An Anchor

Priscilla J. Owens penned the words of a familiar hymn in 1882:

Will your anchor hold in the storms of life,
When the clouds unfold their wings of strife?
When the strong tides lift and the cables strain,
Will your anchor drift, or firm remain?

We have an anchor that keeps the soul
Steadfast and sure while the billows roll,
Fastened to the Rock which cannot move,
Grounded firm and deep in the Savior’s love.

Yes, indeed, we are living in a time when, more than ever before, an anchor is needed, an anchor that can firmly hold down our souls. The people of God are being shaken every which way by doctrinal errors and by life’s trials. Certainly, we are going through the final refining process before we face the time of trouble such as has never before been since the beginning of the nations. Yes, we are living in an age where everything that could go wrong does go wrong! There are so many confusions that are shaking the very foundations of our beliefs that we, in this contemporary world, need to reconfirm our fundamental beliefs and solely rely on God’s power to overcome sin and to remain faithful to the truth.

God has a people who will be used to finish the work of the everlasting gospel, and Satan is very angry and is trying to eradicate them in any and every way possible. He is trying to overcome God’s people through erroneous teachings and through the hardships of life. We need to cast our anchor and let it fasten to the Rock of ages so that our ship will not drift away, blown about by the winds of various doctrines.

In this article, we will study two specific areas concerning our anchor. First, its use to secure us from doctrinal drifts, and, second, its use to fasten us amid life’s trials.

Secure From Doctrinal Drifts

After 15 years of service in the Seventh-day Adventist Church organization as a pastor and an evangelist, I started, 17 years ago, an independent ministry called “Light for Life.” The day I joined the conservative movement, I thought that I was coming into the errorless land, that I would be forever safe from the danger of false doctrines. I was so naïve in thinking that as long as I was out of the range of the new theology, I would be on a sound doctrinal foundation! What a surprise I have experienced! I have met all kinds of fanatical and extreme offshoots in the conservative camps, insomuch that I could not believe my own eyes. I have encountered scores of people ranging from those who believe in perfectionism, not character perfection, to those who teach an impersonal Holy Spirit and the keeping of the feast days. I even once met a person who told me that to wear a tie is to worship a Babylonian idol! Can you imagine that?

We really need to throw our anchors onto the sure doctrines given in the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy so that we will not be moved. As a matter of fact, the sealing experience is to settle into the truth so that we will not be moved anymore from it.

The apostle Paul said, “Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let [them] slip.” Hebrews 2:1. “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.” Romans 16:17, 18. And, also, Jesus said, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” John 17:17.

God is truth, so believing in false doctrines will distort our understanding of God, and such a misunderstanding of who God really is will eventually distort our character-building process. If someone believes in a fanatical doctrine or an extreme belief, it is more than likely that he or she did not have a well-balanced mind-set in the first place. Believing errors contrary to common sense and reason, generally, has to do with the hidden pride in our hearts; we oftentimes want to stand out and be different from the rest of the people, to gratify the desire for self-exaltation.

If we pray in humility and study the Word of God diligently, the Holy Spirit of God will always lead us into all truth. We have to believe it. How can we go against the impressions of the Spirit of God when we truly want to submit ourselves to the Lord on our knees? Even if we are briefly led astray by a deception, the Spirit of God will strive with us and surely bring us back to truth. If we cannot believe that, then we are just a bunch of orphans left without hope.

My Bible tells me this: “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; [Even] the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I [am] in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.” John 14:16–21.

When we are born again in the Spirit, we immediately begin to be led by the Holy Spirit. Of course, we need to fight with the defects in our minds, which were inherited from our ancestors, so to speak, and also with wrongful thinking patterns to which we have become accustomed. But we have the assurance from God that He is going to help us, if we surrender our minds to Him every day, and He has promised to lead us into all the truth. He is the Spirit of truth!

“These things have I spoken unto you, being [yet] present with you. But the Comforter, [which is] the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” John 14:25, 26.

Aspects of Our Anchor

My brothers and my sisters, we should not be afraid! God has given us three things to help us to stay in the truth, that we may not be deceived by any errors or heresies. They are: the Bible, the Spirit of Prophecy, and the Holy Spirit. These are the parts of our sure anchor. We do not need to fall into any errors.

