This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus… – Hebrews 6:19-20a
The “hope” of which the inspired writer speaks is the sure hope of someone to whom God has pledged eternal salvation and peace. That is you if you are trusting in the shed blood of Jesus Christ to save you from your sins. This pledge or “oath” to you is called “immutable” (i.e. unchangeable), which is why our hope is pictured as anchored.
Notice, the hope of salvation is what is our anchor, being as it is, fixed by God’s promise to us in the Gospel. The Devil wants us to believe that our hope in Jesus is just like our hope of receiving a surprise inheritance from a distant relative we never knew we had. If that were the case God’s salvation could hardly be described as an “anchor of the soul” and would be more like a message in a bottle, cast with doubtful anticipation of someone picking it up on some foreign shore. But that is exactly the opposite of the truth. The Lord sees your faith and knows you, and your life is tied unbreakably to Jesus, Who, as the passage tells us, “has entered for us.” We are represented in Heaven.
If we look around for confirmations of this teaching in the New Testament we won’t have to look very far. “Our citizenship is in heaven” (Phil. 3:20). Already the Father has “raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” (Eph. 2:6). In a sense we don’t fully comprehend right now, you are already in Heaven! As a citizen you are right now “on the books,” and your future well-being is assured.
Not that our Father forgets about us until we arrive at the Golden Shore. Reflect upon this invitation from the same book:
Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. – Hebrews 4:16
God’s throne of grace is where we can “obtain” help. The link is never broken. God’s love is never unresponsive. If you are a Christian, you are and always will be anchored.
