Mark 11:23’s Doubting Nothing
“Verily I say unto you, [that] [w]hosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou taken up and cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that what he saith cometh to pass; he shall have it.” Mark 11:23 (RV)
Receipt of the God-kind of faith does not render a man an automaton. After a man receives the God-kind of faith, he still must act upon it without wavering at the word. (cf. Matthew 21:21 - have faith and do not doubt). Mark 11:23’s “shall not doubt in his heart,” not only involves the receipt of faith in the spirit, but it also requires action in the soul. The Greek for “not doubt” is diakrithe which is a combination of dia which means “to and fro” with krino which means to differentiate by separating. The combination renders a meaning of being at odds with oneself or to be divided against oneself. Though one may possess the God-kind of faith, he still must deliberately act on that faith, nothing doubting. A case in point for this portion of Mark 11:23 is found in the account of Peter’s water-walking:
“But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit, and they cried out for fear. But straightaway Jesus spoke unto them, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?” Matthew 14:24-31
In this account, Peter asks Jesus to come out on to the water with Him, and Jesus answers by saying, “Come.” Jesus’s imperative, “Come,” falls into Mark 11:22; it is a word (promise) from God that exudes faith. (cf. Romans 10:17 - faith comes by hearing through a [spoken] word of Christ). And while the word was received by Peter, he was still required to act upon it doubting nothing. HIs “coming down of the ship” and walking on the water towards Jesus readily shows that he initially didn’t harbor any doubt that he could “come” over to Jesus by walking on the water. He did not “waver concerning the promise of God.” See Romans 4:20 (Abraham did not waver concerning the promise of God).
Before getting to Jesus and completing the action of God, however, Peter began to exhibit diakrithe (divided judgment within himself) about Jesus’s word (promise). He “saw the wind boisterous,” and he “was afraid.” Though the winds and the waves were irrelevant to Peter’s water-walking ability, he apparently began to question the power of Jesus’s “Come” against the natural circumstances. His divided judgment immediately quenched the action of God and he began to sink. While saving him Jesus rebuked him, asking, “Unto what did you hesitate [waver]?” (cf. Young’s Literal Translation). By this Bible example, we see that while one may even possess the God-kind of faith, he may render that faith and power impotent by his own divided judgment or unbelief. (cf. Mark 6:1-6).