James warned us not to be double-minded. This daily devotional looks at what that means, when that applies to us, and the consequences we face when it does.
Nuggets
- A double-minded person may appear to have given their life to Christ, but in reality has not.
- We become double-minded when we focus on what we don’t understand rather than just trusting God.
- We become double-minded when we keep waffling between our belief and doubt.
- Double-minded people are often hypocrites because they serve whoever is currently benefiting them.
- When the bad double-mindedness really kicks in, we feel we have to go to our self-help books and fix ourselves.
- At times, we think that our works will save us.
- There is no double-mindedness on the good side.
In the last devotion, we talked about our access to God depends on the condition of our hearts. God is very specific about how we are to approach Him.
One thing God doesn’t like is people who are double-minded. That term shows up at the end of James 4: 8.
But what was James referring to here?
To read a related devotion, click the button below.
The Bad Side of Being Double-Minded
“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded” (Jas. 4: 8 ESV)
A double-minded person may appear to have given their life to Christ, but in reality, has not.
So, what does a bad double-minded person look like?
More than likely — to some — this person looks like a good person. There are some who would say this person was a bad person.
The problem is the bad double-minded person waffles.
Uncertain
We become double-minded when we focus on what we don’t understand rather than just trusting God.
We so much want to understand everything. We want to know when things happened on what timeline. We want to know why and how.
We want to know all of that when we are following the worldview
Glossary
Then again, we like what God has to offer — sometimes. We like the eternity part. We like the peace and what we think Romans 8: 28 says.
But we can’t make up our minds which view we are going to follow.
When we follow the Godview, we trust God that He did it His way. Most of all, we trust that He did it.
Constantly Changing
We become double-minded when we keep waffling between our belief and doubt.
Sometimes, we act like we believe in God and His laws and commandments. But sometimes, we don’t.
We fluctuate between God and the worldview. I guess it depends on the day or the circumstances.
To me, this is where the doubts come into play. We are uncertain because we want to believe, but there is just something that keeps us from totally believing.
Or we want to believe, but we just don’t know about a God that we don’t see. Then there is this Man that lived thousands of years ago. He is said to have done all these things that are totally not possible.
We have to have faith. Faith is a gift from God that enhances the conviction that the doctrines revealed in God’s Word are true, even if we do not understand all aspects of them, a belief which impacts our lives and distinguishes us from others.
Hypocrite
Double-minded people are often hypocrites because they serve whoever is currently benefiting them.
I can see this. A double-minded person serves two masters. We are specifically told not to do this.
“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money” (Mt. 6: 24 ESV).
It goes back to the uncertainty and constantly changing. Which master are we serving today? The worldview master or God? Usually, double-minded people serve whichever master they see is getting them what they presently want.
Manton said that our hopes and opinions give us away. Our distraction and wavering show others whether we are following God or not.
Resource
Dependent on Ourselves
When the bad double-mindedness really kicks in, we feel we have to go to our self-help books and fix ourselves.
That isn’t going to happen, but non-believers think it will.
God is the only One Who can fix us.
But the bad side of our double-mindedness thinks we can do everything ourselves. Oh, we may make the outward us better.
We are never going to fix the inward us — our hearts — without God.
We can’t save ourselves. It is only through Jesus are we saved.
Neither can we look for salvation with the intent to keep on sinning and plan on repentance to be given every time. God isn’t in the business of fire insurance.
God is looking for total submission to following His laws and commandments.
Based on Works Alone
At times, we think that our works will save us.
That isn’t going to be the case. Smalridge cautioned us here. He wrote that a double-minded person will see the promises tied to our obedience and think that is it.
The double-minded person may even see the punishment attached to sins. That may help steer away from committing those sins.
Resource
What is missed is salvation isn’t granted if we don’t ask Jesus to be our Savior and Redeemer. He is the only way to salvation.
To read a related devotion, click the button below.
Overview
Wouldn’t it be hard to really know what a double-minded person really believes? I mean, their beliefs are a moving target. Do they even know themselves?
They waffle because they are torn between the two sides. They want both.
- They want the peace and long-life (eternity) that God offers.
- They want to call the shots themselves.
But how can we be truly happy living that way? If we aren’t sure about anything, how can we stand on our convictions?
How can they really resist temptation? In Sunday Morning Bible Study last week, we talked about how Joseph was able to resist Mrs. Potiphar’s daily seductions by being strong in His convictions.
A double-minded person doesn’t have that strength of conviction. That is not going happen when you have the conviction of the day.
Resource
All of this is why the sermons I read characterized the bad double-minded person as being unstable.
Houghton said good-minded people really don’t have a divided conduct. There are only two answers to the question, Is Jesus your Savior?
Resource
We either say “yes” or “no.”
There is no “maybe.” There is no “sometimes.”
“Jesus said to him, ‘No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God’” (Lk. 9: 62 ESV).
The Good Side of Double-Mindedness
There is no double-mindedness on the good side.
Our hearts and hands — and mind— are fully focused on God. We have repented of our sins and live in submission to God’s laws and commandments.
To me, there is a continuum. There are sinners who are not double-minded. They have chosen that they will not believe in God. On the other end is believers. They are fully committed and submitted to God.
In my opinion, there are two groups of double-minded people. There are those who lean more toward the worldview. Then, there are those who think they are believers, but really aren’t because they can’t leave the call of the worldview.
We each have to decide where we stand with God — and be constant in and submitted to that answer.
Making the Connections
Double-mindedness comes down to waffling between the spiritual and the worldly. Are we going to trust God completely or keep feeling the call of the world?
Is double-mindedness a step toward salvation? It can be.
It can also be a place in which we get stuck.
We don’t want to stay stuck.
Houghton talked about what guides the doubt-ridden person. He said, “… the light which guides him is not a single and steady, but a wandering and bewildering, light.”
Resource
But isn’t it kind of the same way with believers? In a way, it is and it isn’t.
God gives us a steady light in His Word. We know exactly what His laws and commandments are. They show us His character.
Does God micromanage us? Is He constantly telling us exactly what decision we should make?
No. God tells us — then backs off so we can make our own decision.
It is us who makes ourselves bewildered because we aren’t as versed in the Scriptures as we should be. Our inconsistency in following Him also causes this.
We feel like God has left us, and there is no guiding light. But we’ve already had the guiding light. God is testing us to see if we will follow Him.
How Do We Apply This?
It seems to me that the underlying cause of double-mindedness is doubt. We doubt that God is our Sovereign Lord and that Jesus is our Savior and Redeemer.
- Decide what we are going to believe and stick to it.
- Fix our hearts by ABCDing
- Don’t think we have to understand everything — we aren’t going to (Prov. 3: 5).
- Choose wisely because we will be held accountable for our decisions.
We know that God made us for a purpose. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jer. 29: 11: ESV).
We have to figure out what that purpose is. Mason wrote, “Before we can know what ought to be our great and governing views, we must know what we are and what we are designed for.”
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That purpose includes worshiping and serving God.
Father God. There is only one place on the continuum that we want to be. We want to be totally submitted to You. Help us when the worldview pulls us away from You. Show us our sins so that we can confess them. We want to be single-mindedly focus on You. Amen.
The ABCDs of Salvation
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the
Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord
D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in our lives to
live the way in which God has called us
The Disciple’s Job Description
What do you think?
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