So Ray asked me to do this song last night. We played it last weekend at Joe's funeral. It's called Jesus is Living in Me. And the Bible verse that it reminds me of is Galatians 2.20. It says, I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. It says, it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. 

And the Lord left me there, now Jesus is living in me. He's in my feet when I'm walking, in my tongue when I'm talking, in my eyes and now I can see. He's in the songs that I'm singing, in my heart His joy is ringing, Jesus is living in me. Through the valley, the Antiochian, to the top of the mountain, and before the last troubled, troubled sea. How I sing for His glory, songs that tell a great story, cause Jesus is living in me. 

He's in my feet when I'm walking, in my tongue when I'm talking, in my eyes and now I can see. He's in my heart that I'm singing, in my heart His joy is ringing, Jesus is living in me. He's in my feet when I'm walking, in my tongue when I'm talking, in my eyes and now I can see. He's in the songs that I'm singing, in my heart His joy is ringing, Jesus is living in me. Yes, my Jesus is living in me. 

And both of these men believe that. They love that truth. Thanks so much for that good song. Now please turn to Hebrews again, to the book of Hebrews. And I'd like for us just once again to read the first four verses of Hebrews chapter 1. 

God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He's appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds, who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. 

On Thursday night in our Bible study, we started out with a desperate proposition. I stated it already this morning. It would be impossible for any person to be saved if God had not spoken His word to us. We could never know the Lord. We could never know that our sins are forgiven. We could never have the assurance that our destiny is in heaven. 

And now I want to state an assuring proposition based on Hebrews 5.8, that Jesus became the author of eternal salvation for each one of us, and we've heard that word. The only way any human sinner can be saved, and be sure that he's saved, is to hear, and to receive, and to hold fast to the saving word from God. Paul said that in Ephesians chapter 1. He said, you heard the good news of your salvation, and you trusted in Jesus Christ, and at that moment you were saved, you were sealed by the Holy Spirit forever. 

He said to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, he said, I declare to you the gospel by which you are saved if you hold fast to that word that Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and rose again. The writer of Hebrews in chapter 12 says, we've come to Jesus. And that's the assurance of each one of us this morning who's saved. We've made that choice to come to Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant. 

I think of what Jesus so often said when he talked to the crowds of people. He said, he who has ears to hear, let him hear. And that is the secret, friends, of having saving faith, to hear God's word, God's saving truth that he's spoken to me through the scripture. 

Now the major announcement that the writer of the book of Hebrews begins with in Hebrews chapter 1 is that Jesus, the son of God, is God's merciful, saving word to every child of Adam. Jesus is the word. He's the saving word. The Bible is a written word. But Jesus is the saving word. Take a look at John chapter 1 right now in your Bible. I want you to see how John begins his statement about this in John chapter 1. Jesus is the word. 

We'll begin at verse 1 of John chapter 1. In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him nothing was made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of man. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. 

Now look at verse 14. And the word, that's Jesus, God's eternal son, became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory. The glory is of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. This book that you and I love so much, this book of the Bible, tells us that Jesus is the living word. And so that's why he said, I say unto you, he who hears my word, and believes in him that sent me, has everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life. 

He said in John chapter 6 verse 63, The words that I speak to you, they are spirit and they are life. I want to talk about viable assurance for each one who's here today. Do you have the assurance of eternal salvation? And the Jesus man of the Bible is God's saving assurance. He's God's saving promise to our heart and our mind. 

Turn in your Bible to the book of 1 John, toward the end of the New Testament. 1 John chapter 5, please. I'd like for you to look at this statement, verse 9. This is about Jesus, the saving word, who is our assurance of eternal life. 1 John 5 verse 9, If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater. For this is the witness of God, which he's testified of his Son. That statement by John means everything that God wants to say to the sons of Adam, to human beings living on this planet. He says by the word Jesus Christ. 

He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself. He who does not believe God has made him a liar, because he's not believed the testimony that God has given of his Son. And this is the testimony that God has given us eternal life. God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Here's the clear truth. He who has the Son has life. He who does not have the Son of God does not have life. And then John added this. And by the way, this is about 60 years after the resurrection of Jesus. John is the only one of the 12 men that survived martyrdom. And this is his final statement. God has spoken to us his word. His word is his Son, and if you believe his Son, you have eternal life. 

Listen to his conclusion, verse 13. These things I have written to you, who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. The proposition we're beginning with today is that God has spoken a word to us. He's spoken to us by the books of the Bible, and he's spoken to us concerning his Son, who is the ultimate saving word for every human being. 

