Come As You Are?

People use the term “come as you are,” all the time when trying to minister to someone to make them feel less evasive of Christianity or the Word. That term/phrase is not actually in the Bible however; there are scriptures that the phrase has gotten its implications from. Isaiah 1:18-20 says “come now and let us reason together, saith the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land, but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured with the sword for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it.” The Lord is advising His people (Israel) to come and talk to Him (reason together) about Israel’s current sinful state and that if they are inclined to change that He is willing to clean them up. The term “come as you are” may have been used to fight against zealots who brow beat people into believing that they had to be fully right before they could come to Yahweh (God). That thinking is also false as Yeshua (Jesus) showed in various accounts like the Samaritan woman at the well and even the woman caught in adultery.  Both women were caught living in sin at the time Yeshua (Jesus) met them. He addressed their sin, but He also offered them salvation if they were willing to accept it. I would like to believe that the whole “come as you are” phrase or movement was in essence pure in the beginning, but it has wreaked havoc in my opinion. “Come as you are” if you want to use that term does not mean stay as you are!

I called the “come as you are” a movement because that is what it has become. You hear it recited so much now within the body, even our elder saints are using the term now. The majority of the reason why I hear this term is in regards to attire, when trying to get people to come to a local church body (usually toward youth or young adults). This is usually because membership is either dwindling or it is “aged.” Our churches aren’t dying because we are not reaching/appealing to the youths; they are dying because our churches are not teaching the truth! People say “God doesn’t care about what you wear, He cares about your heart,” and I agree with that to a point. Scripture teaches us that our actions and what we speak come from the heart as we see in Proverbs 4:23; “keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” Matthew 12:34 Christ states “out of the heart the mouth speaks” when he was speaking to the slanderous Pharisees. In Mark 7:21-23 Christ states that “out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness” all these evil things come from within, and defile the man,” when the Pharisees were up to their tricks. This is where I feel the term “wearing one’s heart on their sleeve really originated from. You literally are wearing your heart on your sleeve (in your attire).

The Emergent/Hipster Church movement has made this phrase movement a staple of theirs for an evangelistic reaching out movement. “Hey look at me, I’m tatted up just like you, going to clubs just like you, dressed just like you, a person in this crazy world trying to live just like you, wanting to share that Jesus was really just like you and that you can be how you are (and live how you are) and be saved.” Did you ever think that you would see in our time from leadership down to the “regular member” that getting “turned up” for Christ would be okay? Did you ever think that you would see a time when the “light up” ministry (giving people a light and trying to preach the Gospel while they smoke) would come? Did you ever think you would see the day there were pole dancers, street walkers, and pimps for Christ ministries?  Did you ever think that you would see people in the church, condone/excuse sinful behaviors and in the same breath vehemently attack those who rebuked those actions? Jude 1:4 says “for there were certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.” That scripture is saying that ungodly men have used the grace of God to willfully sin because they can use forgiveness. Telling people that they can basically live how they want to as long as the “believe” in God is not sanctification at all! Paul asked a question in Romans 6:1 saying “shall we continue in sin that grace may abound” and then he followed with the answer “God forbid, how can we that are dead to sin live in sin any longer?” You can’t be who you were supposedly changed from and do what Christ says with His approval. Paul said “if any man be in Christ, then he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians5:17). When you change from the sinful lifestyle your so-called friends (world system followers) will think it is strange (1 Peter 4:3-4). Again I say to you “come as you are” doesn’t mean that you are supposed to or even allowed to stay that way. God told Paul that His grace was sufficient for Paul. God’s grace is sufficient for us as well, not the assurances of ungodly men/women or leadership that are struggling with the very things that they should be rebuking and instead telling us are okay or not that bad. Romans 13:13-14 says to “walk honestly now, not in sinful nature but to put on the Lord Jesus Christ and don’t make provision for the flesh to feed the lusts.” If we are called out, why would we go back in looking like what we came from and call it ministry. Yeshua (Jesus) reached people by being Himself. He is different from anything we have ever known and He is refreshing. Christians should be able to be recognized because we are “new” now. You can’t put on Christ and do un-Christ-like things and call it ministry. I don’t have to look like the sinner to appeal to the sinner to listen to the Gospel. That is the problem; we are trying to appeal to them by appealing to their flesh, instead of admonishing them to change from that. Something is wrong when the Church and people of God feel that we have to use gimmicks to reach people with the Gospel. It’s as if we are saying God’s message and His presence working in us is not enough to draw people. He said “if I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men unto me” (John 12:32). Christ said that He will draw, not us! No sneaky gimmicks needed, just preach the Gospel. I am speaking to you right now were you are if you have not accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior. “Come as you are” is not about your attire, you can come to Christ being messed up, hurt, rejected, with your sins and He is just and willing to forgive you. He said “come to him that are heavy laden and He will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). I know that you don’t really want to continue that sinful life do you? I know you want peace and joy unspeakable. What you need to do right now is confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead and then you are saved (Romans 10:9). It’s that simple, just confess Christ, believe He is alive and be saved! When you have truly changed for Yeshua (Jesus) it will show outwardly (attire/appearance) and inwardly (spirit, attitude/behavior). Instead of “come as you are,” how about “don’t leave the way you came.”