Jeremiah 3:13-15 - I am your husband and I will choose you

3:13,14

What was Israel required to do? To acknowledge her guilt. To admit that they had rebelled against the Lord, and had given herself to many foreign gods. “Return faithless people”  “and bring you to Zion”. God does highlight our sinfulness, but He does so with the purpose that we realise and admit our guilt, repent, and turn to Him.Then He will bring us fully into His kingdom. This is the attitude that God has towards us, it should also shape our attitude towards others, especially when we see them mired in sin. Instead we normally have one of two wrong attitudes. One is is to condemn them because of their guilt. We are in no position to condemn. The other is to tell them that God loves them but to ignore their sinfulness. God does not overlook sin, His love for people includes making people aware of their sin. Sin affirming churches are not being in the least bit loving.

3:15

Having received the repentant people, God will give them shepherds “after my own heart” who will lead them with knowledge and understanding. “Shepherds” of the sin affirming churches are not leading with knowledge and understanding, but with utter stupidity. We also need to recognise that we need to be teachable. Part of repentance is a willingness to learn God’s ways. And part of the duty of the church is to teach people God’s ways. Jesus told us to make disciples of all nations, teaching them to obey all His commands (Matt 28:19,20).