The apostle James says, “A double-minded person is unstable in all their ways.” (James 1:8) And many false teachers say anyone with any confusion or doubt is a double-minded person. Is that what James meant? How does the Bible define a double-minded person?
But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, without any doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed. For that man shouldn’t think that he will receive anything from the Lord. He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. (James 1:5-8 WEB)
Be subject therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners. Purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament, mourn, and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he will exalt you. (James 4:7-10 WEB)
Interestingly, James seems to have coined a word for double-minded, which doesn’t occur anywhere else in the Bible or ancient Greek.
- 1374 dipsuchos
- Adjective, (derived from 1364 dis and 5590 psxḗ) of two minds, wavering; (lit: of two souls, of two selves), double-minded, wavering.
- 5590 psuché
- Noun, Feminine, breath, the soul; (a) the vital breath, breath of life, (b) the human soul, (c) the soul as the seat of affections and will, (d) the self, (e) a human person, an individual.
But there are many other common Greek words that mean uncertainty or doubt, which he could have used. Why didn’t he use any of these?
- 181 akatastasia
- Noun, Feminine; instability; disturbance, upheaval, revolution, almost anarchy, first in the political, and thence in the moral sphere.
- 639 aporeó
- Verb, to be at a loss, be perplexed; I am at a loss, am perplexed; mid: I am in doubt.
- 1280 diaporeó
- Verb, to be greatly perplexed or at a loss; I am in trouble, doubt, difficulty; I am at a loss.
- 1365 distazo
- Verb; two stances; I waver, doubt, hesitate
- 4797 sugcheó or sugchunnó
- Verb; to pour together, to confuse, throw into confusion; I bewilder, stir up, throw into confusion.
Why did James invent a novel word to describe this double-minded person? The answer can be found in the center of James warning to the believing Jews who had been driven away from Jerusalem by the persecution of the first century.
Where do wars and fightings among you come from? Don’t they come from your pleasures that war in your members? You lust, and don’t have. You murder and covet, and can’t obtain. You fight and make war. You don’t have, because you don’t ask. You ask, and don’t receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. You adulterers and adulteresses, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who lives in us yearns jealously”? But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:1-6 WEB)
Even a quick reading of James shows he was addressing the danger of legalism and false teaching in these churches. Worldliness and extra-biblical non-Christian philosophy were creeping in. Arguments, divisions, and schisms were threatening to tear them apart. It kind of sounds just like some of our churches today.
The biggest problems were caused by spiritual immaturity. Even after they were saved, these Christians never grew up in the faith. So, James really concentrated on these subjects.
- A famine of hearing the words of the LORD
- Add to your faith (2 Peter 1:5)
- Final exhortations to a fledgling church (1 Thessalonians 5:12-22)
Therefore, we see that James wasn’t belittling their confusion and doubt. But he was warning them against having one foot in the Christian life and one foot in the world. Not being fully committed to either life. Double-minded. Too much of a Christian to be happy in the world. Too little of a Christian to be happy in the church. These poor people wavered back and forth like ships tossed in the sea. First, they were thrown one way by the wind, then they were thrown another way by the waves. They couldn’t be trusted to walk a straight line.
That’s why James encouraged these Christians to count it all joy when their faith was tested by various trials and hardships. These kinds of trials would yield patience that leads to singleness of mind, body, and soul. This kind of suffering would produce endurance that builds strong Christian lives, which can be trusted.
If you find yourself double-minded wavering between God and the world, pray for God to give you wisdom. And when the trials come, thank God for the opportunity to grow. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.