Anyone who has ever sat in a Baptist church during a revival has probable heard the old hymn, “Just As I Am” hundreds of times. Billy Graham, during his many preaching engagements all over the world would, most of the time, have the huge congregation sing that wonderful old hymn as people streamed down the aisle to make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Millions of people would be able to identify this piece of music if they could hear only the first two or three notes. It has, long ago, become a signature song whenever there has been the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is still one of the favorite hymns sung as people are invited to commit their lives to Jesus. In fact, most people know that the singing of “Just As I Am” is the time during a service to give your heart to Jesus if the Holy Spirit is working with you on the issue. It is the signal that now is the time to make one’s public profession of faith in Jesus.
“Just As I Am” was authored by Charlotte Elliott in 1834 so it has been around for a long time. The words of this hymn offer us some wonderful insight into just what is happening when one becomes a Christian. The first verse lets us know just how we must be willing to come before the Lord in order to be saved. It says:
“Just as I am without one plea, but that thy blood was shed for me, and that thou bidd’st me come to thee, O Lamb of God I come, I come. In other words, we have nothing to brag about and we have no excuse to offer as to why we should be saved. The only thing we can rely on is the fact that Jesus’ blood was shed for us and that He is calling us to Himself.
The second verse is very enlightening to us. Read the words carefully: “Just as I am, and waiting not, to rid my soul of one dark blot, to thee whose blood can cleanse each spot, O Lamb of God I come, I come.” Many people delay giving their hearts to the Lord. They put it off so long that it no longer bothers them. But every time they hear this old hymn, they are reminded that they are not saved. Others may not know that fact but the person involved in the struggle knows it and they know that God knows it also. The person is weary of the struggle with sin. They desire that every blot against them be forgiven and they are not going to wait any longer because they realize, under the conviction of the Holy Spirit, that they must be saved in order to enter God’s heaven. So, what do they do? Every person has to personally make the decision as to their eternal destiny. But, I would hope that they would make their way down the aisle to publicly commit their lives to Christ.
In verse three we find these words….”Just as I am, thy love unknown, has broken every barrier down, now to be thine, yea, thine alone, O Lamb of God I come, I come.” The unknowable Love of God toward us is immeasurable; its unknowable. And, it has broken every barrier down which stands between us and being redeemed. God, who was offended by our sin, has provided the way for all barriers to be broken down thereby making it possible for us to be saved. He did this by offering His Son on the cross to pay for our sin thereby setting free anyone who will commit themselves to Jesus by faith.
God is the one offended by our sinful ways of life. But, HE is the one who provided the way of salvation even though He is the one who has been wronged. Many people assume that, since we are the ones who sinned, we must somehow provide a way to salvation. That is exactly what many people are trying to do in their lives. It won’t work and one reason is that the offender is not the one to decide his fate. God is. There is only one way to be put right with God and that is through Jesus Christ. God says that you can go free if you will come to Him through His Designed Plan of Salvation. God is the one who must say….”O.K….the price is paid.” And this happens when we come to Him through Jesus Christ just as it says in that wonderful old hymn; Just As I Am.
Read it and listen to the words. The great old hymns said something that was worth saying. They centered on God and His redemptive work and not on man. Unlike the modern, contemporary jingles that have all but totally replaced the great hymns, they teach proper theology as it is sung. They send all the glory to God. They were written by Godly people such as missionaries, preachers and church members of the past who really understood what God has done for us through Jesus Christ. The focus of one singing the hymns was on God. It was a heavenly focus. They were not written in a commercial deal where books of choruses were written for some organization that would package them and make a lot of money on them.
We would be much better off if we went back to singing the hymns that were written with God, heaven, salvation and forgiveness as the central themes. And, people would learn the doctrines more easily as well as remember them and sing them from memory. If something is set to music, people remember it better. I have often said that the multiplication tables should be set to music and the kids would have no trouble with them then. The little choruses of today can’t touch the hem of the garment of the great hymns we used to sing. I think we should go back to them. Most of today’s choruses sound like a funeral dirge. They are lacking in life. Just listen to them. Look at the people. They are not singing. Few of them are smiling. I actually heard one in a church in which I was preaching that said: “Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh, You are awesome.” They kept putting it up on a screen like the people are so dumb that they can’t get those words the first time. And they actually sung that little “chorus” about ten times. Sorry, but that won’t compare with “Heavenly Sunlight,” “When Jesus Came Into My Heart,” “Let Others See Jesus on You,” “Down at the Cross,” “Just a Closer Walk With Thee,”
and “Washed in the Blood,” plus myriads of others which paint the joyful picture of salvation for us.
So, I am praying that the great hymns written by people who have had a deep relationship with God and which teach us valuable doctrine will some day, and in some way, have a resurgence. The people will be greatly blessed by those songs like “Just As I Am.”
