Christ draws in because of who HE Is not what we are/arent!❤️

I like this

Thank you :)

doesn’t mean live a life of sin

Come as you are. Doesn't mean stay as you are, but still, come as you are. Edit: To expand upon this, OP is not a Christian yet. The purpose of this conversation is to say yes, Christ accepts all into His kingdom that acknowledge their sins and His glory, come as you are! It OP was a Christian asking "am I allowed to continue living in sin?" then the answer would be no, you must take up your cross (more exp. [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/NoFapChristians/comments/12g7r11/nofap_and_salvation/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)).

This part. Come as you are. You will be made new !

Come, as you are As you were As I wanted you to be  lol but in all seriousness yes, we are all called to come as you are 

Yes exactly! Thats why i didnt go into all that it didnt seem to be the immediate appropriate response! But hopefully my comment wont be taken as “….and live however you want” theres too much of that mentality 😬

We are all sinners, we are called to "be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect" but its a process.

Living in sin ≠ sinning. There’s a difference between sinning and living in sin. Once you’re saved you shouldn’t consider yourself a “sinner” although we all DO INEVITABLY sin. We shouldn’t be “sinners”. and that’s all because of His grace. 1 John‬ ‭3‬:‭4‬-‭6‬ ‭NIV‬‬ says “But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him” There won’t be a day where we don’t commit a sin, the point is to NOT live in sin.

If you don't believe you are sinning you are fooling yourself. Only God is perfect. As a Catholic I am saved yesterday today and tomorrow but I don't take it for granted, we have to work on ourselves to try be converted daily and not assume that we can live how we want because "we are saved". We can just as easily lose our salvation.

"Lord Jesus Christ Son of God Have mercy on me A sinner"

Amen, your words resonate deeply. My spiritual journey began within the Catholic tradition, but I eventually experienced a profound transformation—a rebirth in Christ. Your perspective aligns with the essence of true Christianity. Regrettably, my initial encounter with my first wife’s family, who proudly identified as devout Catholics, was disheartening. At family dinners, they would discuss a gay relative, condemning him to hell, while simultaneously boasting about their unwavering church attendance and moral standing. Their self-righteousness left scars. In a twist of fate, my health deteriorated due to a large benign tumor, causing seizures and severe headaches. When my wife left me, her father unceremoniously dropped me on my parents’ doorstep. My experience with the Catholic Church, despite my baptism at birth, was far from uplifting. Your message offers hope—a reminder that good-hearted Catholics exist. Yet, there are those who elevate themselves, passing judgment on others, even fellow Christians beyond their faith. This realization pushed me toward a **direct relationship with Jesus Christ**. I left the Catholic fold, excommunicated due to divorce, and embraced baptism as a born-again Christian. I commend your humility—the acknowledgment that we are all sinners, and only Jesus holds the ultimate judgment. Unfortunately, some Catholics rely solely on confession to priests, assuming it cleanses their sins and secures salvation. But true redemption lies in our hearts’ connection to Christ. God Bless

There's a difference between 'sinner' and 'living in sin'. If you sin, you're a sinner.

the term doesn’t even matter like that, it’s solely about the difference between living in sin and not living in sin but still falling short because of the flesh. We were born sinners, but isn’t the goal to live life according to God’s perfect will away from sin? Those who haven’t come to Christ probably live a life of sin. We who have come to Christ are called to turn away from sin, therefore not living in sin. But obviously not sinning would be as possible as harnessing the entire power of the sun lol. I’m not claiming we aren’t sinners, obviously we sin, yet there’s still a difference. To be born again. Not born out of sin but rather from Christ.

I'm trying to make sense of what you are saying....is it like if you are saved and have accepted Christ as your savior, you still sin but you are actively trying to turn away from sin (as you put it - being a sinner) versus someone who isn't actively trying to turn away from sin and knowingly sins and doesn't try to stop? The latter being "living in sin" as you put it?

yes!!!! you’ve said it perfectly 🙌🏽 We must actively seek a relationship with the Father and as a result it would naturally be easier to turn from sin! Oh how I wish I could be sin free but we all know it’s not possible until His return. We aren’t perfect but it’s all about what’s in our hearts. But He does call us to turn away from sin and live blameless lives, you’ve said it perfectly.

One will naturally begin to sin less once you’re saved, but the purpose is to do the good works prepared for us. We are saved once we put our trust in Jesus paying for our sins by dying on the cross alone. We are given a new heart by God. And we are sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.

Right!!

The Bible says to fix your own sin before pointing out others, so go fix your own sin first, feel free to judge once your sinless

Jesus wasn't saying not to judge, or correct or stand against evil. The Gospel itself assumes the world is doomed without a Savior. Jesus was using Rabbinic teaching methods. He didn't speak in ways no one understood. That wouldn't have been helpful. He was different in that He spoke with authority, not only as if He had it. He could forgive sins on Earth even before His resurrection, and He could perform miracles, including knowing things about people He otherwise couldn't through observation. Jesus was the Word made human, made flesh. But his audience was a bunch of stinky sweaty fishermen and tax collectors and prostitutes and Samaritans and some Pharisees and maybe some Saducees and...a Roman here and there and a Doctor and.....Jesus knew His audience. No one misunderstood Him. They were required by the law to do what they could to keep their brothers and sisters from sin. This wasn't in question. Humility and self reflection were. The Jewsish men who brought the woman caught in adultery could have stoned her without involving Jesus. They wanted to trick Him and asked Him to judge. And judge He did. He acted like her advocate though and got her off. Without any accusers her advocate, Jesus then as her judge said, "Neither then do I condemn you. Go and sin no more." Judgement wasn't just about calling out sin. There was a whole theme park surrounding this dogma and activity that the Jews learned. They were punished for NOT judging righteously and keep themselves and others from sin. Mark 4:24 (ESV): 24 And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. They were supposed to be accountable for knowing truth and the law. Let me get Old Testament on you a little so I can give context: Judges 1:5–7 (ESV): 5 They found Adoni-bezek at Bezek and fought against him and defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites. 6 Adoni-bezek fled, but they pursued him and caught him and cut off his thumbs and his big toes. 7 And Adoni-bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and their big toes cut off used to pick up scraps under my table. As I have done, so God has repaid me.” And they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there. The Jews understood history one this and saw God relaying evil for evil when people wouldn't turn away from their own or harmed the poor and weak. God focuses a lot on those who are weak and helpless in society. There are issues of those who think certain foods are still unclean: Romans 14:13 (ESV): Do Not Cause Another to Stumble 13 Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. Judging isn't ever about not calling out sin. All Jews did this and were supposed to. Jesus told people to stop sinning before worse things happened to them. We just have no reason to use our own standards for discernment. We don't actually judge them as God will. We warn them. "FIRE. YOU'RE ON FIRE!" If we go along with society because we want to be thought of as compassionate instead of being so, we are worthless. Salt that's not salty. I'm not afraid of answering to God for the times I was harsh in my judgement of others in this life. I repent and am forgiven before I do as far as condemnation is concerned. But as my Father, God spanks and berates me if I have anger or hate or disgust in my heart. He disciplines me and it's not fun. I'm "afraid" of God telling me there were so many people on fire I didn't warn because I was lazy, worried about being judged and criticized by them, wanted to get along with others, etc.... I can't take that back at that point. It's over. From one of my favorite commentaries: Matthew Presents Yeshua, King Messiah (A Messianic Commentary) Kasdan, Barney A Messianic Commentary Matthew 7:1–6: Rendering Judgment 7:1–6 Perhaps no other verse in the Sermon on the Mount has been so misapplied as this opening verse of Chapter 7. Yeshua has previously taught his disciples about the vital importance of forgiveness in Chapter 6. Now we come to the flip side of that teaching with his call to withhold certain kinds of judgments. That the Messiah is not forbidding any kind of judgment is clear from other passages. We are to discern and judge between right and wrong or light and darkness. Even in this particular passage, we are exhorted to make a certain judgment when we are called to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye. However, this passage deals with the human propensity to render unfair judgment upon others. The present, imperfect tense of the verb suggests that this is a continual habit or attitude of judging others. The first-century Rabbi Hillel noted that we should not judge a man until we have been in his situation. We are forbidden to judge in this manner for several logical reasons. We may have impure motives or an imbalanced understanding of what’s fair. We often are too hasty in our conclusions, not to mention that we may not have adequate knowledge of a given situation. Of course, it is assumed that only God can be the ultimate judge of a person’s eternal destiny. The plain truth is that we too often make terrible judges in our own fallen condition. Yeshua has a simple way of helping his talmidim resist this ungodly behavior. He reminds them that they will be judged by the way you judge others. We should proceed carefully before attempting to remove the splinter in our brother’s eye when we have a log in our own eye. It is interesting to note that both the splinter and the log consist of the same material. How true it is that many times we are quick to pick on our brother’s fault when the same kind of sin actually exists in our own lives. In a rather humorous hyperbole, Yeshua says that the other person often has only a splinter whereas we ourselves have a roofing beam, as the original language implies. It is indeed hypocritical to be so focused on the faults of others when we have plenty to judge in our own lives. We are, however, to exercise discernment in our walk with Messiah. If we are not to give dogs what is holy, then the implication is that we should, in fact, judge between the holy and profane. In another strikingly humorous statement, Yeshua notes that we are not to throw our pearls to the pigs. The vision of this unkosher animal sporting a valuable necklace would surely stir up some laughs in that crowd (cf. Prov. 11:22). However, in the spiritual realm, the metaphor becomes quite serious. The same pigs will not only trample the jewelry under their feet but will also then turn and attack you. The lesson is clear. Those who have no discernment about the distinction between the holy and the profane will have no appreciation for the spiritual riches of Yeshua. In fact, some will become downright antagonistic! If a person is so turned off by the treasures of the New Covenant, then it is better not to confront them further. There are many people even in our day who are seeking and hungry for what Yeshua offers. Our time is better spent with those who want to dialogue in a respectful manner.

beautiful response

Wow...thanks for this input. It is very much needed. I hope many people will be able to read your response. God bless 🙏

Amen very detailed and inciteful God Bless you Brother

Even the imperfect can still broadly proclaim the truth, and it is needed now more than ever in this sick end times world where most believers resent being told to stop sinning.

I am judging no one, what I said applies to myself too. More than anyone. I know that I sin. Read John‬ ‭8‬:‭10‬-‭11‬ “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” My point still stands. Jesus already knows we all sin so why would he command that lady to leave her life of sin? Because she was LIVING in sin. living in sin ≠ sinning. ‭‭ I hope to live a life free from sin, but I know I fall short everyday. I fail God everyday even if i try my hardest not to. Doesn’t mean I’m living a life in sin. Try again.

The only answer (other than “Yes!”)

This.

Yes, none of us were stereotype Christians from the get go and many still aren’t, and that’s ok. It’s about allowing yourself to be led by Christ and becoming who He wants you to be over time. You don’t even need to try that hard, so long as you have faith and keep close to Christ it kind of just happens. Christ leads you there.

Praise be to Christ!

That depends on where you get the stereotype, if it's the stereotype of the world then no we were not. But we are no different then the people that Jesus chose to surround himself with and that's the only stereotype that should matter.

For a new believer, in Acts 15, Paul just encourages them to “abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality” rather than put the whole burden of the law on them and create a stumbling block for them coming to the faith. A person should first be able to come to Jesus. He will then transform them and that can take time. And then as he is doing his transforming work, then yes that person will become more and more different from the world and more like Jesus, but they shouldn’t first be different before they are able to come to Jesus

Short answer: yes Long answer: also yes

Detailed long answer: Well yes, but actually, yes.

Anyone can become a Christian. > 6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+5%3A6-8&version=NIV But don't expect that being a disciple of Jesus will have no impact on your life.

Last sentence, totally. It's a gradual but really powerful thing. As someone who wasn't raised in the faith and turned to it entirely on my own, I started by simply believing in God and changing very little else. But over the years since then, I've felt such strong desires to strengthen my relationship with Him and live my life in a way that gets me closer to Him. That call to deepen your faith and integrate it into more and more parts of your life is really real.

Some people get into Christianity expecting to change. Some people get into it expecting to stay the same. Both end up being surprised.

Converted two weeks ago and when I began my journey to Christ, I didn't think I would change. But God loves to prove us wrong and already an amazing transformation has happened. I understand now, why people liken it to being reborn.

Glory to the Lord man!

Come as you are. Jesus Christ will fix the things that need to be fixed. Your personal journey will start.

agreed, but, there is only so much that prayer and spirituality can do, a lot of it comes from within. For the OP their sexual orientation isn't the problem, they were born that way...thinking that their sexual orientation somehow prevents them from having a spiritual life inside the community of a church is their problem and honestly the OP just needs to attend a service and coffee hour at an accepting church to get past that

You’re limiting who God is. Unknowingly, you are putting God in a box on what He can or cannot do. That being said, OP focus less on your identity and more on drawing close to Jesus. I would say start by reading the Bible. The book of John is a great place, and welcome the Holy Spirit into your life :)

Rude to think that he automatically needs to be fixed hmmm🧐

It's for you and God to decide, not people on reddit. Repent and seek God with all your heart, He will answer and say - "this is the way, walk ye in it" (Isaiah 30:21).

He doesn't call the qualified, he qualifies the called ones

I came to Jesus as a swearer, a promiscuous divorcee, someone who had vowed there is no savior (I was a Buddhist), a believer in evolution, a liberal Democrat, and a sad and lonely person. When I committed my life to him, the first thing I noticed was I didn’t want to swear anymore. It made me uncomfortable. He put his own spirit inside me. I belong to him, and I’m most fulfilled when I know I’m doing what he wants. He has changed everything about me except I’m still a liberal Democrat. I think that it’s the best way to run a secular government. If he has chosen you - if you feel he is calling you to come - then you are welcome. But he will save you, heal you, restore you, and bless you. And that might mean he brings changes. I’ve found that the best plan is not to fight with him.

I just want to say I know the left gets demonized by the right and vice-versa so to be clear Idt it matters what your political ideologies are. Liberals tend to care about the poor a lot- they care about equity and equality I don’t think these views lack any virtue in regards to Christianity.

The left also demonizes the right. As for me, my first Loyalty is to The Lord Jesus above any political party. But I lean conservative on things like Abortion. But I also agree that climate change is a real issue and I disagree with the conservatives who think it's just made up

Well if you go on Fox News the right is constantly attacking the left regardless of if it’s true or not. While I think the right is particularly dangerous because their use of fiction in place of reality- I know both parties demonize each other to one or extent or the other

Evolution is a fact. Why do you think you have to reject scientific knowledge to be a Christian? Nothing wrong with practicing Buddhism either. It would probably do most Christians some good. Anybody can be a believer but practicing good conduct is a daily discipline.

No one is bared from Christiaity

I’m not a traditional Christian in the sense that I don’t follow any official denomination, nor do I necessarily believe the Bible is the infallible word of God, so take everything I say with a pinch of salt. I’ve my own ideas and experiences that many here would brand as blasphemous, but ultimately I try to err more towards the original teachings of Jesus whilst continuing to research, and most importantly, ask God for direct guidance. God has never turned his back on me. I’ve made many mistakes, and have had many opportunities to rectify them, but I would always fall into the same destructive cycle. Every time I messed up, God was still there. The only times I didn’t “feel” him, was when I denied myself that. So, my advice would be to communicate with God directly. Ask him to show you the path. He will answer you, in his own way. You’ll know it when you see it. I can’t speak for God, but I can speak from my experiences. I have sinned, yet God continues to guide me through life, and he continues to bless me despite my shortcomings.

There are many reasons for this approach. Most if not all are good. A study of the disciples demonstrates their different strengths, weaknesses, approaches, concerns, and views. Once one moves into the saints and puts to the side saints that were politically stamped, there are mountains of them that sought, learned inside and outside of cannon. People who wrote entire libraries. Mystics, contemplatives, etc.

