He is a Double-Minded Man

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” (James 1:5-8 ESV)

There are many people who profess faith in Jesus Christ who go through the motions of religious practice, but their hearts are really far from God. He is not truly Lord (Owner-Master) of their lives, for self and self-will are still on the throne of their lives. So their lives are not surrendered to the Lord to do his will. And self-denial, and dying to sin daily, by the Spirit, and walking in obedience to our Lord and to his commands are not what they practice. But as part of their religious practices they may pray to God for wisdom.

But when they pray, they are not really seeking the wisdom and the counsel of the Lord, for truly their minds are already made up. If they believe his counsel fits with what they are willing to do, they might do it, but if his counsel conflicts with what they are willing to do, they will ignore it, and they will go elsewhere to get the counsel that will tell them what they want to hear. So they are the double-minded who are unstable in all their ways. They are of two selves who go back and forth like on a teeter-totter.

Sometimes they appear to be on one side and then they will turn right around and now be on the opposite side, never really maintaining one steady belief system or belief practices. They are kind of like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, one man with two different personalities opposite of each other. They are continually vacillating between opinions, wavering, staggering, and swaying to and fro, depending on their mood, and depending on what temptations to sin they happen to have given into recently.

On Bible Hub’s Greek Interlinear it reads that they vacillate like a “spiritual schizophrenic.” And schizophrenia is a “mentality or approach characterized by inconsistent or contradictory elements.” Although I personally do not buy into all of the psychological disorders that they tag on people, it is true of the double-minded that they are inconsistent and they have contradictory (opposite) elements to their personalities, beliefs, and practices. But this is a sin issue, not a psychological disorder, in my estimation.

For too many people these days are just renaming sin, and they are calling it something else, and they are relieving the guilty of any guilt about their sin by calling it something that they believe can’t be helped. And there seems to be a disorder named now for just about every kind of sin issue to where so many people today are not taking responsibility for their own actions, but they are just blaming some kind of disorder for why they are the way that they are. But the Scriptures call it sin when it is truly sin.

And this teaches, and the rest of the Scriptures teach that if sin is what we practice, and if we keep being tossed back and forth between beliefs and opinions of what is right, and what is wrong, and if we keep swaying to and fro between following the Lord or chasing after sin, we should not suppose that we will receive anything from the Lord, including we will not receive salvation from sin and eternal life with God. So we need to take this seriously. For we must obey our Lord if we want to have eternal life in him.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2]

Living Water 

An Original Work / November 21, 2013

Based off Various Scriptures

My people have forsaken Me,

Their Savior, who died on a tree;

Made idols, and they worshipped them;

So empty, they will ne’er fulfill.

Lord, You are the hope of Your chosen ones.

Those who turn away from You will be shamed;

The Spring of Living Water left behind.

Living Water satisfies.

The thirsty, let them come and drink;

Believe in Jesus as their King;

The gift of Jesus given them,

So they will never thirst again.

Indeed, the Living Water flows within.

It springs up like a fountain cleansing sin.

Eternal life in heaven promised them.

Living Water glorifies.

Oh people, won’t you come to Him?

Obey Him and repent of sin.

Let Jesus come and live within.

Surrender all your life to Him.

My people, won’t you turn your hearts to Me?

Forsake your idols and then you’ll be free.

Won’t you come now to Me on bended knee?

Living Water sanctifies.

https://vimeo.com/379511565