I don’t really
know much about boating. I’ve been on them, I love touring old
warships. But when it comes to practical sailing knowledge, that’s
not really my area of expertise. But one thing I do know is that
anchors hold the boat where it is. We all have that image of a ship
cutting through the water, and then it drops it’s anchor and as the
anchor and the chain begin dragging across the bottom the ship comes
to a stop (I’m particularly thinking of that epic scene from the
2012 movie Battleship!).
As
apart of this conversation I also want to mention Paul’s words in
Ephesians 4:14, “Then we
will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and
blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and
craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming” (NIV).
A lot of imagery in this passage that relates to a ship, really in
need of an anchor. When a boat is anchored, even in a terrible storm
it can be held, and while it might get battered a bit, it can remain
where it needs to. We live in a day and age with a lot of teachings
that seem to go all over the place. A lot of “theology” that is
done in our post-modern era is
sometimes problematic at best, or as the text suggests sometimes
deceitful.
How
are we to tell!? How could we possible know what is sound doctrine
and what is not. It can be really hard because most of the time
everyone is using the same Bible, and yet people come to vastly
different interpretations and understandings.
The
answer is we have to make sure we are anchored. The anchor that we
have in Christianity is that of the classical Christian consensus of
the Church found in the creeds and in the writing of the early church
fathers (a.k.a the patristics). When we hold commonly what the early
church believed (summed in the creeds and presented in the patristic
writings) we find an anchor that a follower of Jesus in any age is
able to go to, yank on it a bit and see if they are still attached to
it.
Gnosticism
was an early church heresy (that even Paul deals with), where they
believed they had special revelation and knowledge of salvation,
securing them no matter what they did. This obviously led to many
problems. When we then turn to the creeds and early church fathers we
find out how these issues were dealt with, and we can assess from
there is we are attached to the anchor or not.
My
encouragement for us all is to make sure that we are anchored. In the
last year I have memorized the Apostle’s Creed, and it has been so
live giving. I can recite the core historic beliefs of the Christian
faith, and it is a constant reminder that I am anchored to the faith
once delivered to the saints, which has been proclaimed since the day
of Pentecost.
Go
learn the creed (The Apostle’s Creed, Nicaean Creed & the
Athanasian Creed are the core ones) and read some of the early church
fathers (Athanasius, John Chrysostom, Justin Martyr, Clement of Rome,
Polycarp, Clement of Alexandria, Origen just to name a few). You will
find that the thoughts and questions of our modern age really aren’t
that new, and you will likewise be amazed at the depth of thought
that the Church has for us today.
Be
anchored.