Hebrews 6:11-20 The Anchor for your Soul

Bible Study Series: Jesus in Hebrews - Better by Far!

Bible Study Lesson: Hebrews 6:11-20: The Anchor for your Soul

by I Gordon

The passage before us today is Hebrews 6:11-20 and it contains a wonderful phrase that we would do well to remember. Speaking about the nature of God and the promises He makes to those that are His, it says 'We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.' I love that. If ever there was a time when our soul required an anchor, it is now. There are many in this world that are not coping with the storms of life that this planet, especially in this day and age, are throwing up. Many feel battered from many sides, whether it be from financial storms, heath or societal tensions, to name a few. The pressure upon society is causing cracks that we haven't seen in past generations. So what do we need? We need an anchor. Both as individuals, and as a community, we need something, or even better, someone, that keeps us firmly planted and grounded, even while the storms increase.

So here is what we will explore today:

• The two cousins, Patience and Waiting - Why are they important and how are they developed in your life?
• The promises of God - should we do more with them that just underline them in yellow? 
• The anchor of God - What is this that holds us steady in the storms of life?

The Two Cousins: Patience & Waiting

Heb 6:11-15  We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure.  (12)  We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. (13) When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself,  (14)  saying, "I will surely bless you and give you many descendants."  (15)  And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.

This section begins with another of the many exhortations in Hebrews, stressing the need to be diligent in your faith right to the end. Again, the background to this was the apostacy of some Jews in the first century who came into the Church, believed for a time, but not being firmly anchored in God or in truth, they returned to Judaism when the pressure came on. They went back to their Hebrew roots and the faith of their upbringing. So the writer reminds them that you can't just give up on Christ and turn away. It is through faith and patience that we inherit what has been promised. And to make his point about patience and perseverance, the writer points back to someone that these Hebrews were well aware of... the father of the Jewish faith - Abraham.   

The example of Abraham is one of great encouragements for all those waiting for, and trusting upon, a promise of God. The Lord promised Abraham an heir and despite being past the age of child-bearing, scripture says Abraham and Sarah waited patiently and received what was promised. Now that is not to say there wasn't a not-so-small Ishmael 'bump' in the road. That wee hiccup is still causing issues in the Middle East today! But I actually love how the New Testament re-tells some of the Old Testament stories because often the times of doubt and even faltering are completely overlooked. This, I believe, is a picture of how it will be at the bema seat of Christ. The doubts and times of fleshly mistakes are burned up and only that which is of faith will remain and be rewarded. Our Lord will look for that which He can praise and reward in each person (1 Cor 4:5). So we should all be encouraged by this. 

Now our text says that when 'God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself.' Which raises the question - why did God have to swear an oath? And why do people swear by oath? I like what R.C Sproul said about our use of oaths and vows:

“The reason we have oaths and vows is that all people are liars.” 
R.C Sproul

Short and sweet, and right on point! Now you will remember what Jesus said concerning oaths:

Mat 5:33-37  Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.'  (34)  But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne;  (35)  or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King.  (36)  And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black.  (37)  Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

Jesus said we shouldn't give oaths because we should simply be honest. Our yes should be yes and our no, no. So that raises the question about why God had to swear an oath to Abraham. I hope you know this, but God never lies. His yes is yes and His no is no. Always. Nothing else is required by God. But God swore and gave an oath to Abraham for our issues, not His! He gave an oath to confirm the seriousness and surety of this promise with absolute certainty... for our sake. Back in the day oaths reinforced trust and doubly confirmed that the one giving the oath would remain true to his promise. Again, God didn't do this because He sometimes can't be trusted but because He wanted to emphasize how important this promise was. And why was this important? Well, because the answer wasn't going to come quickly! Abraham was going to have to wait... and wait... and then wait some more. So how long did Abraham wait for this promised child?

• The original promise given by God to make Abraham into a great nation, was given when Abraham was 75 years old, after he departed Haran. (Gen 12:4)
• Later, a 100 year old Abraham laughed when God said Sarah would bear a child, saying, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old?” (Gen 17:17)
• Later we read: “Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.” (Gen 21:5)

So Abraham had to patiently wait 25 years from the initial promise until he saw the promised child Isaac born. So... another question - why did God make Abraham wait so long and why do we have to sometimes wait so long? 

Examples of Waiting & Patience in Scripture

Now we shouldn't just think that waiting and patience were unique to Abraham... far from it!¹ We can think of what Job went through as he waited for an answer in the midst of his utter confusion on what was happening in his world. Noah had to work on an Ark for decades while no rain was ever seen - yet he continued chopping, sawing and hammering because that is what God had told him! What about Joseph, patiently waiting after being betrayed, enslaved and falsely imprisoned... all the while wondering how long it will be before God acts and justice is seen. Or Moses, waiting for 40 years in Midian, shepherding sheep, despite that inner conviction that he is to be used by God to deliver his people. We have Hannah, patiently waiting on God for a child while getting taunted by her husband's 'other wife'. Now that sounds like a lovely home environment... not! Even the great David had to patiently wait. He was anointed by Samuel to be king, but then had to flee and hide in caves while Saul and his army sought his life. Scholars believe this period of his life went for 10-15 years before becoming king at age 30 (2 Sam 5:4). And I have always loved the short story of Simeon in the New Testament, a man who was given a promise of seeing the Messiah and patiently waited for that day to come. 

