"It is misleading to say that God accepts us the way we are. Rather he accepts us despite the way we are. He receives us only in Christ and for Christ's sake. Nor does He mean to leave us the way He found us, but to transform us into the likeness of His Son. Without that transformation and new conformity of life we do not have any evidence that we were ever His in the first place." - Dr. Sinclair Ferguson
Comments:
Jesus came "to proclaim good news to the poor ... to proclaim liberty to the captives." (Luke 4:18)
When sinners like us, by the grace of God, come to Christ one of the most important reasons we do so is because we want Him to unburden us from our sin, both from its guilt and from its power ... with the goal that we might have intimate fellowship with God.. so to know that God will not leave us as we are, in sin's grip, is a major part of the good news of Christ.
God calls sinners, yes but he calls us out of our slavery to it. Sadly, too many churches in our age have embraced the common "come as you are" phrase and understood it to mean "stay as you are". This is a dangerous half-truth. Rather, by the grace of God, we are to come to Christ, in spite of who we are, so that Christ might deliver us FROM our sins, that He may set us free both from from sin's guilt AND power. But if someone comes to Christ and does not recognize that sin is their greatest burden for which they cannot free themselves ... and so come to Christ to unburden them of it, (but instead validate it) and if they do not recognize that all their own righteousness could never be enough, then I believe they are not getting anywhere near a true picture of the gospel.
In other words, to give people the message "come as you are" without also communicating that God will not leave you as you are, is a half truth and not really explaining the whole of the good news ... people who genuinely come to Christ want to be free from the sin that now entangles them, and they know they are helpless to do it themselves. The good news is that Christ has done that for us... that assurance is comforting ... so we do not merely add Jesus as one component of our life hoping he will leave you the same ... you come to him for deliverance.
Jesus is the only one who can liberate us from sin's bondage. Many, many churches are missing this crucial element. Why come to Jesus if you don't think He can deliver you? We believe His promise that He can and will do so, and that is why we call Him the Savior.
"Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.... So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." John 8: 34, 36
"...for He shall save His people from their sins."- Matthew 1:21
"....those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." Gal 5:24
"But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life." Rom 6:22