Anchored to Christ

Some of you may wonder why I say that right after I finish reading our Scripture passage every Sunday. The first person I ever heard give this type of benediction to the Scripture reading was the late theologian R.C. Sproul. He would say something like this every week, after he read through the Scripture passage for the sermon.

The reason behind this was to remind the congregation that the words he had just read in the Bible were the actual words of God himself. Scripture was breathed out by God, given to men to help us know him and understand him more and more. The fact that the Creator of the universe has allowed himself to be known to his creation should fill us with wonder and gratitude. We should take his word seriously and thank him for revealing himself to us in Scripture.

Part of the logo for our church contains the words “All Scripture is God breathed.”

The reason for that is to remind us that Scripture is the basis for all that we do here at Living Word. We base our teaching, our worship, our evangelism, our giving, and everything else we do here on the very words of God himself. We are anchoring ourselves to the Lord.

Our passage today gives a warning to fellow Christians to remain steadfast in their faith, to be purposeful in remembering the truth of who Jesus is and what he has done for us. When we let hearts and minds wander from the truth, not staying anchored to the Rock of Ages, we can find ourselves believing things and doing things that will move us away from the hope we have in Christ.

Big Idea: Our faith must be properly anchored to Christ.

Hebrews 2:1

For this reason, we must pay attention all the more to what we have heard, so that we will not drift away.

The author continues his line of reasoning about Jesus being greater than the angels by giving a type of “Therefore” concluding statement at the beginning of this chapter. Going back to Hebrews 1:4-14, where the author gives his case for the Superiority of Christ, he now gives a warning to pay attention to the truth that he knows his readers have heard. By paying attention to God’s truthful message, we will not drift in our faith.

The author is using nautical language to give a word picture to his listeners. Paying attention to the truth of God’s word is like an anchor. If I were in a boat on the ocean and decided to take a nap, but I never put down an anchor, my boat would drift according to whatever current may catch my boat.

There is a growing number of people today, in the church, who have strayed from the truth of God’s word. For some, it is because they have been hurt by people in the church. Church hurt is real. For some, it is because they have not found answers that they feel are sufficient to the questions they have about faith.

For many, it is because they do not have a pastor who will lead them in studying and understanding what Scripture tells us about God. If I hear about another church doing an “At the Movies” sermon series where they watch parts of movies and try to make connections to Biblical principles instead of just opening the Word of God and proclaiming what it says, I may scream.

When we talked about wisdom and discernment in Philippians chapter 1, I asked this congregation to be Bereans of my sermons. The Bereans were a group that Paul visited, who tested everything Paul said against Scripture. I am not perfect. I make mistakes. And it would be arrogant and prideful for me to think that none of you should be able to correct me if I am wrong. If what I say from this pulpit does not align with the truth of God’s Word, you have the green light to tell me. As brothers and sisters in Christ, we are to encourage each other in the truth.

This should be normal for pastors to say because preachers are given a mandate to proclaim God’s Word to the people they have been given to shepherd.

2 Timothy 4:2-4

Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage with great patience and teaching. For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear what they want to hear. They will turn away from hearing the truth and will turn aside to myths.

I understand the influence I have as a preacher and a pastor. People listen to what I have to say. People ask me for advice. People trust me to lead them in the truth. If I stray from that, I am not only responsible for my own actions, but I am held responsible by God for what I tell you as I lead this church together with Craig and Sam.

If we do not cling tightly to God’s truth, anchoring ourselves to it, even when we don’t like what it says, we will find our itching ears looking for things we want to hear.

This is what has happened in the last decade with the “deconstruction” movement. Over that time, we have seen prominent people in the church walk away from the faith they once claimed.

Kevin Max, one of the three men in the band DC Talk, now calls himself an “exvangelical,” having “deconstructed” his faith.

Joshua Harris, who wrote the book I Kissed Dating Goodbye, was a lead pastor who has now “deconstructed” and walked away from the faith.

Abraham Piper, son of teacher and writer John Piper, has walked away from the faith and now makes videos critical of his evangelical upbringing.

Marty Sampson, one of the original members of the Hillsong United worship band who helped write worship songs like O Praise the Name, Shout Unto God, King of Majesty, To the Ends of the Earth, and Came to My Rescue, has abandoned the faith he once knew, stating he no longer identifies as a Christian.

What is deconstruction?

