There is an old hymn called JUST AS I AM, which starts out “Just as I am, without one plea, but that thy blood was shed for me.”  Have you ever given any thought to what that means?  That song implores God to accept one just the way they are, sins and all.  Would God really do that?  If so, why, and if not, why not?  Let’s have a look.
   God is Holy, and as such, cannot and will not tolerate sin.  He inhabits eternity, and in all that time He has not changed one bit.  Sin is rebellion against the laws of God, and the Holy Bible tells us Lucifer and a third of all the angels were cast out of heaven because they rebelled against God.  Lucifer, the highest ranking angel, was created perfect in all his ways until sin was found in him, for he thought to exalt himself above the throne of God.  Let’s read Isaiah 14:12-19:
Isa 14:12  How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
Isa 14:13  For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
Isa 14:14  I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
Isa 14:15  Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
Isa 14:16  They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;
Isa 14:17  That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?
Isa 14:18  All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house.
Isa 14:19  But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet.

   How can it be that God who so quickly cast out Lucifer and his angels from heaven, refusing to even give them a chance of repentance, is willing to accept mankind, sins and all?  God created mankind in His own image, and put Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.  At that time, they were in perfect fellowship with their heavenly Father.  Then, Lucifer, now called Satan, presented himself to Eve and told the world’s first lie, telling her that it was alright to question God’s commandment to them, and even disobey Him, for He was withholding the knowledge of good and evil from them.  So Eve disobeyed God, and she ate of the forbidden fruit, and also gave it to Adam, and he ate of it also.  Thus ended the perfect, unbroken fellowship between Adam, Eve, and God. 
   And as if their disobedience wasn’t enough, God held Adam accountable for Eve’s actions, and Adam had the nerve to blame God for giving Eve to him in the first place.  God turned to Eve and she blamed the serpent.  And we all know, the serpent didn’t have a leg to stand on.
   What happened next?  The very first blood was shed on earth by God, as He made them clothes of animal skin, that blood being shed to cover their sins, for there is no forgiveness of sins without the shedding of blood.  God so desired fellowship with mankind, that He made a way of putting sin out of the way so that fellowship could be restored.  For centuries, God allowed the cleansing of sins by the sacrifice of animals offered by the priests, and the High Priest himself also had to give sacrifice yearly for his own sins, before God would accept the sacrifice given for the sins of the people.
    So, did God accept people “JUST AS I AM”?  No.  They had to come with a sacrifice to cover their sins, in order to be reconciled to God in fellowship with Him.  God would not even accept the offerings and sacrifices of those who would not come to Him with a blood offering.  But that was not a permanent solution for the sin problem.  Somewhere back in eternity, God decided only the blood of His only begotten Son could atone for the sins of mankind.  There was no other way mankind could be restored to the same unbroken, perfect fellowship that Adam and Eve enjoyed before they sinned against God.  Oversimplifying here for lack of room, the Lord Jesus came to Earth and was born in the form of a human, grew up as any other person, but was without sin.  He lived a perfect, sinless life, perfectly representing His heavenly Father on Earth, as an obedient Son, and showing all those who saw and heard Him the heavenly Father’s love for mankind.  He went around healing the sick, showing mercy to those seeking the Kingdom of God, and yet for all that, the Lord Jesus suffered abuse and was hung on a cross to die for sins He did not do.  Rather, He gave himself willingly to die for YOUR sins, and MINE.
    God saw, recognized, and accepted the sacrifice of Jesus’ life in payment for the sins of mankind, ALL OF THEM!  That means only one thing:  When we come to the heavenly Father in Jesus’ name, asking for the forgiveness of our sins, we are coming to the Father with the only sacrifice He accepts and recognizes, and that is the blood of His Son, the perfect, sinless blood that not only destroys sin, but washes us so clean, it’s as if we never sinned at all, EVER!
    Are you coming JUST AS I AM?  Yes, but you’re not leaving that way!  You are cleansed of all unrighteousness, not based upon your own worth or works, but only based upon the sacrifice of all sacrifices, once and for all, made possible by Almighty God, who loves you more than you could ever realize.  Because His sovereign will is the supreme law of the universe, it was, and is, His will to find you NOT GUILTY of sin by reason of the blood of Jesus shed for YOU.  Can just anyone come to the heavenly Father and make their plea based on Jesus’ blood for the forgiveness of sins?  Yes.  First you must acknowledge you are a sinner, and turn from your sins, for Jesus said to go and sin no more.  Then you must believe you are forgiven, and in turn forgive those who have sinned against you, for the blood of Jesus was also shed for those who sinned against YOU.  While you may think it is not fair for those who sinned against you to be forgiven so freely, you must remember, YOU are asking to be freely forgiven also.
    I came to the Father, and JUST AS I AM was also my plea, asking for mercy for I was under a huge burden of sin.  Without hesitation, God freely applied the blood sacrifice of Jesus to my account, immediately removing that burden of sin from me, opening the door to us having perfect fellowship with each other.  Now it’s YOUR turn.  Won’t you do the same?