Who’s the Boss? was a sitcom back in the mid 80’s and early 90’s. Tony Danza was the star. He played a widower and a former major league baseball player (a second baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals – Go Cards!). He worked as a house keeper for a rich lady in Connecticut. The show was a play on role reversals (even though the main characters weren’t married), the woman was the bread winner and the man was the home maker.
I recently thought of this old TV show because of the role reversal part. A lot of times when we are out street witnessing, we run into people who are trying to do a role reversal with God. A lot of people tell us about their god. They say things like “My god is all loving” or “My god doesn’t hate anyone” or “my god is forgiving” and my personal favorite “My god wouldn’t send anyone to Hell.” In fact, I recently had great conversation with a college student. He mainly wanted to debate evolution and things like that. But I finally had a chance to ask him what he believed. He then told me all the things that his god does and doesn’t do and he ended it with “my god wouldn’t send anybody to Hell.”
When this young man and others tell me that their god would never send anyone to Hell, I have to agree with them. The god that they have made up in their own mind has no power. He couldn’t send anyone to Hell or take anyone to Heaven. The false gods that they make up have no power; they are not real. In fact, these people have one thing in common: they are all breaking the second commandment. They are making a graven image in their own mind.
In the end, relying on your own thoughts will do you no good. Matthew 12:36 says, But I say to you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. And Ecclesiastes 12:14 states, For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. If you have made an idol, a false god that you worship, it will do you no good on Judgment Day. Your false god cannot save you. The graven image that you have made in your own mind can’t save you.
In Isaiah 6:5, Isaiah says, Woe is me! I am undone. For I am a man of unclean lips. A lot of people don’t have a right understanding of who God is. They have lifted themselves up and lowered almighty God. You find the one true God in the Bible. The Holy Bible is inspired by God. Every word in the Bible is there because God wanted it to be there. So if you say my god wouldn’t do this or my god wouldn’t do that, then you need to throw out your false god and pick up the Bible and read about the one true God – the God of the Bible. There is no god beside almighty God (Isaiah 44:6).
Yes, the God of the Bible is forgiving, loving, merciful, kind and full of grace. He is also righteous, holy, just, jealous and wrathful (John 3:36). You need to understand the full counsel of God. You need to recognize why you need a Savior. Yes, God loves you and He made you. Out of His great mercy, He has given you every breath that you have taken to this point. And how have you repaid Him? If you are not a follower of Jesus, then you have repaid Him by rebelling against Him. Every sin that you have ever committed was done in rebellion against the great God of Heaven and earth. Your sin, your rebellion has separated you from God.
If you die in your sins; if you die in your state of rebellion, then your separation will be for all of eternity. Even worse, your place of separation will be in Hell. It is a horrible place. In Luke chapter 16, Jesus describes Hell. This is not a parable. Jesus tells about the rich man that dies and goes to Hell. Luke 16:23-24 states And in hell he (the rich man) lift up his eyes, being in torments, and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
That doesn’t sound very pleasant. Jesus said Hell is a place of torments (notice the s on torment). The rich man begged for a drop of water to be given to him by Lazarus. He also said that he is tormented by this flame. Hell is not the party place that so many people wrongly think that it will be. Some people make up their own version of Hell just like others make up a false god. You won’t be drinking beer and chasing women with your friends in Hell. No, you will be in everlasting torment. You will be in unbearable pain and your false god, your graven image that you have created for yourself in in this life will not be able to help you.
God sends people to Hell because of their own rebellion and because of His holiness, His righteousness and because He is a just Judge. Since He is a good Judge, He must punish unrepentant sinners for their sins. If He didn’t, then He would be no better than the false god that some people have made for themselves. But God isn’t limited to what people think. A lot of people think more highly of themselves than they should and they have lowered the reality of the one true God. But His ways are not our ways. His thoughts are not our thoughts.
But because God is merciful, loving and full of grace, He has made a way of escape from the torments of Hell. Out of His love for us, He sent His only begotten Son to pay the penalty that we deserve (John 3:16). Jesus walked this earth 2,000 years ago. He never sinned in His thoughts, in His words or His deeds. He perfectly did the will of God the Father. Then He allowed the Roman soldiers to beat Him beyond recognition. He allowed them to spit upon Him, to mock Him and shame Him. The great Creator allowed lowly, vile human beings like you and me do despicable things to the Savior. They nailed Him to the cross and He bore our sins, our reproach, our rebellion upon Himself for six long hours on that cruel cross.
Jesus died on the cross and was buried. On the third day, He rose from the grave. He defeated sin, death and Hell. Jesus did what you and I could never do. He perfectly kept the 10 Commandments not only to the letter of the Law, but in the spirit of the Law. He held the 10 Commandments to a higher standard. For example, He said that lusting is the same thing as adultery. Being angry at someone without cause is the same thing as murder. He took the punishment that you and I rightly deserve. And Jesus offers you His righteousness and His goodness if you turn away from your sins and put your faith in Him.
When you are born again, when you are truly saved, then God no longer sees you as the guilty sinner that you are. No, when you repent and put your faith in Jesus, then God sees you through the righteousness of Jesus. God offers us a way to get back in a right relationship with Him. God offers us eternal salvation through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. But you have to give up your false god, your graven image. You have to stop trusting in your own goodness, your own self righteousness. You have to recognize that you are sinner in need of a savior. You must repent and believe the Gospel and God will give you everlasting life and forgive you for your sins. Please, right where you are at, recognize that you are not the boss.
Who’s the boss? Jesus Christ is the boss and you will recognize it sooner or later. But please make it sooner. If you wait until Judgment Day, it will be too late. The Bible says that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. But on that great and terrible day, it will be too late. If you wait until then to acknowledge the great Savior, you will spend eternity in Hell. You must recognize Jesus Christ as Lord in this life. Acknowledge Jesus as boss and submit to His Lordship. He is the boss whether you recognize it or not. Don’t foolishly ignore this fact. Surrender your life to Jesus Christ right here, right now. Only Jesus saves. Repent and believe the Gospel.