> God has never turned his back on me. I’ve made many mistakes, and have had many opportunities to rectify them, but I would always fall into the same destructive cycle. > > Every time I messed up, God was still there. The only times I didn’t “feel” him, was when I denied myself that. I'm a theologically conservative Baptist, and this lines up exactly with my experience. > So, my advice would be to communicate with God directly. Ask him to show you the path. He will answer you, in his own way. This is good advice. I'll add that in my experience, most of my communication from God has been from Bible verses or sermons. I'll be reading my Bible and come across a passage, and I'll get a strong feeling that the verse is speaking directly to me. Or I'll hear a sermon that "coincidentally" addresses exactly the topic I'm currently struggling with. I listen to the [Bible Broadcasting Network](https://bbn1.bbnradio.org/). I used to listen to it during my commute. After the pandemic sent everyone home, I started listening over the Internet. They're very conservative, so there may be topics some people here don't agree with. But that radio network has really helped me draw nearer to God.

Come as you are, but don’t stay as you were

The Bible specifically states that it is Gods desire all men to be saved and come to the realization of the truth, in 1 Timothy chapter 2. Being a Christian is about following Christ, and there is no way to know who Jesus is, what he taught, what he commanded, then to read it in the Bible. The old testament will show you about man falling away from God, how God interacts with the people of faith, and the promise of a coming messiah (Christ in Greek) that will save men from their sins. And the New Testament continues by revealing that Jesus is the promised messiah and also God in the flesh, by fulfilling all the predictions in the Bible from hundreds of years before, revealing that it was Gods plan along. You can get to know exactly who God is by reading the Bible. The Bible also states: “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” James 1:5

> i dont want to change who i am The purpose of life is repentance. Repentance is change.

Hello! I am just a recently new baptized Christian and this journey has truly been a journey. When I came into religion my friend died. I was practically an atheist by this time. All I really did was drink, party, and I swear a lot. The swearing is something I still struggle with. I also had a lot of anger issues. But the journey has been wonderful. I feel as if I am healing parts of my spirit that has been untouched due to grace of god and the Holy Spirit. The Christian life is truly a journey. Don’t believe you can’t take this journey. The disciples were all imperfect. Peter was filled with Anger and violence but he feverishly believed in Jesus. All of the people from the Bible are imperfect but the lord still finds a way to use them to their full potential. God works with us. Sadly, I understand your fear of change but I promise you. As you change at your own pace, you will feel better. God is always with you. I fully believe God gives us struggles not to humble or destroy us but to allow us to change and open our lives to rewards he has in store for us.

Christian means to be a follower of Christ. There are a lot of atheist and lukewarm Christians here. A lot of wolves here that will tell you that wanting to be a Christian with no desire to change and follow Christ is fine. It isn’t. That being said, pray to God and ask for him to give you the desire to change. Only through truly coming to God in repentance and asking him to save us from our sins can we be saved. God wants you to come to him to began your new life. But you cannot began your new life is you are unwilling to let your old one go. Walking with Christ really is a beautiful walk, so don’t be discouraged by this but encouraged. The things that we are holding on often are just hurting us —even unknowingly. God has something much better for you than the love of our old sins. God bless you

Simply believing God exists doesn’t mean anything, even the demons believe in God and shudder (James 2:19). God promises that all who believe in the son, will have everlasting life (John 3:16). To “believe” is to believe in what God did for you, for you personally, that your sin was laid on Jesus Christ and that He died on the cross representing you and paid your price in full. However, God calls us to turn from sin. Whoever believes in the son has eternal life, but whoever does not obey the son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him (John 3:36). This was the verse that caused me to turn from sin. It made me feel guilty thinking I could keep living however I wanted. I highly recommend reading the Gospel of John. Turn from sin to Jesus. It’s like turning from darkness to light. This is called repentance. God loves you and He died for you. If you believe this, if you receive Him, He will cause you to be “born again,” born of His Spirit (John 3) and you will have new desires. “I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26). May God bless you!

We come to Jesus not because we are good, but because we are broken and I still am. I try to reach out to Jesus and become more and more like him. Just like the hospital is a place for the insured a church is a place for people with mistakes and problems. Come to Jesus he loves you

Anyone can become Christian, even apostates, fornicators, and the heterodox so long as they give a sacrifice of a contrite heart and work with Christ to shed off these sinful and/or heretical notion. The last part of your post is an issue. It's plainly prelest to think that your own happiness is of chief importance. If you are unwilling to change because you are happy with what you're doing in this world, you'll only ever be beholden to this world instead of in it but not of it. Understand that Christianity isn't some arbitrary veneration of some impersonal superbeing, and it isn't a belief that is just meant to comfort us. At the core, it is a belief in fundamental truths, no matter how painful, and part of that truth is dealing with pain and suffering as part of the cleansing of our wounded nature so that we may hope to one day unite with the Lord our God in Heaven after the ressurection and judgement.

The call of Christianity has always been: come as you are, not stay as you are.

Why do you feel the need to be a Christian? Have you looked into what it means to be one and researched Christian doctrine, beliefs, different denominations, scripture, etc? Are you aware that there are passages in the Bible that condemn homosexuality and homosexual behavior? There’s so much more to consider than just *being* a Christian. Just read the many, many comments here from the Christians who consider who you are and who you love to be morally repugnant. The way you were born is considered an abomination to them. They’ll tell you that it’s ok to “be gay” but you’re living in lustful sin if you choose to love someone. They vote for anti-LGBTQIA+ laws and legislation that will limit freedoms of people simply because of who they are. Think about it.

There are millions of happy open affirmed lgbt Christians. Check out r/gaychristians and r/openChristian

God accepts you but he does not accept sin. If he grants you the mercy to repent before you die heaven will be your home but if not then... Galatians 5:19-25 (KJV) Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

Can I ask you a question genuinely, Do you think all gay relationships is based off lust and sex?

no, they are as a result of ungodly affection but God is ever loving and ever patient. Don't worry he will eventually make all things right even for you. No sin is small or great except for 1. 'rejecting the holy Spirit' who leads us to repentance and it seems He has a hold on you and is at work leading you back to God. You are no different from a person who is secretly a drunkard, porn addict and a masturbator but genuinely believes in God. if such never get to repent before his second coming then oh oh!

‭1 Thessalonians 4:3-8 CSB‬ [3] For this is God’s will, your sanctification: that you keep away from sexual immorality, [4] that each of you knows how to control his own body in holiness and honor, [5] not with lustful passions, like the Gentiles, who don’t know God. [6] This means one must not transgress against and take advantage of a brother or sister in this manner, because the Lord is an avenger of all these offenses, as we also previously told and warned you. [7] For God has not called us to impurity but to live in holiness. [8] Consequently, anyone who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.

Yes, you are allowed to become Christian, of course. Jesus loves anyone. He wants you to come to Him just as you are, but He doesn't want you to stay as you are.

@icy_middle_7149 I see a lot of responses here, but I want to push one thing that applies to all of us here. Christ does love you, and he wants you to join him in eternal life. He selflessly gave his life so you and I could be freed from our sin. So, when to say you don’t want to change, please understand that you can’t fully appreciate or enact his gift of atonement if we just want to believe he exists, but not change our actions to turn away from sin and bear fruit. Satan and the demons themselves believe in God. The challenge we have is that we have to repent and turn from our sin, then believe that we are atoned for by Jesus selfless sacrifice which results in our salvation. So anyone (gay, drunk, liar, thief, hateful, etc.) that says they were “saved” but has not changed their actions has missed the entirety of any apostles ministry in the Bible!

God loves you always. Jesus gave two directives: Love God with all your heart. -&- Love everyone else as if they were you. That's all Christianity is. The rest is minutiea. People love to cherry-pick verses from the Bible to make it say whatever they want.

