1 Peter 1:16, New International Version

“For it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

Can you be gay and Christian Part Two

It's a choice to accept Jesus, but refusing to fully surrender or walk in it makes the conversion void. Accepting Christ as your Lord and Savior, you are washed and been made pure only if you surrender your whole life to Him. In Matthew 16:24 (BLB), Jesus says “If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow Me.” When I was called to deny myself, I laid down my desires, my own beliefs, “my truth”, and especially my pride. You can never have a full desire to follow Christ if you continue to hold on to desires of the self. When you fully lay down yourself and truly accept a desire to follow Christ, sanctification takes place.

The definition of sanctified means to be set apart as or be declared holy. Walking in holiness means to walk in your new identity of sanctification; no longer who you used to be. It says that through Christ and by the Spirit, we are transformed.

Therefore, my new identity was embraced and welcomed into my heart. It felt like a new beginning and everything that previously happened no longer mattered; every choice, every word, every accusation against me were no longer bound to me. It was His love that led me to conviction, and then came the cleansing process, purification, and then walking blameless as a new creation. “The old is gone and the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17, NIV). Every record of my sin was washed in the blood of Jesus. I truly began to understand His sacrifice and how extremely vital it is, but though I have been made clean, there was a call I could no longer ignore; the call to walk in that freedom and to be set apart and separated for the Lord. I no longer have any desire to return to my old ways or even pick them up again. We are called to a life of purity and righteousness, but what exactly is that? It means to not partake in anything against God that is revealed through the Word; to think pure thoughts and make choices based on what is holy. Yes, temptation is still out there orchestrated by an enemy who masquerades as an “angel of light”; encouraging that compromise and sprouting a lie that we can be one and the other, as well as teaching a lie that “my truth” exists. And no, we are not perfect and will fall. That is why we need grace. But we have been given access to listen to the Spirit of Truth, who is the main advocate for holiness and will never go against the Word of God. This is why it's so important to walk out our sanctification in Christ; to deny ourselves daily. Also, we are not to flaunt it, but to be a light to others and expose the truth to those around us. That is what we get to do. I unapologetically choose to cling to the truth, and I will say this: If you don't walk in holiness, you will never walk in wholeness. (1 Peter 1: 13-21)