“I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” – Lk 5:32

I’ve heard it repeated often that “God accepts me JUST AS I AM.” It’s not really true that God accepts me without a changed heart and repentance. It’s too bad that false teachers are able to use double speech — he accepts you just as you are, not really, but we will get to that later — to entice sinners into their organizations. Such a message appeals to many who still quite like the broad way and the worldly pleasures on it. Tell these same people the truth about their lifestyles and they’ll start looking for a more favorable message.

It’s true that Jesus loves the world and wants the world to be saved through the Cross, but He says we are sinners and if we stay “just as we are”, we are going to hell. Jesus called “sinners to repentance”. This unvarnished truth doesn’t appeal to the masses. To tell these people that “God accepts you just as you are” is a big fat lie.

The godless world that trust more in the latest philosophies and theories is sinking children into this delusion. It is now becoming apparent that the self-esteem movement is a failed social experiment that makes kids think highly of themselves for no particular reason. I remember reading some time back that the San Diego (CA) school system voted to abolish failing grades and legislate failure out of existence. Think how foolish this is. If giving an “F” causes a student to lose self-esteem and the solution is not to give failing grades, then what about the “B” student who happens to find out that some other students make “A’s”? Why shouldn’t he feel as good as he would with an “A”? The only solution is to give all “A’s” to all students and save their self-esteem. Telling the kids they are great when they are dumb as a rock is not helpful.

If you are not a Christian, God does not accept you just as you are. He loves you and gave His only begotten Son on a Cross so that you might be acceptable to Him if you believe and obey His Gospel. The book of Acts tells us that the Apostles taught a great crowd of people that they were guilty before God. Upon hearing the message of Jesus Christ, they were pierced in the heart and asked what could be done. Acts 2:38 is the answer for them and for you: “Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'” (Acts 2:38) Today you can be acceptable to God if you hear His voice and obey Him. But it’s a lie from the father of lies to say that God accepts everyone just as they are.

With love. Dan.

Categories: acceptable to God, repentance, self-esteem