“Come as you are” has become a popular phrase in modern churches. Whether they say it verbally or in printed or digital media, the statement is expressed. Generally, this goes along with a whole welcoming strategy that can include free coffee, gift bags, and a volunteer greeting you with a smile and handshake.
At the same time, Christianity is all about transformation and radical change. How does “come as you are” fit with the purpose of Christ?
What Do Churches Mean When They Say “Come as You Are”?
First, we should consider what churches mean when they say the phrase “Come as you are.” This phrase communicates that people don’t need to meet a specific standard, fix their problems, or appear other than they are to attend a worship meeting. Churches want individuals to feel welcome to be honest and real—regardless of their background, struggles, or appearance. Most church communities hope attenders will come without fear of judgment or rejection.
“Come as you are” addresses certain practical issues, like clothing or social status. Unfortunately, the American church has willfully associated with certain external standards regarding attending a worship meeting. Most churches expected people to dress in their “Sunday best,” the nicest clothes they had. And even more problematic, several denominations had rules of segregation based on race. Many organizations had—or still have—separate “black” and “white” wings.
“Come as you are” addresses this past as churches recognize how unbiblical, unnecessary, and even sinful (in the case of racism) these past policies were. More and more churches don’t have any dress code or prerequisites for attending, understanding spiritual growth and community take priority over how people dress. This general mindset tries to tell people they don’t need to have a perfect life or a certain look to seek God or participate in worship.
Additionally, this speaks to how people feel about faith and God. People might hesitate to engage with church because they’re not sure what they believe, or they feel unworthy or guilty, like God is upset with them. Churches say “come as you are” to affirm the value of all people. God doesn’t require anyone to be “good enough” first, and everyone starts at different points. Churches foster a welcoming atmosphere to remove those obstacles to people coming to encounter the God who will transform them.
While churches don’t explicitly say it, there are some expectations for people who attend worship. Those who are abusive or intentionally disruptive would be removed from any group. Extreme behavior, like showing up naked, would be understood as not allowed. However, a church should always correct in love and give chances for restoration and redemption for those who truly seek God in community, at whatever level they may be.
What Verses Address Religious Requirements?
Christian churches don’t have to look far in the Bible to see how external dress and status no longer matter. The New Testament clearly shifts away from the Old Testament focus on outward religious traditions as requirements for a relationship with God. True Christianity focuses on the unseen truths of faith, grace, and the heart’s transformation.
Although, the Old Testament also addressed the fault with keeping religious traditions with a sinful, selfish heart. “The Lord says: ‘These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.” (Isaiah 29:13) This reveals the failure of the Law, not that the Law wasn’t good, only that it was based on sinful humanity to fulfill it (Romans 8:3).
Jesus quotes the same verse from Isaiah when rebuking the religious leaders of his day (Mark 7:8-9). The Israelites couldn’t fulfill the Law, not the heart of it which is complete dedication to God through relationship. However, God could. And he did through Jesus. As a God and human, he met every expectation of the Law, both internal and external. “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (Matthew 5:17-18)
In the next verses of Matthew 5, Jesus shows what he means by this. While the Law says don’t kill, he says don’t hate, because removing hate stops murder. The Law says don’t commit adultery, but Jesus says don’t lust, because ending selfish desire ceases adultery. Changing the heart’s nature from sinful to godly will result in righteous and loving behavior. Therefore, Jesus’ ministry and the apostolic church taught true change must happen within, and we shouldn’t be deceived about religious tradition. It has no power.
Since Paul spread the Gospel among the Gentiles, non-Jews, he addresses this in Colossians 2:16-17. “Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.” In Christ by grace through faith, we possess the substance, making the symbol powerless. Also, Hebrews 10:1 says to the Jews, “For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near.” Shadows have no substance and are only the absence of light. Christ identified himself as the Light of the World.
Under the New Covenant, being Jewish by blood, following external rites and traditions, observing certain days--all these give way to the priority of the inward change.
How is “Come as You Are” Biblical?
