Word of Salvation – Vol.53 No.46 – December 2008
An Anchor for the Soul
A New Year’s Sermon by Rev John Haverland
on Hebrews 6:16-20, esp. verse 19
Scripture Readings: Hebrews 6:4-20; Genesis 22:1-19
Brothers and Sisters in Christ.
Theme: The believers’ hope of eternal life is secure in God’s promises and Jesus our Priest.
Purpose: To explain the security of the believer’s hope as grounded in God’s promises and Jesus.
You may have seen some women wearing a necklace or a bracelet, and attached to that are three symbols: a cross, an anchor and a heart — representing faith, hope and love. The cross represents faith in the saving death of Christ, the anchor represents hope in Christ, and the heart pictures the love of Christ.
Today we will focus our attention on the anchor as a symbol of hope. This picture comes from verse 19: “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure” . Believers in the early church often used this to represent their certain hope in Christ. It was inscribed on many tombstones and in the catacombs.
The words of verse 19 are very encouraging, especially in times of struggle and trial and sadness. None of us know what will happen in our lives. We don’t know what tomorrow will bring, let alone what will happen in the next twelve months. The future is full of uncertainty. But one thing is certain: those who believe in Jesus Christ have the sure and firm promise of eternal life. God has given us salvation. That can be your hope and an anchor for your soul.
As we look at this we’ll see that our hope of eternal life is based on both God’s promises and on Christ’s work.
1. First of all, our hope is based on GOD’S PROMISES
This chapter begins with a very solemn warning against falling away. It was addressed to people who were part of the church but were not converted; they enjoyed the privileges of the covenant community but were not believers. In verses 4-6 the writer warns them that if they fall away they will be in great danger. Those who are part of the church at one time, and who then turn their backs on the Lord and on the church, are in danger of being lost forever. There comes a point where it is impossible to bring them back to repentance. Eventually God lets them follow their own path of self-destruction.
This is a solemn warning for all of us who are part of the church community. Don’t turn away from the Lord. Don’t leave the church of Christ. Don’t give up on the faith, because if you keep on rejecting Jesus you get to the point of no return. It is impossible to come back.
However, the writer was confident that this would not happen to them. In their work and love for God’s people he could see evidence that they were truly saved. He urged them to continue on. Verses 11-12: “We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.”
This mention of God’s promises led him to write about what God had promised to Abraham . God had made a promise to him: “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants” (vs 14). God promised him a son and assured him that he and his son would be blessed. That seemed impossible! Abraham was very old; so was his wife Sarah — and she was barren. It appeared they could not have children.
Yet God is faithful and his Word is true and his promises are reliable; God had made a promise and that was enough. But God knew that Abraham had some doubts, so in order to reinforce that promise he confirmed it with an oath. “I swear by myself…” he said to Abraham (Gen 22:16). He wanted to reassure Abraham that he really would have many descendants and that he would be blessed and that through him all the nations of the world would be blessed. So when the writer refers, in verse 18, to “two unchangeable things” , he was referring to God’s promise and God’s oath.
Just as God wanted to reassure Abraham of his promise, so too he wants to reassure us . The promises given to Abraham are also passed on to us, and the confirmation given to him is also given to us. We inherit all these promises because we are the children of Abraham; we are the new Israel. We who believe have the same faith as Abraham, and we believe in the same God, and we receive the same salvation. We are the people referred to in verse 17 as “the heirs of what was promised.” The promises given to Abraham are passed on to us.
God’s promises to us are certain and sure and unchangeable in Christ. They were fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the seed of Abraham. He is the One who was promised. It is through him that all the nations of the world are being blessed.
All God’s promises are given to us for our encouragement . This is what the writer says in the second part of verse 18: “that… we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged.”
This picture of a man fleeing or running is taken from the Old Testament. If a man killed another man accidentally in what we would call man-slaughter, he could flee to one of the cities of refuge that were located in various parts of the country. He needed to run to that city quickly before the Avenger of Blood caught up with him and killed him for killing another person. If he made it to the city he would be safe as long as he stayed and lived there.
The writer of this letter uses this as a picture of us. We are in great danger because we face the judgment of God. We are guilty and deserve death because of our sins. Because of that you must flee to Christ. You must go to him and find in him forgiveness for your sins. If you remain with him you will be safe because he has taken the judgment of God on himself. He has paid for your sins with his precious blood.
If we go to Christ we will be able “to take hold of the hope offered to us” (vs 18b). This is the hope that God has promised in the Bible. It is the hope of eternal life; the hope of being with the Lord in heaven for all eternity; the hope of receiving the inheritance laid up for us; the hope that we will be with Christ Jesus and be like him. This is the hope offered to you. This is the greatest hope of all — to be with the Lord Jesus. The hope of heaven is not first about forgiveness, or eternal happiness, or the absence of sorrow; it is rather about being with Christ — this is our hope! You need to “take hold” of this hope. You need to grasp it firmly. You need to get a firm grip on it.
Some believers live without a strong sense of assurance. They are not “greatly encouraged” . They struggle with doubt and they lack the certainty of salvation. If this describes you, then you must take hold of the Lord Jesus Christ. You must believe that he died on the cross to pay the full price for all your sins. You must believe the promises contained in the Scriptures and apply them to yourself personally. Christ died for you. Trust him. Rely on him.
