Anchored to Christ

So there is an immutable purpose and there is an impossible act. And it leads, of course, in the third place, to this immovable anchor of which he speaks. Here he says... you notice how this comes in. He says:

“...we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope...” (Hebrews 6:18-19)

So it looks as though the anchor about which he is speaking is this hope of the gospel to which we hold fast, a hope that enters into the inner place. He is using the language of the Old Testament temple to describe the glories of God’s heavenly presence. This anchor enters into the inner place behind the curtain.   He is thinking of Jesus as the high priest where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

Now what is he saying here? He is saying there is this anchor, as it were, that has been thrown into the very heart of our Savior Jesus Christ.  And it is tied to our hearts, too, so that, in a sense, Jesus will either sink or swim with us.  But he will never allow the anchor to break. And the glorious thing he says is that we are not anchored on earth. We are anchored in heaven. And we are not just anchored in heaven, we are anchored to one who has gone into the very presence of God and who appears there on our behalf. He is the forerunner and in a sense he is not only steadying us in this world, he is hauling us in to the world that is to come. And that is why he adds this bit that maybe a bit odd to us that he has gone there as a forerunner on our behalf.

And I hope you understand that Jesus did not come from heaven for his own sake. He didn’t need to come from heaven for his own sake. And so he has not gone back to heaven for his own sake. He came for our sakes and our salvation. But he has gone back there for our sakes and our salvation. He is there in the inner presence of God and we are anchored to him.  And he is never going to let that anchor in any way be destroyed.

Read or download the full message by Sinclair Ferguson here.