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the two, undecided. Faith is hot, unbelief is cold, and doubt is lukewarm. James is exhorting the Christians
of his congregation to make up their mind and trust God. He warns them to stop vacillating in doubt
toward God’s Word.

THE ENEMY OF MATURITY

Jas 1:7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;

But let not that man (anthropos: anyone) think (oiomai: suppose, presume) . . .

This is prideful thinking. This comes from a conceited and inflated ego drawing a conclusion from wrong
information or no information. This is human viewpoint applied to the situation instead of divine
viewpoint (God’s Word).

. . . that he shall receive anything from the Lord.

It is not that God will not give an answer; it is that we cannot receive the answer. Faith does not get God
to give, but puts us in a place to receive. God gives grace and more grace to the humble, but he resists
the proud (Proverbs 3:34; James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5). The humble man builds his faith on the Word of God.
The proud man supposes God will give to him because of his knowledge or good works.

THE DOUBLE‐MINDED MAN

Jas 1:8 he is a double‐minded man, unstable in all his ways.

A double‐minded (dipsuchos: double souled) man (aner: specific believer) . . .

A double‐souled man is under the authority of his emotions. Pride, arrogance, and ultimately confusion
take over. This man looks at the Word, then listens to his own thoughts and feelings and acts on them
instead (cf. 1 Chronicles 12:33; Psalm 12:2). This man acts like a schizophrenic with two personalities. He
has a man in himself who is controlled by the world’s way of thinking and another who is controlled by
the Word. He cannot make up his mind; he does not know which thinking he should go with, so he
vacillates. “Man” in verse 7 was anthropos. In verse 8 it is anhr. The difference between these two words
is that verse 7 treats him like any unbeliever and verse 8 as a mature believer. The “man” in verse 8 shows
his potential before the Lord as a great and noble believer.

. . . is unstable (akatastatos: not able to stand, inconsistent, turbulent, restless, vacillating) in all his ways
(daily actions).

Lack of knowledge and a false foundation of emotions and human viewpoint leave a believer unstable in
every area of life. A foundation in the Word builds stability in all areas of life and leads to rewards in
eternity (1 Timothy 4:8).

THE RICH AND THE POOR

Jas 1:9 Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation,

Let the brother (adelphos) of low degree (tapeinos: humble, grace oriented) . . .

This man does not have many possessions. He will be contrasted to the rich man later. It is not accidental
that we go from verses about double‐mindedness to a discourse on those who love money. Jesus did this