Just As I Am, or Just As God Wants Me To Be?

“And Peter said unto them, Remain just as ye are, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38. Or maybe not…)

The invitation song Just As I Am is a lovely song, very well-known and oft sung. I’ve led it myself in times past. But the more I think about that song, the more I have a little bit of a problem with it. Here’s why.

Yes, indeed, we all sin and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). And we must come to the Lord Jesus for spiritual healing and forgiveness. But Acts 2:38 does not read the way it looks at the beginning of this article. What Peter actually said to them was “Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you…” There is a change of life that is involved, yea, demanded, if we are truly going to be accepted by God. I can’t come to Him “just as I am;” I’ve got to make some amendments in my life. I left God, He didn’t leave me. I’ve got to go back to Him on His terms, I can’t expect Him to come to me on mine. And I cannot stand before Him, “just as I am,” a sinner, and expect to close the distance between myself and the Almighty. Or even expect Him to forgive me because again, Peter’s first word in Acts 2:38 was “Repent,” which means a change of mind that leads to a reformation of life.

I do not want to be unfair to the song Just As I Am; it does express a coming to Jesus, and I’m not going to nuke the White House if somebody sings it in my presence (though I might do so for other reasons). But I do want the reader to think a little about who God is, how we should approach Him, and what we truly owe Him. I’m a little concerned—no, I’m a lot concerned—with some of the casualness I see in Christianity today. I don’t want to judge anyone’s heart, because I don’t know anyone’s heart, but I do want to remind us that we should not, cannot, expect God to accept us on our terms. “I’ll give to God whatever I choose, and He’s so loving, He’ll accept whatever I give Him.” That isn’t the way I read the teaching of Jesus. A few verses:

Luke 9:23—“And he said unto all, If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”

Luke 14:33—“So therefore whosoever he be of you that renounceth not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.”

Galatians 2:20—“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ living in me: and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me.”

Matthew 10:37-39--"He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.  And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.  He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it."

Romans 12:1-2—“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service. And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, and ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

Those verses just don’t sound, to me, like God will accept me “just as I am,” or that He’s pleased with just whatever I want to give Him. There are some radical changes to be made in most of us simply because not many of us start out our Christian journey living right next door to the Almighty.

How devout, pious, and reverent towards God are we? Reader, when was the last time you got down on your knees in prayer to God? Not that posture determines whether God hears our prayers or not, because it doesn’t. But…….when was the last time you were on your knees before Him…and you know what I mean. There does often seem to be a correlation between humility and looking at dirt.

When was the last time you turned off the television for the express purpose of studying your Bible, to learn what God wants you to do instead of Hollywood?

When was the last time you went to worship, even when you might not have especially felt like it, because you knew He wanted you to, that you wanted to show Him that you loved and adored Him more than yourself, that you knew it was your duty and responsibility to show the God of infinite grace that He is worthy of all glory and that you appreciate all that He has done for you and you want to let Him know that through praise and devotion?

When was the last time you “conquered thyself” and did something for Him, such as give up some sin, because you knew it would please Him, regardless of the sacrifice it might cost you?

Or did you go to worship last Sunday “just as you are” and expect Him to accept you that way, with your casual demeanor and dress (because we'd rather be "comfortable" than to show respect and look our finest at the throne of the Almighty), your “it’s convenient” mentality, your “look what I’m doing for you today, God” attitude? And then perhaps sung the hymn “Have thine own way, Lord, have thine own way.” Or did you go to worship full of thanksgiving to Him for the honor of being in His presence, for a privilege you certainly don’t deserve, and with a determination to give Him the best you’ve got? And with a commitment to leave that period of worship and live as righteous and holy a life as you are capable of living?

Gentle reader, the aim of this treatise is not to be judgmental, but to get us to focus in on our relationship to God, to ask not “what can God to for me?”, but “what can I do for Him?,” to bring us to a razor’s edge sharpness, a second mile mentality, a realization that we should not expect Jehovah—or even have the unmitigated gall to ask Him—to accept us “just as we are.” Beloved, Christianity is about Him first, not us, about pleasing and serving Him not visa versa, about conforming our lives to His will, not requesting that He conform His will to our comforts, conveniences, and desires. We owe Him everything we’ve got, and we ought to give Him the most respectful and excellent service we can, and humbly thank Him for the unmerited opportunity and undeserved privilege of doing so. “God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, And to be held in reverence by all those around Him” (Psalm 89:7). A little more reverence for God, and a little less casualness and self-absorption on ours, might go a long way in improving the spiritual condition of mankind today.

So, next time you are at worship, if the song leader leads Just As I Am, sing it with all the gusto you want, if that is what you wish to do. But try to remember as you are doing so, that the command was not “Remain as ye are,” but “Repent ye.”