CHRISTIAN ETHOS IN ACTION – “If you have faith and do not doubt” – Matthew 21:21

CHRISTIAN ETHOS IN ACTION –  “And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen.” (Matthew 21:21)

The phrase “if you”, as it applies to you (and me) as a disciple of Jesus, appears one hundred twenty-four times in the English Standard Version (ESV) of the New Testament.

First, we will be confronted with various situations and circumstances from the Bible and, we will discover how we are to respond in these examples. Secondly, I have personalized (rephrased) our study verses for you to memorize. By this, we can bring the Gospel to life as we go and defeat sin along our way.

Today we, as Christians, are confronted with questions about how we should deal with matters such as usefulness and uselessness, miracles, faith, doubt, authority over circumstances, effective productive prayer.

 “And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen.” (Matthew 21:21)

IN CONTEXT

“In the morning, as he was returning to the city, he became hungry. And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And the fig tree withered at once.

“When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?”

And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.” (Matthew 21:18-22)

REPHRASED and personalized to memorize:

“When I saw it, I marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?”

And Jesus answered me, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.” (Matthew 21:18-22)

WHAT YOU BELIEVE YOU KNOW vs WHAT JESUS SAYS

Herein lies what I will call, ‘the line of contention’. The Bible and Jesus say one thing, and our denominational teachings say quite another – either in disbelief or in going too far. Looking at these matters as it is ‘one way or another’ could be aptly named ‘a binary trap’, from which there is no escape.

BALANCE

Very few people would dare say Jesus approached life and spiritual matters with a balance between earthly means and ways, while staying true to His nature as God.

Jesus was both man and God, and He lived both the aspects of His earthly nature and His Divine nature to their absolute fullest.

And, so should we live both our natures – our human nature, as it is controlled by our ‘new birth spiritual nature’ to the absolute fullest. Our balance is only found in Jesus.

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

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