In a recent interview with “Inteligência Ltda”, the well-known drag queen Léo Aquilla declared that she had made a “pact with God”: after stating her faithfulness to her partner, she affirmed that she had promised God that she would be the “best person” in the world, striving to be the best in all her endeavors (including in politics, since she was appointed to head the LGBTI+ Policy Coordination in the City of São Paulo), all to please Him and out of love for others.
“Even so,” he says, “if the Lord wants to send me to hell, then send me!”
In this episode, we can see two very common misconceptions among those who, in fact, lack clarity about the nature of God and his relationship with humankind.
The first And what is more "classic," so to speak, is the idea that it is possible to achieve salvation through good works.
This is a natural human instinct: to try to please the deity in which one believes, following rules and precepts that one deems pleasing to it… however, in Christianity, such a thing is simply not possible!
That's because God's Law is so holy and perfect that James recorded it:
For whoever keeps the whole law but stumbles at just one point,
(James 2:10 – KJA)
becomes guilty of breaking it completely.
As you can see, just ONE SINGLE sin is enough to break the entire Law of God.
And the key detail is that Tiago says that you ONLY NEED TO STUMBLE, meaning that you don't even need to actually "fall"!
In other words, a deliberate sin is not necessary: even a sin committed without the person knowing it is a sin... already makes them guilty before divine Law, making their salvation through their own merits impossible.
Although it is directly related to the first one, the second mistake Léo Aquila's speech has a more specific focus and is becoming one of the most practiced and accepted by many in the world today:
THE ATTEMPT AT “COMPENSATION”
From the moment a person falls into the misconception of imagining it is possible to please God through works, without first having undergone a genuine conversion, one of the consequences is precisely the thought of trying to compensate for a sin that one does not want to abandon—what is commonly called, in slang, a "pet sin"—through the practice of good works and the abandonment of other sins that one does not miss… or misses less.
This thought is simply self-delusion, nothing more.
As has already been said, there is no possibility for a person—however good and upright they may seem in the eyes of others—to please God through their works if they do not have a heart truly converted to Jesus Christ.
Isaiah declared:
Well, we are all in the same condition as the impure!
(Isaiah 64:6 – KJA)
All our acts of righteousness have become like filthy rags.
We lose our vigor and wither like dying leaves.,
And like the wind, our own iniquities push us far away.
This means that, to God, they have the same value as the bandages that lepers used to hide their sores or the cloths used by women during their menstrual period.
And the truth is that, even if it were possible to compensate for sins with good works, this would not give human beings any "credit" to continue practicing a "pet sin" without being under God's wrath and the weight of his justice... a situation from which only Jesus Christ can deliver them.
As already mentioned: a single stumble, in a single point of divine Law… already condemns the person to eternal punishment, and only faith in Christ can change that situation.
The fact is that renouncing sins that are not appreciated in an attempt to obtain a "safe passage" to continue practicing the "pet" one is, ultimately, self-deception, as it only means refusing to accept being truly tested by God.
There are people who, for example, are not tempted by money, and that is their "strong point": you can hand them a large sum of money and tell them not to spend any of it, and in fact, they won't... and they won't even feel any anxiety about it.
However, these same people may have another weakness, such as sexuality, and if tempted in this area, they will go through a heavy internal struggle, suffer to resist, and eventually fall into this sin.
With this example, what becomes of the question of the actual proof of faith?
It is obvious that true trials only occur when a person faces temptation in their weakest area: a Christian is only truly tested and strengthened when facing a risky situation… and not one that poses no danger to them.
If someone refuses to consult a fortune teller because they no longer take that belief seriously, that is not a trial.
The trial will occur when this Christian, who may be, for example, vulnerable to the sin of covetousness, is placed in a situation where he or she may have access to illicit money.
This is the real test, the true examination.
Second Matthew 4:1-11, Jesus was tempted by the devil precisely in the areas where he would be most vulnerable:
1st – After fasting for 40 days, the devil challenges him to turn stones into bread;
2nd – With the mission of saving the world, the devil challenges him to gain the people's attention for his message through sensationalism, jumping from the top of the temple;
3rd – With the goal of establishing the Eternal Kingdom of God, the devil challenges you to worship him and receive the kingdoms that he claims are yours;
We know that Jesus did not yield to any of these temptations because, if he had succumbed to any of them, he would have been disqualified as Savior, failing to fulfill the Father's will.
It is interesting to note that Adam and Eve failed by succumbing to only one temptation in Paradise, whereas Jesus—in the desert and after going several days without food—overcame, enduring three temptations of different kinds. Therefore, the question arises: what should be the standard for a Christian, Adam or Christ?
The answer is obvious.
Thus, just as Jesus did not yield to one temptation thinking that he had resisted the other two, a Christian cannot start from the idea that he can keep a favorite sin and avoid the others, taking advantage of this illusion of compensation: God's Law is holy, perfect, and does not allow loopholes for sin, whether it is a favorite sin or one that is not necessary for the human ego.
Resistance to cherished sin is one of the possibilities of the "Cross" that Jesus himself said every Christian must carry in following him, denying oneself, that is, renouncing one's own desires so as not to stray from Him (see Matthew 16:24).
Although such a situation may be terribly difficult and even impossible for us, fallen sinners, it is not what happens when we have the presence of God in our lives.
Can God remove sinful desires from the heart of his converted child?
Yes, but He may also choose not to remove it and determine that His son must constantly fight against it, this being the cross he must take up and bear.
And only with God's blessing and the seal of the Holy Spirit will this not be an impossible task.
Therefore, let's not—as Léo Aquila did in that podcast—imagine that the idea of "compensation" has any validity before God: enlightenment and clarification about who God truly is in your life is essential... otherwise, on judgment day, you will hear exactly what you don't want to hear: that your eternal destiny is condemnation.
May there be someone who will bear witness to and teach you the Truth, even if your initial reaction is one of hostility.
And may each of us, as Christians, always be aware of the need for total dependence on Jesus Christ for salvation.
May each person's struggle be against ALL sins, not just those we don't need, deceiving ourselves and forgetting the absolute holiness of God's Law: we will never reach the standard of Jesus Christ in this life, but the fight against sin and the constant pursuit of conforming ourselves to Him must be a daily and constant challenge in our existence, knowing that only He is capable of purifying us from all sin.
In the Bonds of Calvary
ORIGINAL TITLEThe Illusion of Compensation
I am grateful to God for having found a collaborator with such a harmonious understanding: some time ago I addressed the issue of Unwanted Offers And this article perfectly expands upon and complements the concept presented there.
Everything seems to indicate that the end times are unfolding ever more rapidly, and before the Lord returns like a thief in the night, we can already observe signs of the prophesied reign of the Antichrist consolidating not only in Brazil, but throughout the world!
In the 2023 phase of "The Worst Gospel," I decided to use new formats in the hope of helping to increase the reach of content related to the Scriptures—stories, videos, shorter texts, guest authors…—and this publication, which I took the liberty of revising and illustrating, is part of that project.
Thank you for reading this far.
I still need all the help I can get: comments, shares, and reactions help spread this content, which was entirely produced with the intention of contributing to the edification of the Body of Christ in the world.
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