…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.
Hebrews 1:3 NKJV
WHAT IS THE GOSPEL?
How often do you hear the word, “gospel”? Sermons, hymns, songs, books, articles, blogs, social media, the word is all over the place. What is the gospel? One church defined the gospel in this way, The gospel means ‘good report’ or ‘good news.’ The gospel is not just good news because of its content. It is good news because of the form of its delivery. It is not good advice. The gospel never tells us something to do. The gospel tells us about something that has already been done. The form which Christ has chosen for the delivery for this saving message is through the means of preaching.”
The gospel is good news and a good report. Wonderful! But what is the good news and the good report? I cannot be saved by hearing the word, “gospel,” I must be saved by the message of the gospel. What is the message of the gospel? What is its call?
There are things less clear in Scripture than other things. The gospel is not one of those things. The gospel that Paul was not ashamed to declare and that Christ’s people have given their lives to make known is throughout the Scripture. Few places however is it so succinct as in the seven words of Hebrews 1:3, “He had by Himself purged our sins…” The writer of Hebrews is not concerned to give a word about the message of the gospel, He is concerned to declare the gospel. Here is the gospel in a sentence: He has by Himself purged our sins!
WHO IS HE?
He had by Himself purged our sins. Who is this, “He”? Perhaps you think the answer is self-evident. For those that trust in Christ alone for salvation the answer should be obvious. Christ is the “He” of this statement. But how many don’t know what others take as obvious?
The Pharisee said, “I thank God I am not like other men…” The Pharisee thought he had purged his own sins. The Judiazers thought circumcision would purge their sins. Most of the western world and some in evangelical churches think that they get to heaven by being as good as they possibly can be. They will purge their own sins. But that is not what the text says.
The Son is “He” who by Himself purged our sins. Jesus is the Son spoken of in Hebrews 1:3. It is the Son who has in these last days spoken to us the Word of God. The gospel of God begins with the person Jesus Christ.
Jesus is He whom Thomas fell down in worship and confession and cried out saying, “My Lord and my God.”1. The one and the same Jesus that Peter confessed, “Thou art the Christ the son of the living God.”2 It is the Jesus who dying on the cross heard and affirmatively answered the words of the dying thief, “Remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”3 This is “He” who by Himself purged our sins.
Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners and He saved each sinner for whom He came. Jesus Christ Himself is the gospel message. To proclaim the gospel is to proclaim Jesus Christ. There is more to the gospel but surely there is nothing less.
The gospel of Jesus Christ does not stop with the name. It continues to give an account of activity. What did Jesus do?
WHAT DID HE DO?
He had by Himself purged our sins. Hebrews opens with the seven perfections of Christ. The writer mentions us in this sixth perfection by reference to what we did. We sinned. Christ purged our sin. The gospel message takes it as a given that all have sin and all are sinners.
If you are reading this thinking you can know the gospel without coming face to face with your sins and your standing before God you are deceiving yourself. The wages of sin is death. Look at the graveyards. All before you have died. Look around you. All that are now living will one day be on the other side of the grass. You will one day die. This is the reason. You have sinned. You deserve eternal damnation.
Jesus Christ came to deal with sin. That is the gospel. But what specifically did He come to do with sin?He had by Himself purged our sins. Consider the word purged. What comes to mind by this word? Utter destruction. The complete removal, wiping out, taking away of something or someone. Stalin wiped out hundreds of thousands of suspected enemies of the state during the “Great Purge.”4
Farmers seek to purge the weeds from their fields. Utter destruction of the weeds is the goal. The surgeon seeking to purge the cancer from the patient’s body is going for its complete and utter removal. The mother who instructs her child to purge his mind and mouth of sinful language wants it entirely wiped out. When something is purged, nothing should be left.
Farmers, doctors, and parents, attempt to purge what is evil. They may or may not be successful. The analogies only go so far. The gospel is not an attempt to eradicate the sin of all those whom the Father has given the Son. It is not a chance for the eradication of sin. The gospel is that Christ Jesus did purge the sins of His children. He came to this world to do it and He did what He came to do.
Expiation
Some modern Bible translations differ from the Authorized Version and the New King James Version on this point. They say something like, He made purification for sins… Purification is the effect of the purging. As a result of the purging of sin, the sinner is pure. But the word here is not getting to the effect of purging. Rather, the meaning focuses on the act of purging. Christ purged the sins of His people. The theological term here is expiation. Its an archaic word but don’t let that concern you. Instead, remember it. Expiation has to do with the taking away of guilt through the payment of a penalty.
