The Word of God supports “come as you are,” but it does not support, “stay as you were.” When we meet Jesus, sin no longer holds its fatal attraction. Grace changes things. “Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” (Romans 6:1-2).When we are born again (John 3:3), the power of the Holy Spirit breaks the power that sin once had over us (Romans 6:6). Once we lived only to please ourselves, but when we have been forgiven, our motivation changes. We now live to please God (Galatians 2:20).
Some refer to the women caught in adultery in John chapter 8 as proof Jesus accepts all as they are. Yes, Jesus told her “he does not condemn her” But he also tells her, “go and sin no more.” She was guilty. She did deserve stoning according to the Law of Moses (Leviticus 20:10). But not by these scoundrels who were just using her circumstance as an occasion to trap Jesus. I believe the woman caught in adultery did not return to her infidelity. She had met Jesus. She would not be perfect. No one is. But she was forever changed. Her eyes had been opened to the depravity of what she was doing. Sin no longer held the appeal it once did.