/christian/ - Christian Discussion and Fellowship

>>546162

>If any anons can give me some good resources and debates, that would be helpful. I’m leaning more towards Catholic or Orthodox because they are the biggest and oldest churches

I got you bro, good luck.

>>546162

You and I share very similar backgrounds. I was also an atheist and soon after a homosexual, even going so far as to almost transition.

My theory right now is that only the Holy Spirit can save you.

You do not have to hide your sins. They were given to you so that you could testify concerning them, so to hide them would frankly be against God's will. Shout their condemnation from the rooftops.

Seek baptism and reception of the Holy Spirit. You cannot turn against sin without these, do not listen to protestant heretics. And yes, you do need to turn away from sin, but I don't think I need to convince you of that if you're anything like me.

>>546162

>I’m leaning more towards Catholic or Orthodox because they are the biggest and oldest churches, but all denominations are welcome to participate.

You should study about why the Reformation happened. Roman catholics will tell you that the church can not err, but it's apparent there has been a development of novelty doctrine and/or dogma (not a good thing) both before and after the Reformation.

Video linked is a debate on if purgatory is biblical or not, you can find many debates on the same channel

God be with you, in any case.

>>546172

>Seek baptism and reception of the Holy Spirit. You cannot turn against sin without these, do not listen to protestant heretics. And yes, you do need to turn away from sin, but I don't think I need to convince you of that if you're anything like me.

Romans 3. If he was not being moved by the Holy Spirit, he would not be seeking God. If he has faith in Jesus Christ and the Gospel, then he already has the Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 1:13-14)

>>546175

>Romans 3

I'm not sure what exactly you're getting at here, but you seem to be promoting the heresy that one need not repent. This is plainly contradicted in many passages, such as Acts 2:38. Even in the very epistle you cited, the very chapter preceding it (in fact it was not even originally divided into chapters), Romans 2, contradicts this.

>If he was not being moved by the Holy Spirit, he would not be seeking God

Being called to repentance is not the same as receiving the Holy Spirit. The former is an act of the conscience, which can affect anyone. The latter is an act of God which proceeds from the Father and the Son after baptism and confirmation. The fact is, you can only point to one instance in the New Testament in which someone received the Holy Spirit without baptism, and that was specifically to show the Jews the necessity of baptism! (Cornelius)

> (Ephesians 1:13-14)

All of the people being addressed by Paul here were baptized. All. Of. Them. It was simply the norm of the time, and even Paul (and Jesus himself) were baptized.

Every one of them would also have undergone some form of the sacrament confirmation, and it is this sacrament that Paul is referring to when he says "when you believed".

>>546162

Turn to Jesus Christ, and you will be saved. If you turn to anything than purely Christ, you will not be saved.

>>546182

>I'm not sure what exactly you're getting at here, but you seem to be promoting the heresy that one need not repent. This is plainly contradicted in many passages, such as Acts 2:38. Even in the very epistle you cited, the very chapter preceding it (in fact it was not even originally divided into chapters), Romans 2, contradicts this.

No, I'm trying to say that the man whose heart isn't being softened by the Holy Spirit will not repent, ever, nor will he ever seek God. I do say that repentance is a must, not that you're saved by it, but it is the proof of your faith that alone saves, but is accompanied by works.

>

< In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,

<5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born qof water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.3 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You4 must be born again.’ 8 The wind5 blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

I rest my case, one receives the Holy Spirit when one receives faith as a gift by the grace of God. The NT is adamant about this, we are not saved by our own devices (eph 2:8,9), baptism is an affirmation of that which does.

Do not lead him astray, for the Scriptures say:

<Acts 16:31 And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

It can not, can not get simpler than this.

>>546191

this

dear friend, before this thread turns in the typical inter-denominational le ebin shit flinging battle, listen this

right now, you need God.. the problem of the right denomination will come later, now you need to start to get your life back on track

the sole fact that you came here for help is a step forward, because you admit you have a problem

now it seems that you look at these perversion from a social point of view "Hiding my perversions is a huge burden"

the real problems is that sins soils (literally) your soul and put distance between you and God, sins make God suffer because sinning you reject his sacrifice

STILL.. you are here, it means something in your conscience started to move, it means that God is still keeping a hand over your head, because he loves you and wants you to save your soul

sometimes people sin and sin, they feel that it is right, but they silence their conscience till indeed their conscience doesn't say anything anymore, they justify, rationalize their sins.. and it's the end for them

do not make this mistake..

God loves you and can make you pure as snow again (only pure things will enter Heaven and stay with him). so yeah you have reasons to be ashamed because perversion is bad but don't let this shame to stop you, don't let anything to stop you from joining God.. the Devil tries to trick you, he says that you have no hops, NO.. do not fall in desperation, if you repent, abandon these sins (and repair them when possible) everything will be alright.. this seems an impossible task right now, but don't worry because God, the saints, the entire Heavens are there to help you.

just ask this help.. God respects our will so do not think you will magically convert without effort and such.. you need to humiliate yourself, repent, ask with prayers to be worth of God, to have the strength to resist passions, to feel sorry for sins (this is important, sins are something horrible but we don't fully comprehend it usually).. and if you fail, ask again

do you have problem stopping to masturbate? stop with porn at least (it changes everything) proceed with steps, lower the frequency of this sins

if you put up a fight there is still hope, if you give up, if you start to justify yourself, it's the end.

God loves you and will never give up on you unless you give up about yourself first, I failed so many times but he always called me back

when you feel God's love for a second, just a second, you will understand that there is no true happiness in these sins that make us like beasts

if you are already interested in catholicism you can start with an easy and powerful prayer: the chaplet of Divine Mercy

talk with God, remember that he's there even to listen your weakness, share your burdens with him..

God's love you, we love you OP, don't lose hope, one day you will be pure like snow again