Luk 2:25-32  Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.  (26)  It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ.  (27)  Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required,  (28)  Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:  (29)  Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace.  (30)  For my eyes have seen your salvation,  (31)  which you have prepared in the sight of all people,  (32)  a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel."

So why does God make us wait? And what does scripture say about patience?

• Firstly, patience is a fruit of the Spirit. So it is what the Holy Spirit seeks to develop in our life: Galatians 5:22–23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”
• And it is produced through times of testing (sorry about that, but some things only come the hard way!): James 1:2–4 “Consider it pure joy… whenever you face trials… because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.”
  Romans 5:3–4 “We also glory in our sufferings, because suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”
• Patience is also inseparably linked to the hope God gives us: Romans 12:12 “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”
  Romans 8:25 “But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.”
• We are to act patiently towards others: Ephesians 4:2 “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.”
  Colossians 3:12–13 “Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience… forgive as the Lord forgave you.”
• And it is established by the example of Jesus and others: 1 Timothy 1:16 “Christ Jesus might display His immense patience as an example for those who would believe in Him.”
  Hebrews 6:12 “Do not become lazy, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.”

Two Unchangeable Things

Heb 6:16-18  Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument.  (17)  Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath.  (18)  God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged.

So as we have seen, God confirmed His promise, for Abraham's benefit, with an oath. Scripture calls these, the promise and the oath, as 'two unchangeable things'.²  

"That by two immutable things"—what are the two immutable (or unchangeable) things? The Lord promised Abram descendants as innumerable as the stars of heaven (see Gen_15:4-5), then later He confirmed His promise with an oath (see Gen_22:16-18). God confirmed His unchangeable Word of promise by a second unchangeable thing, His oath. These two immutable things gave Abraham encouragement and assurance. Now what are the two immutable things for us today? Not only do we have the promise made to Abraham for our encouragement, but we have a far richer revelation of God's love—the gift of His Son. The (1) death and resurrection of Christ and (2) His ascension and intercession for us are the two immutable things.
J. Vernon McGee

This should give us tremendous encouragement today for God never changes - Our Savior is the same yesterday, today and forever! (Heb 13:8). So what are some of the promises God has given us? There are so many but I'll just mention 5 from the book of Hebrews. These are promises to lay hold of:

Laying hold of the promises of God

Consider the following five promises (we'll keep in short), coming from the One who cannot lie! It may just be that you need to be reminded of one of these today.

1. The promise of help in times of temptation  Heb 2:18 — “Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”
2. The promise of rest for God’s people  Heb 4:9–11 — “There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his...”
3. The promise to save completely Heb 7:25  Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.
4. The promise of reward for faith  Heb 11:6 — “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
5. The promise that God will never leave believers  Heb 13:5–6 — “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’ So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?’”

So what do we do with those, and many others? You have probably heard about the Pastor who asked his congregation what they do with the promises of God. To which one old lady said 'I underline them in yellow!' Well, good start, but hopefully not the end of the matter! We must renew our minds constantly with the promises of God and thank Him for them. Especially when struggling. I had a young 15 year old girl write in to the website this week, who despite growing up in a Christian family and asking the Lord for forgiveness and salvation several times, didn't have assurance of salvation. She was struggling and said the thought of the Lord's return gave her a sense of fear that brought her to tears. Now she believes, but is focusing on herself and her feelings instead of God's promises. So I wrote back and said the following (amongst other things):

"There was a lovely lady Christian called Corrie Ten Boom who was alive during WWII and she, along with her family, hid Jews in their home so that they wouldn't be taken to the concentration camps. She went on to be a great speaker and Bible teacher. One thing that she said which always speaks to me is this: “If you look at the world, you'll be distressed. If you look within, you'll be depressed. If you look at God you'll be at rest.” So if I were you I would stop asking whether you are a 'good enough Christian' and start focusing on the promises God gives in the Bible concerning salvation to those that believe. And be very honest with the Lord... tell Him that you have given your heart to Him several times and asked for salvation several times, but you don't have the assurance of salvation. Tell Him about your doubts and ask Him to strengthen your faith. God loves an honest humble prayer and He loves you. When you start to have doubts, thank Him! Find something to thank Him for... every day.  Even in the midst of your doubts, turn it all around and say 'Lord Jesus, I'm looking at myself again and I'm having doubts about my salvation. But I thank you because I do know that you died for me and the whole world. And I thank you that you promised salvation to those that believe. Thank you for your promises which are true. Help me in my unbelief Lord and thank you that you care for me. Amen!' "

And this goes for whatever we are struggling with. If you look at the world you'll be distressed, if you look at God (and His promises) you'll be at rest!

