Do only good people go to heaven? No. Good people don't go to heaven—forgiven people go to heaven.

Think about these attributes of God: He's loving, He's merciful, He's holy, He's full of grace. He's all powerful. He's just, He's fair. And that's called the theology of glory. And it's all true of God, and it makes people feel good about Him.

But think about these other biblical words: sin, wrath, the cross, crucifixion, the blood of Christ, sacrifice, repentance, those words are called the theology of the cross. I think a lot of people find it offensive.

In fact, there are a number of liberal theologians who really hate the idea of Christ's blood paying for our sins. They call it slaughterhouse religion. But if you take the cross, the crucifixion and the blood out of Christianity, it is meaningless because everything in the New Testament revolves around the forgiveness of our sins.

There are no good people. We're all sinners. But this is what's so interesting. God has made it clear that the forgiveness of our sins is only possible through the shed blood of an acceptable substitute.

Think about that for a minute. Without that substitute who bears the sin, we bear it. We bear it ourselves. And so today, I really want to consider the shed blood of Christ.

A great place to start is 1 Corinthians 1:18, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. But to us who are being saved is the power of God.”