THE REFORMED WITNESS HOUR
"My Soul is Anchored in
Heaven”
Rev.
May 20, 2007; No. 3359
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prca.orgDear radio friends,
Forty days after Jesus cast off death and arose from the grave, He was
lifted up from the earth into heaven. We
call it the Ascension. Jesus Christ, in
His glorified body, is now in heaven.
What does the
ascension of Jesus into heaven mean?
The Scriptures are
full of its significance.
Colossians 3:1, 2,
“Seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth
on the right hand of God. Set your
affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” Or,
I Peter 3:22,
“Who is gone into heaven,
and is on the right hand of God.” That
is, because He ascended into heaven, Jesus is our King, who rules the world.
But the main,
central, blessing of the ascension is the certainty of the believers’
salvation, the absolute surety of the hope that is to be found in Jesus
Christ. Jesus’ entrance into heaven
means that all who, by the grace of God, belong to Him
are secure in Him and have the absolute certainty of being fully
glorified. All who are in Christ are now
in heaven. Our soul is anchored in
heaven. Jesus Christ cast an anchor into
heaven when He ascended. And He will
draw us there to be with Him. And now,
as we are in the tides of this life with so many things pulling us away and
working against our faith, or as we endure stormy waves of this life that would
dash us and to destroy our faith, we, through the ascension of Jesus Christ,
are anchored in heaven.
There are the tides
of grief that pull, and despair, and depression, and loss, and loneliness, and
rejection of friends. And, like a boat,
we can be pulled away from Christ. There
are the stormy winds of evil lusts and temptations and greed as great waves
seeking to cast us upon the rocks of wickedness. What will hold us?
Jesus Christ is
ascended into heaven. The anchor of our
faith and hope is secure in Him.
I call your
attention today to a very beautiful passage concerning the ascension of Jesus. It is
Hebrews 6:19
and 20. There we read: “Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul,
both sure and stedfast, and which entereth
into that within the veil; whither the forerunner is for us entered, even
Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.”
The apostle is
encouraging us in this epistle not to let go of our hope in Jesus Christ. In verse 18, he has just said that we are to
“lay hold upon the hope
set before us.” Paul, in
writing Hebrews, is writing to Jewish Christians who were being tempted under
persecution to go back to their former religion of Judaism. Instead of doing that, he says, “Let us hold on”—
Hebrews 6:1,
“Let us go on unto perfection [unto completion].” He says, concerning those who fall away
(6:8), that they are thorns and briars and that their end is that they will be
burned. He says in verse 9, “But,
beloved, we are persuaded better things of you.” And then in verse 11 he says that we desire
that you “show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the
end.” The apostle is seeking to
encourage us not to become slothful and lackadaisical and seduced by this
world. He says to us in verse 12, follow them “who through faith and patience inherit the
promises.” He says to us in this chapter
that God has given us the promises in Christ.
And, so to speak, God has gone the extra mile, in that He has attached
an oath to these promises. He has sworn,
and He has sworn by Himself, the most precious reality in the universe. So the apostle says, “By two immutable
things, two unchangeable things, God’s promise and God’s oath, He has given us
strong encouragement. We must lay hold
upon the hope that is set before us.”
And then the
apostle says “This hope is sure. It’s
like an anchor of the soul—because Jesus our High Priest hath entered into
heaven for us.” When Jesus ascended into
heaven forty days after the resurrection, He cast the anchor of our salvation
into heaven. Our hope is secure. We have our soul anchored in heaven.
The Holy Spirit is
giving to us here a figure of speech, a picture, which is very striking. When we think of the ascension of Jesus
Christ, says the apostle,
we must think of an anchor that is sure, and steadfast. We must think of massive hooks and weights,
like the anchor pulled up on the aircraft-carrier Abraham Lincoln. Only this anchor is not cast down into the
depths of the water to hold a ship. It
is cast up into heaven to hold our souls.
This anchor, says the apostle, has been cast into that which is within
the veil. Therefore, we have a hope in
us that is as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast. Our hope is the future glory, the complete
blessings in Jesus Christ, the inheritance and the promises of eternal life and
salvation when we shall be with Him.
That is our hope. He says, this hope is an anchor of our soul. It keeps our soul from drifting off into
unbelief or wickedness. Our hope of
heaven anchors us in this present world.
And he says that
this anchor is sure and steadfast, for it has entered into that within the
veil. The idea, as I said, is not a
chain, an anchor on the end of a chain, going clang, clang, clang
down into the bottom of the harbor or lake, into its mud. But the idea is of a grappling hook being
thrown up. This hook (anchor) goes
beyond the veil and catches fast hold of what is within the veil. It is not an anchor down in the rocks of the
sea or on the sandy bottom. But it is an
anchor that is cast into that which is in heaven, the very throne of God.
