In the Bible, Joel 2:32, where the prophet is declaring the terrible judgments of the Day of the Lord, God's offer of deliverance is open to “whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord.” In Isaiah 1:18, God offers the invitation to come, though your sins are as scarlet, and He will make them white as snow. Whosoever will, let him take
the water of life freely.” In these and other verses, it is
clear that, even though we are sinners, God desires us to come to Him as we are, so that He can cleanse us. Bishop Daryl Wynn, Senior Pastor
As for the meaning and use of the phrase, we can go to the examples of how Jesus dealt with the sinners He encountered. Some- times well-meaning Christians tell people that they have to “clean up their lives” before God will accept them, but that is not what we see in Scripture. When speaking to the woman at the well who was living with a man she was not married to (John 4:1- 26), Jesus addressed the fact of her sin, then offered her the salvation she needed. The sin was never excused or ignored, but forgiveness was offered to anyone who recognized the truth of their sin and was willing to confess and forsake it. While God certainly expects us to leave our sin, that comes as a part of our salvation, not as a prerequisite. We are not able to clean our- selves up without God's help. God is amazing, gracious, loving, and forgiving, so He calls us to salvation, even though we don't deserve it. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8), making it possible for us to receive forgiveness. He requires us to confess and forsake our sins when we come to Him, but He receives us just as we are, then begins to change us as we submit to Him in obedience.