Now, in Hebrews chapter 1, in the first four verses, there are three confident pronouncements to the person who receives Jesus as God's saving word. And let each one of us personalize this right now. I want each one of us to ask the question, do I receive Jesus as God's ultimate saving word to me? And I can say the only reason I can stand here today and speak with you is because that's true of my life. The only reason I have to be able to preach God's word or to witness to another person is I believe Jesus, God's saving word. Do you have that assurance in your heart? 

I want us to notice the three things that he mentions in the beginning of the book of Hebrews concerning our assurance of salvation. Jesus purged our sins. That's in verse 3. He himself purged our sins. Now, the most desperate need of every child of Adam is to be purged or to be cleansed from our sins. Because all have sinned, Paul said, and come short of the glory of God. And the wage of sin is death. We need to have our sins purged. And the only hope concerning our sin, our guilt, our shame, is God's son, Jesus, the word. 

Call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. John the Baptist pointed to Jesus in a crowd. He said, this is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Paul said to the Romans, here's how we understand God's love. While we were still sinners, Jesus Christ, God's son, came and died for us. He's my savior. He's my advocate. He's my new covenant priest. And my total trust is in Jesus. 

Now look at verse 1 again. We're going to go slowly as we look at these verses. Verse 1 of Hebrews 1. God, who at various times and in various ways, spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets. Verse 1 tells us that the old covenant prophets, if you read the Old Testament and you listen to the prophets, they were sent to announce the good news of God's forgiveness, that he purges our sins. 

I think of Isaiah chapter 1:18. What a succinct summary statement this is. Come now and reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be white as snow. It's an offer to come and to reason with the Lord. And when we sense a guilt, we come to the Lord and we talk to him about what Jesus did on the cross. We reason with him. And as we reason with him by the scriptures, we come away with a full assurance that our sins have been purged. 

Because of the fall of Adam in the Garden of Eden, the urgent need for all sinners is to be purged, to be cleansed. Romans 5:12 says, Wherefore, as by one man, Adam, sin entered into the world, so death passed upon all men, for all have sinned. And the message of the prophets, verse 1 tells us, was an announcement to bring every son to contrite confession and repentance of sin. 

What is repentance? Luke chapter 13, Jesus said it twice. He said, unless a man repents, he will perish. Do we know that we've experienced repentance? What is repentance? Jesus gave an example in Luke chapter 18 of two men going into the temple to pray. We could talk about two people coming to church to pray today. And one man's attitude was this, Lord, I thank you that I'm a good person, I'm righteous. And the other man's attitude was, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. He wouldn't even look toward heaven. He smote his breast. He said, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. That's repentance. 

And Jesus said, the prophets of the Old Testament talked about repentance. And repentance is necessary in order to be saved. How do we know that we have a heart of repentance? The best way to know that we have a heart of repentance is to consider our own heart right now. It's my attitude toward the Lord. God, be merciful to me, a sinner. 

I'd like for you to turn to Psalm chapter 32. There's a beautiful testimony of what God tells us about repentance. Psalm chapter 32. And follow as I begin reading at verse 1. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is a man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. 

When I kept silent, my bones grew old. Through my groaning all the day long, for day and night your hand was heavy upon me. My vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Here's repentance. Here's confession. I acknowledge my sin to you, to you, Lord. In my iniquity I've not hidden. I said I will confess my transgressions to the Lord, and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. 

The Old Testament writers were talking about repentance. They came to announce that God's willing to cleanse and forgive and purge men from sin. I hope everyone this morning has that assurance. I've been washed. I've been justified. I've been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. 

Now the second verse in Hebrews chapter 1 tells us that the incarnation, that is when Jesus became a man, and his vicarious death is the new covenant promise. Christ coming to the world is the new covenant promise of purging, cleansing of our sin. Look at verse 2. God has in these last days spoken to us by his Son, whom he's appointed to be heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds. 

Let's look at the story of the coming of Jesus to the world in Luke chapter 2. Please follow in your Bible. Luke chapter 2. The incarnation, that's the word for Jesus becoming flesh, was the promise of forgiveness and cleansing for every one of us. I'm going to begin at verse 2. It's a familiar story, and it came to pass, verse 1 of chapter 2, it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 

This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria, so all went to be registered, every man to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth into Judea to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David. To be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child, so it was while they were there. The days were accomplished for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. 

The Old Testament prophets preached about the forgiveness that would come through a Savior, and now here it's fulfilled. Look at verse 8. Now they were in the same country, shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 

And what was the meaning of this birth? Verse 10. Then the angel said to them, Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which will be to all people. For there's born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who's Christ the Lord. I'm saying the incarnation, that event that led up to the vicarious death of that man 33 years later, that's God's new covenant promise of the purging of our sins. That happened when Jesus came. He came to this world for you and me to purge and to cleanse us from our sins. And the birth of this child was God speaking his saving word. God telling that there's remission of sin and guilt for all sinners. There's born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who's Christ the Lord. 