If you have ever been pulled over for speeding, your guilt is paid in the eyes of the state when you pay the associated fine. A criminal may pay for their crime over years in prison. None of these payments of course satisfy God for sinning against Him but they do expiate the wrath of the state.
Christ Jesus expiated the sin of His children. Christ took away the Christian’s guilt by the payment of the penalty to God. That payment He made with His own blood when He died on the cross 2,000 years ago. There in agony, suffering, and sorrow, He purged our sins.
This gospel message is the same in the Old Testament as in the New Testament. The Psalmist said, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow” (Psalm 51:7). The prophet Isaiah writes, “Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, and Your sin purged” (Isaiah 6:6).
Sufficient
Having purged our sins, notice the sufficiency of the payment that He made. Complete removal of sin. Complete payment for sin. Christ made a complete satisfaction of the wrath of God. This one word crushes the lies of the synagogues of Satan. Those promoting false gospels and false Christs change the single word, “purged,” into two words, “almost purged.”5
Jesus says, “purged” in the completest sense of the term (this comes out in Hebrews 7:25).6 Roman Catholicism teaches that Christ purged original sin but not actual transgressions.7 Scripture knows nothing of the lies of “almost purging” beyond calling such a message another gospel that is accursed.8 When Christ made payment He made it to the uttermost. Christ’s payment purged the guilt of sin, the penalty of sin, even the power and pollution of sin. It is the theme of the whole book of Hebrews.
The gospel is the person of Jesus Christ and His Work. We can go further. How did He do His work?
HOW DID HE DO IT?
He had By Himself purged our sins… The work Christ came to do He did by Himself.
Christ is the sole agent of the purging. Christ has wrought salvation. He laid down His life. Christ alone was rejected, beaten, mocked, cursed, despised, nailed to a tree, bled, and died. You were not there. You did not do it nor could you do it. Christ purged our sins by Himself. The focus on how Christ purged our sins goes even further.
Jesus purged our sins by making payment for them. He than went further. He Himself is the payment for our sins. Jesus brought the sacrifice. But that’s not the sole reason He is the Great High Priest. He is High Priest forever because He is the sacrifice. Christ offered up Himself a sacrifice to satisfy divine justice and to reconcile us to God.9
Here is the great separation between Aaron and the Levitical priesthood and Christ in the order of Melchizedek. Old Testament priests never intended to remove sin and never did. Jesus did intend to remove sin by Himself and by Himself He purged our sins by offering Himself as the sacrifice acceptable to God. Christ is not only the provider of righteousness to the unrighteous, He is righteousness for the unrighteous. This is the gospel.
WHEN DID HE DO IT?
He had by Himself purged our sins… The tense in English translations is past tense. Christ’s work of purging has already taken place. In the Greek it is the aorist tense. A completed action in the past with continuing benefit into the present. Jesus is not purging in the present. He will not purge in the future. He has already purged the sins of His people. Redemption is already accomplished. “It is finished was His cry!”
The context confirms all of this for us. After He purged our sins (the sixth perfection of the Son) He than, “sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (the seventh perfection of the Son). When the King is finished conquering, He sits down, ruling and reigning over all that He has conquered. “But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool.”10
The great salvation accomplished by Christ on the cross has taken place in history. How can Christ’s work be applied to you in the present? Repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ that your sins might be counted as purged! Here is the gospel: Christ has purged the sins of His people. Let us ask one more question.
WHY DID HE DO IT?
He had by Himself purged our sins. Perhaps you have come to this point and intellectually understand the gospel but you are not yet embracing Christ by faith. Like a child asks his parents, why they must do something, so hearers of the gospel often ask the same thing of God’s word. Why would Jesus suffer? Why would He purge sins? What would lead Him to save sinners? I see whats in it for me if I believe but whats in it for Him? Why did He do this tremendous work? Scripture abundantly answers this question in just one word: love.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16).
But God demonstrated His love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8)
“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God” (1 John 3:1).
Christ by Himself purged our sins because God loved us. No greater love is there imaginable than this. It is the love of God calling to the wayward, weary, wicked sinner, “Come unto Me!”11 It is the love of God that urges the sinner not to wait one more hour but “Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.”12 It is the love of God that warns the one ready to turn his head again from the gospel today and reminds you of the terror of Hell and calls out, “Flee from the coming wrath!”13
Here is the gospel: He had by Himself purged our sins because God so loved the world.
WHAT DOES IT MATTER?
Who is “He” that purged our sins? Christ, the Son of the living God. What did He do? He purged our sins. How did He do it? By Himself. When did He do it? On the cross. Why did He do it? Because God so loved the world. The gospel in seven words:He had by Himself purged our sins. Children can understand and believe this gospel, and many do. Adults can understand and believe this gospel, and many do. The handicapped can understand and believe this gospel, and many do. Do you believe this gospel?
