Unsinkable Faith

Take hold of the anchor of hope God has provided: His promises are sure and steadfast.

The book of Hebrews is one of the most theologically dense books of the Bible. We may not often think of looking there for direct life application. However, scattered among such complex concepts as the priesthood of Melchizedek and the contrast between the old and new covenants, we also find deeply encouraging messages to inspire our daily walk. 

Chapter Four comforts us with the knowledge that our high priest can sympathize with our weaknesses and is full of grace and mercy for us (vv. 14-16). Chapter 10 offers assurance to those with a sincere heart and the admonition to “hold fast” to that assurance based on the righteousness of Christ (vv. 22-23).

Toward the end of the book, Chapters 11-12 recount the struggles and triumphs of those whose faith led them to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles, to be highlighted in “the faith chapter” and referred to as “a great cloud of witnesses” for the rest of us (Hebrews 12:1). The author to the Hebrews is building to a climax, a conclusion so firmly established that by the end, we should not doubt that we too, can overcome any challenge and stand accounted worthy in Christ. 

Near the middle of the book, there’s a verse that I never paid much attention to until a few years ago. Now, it’s one of my favorites. Hebrews 6:19 says, “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil.”   We want to explore this soul-anchoring hope by looking at some spiritual lessons we can take from literal anchors.

In Hebrews 6:13-18, the author uses God’s faithfulness to Abraham as evidence for why we should believe He will fulfill His promises to us. Although we know the ultimate fulfillment of the promises to Abraham will be in the future Kingdom on earth, this passage speaks specifically of the promise to give Abraham a child. If God has been faithful in the past, the author reasons that we can have confidence He will be in the future. Because of that demonstration of God’s faithfulness, we should be encouraged to grasp this soul-anchoring hope discussed in verse 19 fully. 

Let’s explore the word “hope” briefly to make sure we grasp its full meaning. We often use this word in a different way than the Biblical writers. The way we most commonly use the word “hope” is more akin to wishful thinking. A seven-year-old might say, “I hope I get an iPhone for my birthday,” even after being assured this will not happen. Biblically, “hope” usually means an expectation, something you have every reason to believe will happen. 

In the Old Testament, many Hebrew words for “hope” are often used to indicate an expectation or something one is waiting for with assurance. Psalm 37:9 says, “For evildoers will be cut off: but those who wait for the LORD, they will inherit the land.”1 The word “wait” in that verse is sometimes translated as “hope” or “expect.” That presents quite a different image, doesn’t it? We might say, “I hope it doesn’t rain,” or “I hope there’s no traffic this morning.” However, these are situations in which we would not be surprised by either outcome. Biblical hope isn’t like that. Biblical hope is waiting for something we have evidence of will happen. We probably would not say, “I hope the sun rises this morning,” but Scripturally, that word usage would be much more accurate. It’s something we fully believe will happen. 

In the New Testament, hope is also often seen as an expectation. Most of us are familiar with the Greek word elpis. Let’s look at a few verses that use this word, which help illustrate that biblical hope is more than just wishful thinking.

This last verse calls Jesus “our hope.” This hope is said to be “both sure and steadfast.” (Hebrews 6:19). A sure hope can be relied on. A hope that is steadfast, firm, and stable. The sureness of that hope is what the author to the Hebrews uses as the foundation to inspire his audience to overcome obstacles both great and small, mundane, and extraordinary.

In Hebrews 6, we are told that this hope is an anchor for our souls. Natural anchors serve just one purpose, but we can draw a number of lessons from their use. The purpose of an anchor is to prevent a vessel of some sort from moving very far. So, if our hope is an anchor, it will keep us from moving away. Let’s expand on that by looking at different movement types an anchor can prevent:

An anchor helps keep a vessel from blowing over or being destroyed in rough waters. In Acts 27, Paul was sailing as a prisoner on a ship bound for Rome. The ship got into trouble in a storm, and for several days, they couldn’t see where they were going because the skies were dark and the waters were rough. They had tossed their supplies overboard and hadn’t eaten in several days. They were in crisis. We’ve all had times like this in our lives—times of rough, stormy waters when we’re in danger of being hammered against the rocks somehow.

