1. We are living in a day and age when the word "sin" has little meaning to most people. Most preachers do not like to preach against specific sins because they are scared their members might leave the church.
2. Preacher friend, you’d be better off without those kind of members. Why don’t you go out and try and get some people saved? Then you can baptize them and disciple them. It’s better to let the wicked, unconverted members leave the church, and then replace them with those that are genuinely saved.
3. This will make for a stronger church than having your pews filled with a bunch of worldly, unregenerate, lost people.
4. We are living in a time when the word "salvation" is greatly misunderstood. Ask the average church member if they’re saved and it is amazing the kind of response you will receive. You will hear stories of visions and dreams and tongues and baptisms and good works and praying a sinner's prayer and so on, but very little talk about repentance or conviction of sin or being saved from hell by the blood of Christ.
5. I want to get preach a simple message today. I want to speak on the ABC’s.

• ALL HAVE SINNED (Rom.3:23).

• BE SURE YOUR SIN WILL FIND YOU OUT (Num.32:23).

• CHRIST DIED FOR OUR SINS (ROM.5:6-8).

I. ALL HAVE SINNED (ROM.3:23).

1. As I just said, we do not hear the word "sin" used much these days. Look through your morning newspaper. You will read about murder, rape, robbery, lying, adultery, etc. but there will be no mention of the word "sin."
2. Read about Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinski and this ridiculous "Sensation" exhibit and if you are a Christian the first word that comes to your mind is "SIN." But that word is not even whispered.
3. My friend, the word "sin" might not be found in the newspaper, and it might not be heard on TV, but it is found many times in the Bible. It is found 49 times here in Paul’s epistle to the Romans.
4. Now what exactly does the Bible mean by the word "sin"? (Rom.3:9,23)
5. "Sin" means "to miss the mark" or "to overstep a boundary." Adam and Eve sinned. God said, "Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" (Gen.2:16,17).
6. But what did they do? They disobeyed God. They overstepped the boundary that God had established. They sinned against God.
7. As a matter of fact, ALL SIN IS AGAINST GOD (cf. Gen.39:7-9; Ps.51:1-5).
8. Man is a rebel. Man enjoys sin. Just like a pig likes mud, man likes sin.
9. In Romans 3:9, the Bible says "that they are all under sin." To be "under sin" means to be dominated by sin, to be controlled by sin, to be under sin’s dread sway.
10. I love that Gospel song, I’d Rather Have Jesus, especially the part that goes:

11. Look at the way the Word of God describes sinful man (Rom.3:10ff).
12. When you go to the doctor for a check-up, he says, "Open your mouth." Our great Physician, the Lord Jesus Christ is telling mankind, "Open your mouth." His diagnosis is not good – "Their mouth is an open sepulchre" (3:13).
13. Next He says, "Stick out your tongue" (3:1313,14).
14. Read this passage carefully. It is clear – "All have sinned" (3:23).

II. BE SURE YOUR SIN WILL FIND YOU OUT (NUM.32:23).

1. This is another important Bible principle. "The soul that sinneth, it shall die" (Ezek.18:4).
2. "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap" (Gal.6:7).
3. If you think about it, we are reminded of this truth nearly every day. Some of you may recall the assassination attempt on President Gerald Ford. The man who saved his life lived a quiet life until that day he deflected the gun that was aimed at President Ford. The newspaper reports referred to the fact that he was a homosexual. His parents read the newspapers stories and were so ashamed and embarrassed that they stopped talking to him. He complained that his life was ruined.
4. An old friend of mine’s brother got herpes. Others get AIDS.
5. I read a story one time of a burglar who robbed a home up in NH. He loaded up his car with all these stolen goods, and then he backed up into a snow bank. When the police arrived, they noticed that his license plate had left a perfect imprint in the snow. They ran the number through their computer and caught the thief.
6. He learned the hard way: "Be sure your sin will find you out."
7. Beloved, God does not need a computer to catch you. All your sins are recorded up in heaven. God is omniscient and He’s already got your number.
8. So, A is for "All have sinned," and B is for "Be sure your sin will find you out." Now C is for "Christ died for our sins."

III. CHRIST DIED FOR OUR SINS

1. It is clearly taught in the Bible that we are all sinners and that we cannot get away with our sin.
2. Sin has a penalty attached to it (cf. Rom.6:23). "Death" here is the second death, i.e. eternity in hell, separated from God (cf. Rev. 20:14,15; 21:8).
3. So, "the wages of sin is death, BUT THE GIFT OF GOD IS ETERNAL LIFE THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD" (Rom.6:23).
4. Christ did not die for good people (Rom.3:12; cf. 5:6-8).
5. Today if there is someone here who has never been saved, I hope you understand that Jesus Christ died for you (cf. Isa.53:5; II Cor. 5:21; I Peter 2:24; 3:18).
6. If you repent and believe in Jesus Christ, you will be saved, but if you do not then you will be lost forever (John 3:18,36).

CONCLUSION:

1. When Leonardo da Vinci was painting his masterpiece, The Last Supper, it took him a long time to find just the right man to model for Christ. But after searching and searching, he found just the right man. He was a handsome young man who sang in a church choir. His named was Pietro Bandinelli.
2. A few years passed and the painting was still unfinished. All the disciples had been drawn in except one, Judas Iscariot. Now Leonardo da Vinci was searching high and low for just the right man whose face was hardened and distorted by sin.
3. At last he found a dirty beggar on the streets of Rome with a face so villainous that da Vinci shuddered when he looked at him. The man agreed to sit for him and da Vinci offered him a good price.
4. Soon the painting was finished. Judas Iscariot was on the canvas, and the mean-looking beggar got up to leave. Leonardo da Vinci said, "By the way, I forgot to ask you your name." The man replied: "I am Pietro Bandinelli. I was your model when you drew Christ."
5. Sin always takes us further than we planned to go. And there is only one remedy for sin, the blood of Jesus Christ.
6. I preached today on the A,B,C’s. But there is a D also. "Do you want to get right with God today?" Do you want to receive Jesus Christ as your Saviour today? Do you want to get saved today?