The Holy Spirit is
referring to the Old Testament tabernacle in the time of Moses, which had its
veil separating the
Now, the apostle
says, in the ascension of Jesus Christ, the anchor has been cast beyond that
veil and it is hooked into the ark of the covenant of God. It is hooked into the very throne of
God. It is sure and steadfast. When Christ ascended into heaven He became
the anchor of our soul, so that we are held sure and steadfast to the throne of
God. That anchor is not going
anywhere. It is sure and steadfast.
And all of this is
based on the glorious truth of Christ’s ascension into heaven. The apostle says, “Whither [that is, into
heaven behind the veil] the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.” Jesus’
ascension is the casting of the anchor of our soul into heaven. As a ship is anchored, our souls are anchored
in heaven by His ascension. We are
moored there. He is the forerunner,
“Whither the forerunner is for us entered,” the One
who has gone before us, the One who has come to appear for us in heaven. He is the One who is the forerunner for us. He represents the people of God. He represents God’s children. And He has gone ahead of us now into heaven. And His presence in heaven is as the anchor
of our souls.
The point is
this. By His infinitely precious blood,
Jesus Christ has opened heaven for us, and now, as the ascended Lord Jesus, He
has gone before us. His presence in
heaven at the throne of God is an anchor for us so that we may say that our
hope of going to heaven is sure and steadfast.
United to Christ who is in heaven, our soul is anchored. Our hope is sure and steadfast.
We need,
desperately, this anchor of the soul.
A ship in the
harbor or in the inlet needs anchorage so that it is not pulled out by the
tide. And a boat off a rocky shore, off
cliffs, needs an anchor so that it is not pushed by the waves upon and up onto
the rocks to be destroyed.
So our souls, which
belong to Jesus Christ, are now in this world and we need an anchorage. We need something reliable. We need something sure. The tides of grief pull upon our hearts to
sweep us into despair and hopelessness.
There are the currents of trials and struggles that cause us to say,
“What’s the use? It’s no good. I can’t believe anymore. Why should we keep trying? We’re going to quit.”
And then there are
waves. The stormy winds of temptations
blow. They come upon us. Or those sudden, sinful urgings of the flesh
appear within our mind as a storm to cast us upon the rocks of sin and
destruction. I need an anchor. My soul otherwise would be swept away into
despair or crashed upon the rocks.
Now I have an
anchor in Jesus Christ. Christ has
ascended. He is the One to whom we
belong by the grace of God. He is
ascended and is in heaven. He is not
going anywhere. That anchor holds. It is sure and steadfast. For a certainty, our hope of life eternal is
sure and steadfast. For Jesus has
ascended there for us.
But now there is a
question. And this question means much
to me. Here is the question: Is the anchor of my soul as firmly attached
to my soul as it is to the throne of God?
Does this question concern you?
Is the figure of speech in this passage this: that one end of the chain (attached to the
anchor) by the virtue of Christ’s work in ascension is firm and steadfast,
wrapped around the ark of the covenant upon the rock of the throne of God; but
now the chain or the rope dangles from heaven before my face and I need to grab
it and I need to hold on by my own strength?
The question is this: Is security
only on one end of the rope, one end of the chain? Christ has entered into heaven—He is
there. But the other end, whether or not
I actually am pulled there—that depends upon me? If we were on a boat, you say to me, “I’ve got
the very best anchor. Look at it. See these prongs. It will grab hold of anything. Feel the weight. It will keep us secure. It grabs.
Nothing will pull us loose. We’ll
be OK.” But it is not attached to the
boat! I see the end of the rope floating
in the water. I am not encouraged.
My soul is only as
secure as both ends of the chain. If
Christ ascended and went to heaven and everything is there and everything is
secure there, but He left the work for me to take hold of the other end—if the
other end is not attached by the same mighty grace of God—then I am not
encouraged a bit!
Is the picture here
of an anchor bound steadfastly to the throne of God in heaven so that nothing
could tear that anchor loose, but the rope is left hanging in the air—is that
the point of the text and, therefore, would you say, “Take hold and then you
will have assurance”? Does it depend
then upon my pitiful strength, my tenacity, to be kept from being blown out to
sea or swept unto the rocks of wickedness?
The answer is No! The anchor of
our soul means not only that the anchor is fixed in heaven by Christ but also
that by the same power of Jesus Christ it is firmly attached to my soul. That is the comfort here.
We read, “Whither
the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an
high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.” The One who has gone before us is Jesus. He is the One of whom the angels said to
Joseph that He shall save His people from their sins. He is the Savior who was attached to us by
the eternal grace and love of God, by the strong fasteners of God’s everlasting
love. We were united to Him by grace
alone. And nothing is stronger than
God’s love that holds Christ to us and us to Christ. The boat’s anchor chain cannot be sheared
off, because it has been fastened by the wonderful work of this same God—by Him
who is the high priest, we read, after the order of Melchisedec. And that is the reference to Jesus Christ,
not only in His sacrificial death, but in His mighty power as a king (Melchisedec the king).
