"Just as I Am?"

In March of 2016, your congenial columnist wrote, as part of another article, a criticism of the song, "Just As I Am." The original article was about Joel Osteen, who had made the following statement, which is followed by my response.

It doesn't matter who likes you or who doesn't like you, all that matters is God likes you. He accepts you, He approves of you.

Is that right? No, such a statement is not even close to the truth. God loves all men and sent Jesus to die for their sins (John 3:16). His love is truly amazing in that it is extended even to those who are hostile to Him (Rom. 5:8). God "desires all men to come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Tim. 2:4) and is "not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). None of these passages, however, teaches that God accepts or approves of anyone while they remain in their sins.

Later in the article, came the introduction of the song, "Just As I Am," followed by what Osteen and men like Billy Graham thought about it. It was pointed out that there is no concept of repentance in the song. Below are those paragraphs.

The words of verse 5 seem to teach salvation by "faith only."

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.

Why should God receive, welcome, pardon, cleanse, and relieve the sinner? Because the sinner believes His promise to do so. There is no sense of "Trust and Obey" here. The closest mention is in the first verse. He bids me come, and on that basis I come, but obedience is not otherwise mentioned anywhere in the song, nor is repentance. Certainly no mention is made of baptism. Billy Graham claims that he was "converted" when this song was sung at the conclusion of a revival in Charlotte, North Carolina. He then used the song in all of his "crusades" during the latter half of the 20th century. The song talks about our need of salvation\\our need of forgiveness\\but not a word is spoken concerning man's need to repent; God accepts us just the way we are. What could fit Joel Osteen's theology any better than that? He can always skip verse 2, which deals with sin\\or say that God has accepted us in our sins, as cited above: "…you have to accept them as they are."

Still, some may have wondered if this criticism was just speculative or if it was valid.

The answer to that question was settled in a book, explaining the origin of several songs, including "Just As I Am." The book is by Robert J. Morgan and is titled, "Then Sings My Soul," published in 2003. On page 112 he prints the same song that we find in our songbooks\\with all five verses. Page 113 describes the history of the way the song came into being, and it proves to be quite interesting.

Charlotte Elliott, who wrote the words was from Brighton, England. Morgan does not mention the writer of the melody, William B. Bradley, who excelled at finding the accompanying tune to the words. The author records that Miss Elliott was very embittered against God because of her poor health. He records her as saying, "If God loved me, He would not have treated me this way."

She would sometimes take advantage of an opportunity to complain against her lot in life. At dinner one night she embarrassed her family when she "lost her temper and railed against God" in a violent outburst. Only a guest, a Swiss minister, Dr. Cesar Malan, remained at the table. He asked her if she was tired of herself and clinging to her anger because she had nothing else substantial in her life, which she acknowledged. She inquired, "What is your cure?"

He replied, "The faith you are trying to despise." They discussed that for some time, and she asked, "If I wanted to become a Christian, and to share the peace and joy you possess, what would I do?"

Now this is the crucial turning point in the conversation. What would most of us advise a person to do in this position? We might counsel such an individual to realize that many have had physical problems who trusted in God regardless, such as Job, who suffered with sores from "the sole of his foot to the crown of his head" (Job 2:7), and Paul who earnestly besought God to remove the physical affliction from which he suffered three times (2 Cor. 12:7-9), yet was refused.

We might have called attention to the many evidences proving the existence of God and that the Bible is His Word. We might have gone on to say that God has already demonstrated His love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Rom. 5:8). It would be appropriate to highlight the fact that the spiritual is far greater than the physical and that, regardless of the physical condition we find ourselves in, we yet have the hope of eternal life, which far exceeds perfect physical health here on earth.

Apparently, none of these considerations entered into the discussion. Finally, Miss Elliott asked what she should do, which is reminiscent of what the Jews asked on the Day of Pentecost. Unfortunately, the answer does not resemble Peter's.

Instead, Dr. Malan told her that she should give herself to God just the way she was at that moment\\with her "fightings and fears, hates and loves, pride and shame." In one aspect, these words may sound lofty, but one should really think such advice over. It is true that, when we come to God, we are not perfect; we all recognize that. We know that, when we become a Christian, we will not suddenly be a model example for others. We ought to have been taught that being a Christian involves growth and that we will grow stronger as time goes on. In other words, we do not need to reach a certain level of spiritual maturity in order to obey the gospel. God forgives us where we are at the time we come\\if we repent and are determined to live better than what we have.

