Jesus, The Anchor of the Soul
"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..." (Heb. 6:19-20)
We have been learning about how to press on toward spiritual maturity in Christ Jesus and now the author of Hebrews makes a strong point about never removing Jesus from the equation. For Jesus is BOTH the AUTHOR (the foundation) and the FINISHER (completer) of our faith and salvation.
He warns the Hebrews that it would be impossible for them to ever renew themselves again to repentance if they were to fall away and try to go back to the sacrificial system of the Old Covenant or any other foundation other than Christ. The temple sacrifices were still going on but God was no longer recognizing any sacrifice other than His own Son.
The divine placement of this strong warning within this epistle about those who would try to lay down another foundation or repent after coming to the knowledge of the truth carries great significance. We have already learned that Jesus is BETTER than the angels, than Moses, and than the priesthood. Before the author continues to build on this theme of the superiority of Jesus as it pertains to the High Priest, the temple and the sacrifices of blood in the following chapters, he inserts this serious exhortation to never replace or fall away from the permanence of the sacrifice of Christ.
Christ finished the work of salvation...ONCE and FOR ALL! He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world...and HIS WORK IS FINISHED!
The Book of Hebrews can actually be summarized by this statement:
Jesus is the GREAT High Priest who became the GREAT Sacrifice to give us a GREAT Salvation…And anything else is a Great Deception!
This warning is coupled with the warning at the end of this section in chapter 10, where it says, “For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will
devour the adversaries" (Heb. 10:26-27).
Jesus taught about salvation when He gave the Parable of the Sower. He revealed that there are three different grounds that receive the seed of His Word and have a taste of the truth that is able to them free. The stony ground and the thorny ground both seemingly receive the word at first but the lack of depth or the distracting pleasures of this world lead to a place of barrenness and bearing no fruit.
But there is one ground which produces the true fruits of righteousness, which is "the good soil", represented by the heart that fully believes and receives Christ and produces good fruit in varying degrees.
For the believer who places all of his or her confidence and full trust in Christ, there is an assurance of salvation for those who know that Christ is the Author and Finisher of Salvation. Christ is our Salvation and He is the true foundation that we build our faith upon.
As the old hymn goes, "My hope is built on nothing else, but Jesus blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus Name. On Christ the solid rock I stand, All other ground is sinking sand...all other ground is sinking sand."
There is a BIG difference between falling into sin and falling away from the Savior.
We may struggle and confess and repent of our sins and still be forgiven but we have no hope or salvation if our trust turns back to something or someone other than Christ and if we don't go on to bear His fruit.
These warnings and exhortations in Hebrews are for those who depart from Christ and replace Him with a yoke of bondage. As Paul writes to the Galatians who were returning to the Old Covenant demands and practices,
"Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace" (Gal. 5:1-4)
So let us move on toward maturity and anchor ourselves in the Author of Salvation. May we never look back or fall away from Christ but anchor ourselves fully in Christ and He will safely guide us into His glory!
In the final analysis, if you are sure that He is the One who began a good work in you, you can also be sure that He will surely be the One to finish it!
We have been learning about how to press on toward spiritual maturity in Christ Jesus and now the author of Hebrews makes a strong point about never removing Jesus from the equation. For Jesus is BOTH the AUTHOR (the foundation) and the FINISHER (completer) of our faith and salvation.
He warns the Hebrews that it would be impossible for them to ever renew themselves again to repentance if they were to fall away and try to go back to the sacrificial system of the Old Covenant or any other foundation other than Christ. The temple sacrifices were still going on but God was no longer recognizing any sacrifice other than His own Son.
The divine placement of this strong warning within this epistle about those who would try to lay down another foundation or repent after coming to the knowledge of the truth carries great significance. We have already learned that Jesus is BETTER than the angels, than Moses, and than the priesthood. Before the author continues to build on this theme of the superiority of Jesus as it pertains to the High Priest, the temple and the sacrifices of blood in the following chapters, he inserts this serious exhortation to never replace or fall away from the permanence of the sacrifice of Christ.
Christ finished the work of salvation...ONCE and FOR ALL! He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world...and HIS WORK IS FINISHED!
The Book of Hebrews can actually be summarized by this statement:
Jesus is the GREAT High Priest who became the GREAT Sacrifice to give us a GREAT Salvation…And anything else is a Great Deception!
This warning is coupled with the warning at the end of this section in chapter 10, where it says, “For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will
devour the adversaries" (Heb. 10:26-27).
Jesus taught about salvation when He gave the Parable of the Sower. He revealed that there are three different grounds that receive the seed of His Word and have a taste of the truth that is able to them free. The stony ground and the thorny ground both seemingly receive the word at first but the lack of depth or the distracting pleasures of this world lead to a place of barrenness and bearing no fruit.
But there is one ground which produces the true fruits of righteousness, which is "the good soil", represented by the heart that fully believes and receives Christ and produces good fruit in varying degrees.
For the believer who places all of his or her confidence and full trust in Christ, there is an assurance of salvation for those who know that Christ is the Author and Finisher of Salvation. Christ is our Salvation and He is the true foundation that we build our faith upon.
As the old hymn goes, "My hope is built on nothing else, but Jesus blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus Name. On Christ the solid rock I stand, All other ground is sinking sand...all other ground is sinking sand."
There is a BIG difference between falling into sin and falling away from the Savior.
We may struggle and confess and repent of our sins and still be forgiven but we have no hope or salvation if our trust turns back to something or someone other than Christ and if we don't go on to bear His fruit.
These warnings and exhortations in Hebrews are for those who depart from Christ and replace Him with a yoke of bondage. As Paul writes to the Galatians who were returning to the Old Covenant demands and practices,
"Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace" (Gal. 5:1-4)
So let us move on toward maturity and anchor ourselves in the Author of Salvation. May we never look back or fall away from Christ but anchor ourselves fully in Christ and He will safely guide us into His glory!
In the final analysis, if you are sure that He is the One who began a good work in you, you can also be sure that He will surely be the One to finish it!
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