A Sure and Steadfast Anchor

By Pastor Chad

Life is not easy. The world can be a scary place. It is natural to seek some sort of security in life. Many anchor their lives to (what is perceived to be) a reliable earthly foundation–financial stability, a secure job, or a diversified investment portfolio. What if it all vanished? What is your anchor? Where is your ultimate hope? On Sunday morning, I argued that the only sure and steadfast anchor upon which we can hope is Jesus. Why? Why should Jesus be our anchor? 

To answer that question, I must back up a bit. As Christians, we believe God is different from any other being in existence. There is no one like Him. He is distinct and greater than anyone else. For one, God is unchangeable. By that, I mean His character and nature do not change. Furthermore, His unchangeableness means He does not break His promises or go back on His word. Human beings are completely different in this regard. Even when we may have the best of intentions, we sometimes break our promises. But not God. When He says He will do something, He will do it. Take for example His promise to Abraham. Hebrews 6:13–14 recounts this promise when the author writes, “For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, saying, ‘Surely I will bless you and multiply you.’” God promised by His unchangeable name that He would bless Abraham. And guess what? God kept His promise. He did exactly what He said He would do. Sure, He didn’t fulfill the promise on Abraham’s timeline–or in the way Abraham expected. But He did fulfill His promise. 

In fact, that promise that God made to Abraham over 4,000 years ago still applies to us today. God promises to bless Abraham and to bless all nations through the descendents of Abraham. He fulfilled this promise by the redemptive work accomplished in Jesus. Thus, we are benefactors of the promise God made to Abraham, too. All who repent and believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ receive an eternal blessing from God. That is, all who come to Jesus are children of the promise–children of Abraham. 

It is because of this that the author of Hebrews can write, “We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul…” (6:19). We can anchor our hope in Jesus because He has accomplished what God promised to Abraham. He has secured our place in eternity in the presence of God. Thus, we can trust that our ultimate hope is not what we accumulate here, but what we have inherited in Christ. We can trust in our unchanging God. Just as He kept His promise to Abraham, we know He will keep His promise to us.