Matthew 17: 14-23


The third day he shall be raised again

 

And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying,  Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water.  And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.  Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me. And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.  Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.  Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.  And while they abode in Galilee, Jesus said unto them, The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men:  And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again. And they were exceeding sorry. (Matthew 17: 14-23)

Jesus said about faith, you only need to have faith as small as a mustard seed. Faith is different from self-confidence. However, the beliefs of many people today are based on self-confidence. Faith is not self-confidence, but comes from the Lord. In Galatians 3:23:『But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. 』 Faith comes from God to those who repent. So, it is believing to go into Jesus Christ on the cross. Only this is salvation. Peter saw Jesus on the cross, and he denied Jesus three times and fled crying. Faith has not come. Self-confidence is a faith that comes from the flesh. It is a faith that has been thoroughly followed in the flesh. Today, when we see miracles, experience, learn the Word, and build up Bible knowledge, we believe in Jesus as the Son of God. But it is different that Christ becomes Lord. When one day Peter's situation runs away, everyone becomes a runaway life until faith comes.

The Bible said in the book of Revelation, "All who are not recorded in the Lamb's book of life will worship the beast." It is said that all those who do not have faith from God are those who are not recorded in the book of life. However, many people in the church think that "because I believe in Jesus, it will be recorded in the Lamb's book of life." It was not recorded in the Lamb's book of life until faith came. In order for faith to come, there is no way but repentant life to deny oneself.

It doesn't mean that I'm not going to worship the beast. It is only self-confidence. Only, God records those who repent in the book of life. Romans 10: 9『That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 』 This means "Jesus is the master." The word "Jesus is the master" is not a matter of declaring words, but of such a state. The apostle Paul quoted what Moses said just before his death. In Romans 10: 5-8『For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; 』

Paul's words of faith are the words of Deuteronomy to a new man entering Canaan. It was interpreted by Paul. In Deuteronomy 30: 11-14『For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off.  It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?  Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?  But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it. 』 Moses, the pronoun of the law, died before the land of Canaan. New people born in the wilderness think only of obeying the Word of God in the land of Canaan.

"You are in your mouth, and in your heart you can do this."
Here, people who are only in their mouths are different from those that are in their mouths and are in their minds. Obedience is not only in the mouth, but in the heart. The mind becomes a gift of faith from God when you become a new person. A new person is a person who has died and was born again. The old man is the one who has to die about God, without leaving the evil of greed that wants to be like God.

 

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