Context for Jeremiah 3:6-4:31
We find God’s salvation in no other way than faith and repentance. God wanted faith and repentance from His people, but He found none. God wants faith and repentance wants from us. Will he find it?
God does not negotiate with us for our salvation. He does not say, “If you are faithful and repent, then I will do these things for you.†Rather, He says, “I am waiting to do these things for you, but I cannot because you are not faithful and have not repented.â€
The difference between those two statements is subtle, but they communicate to us the very nature of our God and His love for us. God wants to bless all people with His grace and all that grace brings, but He cannot bless those who run from Him and His will. When we separate ourselves from God, we also separate ourselves from His grace.
That is why repentance is such an important part of faith. We cannot approach God believing we are somehow equal or deserving, because we have done nothing to deserve grace. In fact, except for the faith we have because of the Word, our very natures are separated from God, so it is, then, by faith through grace, that we realize our natures and the need to approach God in the humility of repentance.
In that humility, God then raises us up as His children and heirs through our faith and gives us the blessings He promised. We receive these blessings because we draw closer to Him through our faith, ending our sinful desire to turn our backs on what the Word shows us to be true. Through faith and repentance, our separation from God ends.
