Articles
Just As I Am
Just as I am, without one plea, but that Thy blood was shed for me, and that Thou bid me come to Thee, O, Lamb of God, I come, I come!
Just as I am, and waiting not to rid my soul of one dark blot, To Thee whose blood can cleanse each spot, O, Lamb of God, I come, I come!
Just as I am, though tossed about with many a conflict, many a doubt, fightings and fears within, without, O, Lamb of God, I come, I come!
Just as I am, poor, wretched blind; sight, riches, healing of mind, yea all I need in Thee to find, O, Lamb of God, I come, I come!
Just as I am, Thou wilt receive, wilt welcome pardon, cleanse, relieve; because Thy promise I believe, O, Lamb of God, I come, I come!
“If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us” (1 John 1:8-10). Truly, Christ did not come into this world to save self-righteous fools who do not take responsibility for their mistakes. Anybody who doubts this needs to read about the difference between the Pharisee and the sinner in Luke 18:10-14. While one man came before God thinking he was clean, the other came before God with his eyes low and his voice crying for mercy. God is not going to save those who think they do not need saving!
That is the point behind “Just As I Am,” the words of which were written by a woman named Charlotte Elliot. We must be careful not to misinterpret the meaning of the hymn – although one can never know just what was going through the mind of Miss Elliott as she penned the lyrics. Based solely on what we have before us in this song, we cannot say that a sinner need only call on God and expect salvation. There is much more expected of him than just that. Turn to Ephesians 2:1-6. Notice that these verses are written in the past tense – we “were dead in our transgressions,” we “formerly walked” according to the sinful ways of the world, our nature used to be as children of wrath. All of this means that we must stop sinning before God will cleanse us (Acts 2:38. Acts 3:19). If we want to wear the name of God, we must abstain from wickedness (2 Timothy 2:19).
