If we say, “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.  1 John 1:9 HCSB

When it comes to submitting to Christ, there are several lies we tell ourselves. One lie is I’m a good person so I’m okay I don’t need Jesus. Many people believe that just being a good person will get them into heaven, but this is simply not true. We are told in Romans 3:23 that we all sin and fall short of the glory of God. So, even if you are a “good person”, you still have sin in your life and you are in need of a Savior.

The other lie we often tell ourselves is I need to clean myself up before I go to Christ. I need to get my life straight in order to be saved. This too is false. Our Scripture passage tells us all we need to do is confess our sins and God is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

When we think we need to clean up before going to God, it’s kind of like hand washing our car before we drive it through a carwash. The other thing we have to understand is to truly make things better in our life, we need God’s help. We need His forgiveness. We need His guidance each and every day.

If someone were to call you up right now and ask you to meet them at a restaurant or a coffee shop and told you to come as you are, could you just walk out the door? There are things we usually consider before just leaving home. We consider things like whether we are properly dressed. Is our hair combed? Did we brush our teeth? Ladies usually like to apply make-up. There is a process we go through to make ourselves presentable when we go out in public.

When we come to Christ, however, we can simply come as we are. Isn’t that refreshing? Doesn’t that sound good? You can come just as you are right now. If you have unrepentant sin in your life, you can just bring it and lay it at His feet. You can confess it, and He will forgive you, cleanse, you and welcome you into His loving arms.

Think of coming to Christ as coming home. When we come home, we don’t usually worry about how we are dressed or how we look because we are simply going home. We are going to the place where we can relax in our old comfy clothes. When we turn to Jesus, we are coming home. We can come as we are. It’s okay if the hair is messed up and the make-up is smudged, and the clothes are dirty and torn.

When we go out into this world we need to be properly dressed. We need to put on the full armor of God described in Ephesians 6:10-18. We must dress appropriately and most importantly we must pray to God for His protection.

God is calling you home. He is calling you to come to His Son, Jesus Christ. You can come just as you are. He loves you no matter what. If you are dirty and worn from years of sin, He will clean you and give you new clothes and refreshment.

If you are tired of lying to yourself and thinking you don’t need a Savior, turn to Christ today. You don’t have to get all cleaned up, you just have to go to Him and confess your sins to Him. Pray for His forgiveness and ask Him to strengthen you against temptation. He will take care of you.

Have a great day!