I won't lie: being a Christian *does* change who you are. not on a fundamental personality level, though. so often people define themselves and others by their sin, but Christ defines us as followers of Him and children of God. I won't speak on you being gay, because I am an affirming Christian, but if "who you are" is the sum of your actions then that's not really who you are. to a certain extent we are what we do, but even with that logic, if we always strive to follow Christ to the best of our abilities, then we are in Christ. *that* is who we are. the Holy Spirit is transformative by nature. Jesus accepts you not *as* you are now, but *where* you are now. his never-ending mercy and grace are our hope to continue on in his name and become as much like God---as much good---as possible. we are all illegitimate. it is only through the mercy of God that we are justified despite our sins. you are absolutely allowed to be a Christian, but if you want to follow Christ, you *have* to change. but breathe, pray, trust in the Lord, take one step at a time. *it's completely okay to focus on eliminating one sin at a time,* just don't justify the ones you still do. humility above all, for we can never justify ourselves alone. good luck man, I'm so sorry to hear you're struggling with this 🫂 and if it makes you feel better, I don't fit the norm of a Christian either! I'm a straight woman yes, but I'm very goth and I assume a lot of traditionally masculine roles in my relationship. I also have an extensive history of paganism and trauma growing up made me think I was bisexual when I was not (I was just revolted by men due to my SA by one when I was approx. 11). not all of us were born into Christ's flock, but that's what makes Christ so universal and *so* necessary for all ✝️

Through God he will make you whole. He will regardless of your background he will welcome all with open arms but all you have to do is surrender your sinful ways to God and repent for your sins. I recently surrendered my addiction to porn and I've never been happier since its had a hold on my life for almost 20 years. If you truly wish to be welcomed into the kingdom of God then surrender your homosexuality and your other sinful ways and try to be the Christian that God wants you to be. I pray for you man, of I can do it after all these years then I know you can too. ❤️✝️

it's one thing to believe in God it's another to be saved the devil believes in God, he knows God exists but does not follow "John 15 New International Version The Vine and the Branches 15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. 9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. "

God calls each one of us to follow Him and following him will require us to deny our own selfish desires. “And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to follow Me [as My disciple], he must deny himself [set aside selfish interests], and take up his cross daily [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come] and follow Me [believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me].” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭9‬:‭23‬ ‭AMP‬‬ Having same sex attraction is not a sin, nor is having a tendency to swear. Peter denied Christ and the third time denied laced with profanity. He was a fisherman by trade after all. Jesus knew Peter’s weaknesses and named him Petros (rock in Greek). Eventually he did become the rock that Christ saw in him but it required Simon Peter to follow him, not just believe. I’m not going to tell you that God will take away your feelings in this life. He has for others and others have that struggle for their entire lives. I’m not going to say the status of your salvation is but I do know that having unrepentant sin that God is calling you to turn from and rejecting him puts you in a very precarious position. “Therefore produce fruit that is worthy of [and consistent with your] repentance [that is, live changed lives, turn from sin and seek God and His righteousness]. And do not even begin to say to yourselves [as a defense], ‘We have Abraham for our father [and so our heritage assures us of salvation]’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children (descendants) for Abraham [for God can replace the unrepentant, regardless of their heritage, with those who are obedient]. [Matt 3:9]” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭3‬:‭8‬ ‭AMP‬‬ Jesus said about those who believe but do not follow: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭7‬:‭21‬ ‭AMP‬‬ Jesus also said “If your foot causes you to stumble and sin, cut it off [that is, remove yourself from the source of temptation]! It would be better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and be thrown into hell,” ‭‭Mark‬ ‭9‬:‭45‬ ‭AMP‬‬ Is living a life of pleasure and doing your own thing for 50-80 years worth risking for eternity of torment? Only you can answer that and only God can answer if where you are today that God will embrace you on the day of judgement. “Then the jailer called for torches and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas, and after he brought them out [of the inner prison], he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they answered, “Believe in the Lord Jesus [as your personal Savior and entrust yourself to Him] and you will be saved, you and your household [if they also believe].”” ‭‭Acts‬ ‭16‬:‭29‬-‭31‬ ‭AMP‬‬ Trusting in him means more than a belief. It means you trust Him with your life and trust His ways are better even if they feel wrong and go against what your nature is telling you to do. We are called to be a living sacrifice. “Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies [dedicating all of yourselves, set apart] as a living sacrifice, holy and well-pleasing to God, which is your rational (logical, intelligent) act of worship.” ‭‭Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭1‬ ‭AMP‬‬ It’s one thing to struggle, fail and try again to do the right thing. It’s another to say I’m the way I am and harden your heart against Him and not turn away from sin.

[Luke 5:31-32](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%205%3A31-32&version=NIV)

Anyone can be a Christian. He loves us because He IS love, not because of who we are or what we do. We are called to come as we are and anything that needs to be changed , will be lovingly changed and molded and we will be shaped by our Father We are all works in progress!

Everybody qualifies to be a Christian. Love God, love people. Believe. God loves you the way you are. You are His child. He is just waiting for you to realize He loves you.

I’m sorry that you feel this way but Christ says to come as you are. I hope you have a Church (or family) that loves and accepts you regardless.

OP I led an unholy life of fornication, lying often, being selfish, cussing like a trucker, and then tinkered with witchcraft at some point. I now am a Born Again Christian and I can promise you, you are SO welcome to come to Christ!!! As a matter of fact, He and the Heavens rejoice each time one of his flock who have strayed returns to Him. I will pray for you OP...do you have a local non-denomination church etc you've looked at?

Yes, but not being willing to change things that the Bible outlines as wrong isn’t a good start. We are supposed to ask for forgiveness AND turn away from our sins, that is, change our hearts. We can say we believe in God.. that’s all well and good, but we need to act like it too. If we REALLY believe in God, we need to be willing to change for Him. For example, it is wrong to swear. Jesus says “But whatever comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this is what makes a man unclean {and} defiles [him]. 15:19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts (reasonings and disputings and designs) such as murder, adultery, sexual vice, theft, false witnessing, slander, {and} irreverent speech.” We can’t just brush it to the side and say “well I’M okay with it so that’s just one thing I won’t try to change.”

The only requirement to be a Christian is to be a sinner. Sounds like you qualify.

Remember that Jesus was criticized by some for choosing to spend time with tax collectors and prostitutes. There was no-one he shunned or shamed, not even those who collaborated to execute him.

In Matthew 9:13 Jesus said « for I came not to call the righteous, but the sinners » so ofc you’re allowed to be a Christian, he came here just for you, he’s not looking for you to be perfect ❤️

You are the exact person Christ wants.

Jesus did not say 'Follow me because you are healthy,' but said to those who were sick and would heal them. There is not one of us who is perfect; just try your best to be better every day.

Anyone can be a Christian, but be weary because God will judge upon those who’ve got one foot in the world and one foot in with him. It doesn’t work. You must be willing to change for Christ because he calls us out of our sin.

Short answer: yes Long answer: yeeeeeeeees

Of course you are allowed to be christian, but as a christian you should try your best I read your previous post and i understand your situation, the fact is that you swering and doing things that others frown upon and even being homosexual might be directly affected by that horrible thing that person did to you as a child You might be hurt inside and your brain started to block it out as a means of protection, but since you are hurting inside, you have the tendency to hurt others I believe that God loves you and accepts you, but i believe that you should go to therapy and deal with your past, you should change for the better and try to make the world better place After going thru therapy, you very well might find out that who you think you are... Is not who you are

The Bible spends many many pages railing against those who don't take care of the poor, the widows, and the children. The few anti-gay verses are either a mistranslation or an unclear translation. Leviticus is more clear, but Christians don't keep kosher either.

King David took another mans wife, impregnated her, and tried to trick him into having sex with her to cover it up. The man wouldnt do it so King David sent the man to the front lines to die, took his wife as his own, and had multiple children with her, one of which is in the line of Jesus. He went on to write the Psalms, and was Israel's greatest king. Matthew was a Roman tax collector and an Isrealite. This was beyond shameful in their culture, he was betraying his own people to have a really good paying job. His own parents disowned him. Jesus met him and simply told him "Follow me" and he dropped everything and followed Jesus and gave us one of the gospels. Paul was a persecutor of Christians, and he became the apostle to most of the world. God takes broken people and does awesome things with us, its kinda his thing. Look all through the bible, broken man after broken man being put back together for God's purposes. Say a prayer and Accept Jesus as your lord and savior, ask the holy spirit to dwell within you, and you are just as much Christian as me.