The Prophet’s Counsel

“I saw that angels of God were commissioned to guard with special care the sacred, important truths which were to serve as an anchor to the disciples of Christ through every generation. The Holy Spirit especially rested upon the apostles, who were witnesses of our Lord’s crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension—important truths that were to be the hope of Israel. All were to look to the Saviour of the world as their only hope, and walk in the way which He had opened by the sacrifice of His own life, and keep God’s law and live. I saw the wisdom and goodness of Jesus in giving power to the disciples to carry on the same work for which He had been hated and slain by the Jews. In His name they had power over the works of Satan. A halo of light and glory centered about the time of Jesus’ death and resurrection, immortalizing the sacred truth that He was the Saviour of the world.” Early Writings, 196.

“God will arouse His people; if other means fail, heresies will come in among them, which will sift them, separating the chaff from the wheat. The Lord calls upon all who believe His word to awake out of sleep. Precious light has come, appropriate for this time. It is Bible truth, showing the perils that are right upon us. This light should lead us to a diligent study of the Scriptures and a most critical examination of the positions which we hold. God would have all the bearings and positions of truth thoroughly and perseveringly searched, with prayer and fasting. Believers are not to rest in suppositions and ill-defined ideas of what constitutes truth. Their faith must be firmly founded upon the word of God so that when the testing time shall come and they are brought before councils to answer for their faith they may be able to give a reason for the hope that is in them, with meekness and fear.

“Agitate, agitate, agitate. The subjects which we present to the world must be to us a living reality. It is important that in defending the doctrines which we consider fundamental articles of faith, we should never allow ourselves to employ arguments that are not wholly sound. These may avail to silence an opposer, but they do not honor the truth. We should present sound arguments, that will not only silence our opponents, but will bear the closest and most searching scrutiny. With those who have educated themselves as debaters, there is great danger that they will not handle the word of God with fairness. In meeting an opponent, it should be our earnest effort to present subjects in such a manner as to awaken conviction in his mind, instead of seeking merely to give confidence to the believer.

“Whatever may be man’s intellectual advancement, let him not for a moment think that there is no need of thorough and continuous searching of the Scriptures for greater light. As a people we are called individually to be students of prophecy. We must watch with earnestness that we may discern any ray of light which God shall present to us. We are to catch the first gleamings of truth; and through prayerful study, clearer light may be obtained, which can be brought before others.

“When God’s people are at ease, and satisfied with their present enlightenment, we may be sure that He will not favor them. It is His will that they should be ever moving forward to receive the increased and ever-increasing light which is shining for them. The present attitude of the church is not pleasing to God. There has come in a self-confidence that has led them to feel no necessity for more truth and greater light. We are living at a time when Satan is at work on the right hand and on the left, before and behind us; and yet as a people we are asleep. God wills that a voice shall be heard arousing His people to action.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 707–709.

Multiplicity of Errors

In our contemporary world, we encounter many different kinds of teachings which focus on frivolous and minor points, yet magnify them as being among the most important issues or even as crucial for our salvation. We should be careful of those kinds of teachings that have now crept into our ranks. We need to focus on the most important doctrines and be occupied with the pillars of our faith that were given to us by our early leaders, inspired by the Spirit of God when they were moved to raise up the Advent Movement. Satan gains his power over the mind through false theories and heresies.

“Satan has wrought with deceiving power, bringing in a multiplicity of errors that obscure the truth. Error cannot stand alone, and would soon become extinct if it did not fasten itself like a parasite upon the tree of truth. Error draws its life from the truth of God. The traditions of men, like floating germs, attach themselves to the truth of God, and men regard them as a part of the truth. Through false doctrines, Satan gains a foothold, and captivates the minds of men, causing them to hold theories that have no foundation in truth. Men boldly teach for doctrines the commandments of men; and as traditions pass on from age to age, they acquire a power over the human mind. But age does not make error truth, neither does its burdensome weight cause the plant of truth to become a parasite. The tree of truth bears its own genuine fruit, showing its true origin and nature. The parasite of error also bears its own fruit, and makes manifest that its character is diverse from the plant of heavenly origin.