Yes, the apostle
says, hold fast to the profession of your faith. Show diligence. But that does not attach you to Christ but is
the fruit of your having been attached to Christ. If you lay hold, it is because God has laid
hold of you.
Jesus Christ died
not to secure only one end, but both ends—to secure your heart to Him and to
secure us to heaven.
Listen to
Hebrews 13:20, 21:
“Now the God of peace, that
brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep,
through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good
work to do his will, working in you [equipping you] that which is well-pleasing
in his sight…to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
Our being bound to Christ was purchased by Christ. It is His work in us. If we think that of our own will, fallen in
sin, we are the ones who grab hold of the rope, and that we are the only ones
who can do that, otherwise it will not be done, then that is arrogant. Then we do not know sin. Then we do not know the power of the world. No, we say to Him, to Jesus be the glory.
When I get to
heaven, I will not say to God, “Well, it was by my good biceps and the strength
of my hands that I laid hold upon an offer of salvation. Other people couldn’t hang on to it, but I
did!” No the ascension of Jesus Christ
declares that our hope is firm on both ends because it is the work of Christ on
both ends. It is the work of Christ to
earn for us a place in heaven. And it is
the work of Christ to knit our souls to Him so that as He is in heaven we, by
His mighty grace, shall also be taken to heaven. We are not left to depend upon our weak
hands. But Christ is our anchor who has
anchored down one side in heaven and has anchored us to Him by His grace.
That is what the
ascension of Jesus Christ says to us. It
declares to us a gospel of wonderful comfort!
It declares that our salvation depends upon Jesus. And it announces to us that He has done all
for us, so that we, by faith, may rest in Him.
There are many forces that seem to take us away from Him and would cause
us to give up our hope. There are griefs and trials and sicknesses and sins, and all of the
time that we are tempted to lose sight of Him.
But salvation, by the grace of God, is secure in Christ!
Our security does
not, however, lead us to sinful carelessness, to wicked apathy, to
God-dishonoring indifference. But this
security causes us to lay hold of Christ.
You ask, “Well, if
it’s true that the anchor is lodged in the Holy of Holies in the very heart of
God, and that the other end is bound to me by the same mighty work of God, then why does God says (as He says in verse 18 of
Hebrews 6)
that we might lay hold
upon the hope that is set before us? Why
does He tell us to lay hold?” Here is
the answer: The ascended Christ has not
purchased for us freedom from holding on, but the power to hold on. He has not said, “Don’t
hold.” But He says, “I have
enabled you, by My grace, to hold fast.”
The ascension of
Jesus Christ has not nullified our need to be diligent and to hold fast to our
faith. But the ascension of Jesus Christ
is the empowerment of our wills by His divine grace to hold fast. The ascension of Jesus Christ has not
canceled the command to hold fast, but it is the fulfillment of that
command. It has not canceled the
exhortation, but it is the triumph of the exhortation.
Philippians 3:12:
“Not as though I had already attained, either
were already perfect: but I follow
after, if that I may apprehend [lay hold on] that for which also I am
apprehended of Christ.” I desire to lay
hold of that for which Christ has already laid hold of me. I press to lay hold of that for which I was
laid hold of by Christ Jesus. My
security in Christ leads me to diligence.
Lay hold on the
hope that is set before us, the hope that is as an anchor of the soul, says the
apostle. To lay hold is heart work. It is not something that you do with your
hands but with your heart. It is not
something that you do with your arms or legs, but with your heart. You can be paralyzed and on your back in a nursing home.
You can be in a
waiting room and say, “There’s nothing I can do.” Yes, lay hold, by the grace of God in your
heart, upon the promises of Christ.
Meditate upon Christ. Think of
Him. See Him—born, crucified, risen from
the dead, ascending up into heaven. He
is your forerunner. He is your
King. He is your Head. He is your Lord. He is your Husband. He is your Friend. He is your Savior!
Lay hold.
What is your soul
anchored to? What holds it in sorrow, in
trials, in temptations? Cast your anchor
into what? Money? Yourself? Pleasures? Booze? There is only one anchor that pulls you
up. There is only one hope and that is
Christ. This anchor holds and draws you
until at last you, too, enter into glory and possess the things that are to be
found within the veil—the glorious things of God.
Let us pray.
Father, we thank Thee for this word—such a glorious word of our security and salvation in Jesus Christ, the ascended One. Now give us that grace whereby we lay hold of this hope in the midst of the trials and sorrows of this life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Last modified: 06june2007