Hebrews 6:17-19
The Soul Anchor
The book of Hebrews is a rather deep book, mainly because it deals a
lot with temple worship which many Gentiles know little about, but
the writer of this book used a term in our text which I find to be
both a powerful and comforting term. It is that term that I want to
look at this morning.
\\#19\\ "we have an ANCHOR OF THE SOUL."
I. The Anchor’s Purpose
A. The anchor has one purpose.
1. It is not packed on board a ship because of its beauty and
versatility.
2. In fact, all of them are heavy and most are ugly.
B. The purpose of the anchor is its ability to keep a ship from
drifting.
An anchor is a device, normally made of metal,
used to connect a vessel to the bed of a body
of water to prevent the craft from drifting due
to wind or current. Anchors (sic) can either be
temporary or permanent.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anchor
C. However, the writer of the book of Hebrews was not talking
about ship anchors but soul anchors.
1. What is the purpose of a soul anchor?
2. It is the same as that of the ship. It is to keep the
soul from drifting.
3. That is the reason God used the symbol of the anchor.
D. The fact that God speaks of a "soul anchor" implies some
things.
1. A soul anchor implies the soul can drift.
a. The soul is who you are.
(1) It is the real you.
(2) People change and sometimes it is the
circumstances of life that changes them.
(3) From time to time, people tell me of someone, "I
can’t believe they did that. They are not the
SAME person I…."
(4) They are correct.
(a) People change externally and internally.
(b) Just as most people could not match the
photo of a new born to their 60 year old
image, so many will not recognize the
character of a person they knew some years
ago.
(5) Sometimes that change is for the better. Some-
times, it is for the worse.
b. Life is turbulent and often sets people adrift.
(1) Some things that come to my mind are the losses
that life can bring such as the loss of a job,
of a friendship, or a death.
(2) But it can also be the unexpected addition of
problems such as a sickness or an adversary into
a person’s life.
c. Since this book was written to those who are
believers, it means that even believers can drift
and must be on guard against it.
2. A soul anchor implies that the soul can be and should be
anchored in a place from which it does not need to
drift, a place that would please the Lord.
a. Parents have the most important role in anchoring a
child in a good place.
(1) Parents give their children their self-identity.
(a) Self-identity is a relatively new term to
me.
(b) It means that parents—more than any other
factor—help children to understand who
they are, to get a view of their
potential, their qualities, and their
abilities.
(c) Of course today, it even means that parents
help their children to understand their
gender.
i. I did not say to "change" their gender
but to understand it.
ii. I read that to date, the youngest sex-
change operation was on a four year
old.
https://www.wnd.com/2016/09/child-4-worlds-youngest-ever-sex-change-
patient/
iii. Some doctors, some psychologists, some
hospital and insurance administrators,
and some parents ought to be in jail—
but it is the parent’s God-given job
to help their children understand who
they are.
(2) Parents also teach their children self-control.
(a) No child is born with self-control.
(b) He or she must be taught self-control by
parents, and it must then be learned by
children.
(c) Granted, there have always been some who
refused to learn self-control—even with
good parents teaching them.
(d) Their decision not to control themselves
makes life miserable, often ending them up
in prison or in an early grave.
(e) In our world of pseudo-medicine, parents are
failing in greater numbers than even,
opting instead of teaching to sedate the
child for control.
(f) While in some cases, drugs may temporarily
help, nothing replaces teaching and
learning self-control.
(3) And-most importantly—parents can help anchor
their children in Jesus Christ!
(a) Parents are the most important factor in a
child’s live and having a correct standing
with God is the most important anchor a
parent can give to their child.
(b) Parents, get your children to Jesus and
anchor them there.
b. Education also has much to do with anchoring our
children.
(1) Education is probably either the second most
important factor in determining who a child will
be—the other being his or her friends.
(2) But since most of the child’s friends are met at
their place of education, I will put their
education above their friends for influence.
(3) Sadly, while it is still possible to get a good
education, chances of doing so in a government
school is getting less and less likely.
(4) In the last few years, we have heard a lot about
"fake" news, but long before there was "fake"
news, there was "fake" education.
(a) Does fake news exist? Did you see the
Weather Channel’s coverage of the
hurricane, where the reporter was visually
being blown away about the gall winds,
while a couple of people behind him were
walking normally across the camera?
https://mashable.com/article/weatherman-dramatically-braces-for-
storm/#uliysmnOIPqJ
(b) But then, to make matters worse, the Weather
Channel comes out to say the weather
channel was standing in grass while the
others were walking on concrete.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbUrFkNRMDo
(5) Does "fake" education exists?
(a) Any school, curriculum, or teacher that
teaches the "theory" of evolution as a fact
is teaching "fake" science.