But Paul had been told by an angel that they would be delivered. After fourteen nights, they were approaching land, so they dropped their anchors to avoid running aground on the rocks. These anchors held them steady through the storm for a while. Eventually, they were told to jump ship and escape on the boards and other wreckage, but only after the anchors had served their purpose.

Another type of movement an anchor can prevent is slow drifting in calm times. Have you ever floated for a long time in the ocean and then looked up to discover you drifted farther than you realized? Drifting off course is easy, even when the waters are calm and peaceful. An anchor helps prevent this slow, imperceptible drifting that vessels—whether nautical or human—are prone to.

Hebrews 2:1 says that we can drift away if we aren’t paying attention. This drifting might be due to our complacency, as when we stop paying attention to maintaining our spiritual habits, such as attendance at meeting, prayer, acts of service, or Bible reading. Or it may be due to the currents or waves caused by others.

In Ephesians 4:14, Paul talks about those who are immature being “tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming.” We all need a solid anchor to prevent drifting, but the spiritually immature may be especially prone. This tendency should be a warning to us to continue intentional growth in our spirituality and also an indication that we may need to keep a watchful eye on those who are immature in the faith so we can help them stay their course.

An anchor does allow for a certain amount of movement. The anchor doesn’t move, but the attached vessel has some freedom. The anchor provides boundaries within which free movement can occur, just as our freedom in Christ provides boundaries within which we are at liberty to move about in various ways. In Galatians 5:13, Paul warned the Galatians not to let their freedom in Christ become an opportunity for the flesh. Without an anchor, we can go overboard with our new freedom, but when we’re anchored solidly to Christ and our future hope, we are free to serve the spirit and not the flesh.

In addition to looking at the purpose of an anchor, there are spiritual lessons we can learn from natural anchoring errors:

Having an inadequate anchor—Not every natural anchor will work in every situation. Similarly, if we put our faith in the wrong anchor (anything other than Christ as revealed in the gospel), our anchor can’t protect us because it’s not the right one. We can’t rely on our own strength as our anchor or on any other person or belief system to save us. Only the steadfast anchor of Christ can save. This hope we have is an anchor for our souls. A specific hope. 

Not setting or using the anchor properly—Anchors aren’t just tossed over the side of the boat and forgotten. Specific procedures must be followed for the anchor to do its job. In a natural sense, this includes letting the anchor down slowly and adjusting it until it’s in the right place. Obviously, we don’t do this with our spiritual anchor. Rather, we must recalibrate ourselves to align with our anchor continually. We should do this throughout each day and every week when we remember Jesus in the memorial service.

The overall lesson of this common mistake is that if you don’t use your anchor correctly, it won’t be effective. We must believe that our anchor is something tangible that we can rely on. It does no good to have the anchor, but never have used it practically. We can’t just know about God; we must rely on Him. We need to take God’s principles seriously and use the tools we find in Scripture to order our walk. If we don’t use our anchor properly, it can just weigh us down. We might try to follow the commands that work for us but dismiss others that are more difficult. In this case, the weight of that anchor is working against us.

Not being connected to the anchor—We must stay connected to our anchor for it to work. If we throw the anchor over the side of the boat and then realize we didn’t secure it on our end, the anchor is of no help. We have to stay yoked to Christ, abiding in him, to fully experience that anchor of hope in our lives (Matthew 11:30; John 15:4). We are assured that when we seek God, He will be found (James 4:8). We must do this continually, through prayer, meditation, reading, and discussing our beliefs with those around us.

In summary, our anchor of hope is sure and steadfast, not wishful thinking. Our anchor keeps us from being destroyed in rough waters, prevents drifting in calm times, and ensures we won’t be carried away by subtle currents of error while allowing for a certain amount of freedom of movement. We must have the correct anchor, use it properly, and stay connected. The author wants his audience to know the great lengths God has gone to convince us His promises are sure. Because of this surety, we can take hold of the anchor of hope God has provided and never let go.

Jessica Miller,
Richmond Chapel
Unamended Ecclesia, VA