Christ Our Anchor

Do you sometimes have that feeling as a Christian of all of a sudden coming a realisation that your heart no longer burns, and Christ seems more distant from you than you last remembered? You look up from the day to day demands of life and your spiritual landscape looks different from when you last remembered.

It’s like as a kid (or some of us as adults) when you’re out bogey boarding at the beach and you’re having such a good time in the waves and then you look up and the beach in front of you is different to when you last remembered it. You realise that the currents and waves around you have unconsciously pulled you down the beach. Or like a boat, slipped from its anchoring, unknowingly pulled along by the currents, we too, unless we are diligent in holding fast to our anchor, will unknowingly be pulled along by the currents of this life.

Having exhorted these Christians with the glorious truths of the finality and superiority of Christ’s message. And considering all that is in Christ, His begottenness, righteous rule, and eternal reign as our king, the author now turns to admonish these Christians. They were being pulled along by various currents; they were at risk of departing from the faith that they had received.

It is into this context that the author exhorts them saying, “therefore (or considering all of these things about Christ), we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.”

So often we too need this reminder, we are quick to forget the goodness of the Gospel. We are quick to turn back to our own ways, to lay aside the things we have been given in Christ, or to just forget and let the currents drag us away.

It can be tempting at this point to turn to a list of “10 things to do to improve your prayer life” or “5 ways to spiritual awakening.” And yet, the author doesn’t do that. The solution to our drifting is not a list of things to do, but it is an encouragement to lift our eyes to the One in whom we have redemption and the forgiveness of sins.

We see here already the way in which our doctrine informs our life. We see the theoretical goodness put into play to provide practical assurance and comfort. We know our need to be reminded each day of what we have in Christ and to hold fast to that.

Amidst trials, amidst temptation to turn back to the old ways, what is their only anchor? It is the message that has been spoken by Christ in these last days. So too for us, amidst the currents of life and the cares of this world that grab for our attention, our only anchor is Christ and His person and work for us. It is to this that we must hold fast lest we drift away.

The author then proceeds to provide an explanation as to why we must devote ourselves to this. He first argues from the lesser to the greater, by comparing the Old Covenant, which is the covenant that started at Sinai with Moses as the mediator, with the New, that began with Christ and fulfils the Old Covenant with Christ as its mediator. We have a lesser, earthly covenant delivered by lesser beings with a lesser mediator, contrasted with a greater heavenly covenant, delivered by a greater messenger with Christ Himself as our mediator.

Secondly, he appeals to the subjection of this world to Christ. Finally, he appeals to the subjection of even death itself to Christ.

Again, that’s first an argument from the lesser to the greater, the subjection of this world to Christ, and the subjection of death to Christ.

An Argument from the Lesser to the Greater

The author first encourages these Christians to stand firm by appealing to the lesser Old Covenant administration in order to contrast it with the greater New Covenant.

Read vs 2-4.

Head

He begins first by stating the binding nature of the Old Covenant. It may seem unusual to us for it to be said that this was “declared by angels,” but this seems to be the common conception. Stephen says in his speech in Acts 7 that the law was delivered by angels, and Paul declares that the law was put in place by angels (Gal 3). All these are saying the same thing, that the law or the Old Covenant, was communicated by angels. The law originated from God and He is the author, but it was delivered to men by angels.

But, despite the fact that the law was delivered only by angels, “Every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution.” Take for example, numbers 15:30-31,

“But the person who does anything with a high hand, whether he is native or a sojourner, reviles the Lord, and that person shall be cut off from among his people. 31 Because he has despised the word of the Lord and has broken his commandment, that person shall be utterly cut off; his iniquity shall be on him.”

If this was the punishment for disobeying under the Old Covenant, how much greater of an obligation do we have now that the Gospel is delivered by the Lord Himself? As the author has done previously, he sets Christ over and against the angels.

In doing so, the argument is made clear. The lesser covenant given by a lesser being, was true. Therefore, the greater messenger gives a greater covenant and a greater obligation to listen.