Have you done this? Have you laid hold of this hope? Do you have the certainty of eternal life? Do you have a strong and firm assurance of salvation.
God wants you to be “greatly encouraged” , to have a strong consolation. Rely on the sure promise of God that if you believe in Jesus, you will be saved. Our hope is based on God’s promises.
2. Secondly, it is based on JESUS AS OUR HIGH PRIEST
The High Priest in the Old Testament was the mediator between God and Israel. He represented the people before God. One of the ways he did that was to offer sacrifices on their behalf. The most important sacrifice of the year was offered once a year on the Day of Atonement. On that day the High Priest would take the blood of the sacrifice behind the curtain into the Most Holy Place, a room that symbolised the presence of God among his people. There he would sprinkle the blood on the cover of the Ark of the Covenant. He would do that on behalf of the people.
His actions pointed forward to Jesus. Jesus is our Mediator and High Priest as well as the sacrifice for sin. He paid for our sins with his own blood and then he rose from the dead. After that he ascended into heaven and he entered the presence of God in heaven. He did that “on our behalf” (vs 20). He did that for us. He is our representative in heaven. He is there interceding for us and reminding God the Father of what he has done for us.
Jesus is a remarkable high priest in that he is very different from those men in the Old Testament who served in that office. They were imperfect and so they had to sacrifice for their own sin and then that of the people; but Jesus was perfect. They were only men and they grew old and died; but Jesus was the eternal Son of God and so he lives forever to intercede for us.
This is why the writer of Hebrews says that he was not like the priests who came from the tribe of Levi but rather that he was like Melchizedek who was a king and a priest; a theme that he develops in chapter 7. We have a great High Priest in heaven.
Jesus is also described here as the one “who went before us” (vs 20a). This phrase translates one Greek word which occurs only here in the New Testament. The Greek word is prodromos which literally means a forerunner. It refers to someone who went in front of another to prepare the way. At that time it was used to describe the light troops who were sent forward as scouts, leading the way for the rest of the army.
This is what Jesus has done for us; he has gone before us into heaven to prepare the path for us. He is the forerunner. He has led the way and made it safe for us to follow. Jesus explained this to his disciples: “I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (John 14:3).
All this gives you a great security (vs 19). That security is described using the picture of an anchor: “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.” Think of your life as a small boat out on the open sea. You are crossing the ocean heading for a safe harbour. On the way you are exposed to wind and waves, to strong currents and violent storms. Your boat is tossed about. Sometimes you are threatened with shipwreck. In many of these situations a captain will use an anchor to hold his boat steady so that it remains in one place. That anchor sinks to the bottom of the sea bed; the sailors cannot see where the anchor is resting but they know that their boat is secure.
It is the same for us. Our hope is in Jesus who is in heaven. He has gone there, into the presence of God, and our hope is there. Our anchor is cast in heaven. We are “moored to God himself” , through Jesus Christ. We can’t see God in heaven nor can we see the Lord Jesus, but we know that our lives are held steady because our hope is in God.
An anchor is especially important when there are strong winds and high seas. In these situations a captain will drop anchor to ride out the storm; the anchor will hold the ship firm even when the waves crash against the boat or wash over it.
This is also true for us. You may be going through storms and high winds and strong currents; or you may face these things in the future. If you put your hope in the Lord Jesus then you will be able to ride these out. You can be calm, even when troubles threaten to overwhelm you, knowing that your ship is safe with the Lord Jesus. He will look after you. He will protect you. You will be “firm and secure” .
A hymn expresses this as a prayer:
Jesus, Saviour, pilot me
Over life’s tempestuous sea;
Unknown waves before me roll,
Hiding rocks and treacherous shoal;
Chart and compass come from Thee;
Jesus, Saviour, pilot me. (PsH 460)
Is that your prayer? Are you looking to Jesus to pilot you through life? Are you trusting him for chart and compass? Is your hope in Christ Jesus? Or are you trusting in something or someone else? Are you relying on your own navigational skills? Are you trusting your own strength? Do you think you’ll be able to get yourself through life without any help from God? Are you planning to go it alone, sailing solo?
You need to put your hope in Christ.
“Wondrous Sovereign of the sea,
Jesus, Saviour, pilot me.”
If you trust in Jesus Christ then he will keep you afloat right to the end of your journey, which is heaven, our eternal harbour. That will be our eternal rest. Then the storms and troubles and trials of life will be over.
But you aren’t there yet. So you need to keep going, through the rest of your life on this earth. You can do that with confidence and with great encouragement if you keep trusting in God and in all his great promises.
And you can also keep going with hope if you keep looking to Jesus.
One of our hymns expresses this well (PsH 454:1,4)
“Nearer, still nearer, close to thy heart;
Draw me my Saviour, so precious thou art.
Fold me O fold me close to thy breast;
Shelter me safe in that haven of rest.
Nearer, still nearer, while life shall last,
Till safe in glory my anchor is cast;
Through endless ages, ever to be
Nearer, my Saviour, still nearer to Thee.”
As you travel through this year, trust in God’s promises and rely on the Lord Jesus Christ. Then you will be able to take hold of the hope the Lord gives you, a hope that is “an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.”
Amen.