(b) Any school, curriculum, or teacher that
teaches American history with America’s
founding as anything but a nation being
founded for Christian liberty is teaching
a "fake" history.
(c) Any school, curriculum, or teacher that
advocates socialism is teaching "fake"
economics.
(d) Any school, curriculum, or teacher that
promotes "safe" sex over abstinence,
abortion over responsibility, adultery over
monogamy, or homosexuality over
heterosexually is teaching a "fake" society
science.
(e) Any school, curriculum, or teacher that
teaches the uses of genderless pronounces
(Ze and Zir) is teaching a "fake" language.
(f) To be honest, with common core math, I am
not even sure but what they are teaching a
"fake" math today.
(6) It is sad, but education—like the media and our
own government—has become the enemy of a
capitalistic, God-fearing, conservative America.
(7) You say, "Preacher, why are you saying that?"
(a) Because there is a place where a soul should
be anchored and education is the second
most important factor in that anchoring.
(b) Are you sure your child’s soul is being
anchored in a place where God would be
pleased?
E. The purpose of the soul anchor is to keep it from drifting,
but that means there is a place where it should be anchored
AND that it can drift from that place. Hence, the need for
a soul anchor.
II. The Anchor
A. The anchor’s ability comes from two things: (1) It’s
composition and (2) It’s design.
1. Composition - The anchor is made of a heavy metal. The
weight of the anchor is itself a factor in keeping the
ship in its anchored spot.
2. Design - The anchor may also have barbs or flutes on it to
help grip onto the water’s bottom. The goal is that the
barbs would grip and snag something on the bottom to keep
it in place.
3. Yet again, we are not talking about a ship anchor but a
soul anchor.
B. \\#18\\ says there are two things that will help to keep the
soul anchored in the correct spot.
1. It calls them "immutable things,"
a. The word "immutable" means unchangeable.
b. These two things have always existed and they will
always exist so that every soul can stay in a place
that pleases God.
2. What are the two flutes on the soul anchor?
a. \\#17\\ "the immutability of his counsel"
(1) Counsel are the things we advise and tell others.
(2) I am counseling you right now.
(3) God’s counsel comes by His Book, the Bible.
(4) As I preacher of the Bible, I—and many other
preachers—literally take the Bible a part—line
by line—to give you the counsel that God has
written into this Book.
(5) This morning, let me just stick to the point this
verse is making; and that is, the things God
wrote into this Bible will keep you where you
need to be, the place where God will be pleased
with your life.
(6) You may not like that—many do not, but that is
what the Book does.
(7) No matter what storms come at you, the Bible
keeps your soul anchored.
(8) It keeps you where you need to be doing what you
need to be doing—so that you have peace and
power and so that God is pleased with you.
b. \\#18\\ "it was impossible for God to lie"
(1) Notice that the time tense is italicized which
means it is not part of the Greek.
(a) It was added by the translators to help us
understand the text.
(b) However, the text says that we are anchored
by one of two immutable things and one of
them is the fact that it is impossible for
God to lie.
(2) That means whatever counsel God has given will
stand for eternity.
(a) If it worked for Moses and the children of
Israel, it would work for David and the
kingdom of Israel.
(b) If it worked for David and the kingdom of
Israel, it would work for the disciples and
the church.
(c) If it worked for the disciples and the
church, it would work for you and the Green
Pond Baptist Church.
C. \\#19\\ The Bible says these two things make our anchor "both
sure and steadfast."
1. That means the anchor will not fail us.
2. God is the Author of the counsel He gives and His power is
behind every word.
3. But what about our hold on the anchor?
III. The Anchor’s Line
A. The anchor would be of no use to us unless we had a solid hold
on it.
1. The anchor may grip the seabed, but the cable connecting
to the ship must withstand the pull.
2. Large vessels are not content to run the risk of breakage
so they use metal cables or chains to hold the anchor.
B. Again, we are not talking about the ship anchor but the soul
anchor.
1. If our anchor is the counsel and certainty of God, then
the chain must be Jesus Christ.
2. We are connected to the Word of God through Jesus.
3. Tell me, do you have firm grip on Jesus Christ?
C. The marvelous thing about an anchor is you cannot see it doing
its work. All you can is to hold on to the chain.
1. So I cannot tell you how God will keep His promises to
you. All I can tell you is that He will.
2. But I can tell you want you must do. You must hold on to
the Chain, Jesus Christ.
3. By holding on to the chain, you will stay connected to the
anchor
A boy was flying a kite and let the string out so far that he could
no longer see the kite. A woman asked how he knew the kite was still
there. He answered, "Because I feel the tug on the string." How do
I know God will keep His promises? I feel the tug on my Jesus rope.
He comforts me and tells me that He is still there.
https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/the-anchor-john-gaston-sermon-
on-anchor-177722?page=2&wc=800
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