“It is through false theories and traditions that Satan gains his power over the human mind.” Review and Herald, October 22, 1895.

“Many who embraced the third message had not had an experience in the two former messages. Satan understood this, and his evil eye was upon them to overthrow them; but the third angel was pointing them to the most holy place, and those who had had an experience in the past messages were pointing them the way to the heavenly sanctuary. Many saw the perfect chain of truth in the angels’ messages, and gladly received them in their order, and followed Jesus by faith into the heavenly sanctuary. These messages were represented to me as an anchor to the people of God. Those who understand and receive them will be kept from being swept away by the many delusions of Satan.” Early Writings, 255.

Amid Life’s Trials

We are living during an age where the structure of our society is not conducive to the cultivation of piety and purity. Never, since the fall of humanity, has it been so difficult to perfect our characters. Everybody suffers, no matter who they may be. I have met many people during my life, and I do not know of anyone who claims that he or she does not have a cross to bear. The surrounding circumstances of our lives and the environment of our society make our cross-bearing much more difficult now than it has been in previous generations, without even mentioning the reason of the law of heredity. We are, by far, the weakest generation of them all, so we need even more help and more guidance from the Lord.

After a traveler crossed the Sahara Desert on foot, he was interviewed by many reporters. In one interview, someone asked him, “What was the most difficult thing to overcome in the journey? Was it heat? Or perhaps sandstorms?” But, surprisingly, he answered that it was rather the sand that got into his shoes that made the journey through the desert so difficult. That is right; the sand in his shoes!

It is not big trials or problems that usually discourage and dishearten us. On the contrary, it is rather small temptations and minor disappointments and trials that cause us to fall and to faint within our hearts. So, we need to focus on the Lord, who is in the heavenly sanctuary. He never forgets us. He devotes all His time to doing everything to save our souls. He is our High Priest.

Of what importance is the position of high priest? A high priest is someone who is appointed from among us, someone who knows our problems and trials by experience, and who is, therefore, able to help us in our time of need.

Jesus Christ is our Mediator. The work of the Mediator is not only to forgive our sins but also to teach and to strengthen us; in other words, to provide the saving grace to overcome. And not only that, but He comforts us in our trials and strengthens us to bear them. So, we really need to focus on Jesus in the most holy place in the heavenly sanctuary. His ministry has been more intensified since He entered into the most holy place. He is preparing His final church to face the time of trouble that will soon break upon us. His business is to save us from the dangers we are facing daily. He is not just reading though record books in formal sessions up there in heaven like an attorney who is not interested in the real person he is defending or for whom he is fighting.

Jesus really cares about you and me. He would rather die than lose us to the hands of our enemy, so we need to follow Him by faith into the most holy place and know and experience for ourselves the work that He is doing for us there on a daily basis. He is our only hope and our anchor. We need to know Him, and that is eternal life. “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” John 17:3. We need to know Him by experience as He daily delivers us in all our trials and sufferings. He is to be our Saviour in every sense of the word as we journey toward our heavenly home.

“Thither the faith of Christ’s disciples followed him as he ascended from their sight. Here their hopes centered, ‘which hope we have,’ said Paul, ‘as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made a high priest forever.’ [Hebrews 6:19, 20.]” The Great Controversy, 421.

“Said Jesus: ‘The Father Himself loveth you.’ [John 16:27.] If our faith is fixed upon God, through Christ, it will prove ‘as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; whither the Forerunner is for us entered.’ [Hebrews 6:19.] It is true that disappointments will come; tribulation we must expect; but we are to commit everything, great and small, to God. He does not become perplexed by the multiplicity of our grievances nor overpowered by the weight of our burdens. His watch care extends to every household and encircles every individual; He is concerned in all our business and our sorrows. He marks every tear; He is touched with the feeling of our infirmities. All the afflictions and trials that befall us here are permitted, to work out His purposes of love toward us, ‘that we might be partakers of His holiness’ [Hebrews 12:10] and thus become participants in that fullness of joy which is found in His presence.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 742.