As our passage says, we are to flee from our own thoughts and doubts and take hold of the hope offered to us so that we may be greatly encouraged!³ 

The Anchor for your Soul

Heb 6:19-20  We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain,  (20)  where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.

So this brings us to the last verses in this chapter and the title and main point of this message - "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure." I love that phrase but firstly, what is the hope that it speaks of which is as strong as an anchor for the soul? What hope is this? We have an unfailing hope, given to believers, through His character and His promises. Simply put, as we have seen, God cannot lie. And so this hope based on the promises of the One who cannot lie, acts as an anchor for our soul. Now what is an anchor used for? A ship or boat needs an anchor to keep it steady and secure in the storms that rage. Without an anchor the ship will simply drift and end up wrecked on some rocks. Now as I said at the start, there are so many pressures coming upon people in this day. There are so many more rare and sudden health issues that are being seen. So many more financial pressures and mental health challenges. It's like life used to be fairly simple and today we have so much confusion around that the young don't even know whether they are a boy or a girl! But it isn't just the young that are struggling. 

This anchor, scripture says, enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain. Now in the natural, even some boat anchors can fail. Maybe they are an incorrect size. Maybe there are unsuitable seabed conditions and little to hold onto. Maybe the length of the anchor rope isn't what you thought it was! Maybe you go to pull the anchor up and only the rope comes up! So listen believer - our anchor rope is everlasting and its anchor is as strong as the promises of God. It doesn't go down into the murky depths and shifting sands of this world, where there is no certainty for any of us, but reaches upward, all the way into heaven itself! It goes right into the inner sanctuary where Jesus is - and it cannot get any more secure than that!  

And our scripture says that the inner sanctuary of Heaven is 'where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf.' The NASB version says 'where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us.' There is an interesting Greek word used here for 'forerunner' which is 'pródomos', meaning 'to run ahead or before'. 

“Prodomos,” used to describe Jesus, is usually translated “forerunner” and would have had a picturesque meaning for the people of Jesus’ day. The harbor of Alexandria was very difficult to approach. When the great corn ships came into it, a little pilot boat was sent out to guide them in. It went before them, and they followed it as it led them along the channel to safe waters. That pilot boat was called the prodomos. In the Roman army the prodomoi were the reconnaissance troops. They went ahead of the main body of the army to blaze the trail and ensure that it was safe for the rest of the troops to follow. These two things illustrate what Jesus is saying about himself in this passage. He goes first, to make it safe for those who follow. He blazed the way to heaven and to God that we might follow in his steps.
William Barclay on John’s Gospel

Those without this heavenly anchor have no eternal hope. That which they place their faith in has no security or foundation. It is simply the shifting sands of this world. It has been written that:

George Bernard Shaw is perhaps most renowned as a free thinker and liberal philosopher. In his last writings we read, “The science to which I pinned my faith is bankrupt. Its counsels, which should have established the millennium, led, instead, directly to the suicide of Europe. I believed them once. In their name I helped to destroy the faith of millions of worshippers in the temples of a thousand creeds. And now they look at me and witness the great tragedy of an atheist who has lost his faith.

But thankfully, God works when people are desperate and look for answers. I heard recently the biggest revival in American churches is currently happening in the young adults. Gen Z (born 1997-2012) and Millennials (born 1981-1996) make up the highest percentage of Church goers.⁴ The article said this is "A historic reversal: For the first time in decades, younger adults—Gen Z and Millennials—are now the most regular churchgoers, outpacing older generations, who once formed the backbone of church attendance." This is awesome. God is at work in the young despite the all the current confusion in the world. They are seeing there is no hope in the confusion of this world and He is drawing them back to the solid foundation and hope that comes from faith in the Lord Jesus! Again, that is awesome! And coupled with this is the fact that Bible sales were up considerably last year (2024) and even further this year. So again, people are looking for answers - they are looking for hope, peace and surety in this ever changing world!

Conclusion 

So as we wrap up, what have we seen? The author of Hebrews has shown that there are three certainties that give the believer hope for the current life and the one to come:

1. God's promises have been given to the believer and they have never failed.
2. God has confirmed His promises with an oath - not for His sake, but for ours!
3. These are both backed by His character - for it is impossible for God to lie and His purposes are unchangeable!

These give us, as believers, tremendous hope. They are said to act like an anchor that holds us secure and sure in the storms of life. And as we wait patiently for God's word, the Spirit within developed something important to all of us - proven character. Not just character, but character that has been proven through the tests of time. Let me just end with a song that I really like by David Crowder, appropriately called 'The Anchor'. It has the following lyrics: 

And to that I say 'Amen! He is the Anchor!'

FOOTNOTES