Since no one, in their own ability or identity, can save themselves, not even Jews, the early church learned to spread the Gospel to all people everywhere, regardless of race or background. At the same time, they focused on heart change. Jesus expressed and taught this through several encounters.
Christ would often eat with tax collectors and sinners. Since the Jews considered these people “unclean,” they wouldn’t even engage them. The Pharisees criticized him, but he responded, “Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ I have come not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matthew 9) Jesus specifically contrasts mercy toward sinners with keeping the Law of sacrifice, and he quoted from the Old Testament to do so.
In Luke 19, Jesus calls Zacchaeus, a tax collector, to come down from a tree. Christ invites himself to the tax collector’s house, which religious Jews would have never done. The encounter leads Zacchaeus to repentance, to repay what he has stolen several times over and give to the poor. Jesus tells him, “Today salvation has come to this house.” One of Jesus’ main twelve disciples, one of the apostles, was a tax collector: Matthew.
In John 4:7-26, Jesus engages a Samaritan woman at the well, breaking cultural and religious barriers. While racially “impure” (according to the Jews), she also had a history of divorce. However, this doesn’t stop Jesus from revealing himself as the Messiah and offering her “living water.” She believes and becomes an evangelist for Jesus.
Mark 1:40-42 shows how a man with leprosy seeks out Jesus for healing. Leprosy was a nasty and fatal disease, and Jews would exile lepers, considering them cursed by God. However, Jesus touches him (forbidden by the Jewish law) and heals him, proving no one is too unclean for God.
What Are the Biblical Prerequisites for Approaching God?
As we see, churches should express how all are welcome to come to worship and engage with the church, as Jesus and the early church clearly taught. However, the Scripture does outline clear requirements for approaching God. We can come as we are, but since we require inward change, our motivations and attitudes matter in how we draw near to God.
Humility is central. James 4:6-8 tells us, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” Being humble is the secret, involving a recognition of God’s authority, the truth of his person as sovereign and righteous.
Jesus shows this contrast in Luke 18:19-14 where he tells a parable of the Pharisee and tax collector. The Pharisee takes pride in his righteousness, while the tax collector understands his sin and cries out for mercy. Jesus gives the lesson: the prideful will be humbled (against his will) and those who choose to be humble will be exalted.
As we see in the above parable, humility leads to repentance, a submission of our will and ways to God and his, for life from the dead. Acts 3:19 says, “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out.” Repentance both turns from our sin and simultaneously to God with a real desire to change and follow him alone. Humility teaches our need for change; repentance acts upon the truth.
We come to God as we are because we can’t change ourselves. But since change is the goal, to live eternally through right relationship with God through Christ, we can’t come to him “as we are” if based on pride, the root of the Fall in Eden.
What Does “Come as You Are” Mean for Us?
“Come as you are” highlights God’s grace and our responsibility to love all people as he does. At its core, the phrase reminds us we can’t earn God’s acceptance through our own efforts. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:23-24) Only his grace and love can save us, properly leading us to humility.
God takes us as we are—broken and sinful—but he doesn’t leave us there. Instead, he seeks our transformation and redemption to his purpose and plans. He makes us a new creation, empowered by the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 5:17). God’s love meets us in our greatest despair and sin, but his grace gives us renewal and a life within his mission if we will repent.
This understanding informs how we interact with others. Like Jesus, we welcome and seek out engagement with people from all walks of life with love and grace. Churches should create a community where everyone feels accepted regardless of factors like race, financial status, dress, their past, or current struggles.
At the same time, love doesn’t affirm people’s sin, which leads to death. But as we can’t save ourselves, we also can’t save others. Jesus called people to repentance and new life, and so we must love them enough to point them to Jesus so he can transform and redeem them. Our balance of grace and truth reflects God’s heart and leads to repentance through love and mercy.
“Come as you are” challenges us to love others unconditionally while calling everyone to the truth of Christ. We model humility, not pride, knowing our own dependence on grace and extend the same to others. Through his power, lives are transformed and redeemed.
Peace.
Photo credit: ©GettyImages/Aliaksandra Ivanova / EyeEm
