Psalm 119:113-114 ESV
“I hate the double-minded,
but I love your
law.
You are my hiding place and my shield;
I hope in your
word.”
A person who is double-minded is a person who wavers or who vacillates
in his mind between two opinions or two beliefs. He is often marked by hypocrisy,
pretending one thing on the outside while he does another.
He leads a double life. He is a Dr. Jekyll and a Mr. Hyde,
going back and forth between the two characters. He is a person who tries to
serve two masters, like someone trying to walk in opposite directions at the
same time. So, he tends to drift, lacking true direction, flittering here and
there.
He will make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ, but his
mind will keep altering between believing the true gospel of grace or believing
the cheap grace gospel. But by his lifestyle it is evident what he believes. He
says he wants to follow Jesus with his life, but he can’t maintain the
character for long before he switches back to the other person.
We read more about this double-minded person in the book of
James, chapter one. A double-minded person there is one who asks God for wisdom
but then he doubts the wisdom which God imparts to him, or else he doubts that
God will give him wisdom. So, he is unstable in all his ways. Therefore, he
will not receive anything from the Lord.
To me this is a lot like a person who asks God to give him
insight into his own heart and for God to show him what needs to be cast out of
his life, only to ignore God’s counsel once he gives it to him. Or, it is like
the person who asks God to help him not to sin while he goes ahead and plays
with sin, or else he doesn’t put up the guards he needs to keep from falling
into sin, and then he wonders why he keeps failing.
The Scriptures do teach that God hates lies and false
witnesses, and they also teach that liars and deceivers have no inheritance in
the kingdom of God. So, those who keep trying to serve God, in their own flesh,
while they still hold on to their idols (their false gods) and their evil practices,
cannot expect to receive anything from God, except for judgment.
So, we need to be those who love God, who walk in obedience
to him, who are committed to our Lord, and who love his word. We need to be
those who have chosen to walk in his ways and who are following in his
footsteps.
Psalm 119:115-117 ESV
“Depart from me, you evildoers,
that I may keep
the commandments of my God.
Uphold me according to your promise, that I may live,
and let me not
be put to shame in my hope!
Hold me up, that I may be safe
and have regard
for your statutes continually!”
Those evildoers who are double-minded may be troublesome for
those who are walking in the light of truth. For, they may be those who are
trying to trick and trap believers in Jesus with their words to accuse them,
much like the Pharisees did with Jesus.
For, they masquerade as servants of righteousness part of
the time, but then they can “turn on a dime” and change characters in an
instant. Nothing they say can be trusted.
They love to twist people’s words. They love playing mind
games with people, too, saying one thing one minute and then reversing course
the next. They are authors of confusion. They will pretend they are your friend
one minute and the next treat you like you are the enemy. They will be
supportive one minute and then another they are ready to pull out the rug from
underneath you.
I once had a teacher in school who would frustrate me
because he talked out of both sides of his mouth. It was difficult to get a
straight answer from him. He would encourage you to go one direction, and then
when you did, he would punish you by downgrading you for doing what he
encouraged you to do. And, there are people like this even in the church, and even
in leadership within the church.
So, we must be aware of this so that we don’t fall into
their traps, and so we can guard our hearts against their tricks. And, we must
pray for discernment in knowing how to respond to those who, like the Pharisees,
make a game out of trying to trip people up or who try to confuse them, hoping
to keep them from obeying the commandments of God.
And, we must remain strong in our faith, committed to our
Lord, learning the truth through the careful study of God’s word, so that we
aren’t easily led astray or brought to a place of confusion to where we might
doubt God and what we believe. We must know what we believe and then we must
stand on the truth of God’s word. It doesn’t mean we stop being teachable, but
that we are not easy to sway in opinion so that we become double-minded.
So, we need the Lord to help us to remain steadfast and to
not give way to evildoers and the double-minded who want us to falter and to doubt
God and to question his word. We need the Lord to uphold us and to give us
strength when we are under attack, especially. And, then we need to hold our
positions, based on God’s word, and not falter.
Psalm 119:118-120 ESV
“You spurn all who go astray from your statutes,
for their
cunning is in vain.
All the wicked of the earth you discard like dross,
therefore I
love your testimonies.”
My flesh trembles for fear of you,
and I am afraid
of your judgments.
We don’t love God just out of fear of hell. Yes, we are to
walk in the fear of the Lord, and that includes taking him and his word
seriously, and not playing games with God, and not taking his grace for
granted, too.
But to fear the Lord isn’t just about fear of hell. It is to
love him, and to show that we love him by obeying his commandments, and by
respecting and honoring him as the holy God that he is. But we fear him because
we love him, and we love him because we believe in him and in who he is. And,
we love him because he has put the love of God within us.
But many people continue in their wicked ways because they
don’t love God, because they are lovers of self and of self-pleasure, and they
are those who are self-indulgent and who live for self-gratification. They don’t
respect God because they don’t want to give up their sins. They don’t want to
yield control of their lives over to God, because they want to still be in
control.
So, yes, God does spurn all who go astray from him and from
his word, and he will bring those into judgment who choose to go their own way
rather than to surrender to God and to his way. It doesn’t matter what they confess
with their lips. What matters to God is what is in their hearts, which is
evident by what they do (what they practice).
But for those who think they can profess faith in Jesus
Christ and still live for the flesh, and thus make it their practice to be double-minded,
the Scriptures are clear that they will not inherit eternal life with God. So,
please know the truth which will set you free (Rom. 6:1-23; Rom. 8:1-17; Gal.
5:16-21; Gal. 6:7-8; Rom. 2:6-8).
And, for those who are committed to the Lord but who are
being troubled and/or persecuted by the double-minded, please know that the
Lord is your strength, and he is there to help you through every storm and
every difficulty and every trial that you may face, so you can rest in him
secure.
Jesus Draw Me Ever
Nearer
Lyrics by Margaret
Becker
Music by Keith Getty
Jesus draw me ever nearer
As I labour through the storm.
You have called me to this passage,
and I’ll follow, though I’m worn.
Jesus guide me through the tempest;
Keep my spirit staid and sure.
When the midnight meets the morning,
Let me love You even more…
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