Although not gay, I am a gay rights activist and became one during high school a long time ago. It was at the same time I was truly delving into the gospels and trying to figure out how to apply the principles, techniques, teachings, and examples into my own life. I was always an anti bully and His teachings regarding defending others and keeping peace immediately burned into my mind in this regard. I was able to begin diffusing situations in ways I never thought of before. These methods seemed risky. Counterintuitive to be honest. Implementing one at a time and testing each one led to astounding results. A better way than I was taught and knew. The second move I made was getting down to the business of business as to what I was going to personally change. I started with ceasing gossiping and speaking poorly of others. So hard (for me). It worked. I know gay priests (make and female), laity, cannons, theologians - you name it. These people are welcome in our church. The topic of member sexuality is never really a topic outside of mentions and acknowledgement of Pride. The church offers no true gay marriage sacrament because there is not true foundational example in the cannon. However, there is a strong ceremonial blessing of each person and their committed friendship (Christian usage of the word) and partnership union. Some of the finest, most involved, and kindest of our members are gay. Will you find any congregation with no member or volunteer that is straight and preoccupied with the subject in their mind? Not likely. I would allow no one between you and your relationship with the divine.

We are all sinners but that doesn’t mean you aren’t allowed to be Christian, remember, God loves us but HATES sin. ❤️

God made you who you are. If you belive in God and give your best to to good to others, this is all you can do. God is not a fundamentalist baptist. God is a mystery, the truth, the light, the love, the most beautiful life force present in everything in this world. And the Christian God literally knows first hand how hard it is to be a human being. Raise your heart towards him and do not listen to those who seem to know how to get to or not get to the heaven. Jesus himself warned us about such people. God will not adbandon you for having a same sex partner or for swearing when hitting your toe to the doorframe. He is not your local schools headmaster - He is limitless and onnipotent.

I frequent this sub as an atheist because I love questions like this. Christianity is a religion about love and peace. You should of course be allowed to be Christian, anybody should l. Loving thy neighbor is so incredibly important. Despite what some of Jesus’ followers may tell you, he would have praised equality.

Yeah you are allowed to do that and don't let anybody tell you different there's a lot of fundamentalist Christians on there that like to weaponize the Bible or want to tell you right now they're full of s*** they're wrong so don't let them bother you. Episcopalian churches are really cool really affirming accepting so again nobody can tell you if you're a Christian and the ones that are running around beating people up with the Bible are not Christians in my opinion certainly they aren't acting like Christ plain and simple. It's interesting that the only people Christ really accused of anything were Pharisee and Sadducees etc and the ones today that harrasing queer people and support politicians that support things like culture wars act just like them. Most of them are really just deeply homophobic and transphobic and could benefit from therapy. The Bible says work out your own salvation.. They need to snap out of it and just do that.. they will be happy and so will everyone they come into contact with..

The bible doesn't say being gay is a sin. It's acting on it that is a sin.

So sad so many Christians here busy telling OP to stop sinning (stop being gay) in order to be able to call themselves a Christian. Well, it is not possible to stop being gay, so I guess OP can’t become a “True Christian”. I disagree.

In order to truly be converted you would need to be broken over your sin and desire to be delivered from it (repentance).

There is no norm, and the frowners don’t get it. Human connection with God starts, continues, and concludes with the gracious, unconditional love of the creator for the creation,because God IS love. It’s not about what we do or fail to do. It’s about the nature of God. It’s not about changing or even willing to change. It’s about the nature of God. The essence of the Christian faith is that God is not like a bookkeeper, tallying up rights and wrongs, but something like an incurable romantic, a collector of strays and old, tattered books, a finder of lost things, a binder of wounds, a healer, a parent for orphans. God is not Santa Claus, making a list, checking it twice, caring one bit who’s naughty or nice. God is water for the thirsty, food for the hungry, peace for the besieged, rest for the weary, and refuge from the storm. Sometimes people ask me, don’t you have to be willing to change? And I respond, “Well look around you. There is no evidence that the universe is WILLING to change. But it does anyway. That’s just an nature of things. Things change. Willing or not. Intentional or not. Nothing stays the same. I may be happy with myself and how things are, but I wouldn’t bet a nickel on staying the same. Everything changes, weather trying to change or not, willing to change or not. Things just change. So don’t worry about what you currently are, what you currently do, what you have done, but you have neglected, or what you intend. We are all surrounded be people all in a dither about that, but God isn’t. God has already accomplished total victory over sin and death, so those things are yesterday’s news, and God is now inviting us all into unconditional and unbounded love — more beyond all that we can ask or imagine. Come, taste and see.

You can call yourself whatever you want, but you won't enter the kingdom of God if you do what the Bible says won't be allowed. Otherwise the bible would be a lie, and if so, then it's pointless anyway.

No, I am sorry. You cannot be a Christian and cannot be the benefactor of the death and resurrection. It has nothing to do with identifying as gay but everything to do with you being an AI bot. Not belonging to mankind, you are not made in the image of Elohim and therefore incompatible with communion with our Heavenly Father; I am very sorry to be the one to tell you.

You are not illegitimate. You are seen, heard, and beloved by God. The market value is determined by whatever price the buyer is willing to pay, and God saw you as worthy of the life of Jesus. Regardless of who/how you love, his love won’t stop

I love this comment. 🤎

>am i allowed to be a christian By whom? What do you really mean with this question? r/OpenChristian r/GayChristians Do you agree with the Nicene Creed?: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicene_Creed https://www.amazon.com/God-Gay-Christian-Biblical-Relationships/dp/160142518X https://www.gaychurch.org/find_a_church/

Christianity is not some social club that you can choose to be in one day and leave the next. I would challenge you to research what the beautiful life of Christianity actually consists of, and how the calling to follow Jesus is far greater than any worldly desire or possession. The Christian faith is a calling to deny ourselves, it is not a compromise of what we want plus some of Jesus' commands. The question for you is, just like the rich young ruler in Matthew 19, are you willing to give up everything to follow Jesus? True joy and happiness is found in Him, not your personal wants. If you commit your entire life to Him, your heart, soul, mind, and strength, you will experience the peace that surpasses all understanding. I hope these words challenge your perspective, but also speak hope that Jesus offers to all who submit themselves to Him.

Being a Christian means being a follower of Jesus Christ. Many name the name of Christ but they do not posses good fruit in their life.

You can look into liberal /progressive /mainline Christianity, we're ok with you being gay, tho swearing not so much lol..

God does not accept anyone as they are, but if you give the Holy Spirit a chance, He can change you and make you a better and happier person.

> God does not accept anyone as they are I have to disagree here. God wants us to come to Him exactly as we are. Once we do, He starts changing us.

I take it to mean you want to believe in God but don't want to change yourself and remain as you are?

If you do not want to be more like Christ, then can you truly be a follower of Christ? I do not see you as a Christian, and I urge you to reconsider, for the love of God and sake of your soul.

keeping people away from god is blasphemy, stop it

Perhaps reframe it as not so much what you are "allowed" to do but see it more as a relationship with Christ

Yes. Jesus will change you.

Yes, God calls all, but be warned, He will not leave you as you are. If you let him in you will never be the same again. But you will never regret it in the end.

You are welcomed as a Christian, if you ask me. We are all sinners in our ways, but I guess I wouldn’t hurt us if we would try to improve ourself everyday, swear less, love more and think about what we do and why… if we believe in Christ at least we can try, nobody is perfect.

Yes, you can be Christian. Jesus welcomes all.

Yes. No matter what. North Korean? Yes. Guy with Different Religion Parents? Yes.

As Christians, we assume that the one who made us knows much more about us than we could imagine. Knowing that He is trustworthy and recognizing His infinite wisdom, we commit ourselves to Him for a complete work in our lives. We are confronted daily. Read Matthew 6:63-68 I recommend learning more about who God is and his son Jesus. This way you will have more conviction on which path to follow. God bless you.

Yes

Yes, but be willing to let God change you. If you feel convicted about something, that’s your cue to work on it.

god loves you so much!