The Faith We Need

I was deeply touched by the total trust in and commitment to the Lord that a fellow believer recently expressed in testimony. She said that her husband is in jail for a fraud charge; her 17-year-old son has committed suicide, and she is now in the final stage of stomach cancer. Yet, she told the people congregated that she is still thankful to God, “Because,” she said, “I know and trust the fact that the Lord did His best to save my family, and I will find out more of what God has done for my family when I go to heaven. Surely I will praise Him the more then!” What a testimony! That is the kind of faith we should have before we go through the time of trouble.

When Jesus was on the cross, He could not see beyond the portals of the tomb, nor could He see a ray of hope coming down from the throne of His Father, and yet He died a victor as He remembered and trusted in His Father’s promise. That is what we call the faith of Jesus. The remnant of the woman must have this same faith of Jesus. The descriptions of the experience of the 144,000 at the time of Jacob’s trouble are similar to the experience that Jesus Christ had from Gethsemane to Calvary.

We need to learn how to anchor our souls in the Lord in our daily trials now, so that we will learn to place everything on the altar and trust Him even when all our hopes have vanished into total darkness. We shall then have the faith of Jesus and will have absolute peace in our hearts, for we have learned to lay our helpless souls on God, fully surrendering to His will.

“The season of distress and anguish before us will require a faith that can endure weariness, delay, and hunger—a faith that will not faint though severely tried. The period of probation is granted to all to prepare for that time. Jacob prevailed because he was persevering and determined. His victory is an evidence of the power of importunate prayer. All who will lay hold of God’s promises, as he did, and be as earnest and persevering as he was, will succeed as he succeeded. Those who are unwilling to deny self, to agonize before God, to pray long and earnestly for His blessing, will not obtain it. Wrestling with God—how few know what it is! How few have ever had their souls drawn out after God with intensity of desire until every power is on the stretch. When waves of despair which no language can express sweep over the suppliant, how few cling with unyielding faith to the promises of God.

“Those who exercise but little faith now, are in the greatest danger of falling under the power of satanic delusions and the decree to compel the conscience. And even if they endure the test they will be plunged into deeper distress and anguish in the time of trouble, because they have never made it a habit to trust in God. The lessons of faith which they have neglected they will be forced to learn under a terrible pressure of discouragement. We should now acquaint ourselves with God by proving His promises.” The Great Controversy, 621.

We read, in Roman 8:28, 29, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate [to be] conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.”

The Anchor Holds

“The heart surrendered to God’s wise discipline will trust every working out of His providence. . . . Temptation will come to discourage, but what is gained by yielding to any such temptations? Is the soul made any better by murmuring and complaining of its only source of strength? Is the anchor cast within the vail? Will it hold in sickness? Will it be the testimony borne in the last closing scenes of life when the lips are becoming palsied with death? The anchor holds! I know that my Redeemer liveth.” The Upward Look, 377.

Let us contemplate the words of the Psalmist. If we can truly respond yes to these words from our innermost hearts, then we can be certain that our anchor is cast on Jesus our Lord!

“Truly God [is] good to Israel, [even] to such as are of a clean heart. But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped. For I was envious at the foolish, [when] I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For [there are] no bands in their death: but their strength [is] firm. They [are] not in trouble [as other] men; neither are they plagued like [other] men. Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain; violence covereth them [as] a garment. Their eyes stand out with fatness: they have more than heart could wish. They are corrupt, and speak wickedly [concerning] oppression: they speak loftily. They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walketh through the earth. Therefore his people return hither: and waters of a full [cup] are wrung out to them. And they say, How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the most High? Behold, these [are] the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase [in] riches. Verily I have cleansed my heart [in] vain, and washed my hands in innocency. For all the day long have I been plagued, and chastened every morning. If I say, I will speak thus; behold, I should offend [against] the generation of thy children. When I thought to know this, it [was] too painful for me; Until I went into the sanctuary of God; [then] understood I their end. Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction. How are they [brought] into desolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumed with terrors. As a dream when [one] awaketh; [so], O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image. Thus my heart was grieved, and I was pricked in my reins. So foolish [was] I, and ignorant: I was [as] a beast before thee. Nevertheless I [am] continually with thee: thou hast holden [me] by my right hand. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me [to] glory. Whom have I in heaven [but thee]? and [there is] none upon earth [that] I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: [but] God [is] the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.” Psalm 73:1–26.

[All emphasis added.]