Come As You Are (But Don’t Stay That Way)

One of the wonderful things about God is that He does not expect us to make ourselves clean before coming to Him. This reassuring truth is taught throughout the Bible, especially by Jesus. For example, in Matthew 9:11–13 the Pharisees criticized our Lord for associating with tax collectors and sinners, wondering why He would sit with such people. Jesus responded to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners (Matthew 9:12-13).”

These were surely words of comfort to those sitting at the table with Him as they are to us today who hear them. It is right to encourage people to come to God just as they are but is it unbiblical to believe that God does expect our character to change after being called to Him. Paul confirms this in 1 Corinthians 6:9–11:

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

There were those Paul wrote to in the Corinthian church who were involved in awful sin when called to Christ but were changed by Jesus and no longer practiced those sins; they were not the same as when they first came to faith. As with them, there should be change in us, too. We will not become sinless, but we will sin less and show some fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-25). If we do not, then we should wonder if we are truly saved.

The apostle John says as much in his first letter. Initially he says, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us (1 John 1:8).”

But later he says:

Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. (1 John 3:4–7)

What is John saying? First, he says that if we say we have no sin, we are calling Jesus a liar. But then he says if we practice sin, we do not know Jesus. At first it seems like a contradiction. In actuality, he is making a distinction between habitual, unrepentant sinning and the daily struggle of sinning we face as part of our fallen nature.

When we come to Jesus, we may struggle with some of the deep sins Paul named in 1 Corinthians 6, but we should not expect to stay in those sins. Part of the fruit of true conversion is to agree with God’s definition of sin and then to repent from the sins we have committed. This includes true sorrow for the sin and a turning away from the sin. We may continue to struggle with certain sins, but it should be a struggle. One who is not truly converted will not call sin what God calls sin and therefore will not struggle with sin - they will simply continue to sin without remorse.

If you have not come to faith in Christ, come to Him just as you are. But don’t expect to stay just as you are. May we all praise God for that!