But repentance (not to mention baptism in order to be forgiven) is precisely what is lacking in what happened with Miss Elliott. No mention of change or growth can be found in the advice given her. Nothing about improvement or progress in the faith is discernible. And this is reflected in Charlotte's response: "I would come to God just as I am? Is that right?"

So, what does that mean in the context of her life? Remember that she had doubts about God and was very bitter against Him. Wouldn't that make it difficult to say, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God," as the queen's treasurer from Ethiopia confessed? What kind of faith is it that is angry with God and expresses doubts? Doesn't a person need to resolve those problems before trying to become a Christian? So, besides having no repentance, no confession, and no baptism, this is a wonderful account of conversion.

God Does It All

Morgan includes one more piece of information that is crucial in understanding the theology of Miss Elliott and the meaning of the song. The reader is asked to pay especially close attention to the very next line which is recorded on page 113. In answer to the question about coming just as I am, the author writes these words: "Charlotte did come just as she was, and her heart was changed that day."

What? Notice, he does not say, "She changed her heart that day." Peter told the people on Pentecost to repent, which required action on their part (Acts 2:37). He also told them, "Save yourselves from this crooked generation" (Acts 2:40), which also requires that effort be made on the one being converted. The words that were spoken caused the change in those who crucified Jesus.

Nevertheless, Charlotte is told, and her song tells others to come just the way they are\\no repentance, no confession, no baptism. The change of heart must be decided by the person who comes to Jesus. In Miss Elliott's case, as described by the author, the change was passive and came after her decision. Again, "…her heart was changed…" Who changed it, and why?

The only option is that God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit personally changed her heart (in a direct way), which puts an additional burden on the Godhead to save someone. It is not enough that God sent Jesus to die on the cross, or that He accepted the mission and gave His life for us; nor is it sufficient that His Word has been revealed and endorsed by miracles, signs, and wonders\\and preserved that we might learn the truth recorded in it. No, God also apparently needs to work on a person's heart when she decides to come to Him as she is.

"…and her heart was changed that day." Unfortunately, Morgan did not elaborate on that point; so we have no answers to relevant questions. Who or what changed her heart? How was it accomplished? The only apparent answer is that God did it. Neither does the author explain the manner in which she "came." The song does not tell us, either. It affirms, "I come, I come," but gives not one detail on the way to come. When brethren have sung the song, we know that a person must come, believing, repenting, confessing the Deity of Jesus, and with a willingness to be baptized.

But that is not what the author of the song did, nor is it what most people who sing it think of. Morgan reports that Charlotte lived to be 82 but never enjoyed good health. She also wrote about 150 hymns, but this is the one that resonated with people. After her death, her loved ones found over a thousand letters, the writers of which "expressed their gratitude for the way this hymn had touched their lives."

What attracts people to the song? The melody is simple, yet powerful, as it reaches the highest pitch at just the right time. But the words also draw people in. Jesus does say, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matt. 11:28). So the idea of coming is Scriptural, and it would be done as a matter of obedience. Also it recognizes the necessity of the blood of Jesus to cleanse every spot of sin upon us. "Without one plea" is probably construed to mean that we have a realization that it is the grace of God that saves; we cannot earn or merit salvation.

Stanza five was based on Miss Elliott's favorite Bible verse\\John 6:37b: "…and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out." These are all excellent, positive principles\\as far as they go. But they do not include repentance and further indicate that it is not necessary. So far as it can be determined, she did not repent when she "came" to Jesus, and nothing indicates that it was anything other than "faith only," which, of necessity, does exclude repentance.

The words profess that one may come to Jesus in obedience, but they can also have many doubts. Which is it? "I come in confidence that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God" or "I come with many doubts"? In her life, it appears to be the latter, and then God changed her heart! Despite the appeal that this song has, this is not what Jesus and His apostles taught concerning salvation. It has never been faith only; repentance and faithfulness have always been necessary to please God.