Application

Yet, we can be tempted to cast doubt on the message of the Gospel so many years after the events. We can suppose that these things are just man-made doctrines passed down through generations. We did not hear the words from Christ’s mouth in person,

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed me

to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives

and recovering of sight to the blind,

to set at liberty those who are oppressed,

to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

We can sense the struggle these believers addressed here also had. How can we truly trust the message that has been preached to us.

Heart

And yet, we can trust its faithfulness. For, “it was attested to us by those who heard.”

Just as these Christians had every reason to hold fast to the Gospel because their teachers had heard Christ and preached the same message. So too, we can have a full assurance that these things are true.

The message of Christ, that we have liberty from the bonds of sin in Him, has stood true throughout the ages. It is not the closeness of the preacher to the physical person of Christ that makes the message valid, but it is the truthfulness of the message itself.

We can therefore hold fast to Christ as our anchor for His message is as true today as it was when He first stood in the temple and preached.

Upon making a case for the greater author, the author goes on to say,

Read vs 4

While the old covenant proved to be reliable because there was a just punishment for disobedience, the New was proven to be reliable by the various signs and wonders. Listen to what Calvin has to say about this,

“They are called signs, because they rouse men’s minds, that they may think of something higher than what appears; and wonders, because they present what is rare and unusual; and miracles, because the Lord shows in them a singular and an extraordinary evidence of his power.”

This here is the use of these things. That they would prove and have proven the validity and reliability of the Gospel Message. Together with this message, the Holy Spirit also fills and gifts His people according to his will.

This is no doctrine of angels, nor is it a message of men, this message that we have believed, is given to us by the Lord Himself.

This is the first reason why it holds us fast and why we can trust it to do so.

Christ’s Subjection of the World

The author then gives a second motivation for why we must pay close attention. He says,

Read vs 5-8

Head

Though angels were fit for a covenant of this world, it was only designed as a type and shadow of the world to come. The land of Canaan was a type of that heavenly city we will one day possess.

This heavenly city will encompass the whole world. Christ’s coming and His work on our behalf now usher in this new world.

In ushering in this new world, Christ proves Himself to be the true second Adam. For He succeeded where Adam failed. Adam was commanded to put all things into subjection under his rule, but sin having entered the world, he obviously failed at this.

But now Christ has come, this Psalm finds its ultimate fulfilment, not in the creation of man, but the coming of the Son of Man.

For Christ, in His rising again and being crowned with glory and honour, now inaugurates the world to come. The hope that we cling to, the anchor of our lives is this great reality.

Heart

Even still, it is hard to see past trials and temptations of this life. It is hard to avoid drifting away, taken along by the cares of this world. We are ministered to in this state by what follows,

“Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control.”

The language here is definitive. That is, He leaves no room for doubt in our minds as to the extent of Christ’s dominion over this world.

We may at many times, feel like the disciples upon the lake when the storm sprang up. We can imagine how helpless they must have felt. These waves were massive and rushing over the side of the boat so that it was filling up.

Often the pressures and cares of life crowd in on us. Work gets busy and stressful. We may deal with sickness. We may feel the outside pressure slowly pulling us away.

And yet, just as Christ commanded the sea, “Be Still!” and it obeyed Him, so too, He is putting all these other things into subjection under His feet.

Not even our lives in this day are beyond His control. Therefore, we can take comfort in Christ as our risen Lord.

Yet, the full realities of Christ as the risen Lord are not yet manifested. He says here,

Read 8b

We are caught between the already and the not yet. We are caught between the beginning of Christ’s reign and the full consummation of it. We do not see the full realisation of this subjection now. We may be tempted to think that Christ is not in control, that the waves and currents of life are not subject to Him. We may be tempted to loosen our grip upon Christ our anchor at this point.

So, the author gives us one final reason that we must hold fast.