If you want to hear a long-form discussion on the history behind Deconstruction and why it is so harmful to the church, I have a link in the sermon notes to the Just Thinking Podcast, where they do a 3 ½ hour show on the philosophical history behind Deconstruction and how it has made its way into the church. They do a fantastic job of looking at original sources for the ideas they are confronting and filtering those things through the Word of God. I would recommend checking out their podcast if you are looking for in-depth analysis of cultural issues through a Biblical lens.

I will also have links to some books and other podcasts that are helpful to Christians in knowing what deconstructionism is.

A short description of Deconstruction that I have found is this:

Deconstructionism in the evangelical church refers to the critical examination and questioning of traditional Christian beliefs and doctrines. It often involves a rejection of established interpretations of Scripture and church teachings, leading some individuals to abandon their faith or adopt more liberal theological views.

So this process of deconstruction involves being critical of traditional Christian beliefs. Critical does not mean having a discussion about what Scripture says about a doctrine or belief, though. In Deconstruction, being critical simply means to question what is believed based on how you feel about that belief. You don’t provide an alternate belief based on a thorough study of Scripture.

Here are some reasons that the men I mentioned above have left the faith. Their Deconstruction included:

Questioning the doctrine of hell

Believing evangelicalism to be “destructive and narrow-minded”

Questioning views on relationships and sexuality

Concerns about “contradictions” in the Bible

Questioning and re-evaluating long-held beliefs.

Seeing the fall of so many Christian leaders (address this quickly)

This repeated questioning and re-evaluation is not wrong in itself. I encourage people to ask questions about doctrines and passages of Scripture they don’t understand. I still do this myself. I believe that there is grace from God for us when we have doubts. How many times do we see in the Psalms where David cries out to God, exclaiming, “Where are you, God?” and “I don’t understand why this is happening!”

A great website to help you work through different questions about the Christian Faith is:

www.gotquestions.org

They are a Christian organization that has contributors from multiple denominations, with thousands of articles answering some of the most asked questions about the Bible and Christianity.

It is natural for humanity to wrestle with not knowing. We were created with the desire to know God and to understand what lies beyond this physical world.

Ecclesiastes 3:11b

He has also put eternity in their hearts, but no one can discover the work God has done from beginning to end.

The problem lies in where we try to find those answers.

Our verse says that if we are not paying attention to what we have heard, the truth of the Word of God, we will drift away.

This idea of someone “deconstructing” their faith is not new. When we look at what results from someone going through the deconstruction process, we tend to see two results:

They no longer believe basic tenets of the Christian faith that have been established, believed, and trusted in since Christ was on the earth. If that is the case, they may claim to follow Christ, but their actions and beliefs do not show the submission to the Word of God that would identify them as a follower of Jesus. And so, their salvation may seem in doubt.

They leave the faith altogether and no longer identify as Christian at all.

You see, “deconstructing” used to be called something else - apostasy.

Here are a couple of definitions of how the Bible would describe apostasy:

Apostasy:

a theological category describing those who have voluntarily and consciously abandoned their faith in the God of the covenant, who manifests himself most completely in Jesus Christ.

Apostasy is the antonym of conversion; it is deconversion.

I have heard people attempt to soften deconstruction by equating it with what the reformers like Martin Luther and John Calvin did in the time of the Reformation. The difference is that the reformers were trying to get the Roman Catholic church away from the traditions and practices that were not biblical, that were actually influenced by worldly desire and the culture around them, and instead get back to what Scripture actually said about how the church was to be run.

Deconstruction is not Reformation.

Deconstructing is saying, “I don’t agree with what the Bible says or how it is traditionally interpreted, and so I am going to do what I feel is right.”

Reformation is saying, “I don’t think what I am doing agrees with the Bible, and so I want to realign myself with what the Bible says I should do.”

In many ways, I am continually going through a reformation of my own as I seek to allow Scripture to inform me of what I should believe, as it shows me the ways the culture will lead me away from Christ.

So let’s do something very important. I am going to take you to the very first moment of deconstruction in history. Turn with me to Genesis 3.

Genesis 3:1-6

Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?”

The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.’”

“No! You will certainly not die,” the serpent said to the woman. “In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” The woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

This is how people start to walk away from the truth of God. The serpent deconstructs God’s word by asking, “Did God really say that?” When you talk to people who have deconstructed, or watch interviews of people who have walked away from the faith, this is the first thing they talk about: “Did the Bible really say THAT?” or “Does the Bible mean it THAT way specifically?”

