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Summary
- The words “come as you are” do not appear in any translation of the Bible.
- The closest verses are John 6:37 (“whoever comes to me I will never cast out”), Matthew 11:28, Isaiah 55:1 and Revelation 22:17.
- Charlotte Elliott wrote the hymn “Just as I Am” about twelve years after the evangelist César Malan told her, “Come to him just as you are”; it was first published in 1836.
- Later songs titled “Come as You Are” include a Catholic hymn by Sister Deirdre Browne and a 2014 song by Crowder.
- In the New Testament the invitation leads to change: Jesus came to call “sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32).
Bibliography (Click to show)
- Scripture quotations from the English Standard Version: Isaiah 1:18; 55:1, 7; Matthew 11:28; Mark 2:16–17; Luke 5:32; 15:20; 19:2–9; John 4:7–39; 6:37; 7:2, 37; 8:11; Acts 9:1–6; 16:29–31; Romans 4:5; 5:8; 6:1–2; 12:2; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Revelation 22:17. The ESV brackets John 7:53–8:11 with the note that the earliest manuscripts do not include it.
- “Just as I Am, Without One Plea,” Hymnary.org, including notes from the Psalter Hymnal Handbook and John Julian’s Dictionary of Hymnology. https://hymnary.org/text/just_as_i_am_without_one_plea
- “Charlotte Elliott,” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte_Elliott
- “Just as I Am (hymn),” Wikipedia, on Billy Graham’s conversion and crusades. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_as_I_Am_(hymn)
- Billy Graham, Just as I Am: The Autobiography of Billy Graham (HarperCollins, 1997).
- Fiona Basile, “Sr Deirdre Browne ibvm, a fulfilling life of faith and music,” Melbourne Catholic, 31 August 2022. https://melbournecatholic.org/news/sr-deirdre-browne-a-fulfilling-life-of-faith-and-music
- “Come as you are, that’s how I want you,” Hymnary.org, Together in Song (1999), no. 693. https://hymnary.org/text/come_as_you_are_thats_how_i_want_you
- “Neon Steeple,” Wikipedia, on Crowder’s “Come as You Are” (2014), written with Ben Glover and Matt Maher. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neon_Steeple
- “Come as You Are (Nirvana song),” Wikipedia, on the song from Nevermind (1991). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Come_as_You_Are_(Nirvana_song)
- Westminster Confession of Faith (1646), chapter 11.1. https://www.opc.org/wcf.html
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 1263, 1423, 1427 and 1428. https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM
