust our lives to Jesus.
 
The point Hebrews is making is that our faith in Christ isn’t, as N.T. Wright notes, “whistling in the dark.  We don’t have faith in faith…., Christian hope isn’t optimism, a vague sense that things will probably turn out all right.  Christian faith is trusting—and going on trusting through thick and thin—in the God who made unbreakable promises and will certainly keep them.”
 
Our faith and hope in the promises of God, fulfilled and being fulfilled in Jesus, is our secure anchor.  Hebrews is going to unpack this further in the chapters ahead as the writer picks up again the theme of Jesus being our Great High Priest, who has gone before us, and through whom brings us into the very presence of God (19-20).
 
That being said, we must also realize that we are not promised that there won’t be any difficulties or struggles in this life.  Life is full of troubling storms, and the image of an anchor implies that we need a secure point to keep us from drifting or even being blown away.
What the image of an anchor promises us is that we will be kept safe and grounded through the storms of life.
 
The encouragement of Hebrews is once again to hold fast to the hope set before us (verse 19).  How does this promise help and encourage you as you live for Jesus today?
 
God bless you, and know that I am praying for you constantly.
Scott

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