Satan gets Eve to question or re-evaluate what God said. He fills her with lies that her itching ears would want to hear. And in the end, her reasoning for taking the fruit and eating it was that the tree seemed to produce good fruit for food, the fruits looked pleasing to the eye, and that it was desirable because of the promise of wisdom the serpent said it would bring. Her reasoning was all her own, purposefully disregarding what she knew God had said, and doing what she desired to do instead. She followed her own truth.

We are no different if we know what the Word of God says and refuse to obey it because our human intellect or feelings disagree with God. Our feelings and human thoughts do not have a bearing on what is true. Truth is true whether we want it to be or not.

5 Solas (Grace, Faith, Christ, Scripture, God) Feelings and human intellect are not mentioned anywhere.

If we disagree with the Word of God, we are the ones who need to change, not God or His Word.

Next Step: I will submit to Scripture, even when I don’t like what it says.

But when we are faced with doubts and questions about our faith, there is an example in the Bible of how we are to approach those times.

Turn with me to Matthew chapter 4. In this passage, we will see Christ, the second Adam, the better Adam, being similarly tempted in the wilderness as Eve was tempted in the garden. As we go through this passage, we are going to see how differently Jesus approaches the temptations and questions of Satan compared to Eve.

Matthew 4:1-3

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. Then the tempter approached him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

Notice that Satan did not tempt Jesus by saying, “SINCE you are the Son of God…” No, he started by trying to put into question Jesus’ identity as the Son of God by saying, “IF you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Just like he did in the garden with Eve, Satan has framed his question in a way that was deconstructing the truth God had already declared. The devil was asking Jesus, “Did God really say you were his Son?”

I have never fasted for 40 days. But the short fasts that I have done have left me feeling like my head was not fully there and engaged as I was reaching the end of some of my fasts. At the end of 40 days, I am sure that Jesus’ humanity may have felt a little weak. However, being fully God and fully man, Christ had strength where you or I would not have. Satan probably thought that Jesus was an easy target here. But what does Jesus do? How does he respond? He quotes Scripture.

Matthew 4:4

He answered, “It is written: Man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

Jesus responded with the Word of God, quoting from the book of Deuteronomy.

Knowing Scripture will help us during temptation.

When we look at the armor of God in Ephesians chapter 6, we see many different pieces with which we as Christians are to be fitted.

The belt of truth (the truth found in Christ)

The breastplate of righteousness (righteousness that is only found in Christ since have no righteousness on our own)

Feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel of peace (Christ is the one who brings peace)

The shield of faith (Christ is the author and perfector of our faith)

The helmet of salvation (our salvation is found in Christ)

The sword of the Spirit - which is the Word of God (Jesus is the Word)

First, do you notice how every piece of armor here is a representation of who Christ is for us? This is one way to know if you are truly “In Christ.” When you start to see these different pieces show up in your everyday life and conversations, when you feel spiritually attacked and you start to pray for Jesus to give you strength and peace in the situation, you can start to be confident that you are “in Christ.”

Second thing to look at, of all those different pieces of armor that are listed, how many of them are meant for an offensive attack?

One. The sword of the Spirit, the Word of God is the only offensive weapon we have against the enemy. It can be both defensive and offensive at the same time. And as we have said over and over, Jesus is the Word of God as we see in John 1:1. Jesus speaks the truth from the Word of God to the enemy when he was tempted.

Matthew 4:5-6

Then the devil took him to the holy city, had him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written:

He will give his angels orders concerning you,

and they will support you with their hands

so that you will not strike

your foot against a stone.”

So now, as a part of his temptation, Satan again questions Jesus’ identity as the Son of God by saying, “If,” but has also decided to use Scripture to try and get Jesus to do what he wants him to. Satan is clever. Remember in Genesis 3, he was the most cunning, or in some translations, crafty, than any of the animals in the garden. The enemy uses this passage from Psalm 91, a psalm that talks about the protection of the Lord when facing hardship in this world, and tries to apply it to if Jesus were to willfully throw himself off the top of the temple. He has taken this Scripture out of its original context and tried to force the application to fit his own desires.

Remember this quote from going through Philippians?

2nd Opinions 4:13

I can do all things through a verse taken out of context.

This is one of the enemy’s greatest tactics. He doesn’t need you to abandon the faith, he just needs to twist what God has said so you start to believe the wrong things about God and His Word. Jesus is author and perfector of our faith, Satan is author and perfector of twisting Scripture to fit his own agenda.