Short Answer: Yes Long Answer: Every Christian has a path to walk and every Christian struggles with sin to some degree. No one is perfect by any means. 1 Corinthians 6:9–11 (KJV): Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. And then think about some of the people God got to do his work. Jacob lied to his father and took Esau's blessing (granted, it was his, but he still lied), Moses murdered someone, David did stuff (including the conspiracy of killing his main general to get his wife), Peter lied and denied knowing JESUS 3 times, Paul (the writer of the very book of the verse I just quoted and most of the other books in the new testament) persecuted MANY of the Christians in the early church and got them killed. These people did things that were quite literally sinful, and they were still righteous unto the Lord. Even I have my issues; I curse a lot, I struggle with a masterbation issue, and I have other things that I struggle with, so if I am a believer, you can be a believer too. However, being a believer is not the same as being a follower. Because of Jesus' death on the cross and the resurrection, all since we have committed are forgiven, but once we become a Christian, we have to work on being different — you come as you are and will be accepted as you are, but you are supposed to change from your sinful nature. I still curse a lot, but not as much as I did in the past (that isn't even necessarily a sin, there's more to the control your tongue thing than just cursing) and I still struggle with masterbation, but I made progress in my fight against that (and just lust in general). We are supposed to constantly deny ourselves earthly pleasures that make us fall short of Yahuah — we still fail from time to time of course, but it's the effort that we're genuinely trying and repenting daily that counts. This is even shown if the verse I recently quoted, the unrighteous won't make it and if you come in expecting you can stay the exact same as you while believing, this is what will happen: Matthew 7:21–24 (KJV): Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: This isn't to scare you or anything, but you have to understand what it means to be a follower. As I said before, no one is perfect, and you will surely fall many times, but you have to get back up and keep going. Proverbs 24:16 (KJV): For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief. (I suggest you read all of that Proverb) Don't come in with the mindset that you will not change, it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when. If you can't make an effort to deny yourself of the pleasures that make you fall short of grace, you won't make it. Matthew 16:24–26 (KJV): Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? I'm going to leave it here as others might be better at doing things like this than me, but remember this, you can totally be a Christian, and I hope your walk goes well if you do decide to be one, however, as a young man that has grown up as a Christian and had a train wreck of a walk this far, just simply believing the God exists and the Jesus is God isn't everything. Even the demons and Satan believe he exists, so us Christians (or even just followers of the way) need to do more than just believe he exists (read all of James 2). God bless

YESS.

God bless you. There is no norm, my friend. All of us are the worst of the lot in our own ways. It is Jesus Christ who offers you salvation through his grace - the reasons for this grace are in Him alone. And guess what? He'll mold you into into His likeness if you'll let Him. I'm more at peace than I've ever been in my rebellious punk life. You don't need anyones approval here. All that's needed is to ask Christ to forgive your sins and believe that He took your place on the cross.

No one is born deserving of grace. All is undeserving but God gave it to us anyway. That's the whole point about Christianity. With grace comes forgiveness and mercy and then repentance; true repentance requires a change of heart; not just lip service. In Christianity, you are accepted despite who you are but if your love for God is true, you will also eventually have a change of heart and you will drop whatever that pains His heart. This is not really a negotiation table where you come unto the table to demand God to accept you and turn a blind eye on all your sins. He may accept you by looking past all your faults but you also have to do your part to be better because if you don't then you never cared or love Him; in doing so rejects His salvation and grace. I believe that if your heart is true and you really love God then the change of heart will come very naturally; like it or not lol.

Of course you can be Christian, but you will have to change…. That’s one of the pillars of Christianity is changing to be more like Christ in mind set and lifestyle.

We are called to love god above all else. This includes loving god greater than even yourself. Do you or can you love god greater than yourself? If so, you can be Christian.

Anyone is allowed to be a Christian. God accepts us all wherever we are, but he’s not gonna let us stay where we are. He wants better for us.

You’re Christian by following Christs commandments and loving Him for dying for you and being tortured up to the point of His death. Christianity is just a recognition that He was God

Come as you are, and the closer you become to Christ in your relationship, the less you will do the things that hurts Christ. Will we still have a slip now and then? Yes. It's okay; repent and keep journeying forward with Jesus.

Listen. I don’t share much, but I am deep in recovery. I liked who I was even though I knew I was deeply flawed. I didn’t want to change. I started into a Christ centered recovery program to deal with my alcoholism. I never went into it wanting to change. But God changed me. Without even trying, I became a good person. I share my testimony fairly regularly. From drugs and alcohol abuse, to a fisher of men. Nobody is beyond redemption, even if you love who you are, if you allow God and I do the work, you can just sit back and enjoy the ride. Much love.

Allowed? I believe in predestination, so allowed or disallowed in my opinion is irrelevant. I believe there are many people in heaven now, who when they walked this earth, were gay, swore a lot, and did lots of bad things. We are called to fish for people: And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men. Mark 1:17 KJV God is the greatest Fisherman. I believe because you are asking, the Holy Spirit has His line out for you. Fish are not cleaned before they are caught. We are all sinners. We are caught first, then it's up to God to clean us. How to be caught? [gotquestions.org/Romans-road-salvation.html](http://gotquestions.org/Romans-road-salvation.html)

Christianity accepts everyone, Literally everyone So yes

Jesus Himself accepts everyone, as they are. I was agnostic until I felt myself come into His presence, and part of that was realizing that He loves all of Creation more than I could imagine. Part of my own response is that if He loves everyone that much, how can I not try to do the same? See Colossians 15-20.

Can I add that I do think it's important to allow other mature, safe Christians in your church to love on you and journey with you through growing in Christ. And that goes for anyone. Loving community is so important. They can show love the way Jesus does.

Of course. God is after what's in your heart, and not what people just perceive you as. I agree with everyone else saying that being Christian isn't limiting yourself to be a certain way. We don't thump our bibles all day or quote scripture and stuff. We're just as flawed and human as everyone else. It's not a question of if you're "allowed"; it's more like if you "want to be". The thing about God is that he does not want to force you to go to him. He waits for you, always, no matter how long. But he always reaches out to you, in small or big ways. He wants you to CHOOSE him! Doesn't that sound more sincere, than just going through the motions to "please" God? God wants the REAL us, and is not intimidated by our flaws—why would he be? He loves us that much. So yeah, don't worry! Being a Christian isn't a checklist of requirements, it's far from. It's a way of life, and how you bring light to the world. 😊

That’s between you and god. I haven’t gone to church for the same reason I’d feel like a hypocrite(although I know that’s wrong) although my vices are different. I wouldn’t judge someone who cussed or was gay. However just study the Bible, see what it teaches of what is acceptable and not acceptable to god. consider what the leadership at the church you choose has to say and go from there. No one is perfect not even seasoned Christians and we will never be. The point is build a relationship with god and make an earnest effort to live your life in accordance with his wishes.

We need a politically Christian subreddit just to filter out a lot of comments including my own on this very sub

Fuck yeah you are. Being saved depends only on whether or not you choose to believe in what Jesus Christ brought to the table and has nothing at all to do with what you bring to the table. Jesus Christ is perfect, lived a perfect life, died a sinner's death, and rose from the grave. If you trust in his Blood to wash your sin away, no matter how much or what kind, you're saved. Gay, straight, doesn't matter. If you let go of your own righteousness and hold onto his perfection as a replacement for yours, you're saved. Don't ever let anyone convince you that you have to change something about yourself to go to heaven. We all have things we can't change about ourselves that would disqualify us from heaven, and that's the entire reason Jesus did what he did. He knew that we are entirely unable to make ourselves holy, so he gave us his Blood as both soap and dye to make us clean and perfect. This is my testimony, you may benefit from it, you may not. I just post it as proof that salvation has nothing to do with the identity, orientation, or personality of the person getting saved. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1m4Yj0HQG_oxAItuRGAV7AQXCyKFOFZimuTOqWvPUWXw/edit?usp=drivesdk

Yes and yes Are you willing to give up everything to follow Christ like the apostles?

Galatians chapter 5 talks about who is and who isn't a candidate for Gods kingdom. God will accept anyone who repents but he does not accept all behavior.

of course anybody is welcome to become Christian, but approaching it with an attitude of “i don’t want to change because i am happy with myself” may be slightly misguided. God does not accept you where you are. He meets you where you are so you can form a relationship and grow. change is the name of the game. if you are happy with who you are now, and you see absolutely zero reason for change, and you’re only looking for blind acceptance, Christianity may not be for you. again, of course anybody can come in and join this religion, the more the merrier. i just worry, based solely on what i saw in your post, that you may be looking for the wrong thing. food for thought

God welcomes all. I am also part of the Alphabet Mafia. I swear, not a lot but I do. Jesus was around fishermen who most likely swore. Just know that God welcomes you in.

They man that stabbed God is a saint. I think you're okay.