So the first thing in the book of Hebrews chapter 1 that the writer speaks about is that he purged our sins. Now look at verse 3, and there's another point I want to emphasize in verse 3. The coming of God's eternal Son for the human family was the perfect God-pleasing remedy for the sin and guilt of every man. Lord, what can you do? What can be done about my sin and guilt? Here's the answer. 

Who being the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person and upholding all things by the word of his power when he had purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high. Note who this man was that we're talking about. It says he's the heir of all things. He made the worlds. By his word he made the worlds. He's the brightness of God's glory. He's the express image of God's person. He upholds all things by the word of his power. 

The only member of Adam's family who meets these qualifications is Jesus. He's the one who's the brightness of God's glory and the express image of God's person. He's the one who created all things, and therefore he's the only one of whom Simon Peter could write, he bore our sins in his own body on the tree. That we being dead to sin should live for righteousness. Jesus is the only one. Lord, you've redeemed us with your own precious blood. This is all summarized in our New Testament, folks, with one word. One word. It's the word propitiation. 

I'd like you to see that word in your Bible in Romans chapter 3. All of this is summarized, the purging of our sins, with this one word, propitiation. It's not a common word, but look at Romans 3 at verse 23. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. That's true for every one of us. Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by his blood, through faith and to demonstrate his righteousness because of his forbearance, God had passed over the sins that were previously committed. 

Jesus is the propitiation. I know that's not a familiar word. We don't use that word commonly, but today I want you to take a hold of that word. That one New Testament word, propitiation, it means God is fully satisfied concerning every sin that's been blotted out and purged by Jesus Christ. Every sin of our life has been put away. I just encourage you to hold on to that truth this morning, folks, from our text. Jesus is the propitiation for our sins. 

When Satan comes to you and he accuses you and he makes you miserable and guilty and shameful, take this word from the Bible. Jesus is the complete satisfaction for my sin. When your own conscience digs up the past and brings guilt to you, hold on to this word. 

So the first thing that the writer of the book of Hebrews tells us about Jesus, the word, the message of God to us, is that he purged us from our sins. And there's another thing I want you to notice secondly in this text in verse 3. It says, after he purged us from our sins, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high. 

He ascended through the heavens. He went back to the Father. The work of salvation was finished. And Jesus sat down at the right hand of the Father to be our priest, to be our mediator, to be our intercessor. Can you get a hold of that? Right now, Jesus is in the presence of the Father, in the presence of God's majesty, on your behalf, to appeal for you at all times. 

And when I think of this, the truth that just impacted me again this morning is, we need a priest. Every person needs a priest in the presence of the Father to make intercession for us. And that's exactly what Jesus Christ is doing at this present time. The New Testament gives us a clear picture of two locations where God solved and solves the problem of our sin. And our assurance comes when we grasp the meaning of these two locations. 

The first location is a hill outside of Jerusalem called the Hill of Skulls, or Calvary, or Golgotha, where Jesus died on our behalf to pay for our guilt and our sin. Let's turn to the 19th chapter of the book of John and read about that place. John chapter 19. I want to read a fairly lengthy passage of scripture and have you see this place. And what I'd like to encourage you to do this morning is to sit in this beautiful place for our worship service. 

I'd like for you, in your mind and your imagination, to go back to that place outside of Jerusalem. Some of you have been there. I've been there. And see that place and witness what we read about in John 19, beginning at verse 14. Now, it was the preparation day of the Passover, and about the sixth hour, he said to the Jews, Behold your king. It's Pilate speaking to the Jews concerning Jesus. But they cried out, Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him! Pilate said to them, Shall I crucify your king? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar. 

Then he delivered him up to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus and led him away. And he, bearing his cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull. Now, this is a place where Jesus will solve the problem of our sin. The Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew Golgotha, where they crucified him and two others with him, one on either side and Jesus in the center. 

Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was, Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews. Stand there and watch that. Then many of the Jews read this title. For the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. Therefore the chief priests of the Jews said to him, to Pilate, Do not write the king of the Jews, but he said, I'm the king of the Jews. Pilate answered, What I've written, I've written. 

Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments and made four parts to each soldier apart, and also the tunic. Now the tunic was without seam woven from the top in one piece. They said, therefore, among themselves, Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be, that the scripture might be fulfilled, which says, They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. Therefore the soldiers did these things. 

Now there stood at the cross of Jesus his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing by, he said to his mother, Woman, behold your son. Then he said to the disciple, Behold your mother. And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. 