But Jesus does not fall for the trap.

Matthew 4:7

Jesus told him, “It is also written: Do not test the Lord your God.”

Christ responds to a Scripture that has been taken out of context by using another passage in it’s proper context. Jesus is not fooled. This is kind of like in the movie adaptation of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe where the white witch tries telling Aslan about the “Deep Magic” in the world of Narnia, and Aslan tells her, “Do not cite the deep magic to me, witch. I was there when it was written.”

This aptly brings us to the final temptation that the devil brought to Jesus.

Matthew 4:8-9

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. And he said to him, “I will give you all these things if you will fall down and worship me.”

This temptation has always made me laugh. And the reason why is that Satan tries to offer Jesus all of the kingdoms of the world. He says, “Everything in this world I will give to you if you bow down and worship me.”

Does anyone see the problem here? We talked about this a little bit in the first couple of weeks in our series here in Hebrews. Chapter 1, verse 2 says that God created the universe through Christ. We see a more in-depth description of this in Colossians 1:15-16.

Colossians 1:15-16

He is the image of the invisible God,

the firstborn over all creation.

For everything was created by him,

in heaven and on earth,

the visible and the invisible,

whether thrones or dominions

or rulers or authorities—

all things have been created through him and for him.

This passage in Colossians says that everything was created by Christ, through Christ, and for Christ. And just so we are clear on what Scripture means when it uses the word “everything,” it means…everything. All the things. Every of the things. If Christ created everything on the earth and also in heaven, that means Christ was the one who created Satan. And here, the creation is trying to bribe the creator with the creator’s own things!

Does anyone else see the irony here?

But Jesus responds once more to Satan. He doesn’t say, “You are trying to bribe me with my own stuff!” or, “Who do you think you are? I created you!” No, Jesus quotes Scripture one more time.

Matthew 4:10-11

Then Jesus told him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.”

Then the devil left him, and angels came and began to serve him.

Once again, Jesus speaks from the Word of God. He knows the truth of the Father because Christ is that truth. If we are going to know the truth of Christ, we must be in the Word. We cannot neglect reading Scripture. It is how we can most easily determine what God says about himself, what he says about us, and what he says about the world we live in.

Next Step: I will read my Bible.

If you are already doing that,

Next Step: I will read my Bible more consistently.

If you are regularly reading your Bible, you are working through reading plans, etc.,

Next Step: I will begin to memorize Scripture.

When you have passages of Scripture memorized, it makes it that much easier to think of verses to help you in times of temptation, or anxiety, or depression. You are also equipped to point others to Scripture when they need help or encouragement.

Next Step: I will go to Scripture when I have questions or doubts about my faith.

If you don’t know where to find the answer in Scripture, or you don’t understand the answer that you found in Scripture, find someone who is farther along in the faith than you. I am more than happy to have conversations about faith and theology. I am not going to have all of the answers, but I will bet that I can help you find a great resource that will help us discover the right answer.

Don’t discount prayer.

Dear friends, today we stand at a crossroads, as the Word of God beckons us to heed its call. Hebrews 2:1 reminds us, "For this reason, we must pay attention all the more to what we have heard, so that we will not drift away." Every moment you linger in uncertainty, every time you question the truth of Scripture, consider the danger of drifting—drifting from the very anchor that is Christ.

The world around us is filled with voices that seek to lead us astray, whispering doubts and enticing us to rely on our own understanding. Yet, just as Eve was questioned in the garden, we too are tempted to ask, “Did God really say that?” Resist this temptation! Instead, embrace the clarity and truth found in the Scriptures.

Repentance is not merely a moment; it is a profound shift of heart and mind. It is acknowledging our sins, turning away from our old ways, and submitting our lives fully to Christ. Remember, it is in surrender that we find true freedom.

Do not allow the currents of culture to pull you away from the truth. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). He calls you to anchor your faith in Him, to stand firm in His Word amidst a world that seeks to undermine it.

Today, I urge you to reflect deeply on your relationship with Christ. Are you anchored in His truth? Are you willing to turn away from the distractions and fully commit to following Him? Let this be the moment you choose to submit your life to the one who offers hope, redemption, and eternal life. Choose Christ, and let Him be your steadfast anchor in these turbulent times.

Next Step: I will submit my life to Christ.

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