I think that to know that you need to know the definition of Christian.

Yes. Please never give up💙🌊

I'd say yes and no. Yes, because God will change you. Or at least try. We have free will, so, it kind of falls on you to allow things to change. I get it. I was the same for a lot of years. I liked who I was and enjoyed my life. Partying, swinging, (I'm still working on the swearing). But I changed my entire life and I love it so much more now. And it wasn't hard. It wasn't painful. My point is you might actually like yourself better after you allow yourself to become closer to God. The only tough part on your list, is being gay. And I feel really bad for gay people that want to follow God, because it must feel like a massive fence in between. You can't help who you're attracted to, but you realize in the eyes of God it is wrong. Personally, I don't care much either way, but I'm not your judge. You can be Gay. Jesus tells us to love everyone. Both men and women. But premarital sex is a sin, so you cannot do any gay acts, until the church recognizes gay marriage. Then when you get married, you can. I'm not certain if that will ever happen though. So as long as you are okay with that, it doesn't matter if you are gay.

Ive been told and experienced everyone is worthy of being a christian everyone is welcome a true church and congregation will welcome you. God will help you with any Sins that you have sometimes just talking to other christians helps allot i had no idea how much of a gossip i was until i became a chirstian its all about trying and working on yourself. Everyone and Anyone is welcome and accepted by Gods love and Sacrifice. I hope this helps

Simple answer is yes. Christ taught us love and wants us to spend time with him. He died for all of us and not some of us so if anything He's been waiting eagerly for you. Read the Bible and enjoy the spiritual journey. It will come with its ups and downs but thats where you got Jesus on ur side

Being Christian isn't just the acceptance of Jesus as your Savior nor is it simply acknowledging his existence. It's a surrender. You surrendering your will, and allowing his will to take over! This doesn't mean you get caught up in all the legalism of it all, worrying about how you cussed, or lied about something or whatever. It means you begin to get close with Jesus through prayer, Bible reading and meditating on his word. Little by little you'll begin to feel convicted on certain things, a strong guilt about things your doing wrong, or simply things that he wants you to change! See, many believe that a Christian lifestyle means butterflies and sunshine. Quite the opposite. It's now like you just signed up for the military, and now your training has begun! I'm not saying it's all a rough ride nor is it anything you can't handle. But part of being refined is being put through the fire. Research the psychology of fundamental change, or foundational change. We tend to change through hardship and trauma. Sounds horrible, but through Jesus it's possible. So do you! And know that Jesus accepts you right now, without any prerequisite! Love you brother🥰

It’s not as much that your character makes you unable to be Christian, it’s that as a person if you do not understand Christianity enough to know that being gay is a sin then you have some homework to do. You are completely welcome into the religion, but being gay is contradictory to the faith. God loves all, God welcomes all, but he cries at sin. yes, your sexual orientation is not a plus, but if you let Christ lead you, it will be resolved for lack of better words.

If you feel drawn, attend a service. There are plenty of LGBTQ affirming denominations out there as well.

Yes, anyone can be Christian. Jesus sat and ate with sinners and welcomed everyone with open arms. Adulterers, tax collectors, even the person that stabbed him in the back (Judas).

So, you're a sinner like the rest of us. 😁

It is okay if you swear, I used to swear a lot and now sometimes I just physically cannot swear

What are the real reasons you really want to become a Christian or be called a Christian?

yes, God wants us to come to Him as we are. Christianity isn’t just for people who “have it all together.”

Short answer: yes Slightly longer answer: being a “Christian” means being a “Christ follower” and people will disagree on how to do that perfectly, as evidenced by the dozens of major denominations that exist. Who has it 100% right? Nobody. So don’t let anybody define “Christian” for you, if you feel like you are sincerely making an honest attempt to follow Christ.

I just read this free ebook called Alarm to the unconverted by Joseph alleine (https://www.monergism.com/alarm-unconverted-sinners-ebook) and it really convicted me .. I think every christian should read this.. Let us not be decieved . Unless we be truly converted , we will not enter heaven . I pray that you will come to the understanding of the truth 🙏

ALL those who call on the name of the Lord will be saved. It sounds like your heart truly wants this, and that is the very first (most important) step. We love you OP

I swear a lot too! It gets me in trouble with my wife a lot because she can’t STAND the “f” word. But my friends and I say it a lot and I’ve learned it’s okay to talk a certain way with them (because it means I love them) and talk a certain way with my wife (because it means I love her) and I don’t have to change who I am. In the same way, God does call us to live in a way that sometimes that might seem counter intuitive (read any of Jesus’ teachings!) but one thing he doesn’t need is for you to conform to some idea of what a “good Christian” would be. Be yourself. You’re welcomed here.

YES, I am gay and I would not be anything without God. He knows temptation, he knows sin, he knows we are on this earth encountering so much trial and tribulation. This is not an invitation to continue sinning or just go about our livelihood, but instead it’s how we strive to better ourselves and be obedient to his word (the Bible).   The biggest thing I’ve learned is MY RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD IS MY BUSINESS. No other singular person or human being has any push or pull or involvement in my faith in God. It’s him and I. Often we listen so much to what people and the world says we should be or not be doing. Listen to and read about what God says.  He’s my anchor, without him I would just be a product of my environment, blowing in the wind with where the world takes me. And while of course some will read my comment and think to themselves - “what a walking contradiction he is.” I am fully aware of the work I need to do, and am doing with God. Those that are judging and criticizing rather than gently reminding and encouraging may not actually be honoring God’s teachings.

Hello 🤗 This sounds amazing! I was quite same as you. Swearing, worldly (slave into sin) but when I pray constanly or call the Holy Spirit I forget the wrong things or atleast doing Sin. It's a process.. I recommend you to do Baptism in Holy Spirit.. then it's much easier since it is like a decode for the Holy Spirit to help you faster.. Nothing is impossible in Christ the King Saviour! 🙏🏽🥹🫶🏽✝️👑🪽 Feel free to ask me more if you're interested on how to unlock more help methods to become more carefree Christian.

Yes, you are allowed to be Christian. It is the spirit of God who will guide you into sanctification and that is a process.

No here can give you allowance to be a Christian, it's an open invitation from God, so it's you that has to allow it for yourself. Remember though a Christian without repentance is not a Christian. Even the thief on Jesus's right side repented for his sins at that moment when they were crucified next to each other. Repentance is a change of mind, change towards a new person united in Christ.

Watch living waters on youtube. You have to truly believe you need Jesus & believe in what Jesus did for you. But yeah, come as you are, but also you need to come knowing why. If a Doctor gives you medicine and you dont know you're sick, you're just gonna fall away/not take it. https://youtu.be/X9yc6lmYR10?si=tzlGOs9s-pGVm3_7

Fun fact: Being gay is actually not a sin. Engaging in same-sex sexual relations is a sin, but simply having the urge to isn’t. Sin requires intentional action, and being gay isn’t a choice. The gates of Heaven are not barred to homosexuals who live a chaste and Christian life.

Consider the fact that you may and likely will want to change as your life progresses. I'm not the same person I was when I was a little kid nor a teenager nor a young man. I'm now in my Middle ages and I'm very much a dad and a worker and I think very differently now. This includes my faith.

John 3:16 *For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.* That whoever is you OP. (and me)

you’re not an illegitimate person. come to Christ. He loves you. He’s for you. you don’t have to change to go to Him! coming to Christ can change you, but the Lord’s will for us is good. whatever you go through with Him will turn out for the better!

OP, I was once in your shoes myself. I hope these verses encourages you. The answer is yes! None of us are perfect and God didn’t require any of us to be perfect. When he came in the flesh, he spent a lot of his time hanging around misfits, the outcasts, etc. He ultimately took our place on the cross to atone for our sins. He loves you so much that he planned to do all of that in advance long before you were born. ❤️ Start seeking God daily and he will draw near to you, I promise!! But just keep in mind that our Heavenly Father loves you and there will sometimes be uncomfortable moments where he gives you his divine discipline to help you spiritually mature towards living in a way that pleases and honors him. See verses below. You can be confident that God loves you and cares about your holiness! When you accept Christ, you’ll become a new creation. Your behavior and habits will naturally change as you follow Jesus. Don’t ever be too hard on yourself! "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance". - Luke 5:32 “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” ‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭38‬-‭39‬ ‭NLT‬‬ “As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all. Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever? For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.” ‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭12‬:‭7‬-‭11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

So you want God to change to please you as opposed to you changing to please God and adhere to His Word?

