James The Just Part 3
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Faith, Without Doubt
Faith, Without Doubt
5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
*OPEN PRAYER*
Starting off we read about that word wisdom. Lets talk about that for a second.
Biblical wisdom refers to practical skills associated with understanding and living a successful life.
Also: Discernment; Prudence
Basically, Knowledge is knowing the options, wisdom is deciding witch one is best.
Too many Christians today are filled with knowledge, this can be especially true in politics, or apologetics. But if that knowledge is not properly applied, it can be more destructive than useful.
That is where wisdom comes in. What is the best way to utilize this knowledge?
Is the information I have accurate? Does it apply and if so how?
There are lots of questions that a wise person seeks to answer.
For me, I know it is easy for me to say something sometimes, without even thinking about the consequences of my tone or choice of words.
So it is important for us to exercise wisdom in our Christian walk.
With that, lets break down verse 5.
5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
We see here something we can all relate to, lacking.
Every one of us lacks that which would make us perfect and whole in our faith.
Look at this comment from Kurt Richardson (New American Commentary)
James (2) Faith without Doubt (1:5–8)
Wisdom is required because the faithful do not always know how to persevere nor do they easily find the will to rejoice in future blessings while enduring present trials.
We see wisdom is given out by God because of his generosity and grace. Cross reference this with what Jesus said in Matthew 7.
7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
Look at what verse 6 says about asking for wisdom.
6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
Ask in an unwavering faith!
Later we will see this type of faith modeled in chapter 5:15
15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
Jesus taught about faith having the ability to move the immovable.
20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
More specifically Jesus speaks about a faith without doubt.
21 Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.
When talking about this level of faith, we should note it does not come by our own works and power.
God is our source of power of faith.
In other words, when we put faith in ourselves, we are weak. The more we rely on faith in God, the stronger we are.
God’s will distinguishes true faith from false faith.
Faith amounts to nothing if it is not in accordance with the will of God.
Genuine faith is relying on God to carry you through.
Weak faith is relying on God to carry out your desires.
Another interesting comment from Richardson. (NAC)
James (2) Faith without Doubt (1:5–8)
Since faith is always a matter of personal trust in God, to doubt God in any way is to call his character into question
Wisdom and faith from God is what perfects our character. Through that, we can become solid, and unwavering.
James uses the analogy of the wave here.
Failing to have proper faith and wisdom from and in God, means you should not expect blessings from God
7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
This flies in the face of new age, new thought, and prosperity gospel.
If you have doubt in God’s plan, and instead seek to fulfil your own plan, it nullifies your faith. Faith is received because it is based on trust.
This is way you can’t just speak wealth and prosperity into existence.
You in essence saying, “God this life you gave me is insufficient. I need more, and I will demand in”.... “in faith”.
That is some scary stuff with you go make demands from God.
Men think this way because they have absolutely no understanding of the God of the Bible.
God is not one we should dare give demands to… let alone “reason” with.
This is true even among actual Christians.
The doubting believer misunderstands God and fails to apprehend the blessing of God.
Serving self interests and serving God are contrary. It could be described as being “double minded”.
8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
True faith comes from the whole heart, mind, and soul.
In short, James is telling us to steer clear of being double minded.
Paul actually talks about the carnal and spiritual minds.
Carnally minded is likened unto “babes”. Essentially saying they are weak in the faith.
Lets look at that in 1 Corinthians.
1 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
2 I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.
3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
4 For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?
Paul talks about being weak in the faith. The “natural” man looks upon genuine faith as foolishness.
It is something the world just does not seem to understand.
14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
Christians, we need to make sure we do not get caught up in that kind of worldly thinking.
Faith, Without Doubt
Faith, Without Doubt
We should strive to have a faith, not wavering.
A faith, without doubt.
*Closing prayer*