Come as you are?

Recently I've read several articles and posts about how the Church is failing to be like Jesus and show Christ's love, based on the premise that Jesus had a policy of letting people "come as they are" and not making them feel guilt or conviction, but just loving them. I certainly believe the Church must be like Jesus and that we must love everyone regardless of their "issues". The problem is that the Jesus being described in these arguments doesn't look much like the Jesus of the Bible.

The message Jesus preached was never "come as you are". In fact, every time someone attempted to become followers of Jesus by coming as they were, Jesus sent them away and grieved over their loss. The message Jesus preached was "repent and enter the kingdom of God". Repentance quite literally means to change. So if the first step to entering the Kingdom, as preached by Jesus, is to change then how can the gospel message be "come as you are"? If you say you want to be a Christian but are not willing to give up your sin, and submit to His Lordship in all areas, then you cannot be His follower. This is why Jesus said that one should count the cost first. Becoming a Christian means giving up the rights to be Lord of your own life. You must die daily to yourself and live unto Him. It is a narrow and difficult path, which is why Jesus said that few people find it, while wide is the path to destruction and many traverse its ways.

Now before the rest of you can sharpen your pitch forks and stock up on stones, we need to be aware of an opposite extreme that is just as common and just as wrong. Repentance means change, but it refers primarily to a change of heart, direction, and allegiance. Repentance renders invalid all claims of “come as you are” used to justify ongoing sin and to make the sinner more comfortable in their wrong doing. It does not however mean that you can expect the newly converted brother to be fully sanctified in a twinkling of an eye. That’s probably not how it worked for you, so you should stop expecting it of others. The new convert needs our love, grace, compassion, and patience as they grow and mature and fail and get back up again. Repentance is first and foremost an action of the heart and the mind, which then works its way out into the life.God is holy, but He is also gracious compassionate and long-suffering. His tender mercies are new every morning. There is a difference between the person who wants to follow God and struggles with sin they can't seem to overcome, and the person who lives in rebellion against God refusing to give up their sin.

The “Come as you are” preachers also love to make much of the fact that Jesus ate with sinners. The Jesus of the Bible did indeed eat with sinners and He genuinely loved and cared for them. He did not ostracize them or treat them with scorn and contempt. But He also never lied to them about what it took to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, or about the severity of their sin. He loved everyone and treated them lovingly, but He did not allow all of them into covenant relationship with Him. He preached the gospel to everyone and He loved them regardless of whether or not they accepted, but He never lowered His standards or gave false hope regarding eternal salvation. He spent time among the sick for it is the sick who need a physician, to paraphrase His own words. His presence among them did not indicate their wellness but their sickness. As a good physician Jesus did not lie to them about the state of desperation they were in, nor the remedy which they needed if they were to be well. He walked among them and loved them, and His love compelled Him to seek to save them, even if they found the treatment to seem bitter and hard to take. If they would not take the cure He offered them, he did not force them. He let them go and lamented their loss, but continued to offer his undiluted message of Healing to all who were willing to partake of it.

I agree that the Church must become more like Jesus, just not in the way I see it being suggested by the post-modern false-tolerance agenda. We need to quit viewing people as a project or stepping stone for our evangelistic programs. Why should people believe that we care for their souls when we show no care for them as persons? Love should never be dependent on an outcome, but should be genuine. If they never give their life to God or join your Church, will you still love them? If not then you never did, you were just faking it enough to try and get them to an altar? Love should be pure and undefiled in motivation.

We also need to quit judging unbelievers for not living up to our standards. It should not be so surprising that Sinners sin. Scripture says that we are to judge those within the Church, not those outside it, God will judge those outside. Contrary to what we see in action, it is possible to love people, and yes even act lovingly towards people, who are in deep bondage to sin while never compromising God’s principles or giving the false impression that their sin is okay. The Bible teaches about two different types of judgment, one we are forbidden to do, the other we are commanded to do. We are commanded to judge deeds and the fruit one bears in their life, and to confront sin and call people to repentance. We are forbidden to look down upon others scornfully and to heap condemnation upon them. Quit being angry at people for being what they are. Pity them, have compassion on them, love them, be a witness in the way you live your life around them, and help them to see the beauty of our Lord and the life of grace and peace He gives to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. As Jesus said it, be a city on a hill and don’t hide your light under a bucket. If we Christians would spend less time witnessing and more time being a witness, the world and the church would both be better off.

At the same time, if we truly love people, we must never cultivate a false sense of security. If Jesus never lowered the bar to make it easier to enter Heaven, then how can we seek to veto His judgment? We can't allow our fear and timidity to keep us from being bearers of the truth to those we love. You don't need to (and shouldn't) aggressively bully people with your message, but you must be clear about your beliefs and never compromise them for temporary convenience or companionship. Love always seeks what is best for those we love. It is not an act of love to allow people to perish and enter eternity unprepared just to spare them the temporary discomfort of conviction. If you see a child about to run into a busy street, unaware of the danger he is in, the loving response is to snatch him from the jaws of death, not to allow him to step in front of a semi in order to avoid hurting his feelings. Speak the truth, but speak it in love. Bear in mind the difference between conviction and condemnation. Conviction confronts guilt and provides a remedy through repentance and forgiveness. Condemnation confronts guilt and provides no escape, but adds abuse, damnation, and hopelessness to the guilt.

The truth is that Jesus never preached a message of “come as you are” but he did live and preach a message of “I love you, even where you are, so much that I am willing to give my life for you. To set you free from the power of sin and death that you may come into covenant with my Father and with me. I offer adoption into the family of God and the covenant of salvation, not because you are worthy of it, but because I love you. Turn away from your sin and the path of destruction you are on, take up your cross, die to yourself, come and follow me. In return I will give you righteousness, peace, and joy beyond your comprehension.”