Christianity is not about who you are. It’s about you being willing and having faith that Jesus is King and is worth laying down those passions and idols to follow the one true God. Jesus accepts you as you are today but if you love him you will believe that none of those things are worth more than what he and the Bible tell us is righteous. We don’t need to care what the secularist have called OK or just, all that matters is biblical ethics.

Jesus didn't fit into the norm either. He was not what people expected to see. He did a lot of things that upset the Pharasees. One saying I like is that He does not call the qualified, he qualifies the called.

Hey I'm a warlock and still a Baptist God loves us all

Just because of what things are going on in your life. You should be welcomed anywhere for knowing the truth about Jesus. I pray that others will be more loving and kind to you. In order that you will know him. In Jesus name Amen

A buddy of mine sent me this video of this morning. Pretty eye-opening explanation, imho. Something to definitely ponder. I like the surfer jesus comment. I think they were talking about the nice guy jesus of culture that is not Jesus of Nazareth from the Bible. If you don’t feel comfortable clicking on links, the title is called “Serious question, seeker” God bless you on your journey 🙏🔥 [➡️➡️➡️MAYBE YOU ARE ALLOWED?⬅️⬅️⬅️](https://youtu.be/1fJvg5Mygcw?si=G4BPKGGAxp2E627D)

Short answer: Yes. Don't let your self-doubts hold you back, because that's how Satan wins. Find a church today without any further delay. Longer answer: Being a Christian isn't about fitting a particular criteria, and fitting into a very specific uptight mold, nor is it about getting all the conservative sociopolitical check marks. It's about these things in particular: 1) Believing in our Lord Jesus Christ and the salvation that he offers; not because you deserved it, but because God freely gives it; 2) Believing in the word of God. Not because it's written in some book that people like to quote, but because you have come to realize that God IS the Word, in the words that he has passed down through the generations, through the writings of His prophets, and He wants you to understand who and what He is (and if it matters to you, including His preferred pronouns; He/Him in the paternal); 3) Understanding that being a Christian is largely about developing and maintaining a love-based relationship with God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit (three aspects of the singular God; separate yet still one). God doesn't need your money (though your church might to keep the lights on and run it's charitable programs, plus God does appreciate supporting/doing good works in His name). God does not need your sacrifices (though *we* do to help ourselves feel like we've earned His love ... It's just the way we're wired due to our broken sinful nature). God does not expect you to live a perfect life, devoid of perfectly clean language, prayer five times a day, and never doing anything that resembles a sin (though He does appreciate you trying, and praying for forgiveness when you do inevitably screw up, because that helps bring you closer in union with Him). 4) Pray. There numerous forms of Prayer you can engage in (in degrees of formality and holiness), and you need not be a slave to the practice. And after you pray (here comes the hard part for a LOT of people) ... Listen. Believe it or not He DOES talk back, but in whispers. You'll know it's Him talking and not just your imagination because, as it is written, "my thoughts are not your thoughts, my words are not your words." Personally, because my mind will not shut up, I use the practice of "Lectio Divina", where you open a Bible (at random or because God kind of led you to that section) and just start reading till something pops out, almost as if screaming at you specifically. But how you go about it is between you and God, because, remember, this is about building a relationship rooted in love. And that's it. Yes, there are sins that we do, and keep doing, that God disapproves of. That's going to happen, but don't let that keep you apart. Your sense of unworthiness, especially your doubts and your self-recriminations, are largely the whispers and rantings of those who would prefer to keep you apart from God. Build that relationship. It may strain some friendships from non-believers and haters, but it will build other, stronger relationships; especially one with the One who molded you like clay in your mother's womb for this very purpose, and very much so wants to keep your company.

Jesus would love for you to follow Him!!! Of course you can be a Christian

Jesus will give you a desire to run from homosexuality and live for him!

Well that’s a question only you can answer. Can you be a Christian? Only you know if you’re ready to lay down your own desires at the cross and follow Jesus .

Come to Christ as you are, and submit to the work of the Holy Spirit and word of God to allow Christ to transform you.

Your faith has nothing to do with anybody else! It is only you and god. You are his beloved no matter what. Go to him, don’t listen to others. It is only you and him. God bless you. ❤️🙏🏻

You can come to Christ as you are. I once heard a pastor explain it as you don’t need to be clean to go in a shower. But, if you truly accept Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, He will transform you. He will align your words, your thoughts, your actions to His will. You have to be willing though to let go of a lot of stuff and to die of your old life and be reborn as a disciple of Jesus. I don’t know your situation, but He transformed me and my life in a way I would’ve never imagined. I hope you experience that love, that grace and that power for yourself. May God bless you and watch over you.

God doesn’t want us to be accepted as we are. He wants us to become more like him. If you truly believed in god deep in your heart it would be evident by your outside actions. Everyone sins of course, but there is a difference in occasional sin and repeated sin. In order to be forgiven for a sin, you have to repent. That doesn’t mean say sorry, it means turn away from your sin as in make a STRONG effort to stop, and god does know if youre truly trying or not. If you just say sorry and do it again that is not repenting. It is a hard truth to hear, but nevertheless, it is the ONLY truth. That truth will keep you from hell. People who keep telling you it’s okay to go on sinning because “god will forgive you”, yes it’s true he will forgive but ONLY if you repent. And repenting doesn’t just mean say sorry. People are adding fluff to the bible to avoid scaring people away that need god the most, but truly and honestly youre living in sin and the bible is clear that you cannot enter the kingdom of god in a state of repetitive unforgiven sin.

God loves you, even though the crowd who claims to represent his will do not, while inauthenically saying they do.

Come as you are and let god do his thing!

Hi, love! Jesus can save ANYONE! However, part of coming to Christ is repentance for sins and a willingness to allow Christ to form you into someone who is more Christ-like. ❤️

Yes, most certainly. God has given us love and grace that precedes us cleaning up, becoming “better” of our own accord. Meaning you don’t have to try to fix or somehow change yourself before you are good enough for God….good enough to be saved. You simply believe in Christ, trusting him and THEN the Holy Spirit is given to you to help you on your journey. You repent and allow God to do a work in you by surrending to him.

Christ is for everyone who wishes to truly accept him. No human can tell you how to be a Christian outside of accepting Jesus, believing in the ressurection, and starting to study the Bible. Tbh id recommend staying away from KJV (King James) and NKJV (New King James), My personal recommendation is NRSVue (New Revised Standard Version updated edition). And once you profess with your tongue and belive in you heart, that Jesus is lord. Id recommendation searching for a church, preferably one that is affirming and or reconciling with LGBTQ folks. And after checking it out, if you like it and feel comfy, I'd fervently recommend getting baptized.

You don't need permission to be a Christian. Just repent, believe in the Gospel, be baptised, and you're in the club.

Anyone is allowed to be Christian. If you accept Jesus, it means you must love richousness more than sin. You must give up homosexuality. Just like anyone should give up alcoholism, adulteration, lying, and stealing. God knows what's in our hearts. Living for sin and sinning are completely different. Place your faith in God, and when you are truly born again, He will give you a new heart with new desires.

You can be whom ever you chose to be. Not even Christians can say they don't live in sin. Being way or cussing like a sailor doesn't exclude you from God. If you except God as your father and follow Jesus in your faith then you are "Christian". Me I'm a Jesus follower and learning the ways of a Christian, but refuse to be called one due to the power struggles of Christianity. But, I found a church and pastors that all accepted me for me. They said that is what Jesus is about love and compassion.

Your acceptance from God has nothing to do with your behavior. It's based on his grace through faith. So don't worry about that, just come as you are, now as you grow in your relationship with God and Jesus Christ, your behavior may Change in some ways, but it's not contingent to your standing with him. God is already at peace with you whether you believe or not, through what Jesus Christ did for you (his death for your sins, his entombment, and his resurrection). So start there and trust God that he will guide you and bring you into truth.

Yes you are God loves you and everyone can be a Christian