For Unbelievers
Why does the gospel matter? Why would someone like John the Baptist, Stephen, or James die for this gospel? What is so important about Jesus Christ and His work that is worthy of all hardship and poverty, potentially even a violent death? After Jesus told Nicodemus of God loving the world He said this: “But he who does not believe is condemned already, because He has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18). If you do not believe on the Son of God for your salvation you are condemned. What a terrible word to consider. No payment, no purging, no Savior, no help, no hope. The end of condemnation is the judgment. That’s why this gospel matters.
If you let the gospel slip by you today, you let Christ pass by you today. All is lost if the gospel is lost. The call of the Scripture and the call of the preacher to repent and believe is not some mere invitation that you can take or leave, accept or reject. It is a command of the most urgent variety. There is nothing more urgent to heed than this command. “Repent, the kingdom of God is at hand!”
For Believers
Why does the gospel matter? You do not receive the gospel, gain salvation, and go away never to think of it again. Some have viewed Christianity just that way. Get baptized, get saved, go away and live life as you please. The gospel does not come that way. The gospel comes with power. Whoever believes in Jesus Christ is adopted as a child of God and is a joint heir with Christ. Everything has changed. Before conversion you were in darkness, after conversion you are in the light. Do not dismiss the effect of the gospel. This gospel continues to be precious to you who believe because Jesus continues to be precious to you. If you have believed the gospel, the gospel has affected you.
The love that Christ showed to you in purging your sins by Himself constrains you not to sin. It leads you to worship Him who shed His blood. When the fullness of the gospel is proclaimed you do not grow tired of it.14 The Christian wants to hear it more. “Tell me the old old story!” I have proclaimed this text from Hebrews 1:3 many times. Writing it out for the running series on Hebrews, I am rejoicing in it yet again. New thoughts and applications come to mind from Scripture. I want to gaze more upon my Savior’s glory. When I finish on this text let me go and enter the treasure trove of Christ in another portion of Scripture. I will never exhaust the unsearchable judgments and riches of God. I want to know Jesus more and more for He died to save a wretch like me!
Though you and I may fall severely into sin, temptation, and despair, the Savior never leaves His children. We may still cry out, “Lord Jesus, You have by Yourself purged my sins, help me!” He who is faithful to the end will surely help His children in need. Then when the end comes, we will close your eyes in this life, and immediately pass into glory. We will not hear a preacher preaching the gospel there. There will be no need of such work. Why? In Heaven you will see the Gospel face to face. On Earth you heard and believed the gospel. In Heaven you will behold the gospel. You will see Jesus.
The church seems always to be in danger of losing the Gospel. How many bright candlesticks of the past have long ago gone out? While the reasons vary, they all have this common denominator, they forgot Christ. They forgot His Word, His glory, His grace, His power, they forgot Him. To forget Christ is to forget the gospel. To forget the gospel is to forget everything. Do not neglect, forget, or reject the gospel. Protect, promote, and proclaim the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to the end.
He has by Himself purged our sins.
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- John 20:28 ↩︎
- Matthew 16:16 ↩︎
- Luke 23:42 ↩︎
- The Great Purge ↩︎
- Paul’s address of this heresy is found in the book of Galatians. ↩︎
- “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25). ↩︎
- See Roman Catholic Catechism #969 ↩︎
- Galatians 1:6-9 ↩︎
- Hebrews 9:12-14 ↩︎
- Hebrews 10:12-13 ↩︎
- Matthew 11:28 ↩︎
- Hebrews 4:7 ↩︎
- Matthew 3:7 ↩︎
- If the gospel is retold the same way over and over without addressing the nuances of the particular text, over time, hearers will get tired of it. Some may even despair of hearing it. Some methods of preaching simply tell the story of the text, explain how Christ is our perfect example for obedience, our perfect righteousness for justification, and the sermon comes to a close. There is little or no application to the person listening, no focus on a particular aspect of the gospel, and in effect, almost no power to the preaching. That is not the meaning of preaching the gospel in every text. The challenging work of the preacher is: 1) bringing out the particular focus of the gospel message in the particular gospel text without being dry and repetitive week after week; and 2) applying that gospel to the believer and unbeliever with urgency. Getting to the heart of the hearer is the heart of the matter of preaching. Dr. Masters of the Metropolitan Tabernacle is a gifted example of this work as he preaches a “Gospel” sermon each Sunday evening. ↩︎
Copyright © 2025 by Ben Stahl
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