After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, said, I thirst. Put yourself at his place now and watch this. Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there, and they filled a sponge with sour wine. Put it on hyssop and put it to his mouth. So when Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, It is finished. And bowing his head, he gave up his spirit. 

I want for us each to consider this morning, Do I believe what Jesus believed when he was hanging on the cross at that hill of skulls, when he said, It is finished. I have gained eternal salvation for every person who will believe me. It is finished. It's accomplished. When we take that word for ourself, and we literally believe that cry from the heart of Jesus our Savior, the Word of God, that's when we have the assurance of eternal salvation. Jesus finished everything necessary to save me. 

Now that's the first place that we need to consider. We need to look at that clear picture concerning Jesus' solution to our sin, the hill of skulls. And the second place is the throne of God in heaven, where Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father in majesty as our Great High Priest. Hebrews chapter 4 is so tremendous about that, seeing then we have a Great High Priest who's passed the heavens. Let us hold fast our confession. 

For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with us in our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted like we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in the time of need. 

What about sins that we have committed after becoming a Christian, after our conversion? We have a great high priest who is making intercession for us. So when our mind is accused and we feel a sense of shame and guilt and disappointment, we need to believe what the Bible says about Jesus being at the right hand of the Father. John said it this way, If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one, and he is the propitiation for our sins. Not for ours, but for the sins of the whole world. He is our great high priest. 

We need to remember his cry from the cross, It's finished. Father, I've done everything necessary for the complete forgiveness and salvation of every person, and we need to realize still, he's our intercession, and he's effectively praying on our behalf. 

Now there's one more thing I want you to notice in Hebrews chapter 1, a thought that really struck me as so relevant and encouraging. Jesus purged our sins. He sat down at the right hand of the Father on our behalf, and he obtained a more excellent name. Look at verse 4, please, Hebrews 1. Having become so much better than the angels by inheritance, he obtained a more excellent name. 

We sang about that this morning in one of our wonderful hymns about the blessed be the name of Jesus our Savior. Call his name Jesus. There's no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. Whosoever shall call upon the name of Jesus shall be saved. And Hebrews 13 is so fantastic. It declares that we need to be thanks to his name. Therefore, by him, let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name. 

That needs to be our daily breathing, giving thanks to the name of Jesus because it's a name by which we are saved. There are two statements I want you to notice from that fourth verse. His name is better than the angels. Think of all the angels. The Bible says there are thousands, millions of angels in this universe created by God, and only two of them are named in the Bible, Gabriel and Michael. 

One of God's angels took on an army that was coming against Israel of 185,000 warriors, cruel warriors, and one angel destroyed all those warriors in one night. The power of an angel is amazing, but Jesus has a name that's better than the angels. If you could have a name to cling to and to hold fast to, would you want the name of Gabriel for your assurance or the name of Michael? Or would you prefer to choose the name of Jesus, which is above every name, the name which means Savior? 

And how did he obtain this more excellent name? By inheritance, it says. What right did Jesus have to approach his Father with confidence on our behalf? By inheritance. The Bible says God said, this is my beloved Son in whom I'm well pleased. He has a name which exceeds and more excellent than every other name that's ever been pronounced. And that name is our quiet confidence and assurance. 

So in Hebrews chapter 1, the author of the book of Hebrews tells us that Jesus is God's Word, spoken to every one of us. He is the Word of God, spoken to us. And he's the one who purged our sins. He's the one who sat down at the right hand of the majesty in heaven and is there right now on our behalf. And he is the one who obtained the name which is above every other name, because it's a name that brings eternal salvation. 

I hope this is encouraging to all of us today. How do you respond when the writer of the book of Hebrews says, God has spoken to us by his Son? The psalmist said, at the remembrance of his holy name, give thanks. 

And Jesus himself said, if you just come to me, everyone who makes that choice in your heart to come to me, I'll receive you. I'll never cast you out. I'll raise you up to live with me forever. And dear people, how do we know we've come to Jesus? And the best indication is in 2 Corinthians 3.16, when the heart turns to the Lord. My heart is turned to the Lord. Is your heart turned to Jesus the Lord? 

And if so, you can just give thanks for the first chapter of the book of Hebrews. For the Son of God who purged your sins, who is your priest in the presence of the Father right now, and who has the only name by which we can be saved. Thanks so much for listening this morning. Let's just bow and have a prayer right now. 

Our Father, I thank you for this part of the Bible. And Father, thank you that Jesus is your word, your saving word to each one of us. We love him, Father, and we thank you. We thank you for the word that Paul said we could hold fast to that gospel. And by holding fast to that gospel, we're saved. Thank you, Father. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.