We've examined many methods that will not get you to heaven. Now let's discover the one method that will get you through the pearly gates. The main problem is sin, and to understand it, we must start at the beginning.

Adam and Eve were created by God as perfect, sinless creatures. But one day, Satan, in the form of a serpent, tempted Eve to sin. She did. Soon after, Adam sinned too. As you will see, this caused a deadly sin nature to be passed down to everyone ever born.

First, sin always leads to misery, heartache and death:

…sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. James 1:15

Notice the words "when it is finished." Many people mistakenly believe they have gotten away with sin because they have not yet felt its consequences. The fact is, sin just isn't finished with them yet. God's Word declares, "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23), and God's Word is always right. In the end, nobody gets away with sin.

Sin is also dangerous because it separates us from God. Because of sin, Adam and Eve were driven out of God's presence, and because of sin, most people are separated from God's presence in heaven for eternity:

But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. Isaiah 59:2

Worst of all, because of sin, Jesus Christ suffered and died on the cross:

Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 1 Corinthians 15:3

How important is the sin issue? If the CEO of General Motors flies from New York to Tokyo to personally handle a matter, you know it is very important. So how important is an issue that requires God Almighty to leave the perfection of heaven, be born on earth as a baby, then grow up and die a barbaric death on a cross? VERY important!

Adam and Eve's sin caused two results. First, they were driven out of the Garden of Eden. God still loved them but would not allow sin to remain in His presence. Secondly, their sin was passed down to every person ever born:

Wherefore, as by one man (Adam) sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: Romans 5:12

Because of their sin, everyone is born a sinner:

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Romans 3:23

But the scripture hath concluded all under sin… Galatians 3:22

Even if you only sinned once (which no one has), you would still be a sinner:

For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. James 2:10

You may be thinking, "If we are all sinners and God will never allow sin into His presence, then nobody will ever get into heaven." This leads us to the only way sin can ever be forgiven… blood:

Throughout history, God has ordained that blood would always play a key role in the forgiveness of sins:

And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. Hebrews 9:22

…it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. Leviticus 17:11

Until Adam and Eve sinned, they both were naked. After their sin, God shed the blood of an innocent animal to make a covering for their now sinful bodies:

Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them. Genesis 3:21

This is the first recorded instance of God shedding blood to cover people's sins. Notice, Adam and Eve sinned only once, but one sin was enough to make them sinners. Thus, blood had to be shed for their sin.

Throughout Old Testament times, sins were temporarily covered by the shed blood of innocent sacrificial animals. (See Leviticus 4.) But the Bible says these ongoing animal sacrifices could not permanently take away sins:

"…it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins." Hebrews 10:4

Here is a beautiful picture of the role blood played in the covering of sins. God instructed the high priest to enter the holy of holies in the tabernacle once each year. But first, the high priest was required to shed the blood of an innocent animal for a sin offering.

Within the holy of holies was a box called the ark. Inside the ark lay the two tables of stone upon which God wrote the Ten Commandments. The ark was covered by a lid called the mercy seat. Every year on the day of atonement, God appeared in a cloud on the mercy seat. But before He appeared, the high priest sprinkled the blood of the sacrifice on top of the mercy seat. Thus, when God looked down, He didn't see His law inside the ark. He saw the blood on the mercy seat. You will understand the significance of this shortly.

Again, it wasn't how good or bad the people had been. They had all sinned, therefore they all needed to have their sins covered, and there was only one way… by the blood.

Remember the passover story? The children of Israel were in bondage in Egypt, and Pharaoh refused to let them go. After several plagues, God was about to kill the firstborn in every home. To protect the Hebrew children, Moses was ordered to have his people get a lamb. But not just any lamb:

Your lamb shall be without blemish… Exodus 12:5

In a moment you'll see why this was so important.

They were instructed to kill the lamb and spread it's blood on the doorposts (Exodus 12:7). Then, when God passed through the land killing the firstborn, those with blood on the doorposts would be spared:

And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. Exodus 12:13

An innocent lamb died so people could live. Again, it didn't matter how good or bad the people were. They had all sinned, so they all required blood on their doorposts.

Eventually, God revealed His plan for dealing with the sin problem once and for all. One day, a preacher known as John the Baptist made one of the most important statements ever uttered by human tongue. When he saw Jesus approaching, he announced:

…Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. John 1:29

Notice two critically important parts of this statement. First, John referred to Jesus Christ as the "Lamb of God." Rather than continuing to shed the blood of sacrificial lambs, Jesus Christ had come to earth to shed His own blood as the ultimate sacrificial lamb.

Secondly, Jesus came to "take away" sin once and for all, not to cover it for a period of time:

As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he (Jesus) removed our transgressions (sins) from us. Psalm 103:12

Jesus didn't die to temporarily cover our sins, He shed His blood "for the remission of sins" (Matthew 26:28).

At least four important facts about Jesus Christ must be understood. First, He always was and always will be God. Jesus Himself declared, "I and my Father are one" (John 10:30). The gospel of John opens with the words, "In the beginning was the Word (Jesus Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1). When a man named Philip asked Jesus to show him the Father, Jesus replied, "…he that hath seen me hath seen the Father… (John 14:9). Paul wrote to Timothy about Jesus, saying, "God was manifest in the flesh… (1 Timothy 3:16). The Bible states, "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one (1 John 5:7).

Secondly, as God, Jesus Christ was sinless:

For he hath made him (Jesus) to be sin for us, who knew no sin… 2 Corinthians 5:21

Since Jesus was born of a virgin, God, not Joseph, was His Father. God's pure, sinless blood flowed through the Lord's veins. That's why He was the only sacrifice that could permanently take away our sins. Remember how Old Testament law required sacrificial lambs to be without spot or blemish? They were a foreshadowing of the perfect sacrifice (Jesus) who would come to take away the sins of the entire world.

Third, Jesus is important to you and me because He willingly died to pay the price for our sins. Jesus declared:

I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. John 10:17-18

Jesus was not taken against His will. Nor was He powerless to escape. Jesus said:

Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? Matthew 26:53

Lastly, Jesus is special because He rose from the dead:

And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. Romans 1:4

No other religious leader in history has ever risen from the dead. Muhammad, Buddha, Joseph Smith and all others are still in their graves.