Christ’s Subjection of Death

Read vs 9

What other reason do we have to hold fast to what we have heard than the person and work of Christ Himself? It is He who has come and inaugurated the New Covenant. It is He who has declared to us that He has come to set us free from sin and death. It is He who now sits enthroned at the Father’s right hand. It is He who now subjects all things.

Though we may waver as it doesn’t seem like all things are in subjection to Him. Sin still wages war against our mortal bodies. The world itself still sees the effects of the curse. We have every reason to stand firm when we consider Christ Himself. We see Him.

1. We see Him who for a little while was made lower than the angels

Christ, in coming to this earth laid aside His glory. He laid aside what He possessed as the Son of God and took on the flesh of man.

As Paul says in Philippians 2:5-8

“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

Christ, in His coming to this earth has taken upon Himself the full form of man, with all its weakness, except sin, in order that He might redeem the fullness of us, both body and soul. Now we can say truly that He is our Immanuel, God with us.

Application

He has not left you wavering in your sin, tossed to and fro by the waves of life. He has not left you to drift along on the currents of life. Instead, He has come down and, in His body, has redeemed all that you are.

Often our drifting in life comes from not beholding the person of Christ. We have taken our eyes off Him and focused on other things. Turn your eyes back Him. It is He who is of first importance to us.

Just like we must keep our heads up in the waves at the beach so we do not float away in the current, we must fix our eyes upon Christ. It is He who will be your anchor amidst the currents pulling you away.

2. We see Him who is crowned because of the suffering of death

Having passed through death and the grave, Christ now sits enthroned. His enthronement was by suffering the death for us.

When Christ came to this earth, he not only took on your body and lived for you. He also took upon Himself the suffering of death and has died for you. His crowning and enthronement are not a reward for something that He has earned, rather His crowning is the recognition that Christ is Lord over all, even death itself.

So then, we can take comfort in the fact that even death itself has been subjected to the rule and reign of Christ. Even though your conscience may testify against you, and though Satan may accuse you. Christ has conquered all, both sin and death, and in His place at God’s right hand He testifies on your behalf.

It is only through faith in Christ who took on our human flesh and died for us that we can have the assurance and comfort that Christ is our anchor and advocate. Hold fast to this fact of Christ for you.

3. We see Him who tasted death for everyone.

Christ Himself has tasted death, not as an example, but as our substitute. He has died in order that we may have life in Him. This is the final and ultimate reason why Christ is our anchor and why we must not neglect this beautiful doctrine.

Because of Christ’s humiliation in death and exaltation in glory, we can say that this fact is true for us. As Christ now lives, we also live in Him. As Heidelberg Catechism 1 says,

“What is your only hope in life and in death? That I am not my own, but belong – body and soul, in life and in death – to my faithful saviour Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with His precious blood, and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil.”

This is all by the grace of God. As Calvin so beautifully says,

“for the cause of redemption was the infinite love of God towards us, through which it was that he spared not even his own Son.”

Out of His sheer grace, God grants and credits to you “the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ.” As Heidelberg 60 says, it

“is as if I had never sinned nor been a sinner, as if I had been as perfectly obedient as Christ was obedient for me.”

This is the grace of God towards you and me. This is our only anchor; it is our only hope.

So, dear Christian, hold fast to the message that has been declared to you. Fix your eyes upon Christ. He is a faithful advocate for us. In His body He has redeemed us, in His death he has given us life. And now we look, with eyes of faith at Him.

We see Him, we know that as He has risen again, He will soon return and bring about the full realization of His reign. It is by looking upon Him with the eyes of faith that we can be strong and steadfast amidst the currents of life that threaten to drag you away.

Know then this, to finish off question and answer 1 of the heidelburg catechism

“He (that is Christ) also watches over you in such a way that not a hair can fall from your head without the will of my Father in heaven; in fact, all things must work together for your salvation. Because you belong to Him, Christ, by His Holy Spirit, assures you of eternal life and makes you whole-heartedly willing and ready from now on to live for Him.”