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Belief and Doubt (James 1:4-8)
When James VI of Scotland became James I of England
many benefits accrued to English believers, the greatest of which was
the publication under James' direction of the King James Bible. However,
James was also responsible for increasing the opposition of Puritan believers
to the Crown by, amongst other things, introducing Sunday sports and encouraging
Arminianism in England.
In the time of Charles I this animosity with the Crown had grown to the
point of civil war, prior to which many English believers had given up
any hope of following their conscience in England and had travelled to
Holland and /or Plymouth, Massachusetts to start a new life. From 1640-1660
Parliament and Cromwell ruled England and it was during this period that
Puritan scholars worked with the Church of Scotland to compose the Westminster
Confession, one of the key documents for Protestant believers to this
day.
James was a prime example of double-mindedness. He took his faith and
his position as head of the Church of England seriously enough to put
his name to and his weight behind the publication of the most important
Bible ever produced in the English language. He was, however, frivolous
enough to flout God's Sabbath in the face of great opposition from ordinary
people, and introduce a doctrine against the best advice of spiritual
leaders of his day.
A lot of people are like that. They have some room in their lives for
a bit of religion but object when religion impinges on their right to
cling to their own opinion and live as they see fit. Today this is no
better manifested than in the modern man's total puzzlement at the idea
that anyone would stand up for their faith to the point of suffering a
little discomfort and inconvenience let alone at the risk of loss of property,
livelihood and even life. They look at the Puritans and, while applauding
perhaps their achievements, wonder was it really so important as to have
people make hazardous journeys of thousands of miles in search of freedom
of conscience, or fight a war in the cause of what they believed?
The debate over the historical details and socio/political consequences
will go on but one thing stands out about this period. People were sufficiently
single-minded in their faith as to act upon it and this is what James
has in mind here. Just as God is described as giving generously, i.e.
with an eye single to the answering of our prayers, in verse 5, so the
believer is urged to pray with an eye single to trusting in God. Belief
here means more than an idle ascent to something, a belief that God will
answer prayers. It means an unwavering trust in God. Doubting here translates
the Greek word "diakrin?", which means to differentiate.
The word translated 'double-minded' in verse 8 has the distinction of
being the first example of its use in Greek literature and some think
James coined the word. It is "dipsychos" and literally means 'double-souled'
indicating the depth of the division James has in mind. In the Old Testament
the sinner is described like this:
"They speak vanity every one with his neighbour:
with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak" (Ps.12:2,
KJV)
"Their heart is divided; now shall they be found faulty: he shall down
their altars, he shall spoil their images" (Hosea 10:2, KJV)
Modern translations give us the word "deceitful" where the King James
refers to a divided heart. In the first the sinner is deceitful, i.e.
double-minded towards his neighbour, in the second towards his God. The
Psalmist, by contrast, speaks of the faithful man:
"Blessed are they whose ways are blameless,
who walk according to the law of the LORD. Blessed are they who keep his
statutes and seek him with all their heart." (Ps.119:1-2, NIV)
The reference to the sea in verse 6 is significant. In ancient times the
sea was a symbol of change and instability and when we look at the surface
of the sea it never has the same appearance from moment to moment. So
it is with the double-minded man who follows wherever the wind of change
takes him. AW Tozer once remarked:
"If you see a large group of Christians running
enthusiastically towards a bandwagon run the other way as fast as you
can"
In Revelation we read that in the consummation of God's plan, when the
first heaven and earth are passed away, "There was no longer any sea"
(Rev.21:1) There is no place in God's new kingdom for instability and
changefulness. So it is with the soul of the believer, who should not
be like the seas, "blown and tossed by the wind". Such a man, we are told,
mustn't think he will receive anything from the Lord. Jesus famously said:
"No one can serve two masters. 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 both God and Money (worldly wealth,
or mammon), Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life..." (Matthew
6:24)
The devotion of the single-minded Christian means that he need not worry
(be unduly anxious) about his life because he has entrusted it to God
who, James tells us, is single-mindedly devoted to providing what we need
to be complete, lacking in nothing.
Given that this whole passage of Scripture in James is addressing the
question of facing trials and gaining wisdom for Christian living we can
see how important it is to be single-minded in our pursuit of that wisdom.
St Augustine is reputed to have said, "Lord make me holy, but not yet".
We too can pray for wisdom to pursue the Christian life while in our hearts
harbouring a desire to cling to the world and its ways - just a little
bit.
Perhaps for some a little self-examination will not go amiss this week.
Maybe we need to seriously question where our true loyalties lie and then
resolve to seek God afresh for his wisdom and strength to do as James
counsels:
"Consider it pure joy my brothers, whenever
you face trials of many kinds, because you that the testing of your faith
develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may
be mature and complete, not lacking anything" (v.v.2-4)
There is no better witness than a single-minded Christian who is facing
life's trials with God's wisdom and growing to completion, not lacking
anything.