Life On the Level: The Art of Biblical Balance: A Pastoral Commentary on the Epistle of James

@PastorJonLands

DEDICATION

To all who desire to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with their God (Micah 6:8)

INTRODUCTION

Every circus has one—a tight rope act. But none can match the Flying Wallendas. For nearly 60 years, the Wallendas’ awesome and astounding high wire balancing acts have left audiences breathless. It is amazing that within all the chaos of the circus all eyes stay focused upon one man who balances himself to walk across a wire surrounded by empty space.

It is unbelievable to see the Wallendas or any high wire act perform with the greatest of ease. The reason they are at ease is that they have learned the fine art of balance. They have honed their walk in such a way that no distractions from the crowd below or the circumstances around them disrupt their balances. They find their balance one step at a time.

In much the same way, the Christian life is a high wire feat that requires focused balance and dogged determination. A simple look in the wrong direction can cause us to lose our balance and fall from our focused walk with God.

The question we must ask is, How do we strike that balance in the three-ringed circus of everyday living? Yes, we are Christians, but we are Christians with tempers that sometimes get the best of us. Yes, we are sinners who have experienced grace from God, but we often have a hard time extending that grace to other sinners around us. Life on the Level is a practical commentary and exploration of the book of James. James addresses some of the very real-world issues that we all face in our day-to-day living.

My study of James revealed to me an interesting truth. This epistle is the only one to give a directly worded warning to the problems of double mindedness. The term double minded is only found in James. In recognizing that double minded is the key word, we gain an understanding that the content of the epistle of James consistently balances two opposites in our daily living. For example:

• 1:2 – Joy in service v. Misery in trials

• 1:22 – Doers of the Word v. Hearers of the Word

• 2:5 – Grace toward others v. Prejudice toward others

• 2:14 – Internal Faith v. External Works

• 3:9 – Verbal blessing v. Vocal Cursing

• 3:15-18 – Godly Wisdom v. Worldly Wisdom

• 4:7 – Nearness to God v. Resisting the Devil

James understood double mindedness to be a tendency that we all battle. The balance of James’ epistle bears out that double mindedness is not a volitional sin. Rather, it is an inherent struggle with the believer that is the result of the sin nature.

Paul speaks in greater detail of the battle between the flesh and the Spirit in Galatians 5:16-26. He says of this paralyzing state of double mindedness, For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would (Galatians5:17).

In Romans 7:15-20, Paul describes in detail his personal inward struggle with this double minded state of living. The very things he rejects he finds he sometimes shamefully embraces, and the things he wishes to embrace seem to slip through his grasp. If the Apostle Paul faced this conflict of the soul, then what are the chances that you and I might face this conflict as well?

While Paul identifies the problem in Galatians and Romans, James offers pointed solutions to striking the balance that enables the victorious Christian life. John Calvin appropriately referred to the Book of James as the Proverbs of the New Testament. James knew that every living Christian would face moments of imbalance in their walk with the Lord or, far worse, spiritual vertigo that could lead to a fall. Therefore, as we begin an in-depth study of James, let each of us heed James’ instruction to purify your hearts, ye double minded and live life on the level.

CHAPTER ONE:

Dealing with a Double Mind

A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

- James 1:8

I hate apples. It is a confession that I am not proud to make, but it is true. I absolutely dislike apples—Fuji, Golden Delicious, Jonagold, McIntosh—I cannot bear them. Their soft interior and their waxy skin simply are not palatable to me. You can cut them up into slices, but I still don’t like them. You can peel an apple, but I still won’t eat it—because at its core (pardon the pun) it is still an apple. Yes, my mother repeated to me the old adage, An apple a day keeps the doctor away, but the apple does not impress me with its anti-doctor properties. Despite how good they may be for me, I just can’t stand the taste, the texture, or even the look of them.

But one day I experienced a wonderful apple discovery—caramel covered apples! Ah! Things are different now! With all the sugar and sweet taste added to the apple, I am much more disposed to eat it. No longer do I hate apples; instead, I embrace them with an open mouth.

There is only one problem with that, however. The healthy value of the apple to keep the doctor away is destroyed by all the sugar added to it. Now the apple is toxic, in a way. No longer will it keep the doctor away, but send me right to him.

I use that silly confession to illustrate what I see happening in the lives of many Christians. This should come as no surprise, because this is exactly what evangelical Christianity is doing in the many pulpits and publications that influence mainstream Christian thought.

Here is the problem in a nutshell, and it is more harmful than whole apples versus candied apples. We are taking something good—God’s wisdom—and trying to mix it with fleshly—worldly—wisdom in an effort to sweeten it up, to make it more palatable to our worldly appetites. This is why we see the foolishness in much of the modern church growth movement. In a human attempt to be relevant, many have lost a holy sense of reverence. The average sermon preached in the mainstream evangelical church is God’s wisdom sugarcoated with human philosophy.

James 3:15-18 warns us about doing such things. When we mix godly wisdom with worldly wisdom, we do not get a better worldly wisdom. Everything is diluted, and then all we have left is worldly wisdom. This is what the Bible calls being double minded.

Before we go any further, let me make another confession. It is more sobering than my apple confession, so prepare yourself. Here it is: I struggle with a double mind. In fact, so do you. Every Christian battles daily with double mindedness. The internal battle between the flesh and the spirit is a very real, very ‘in your face’ reality. Compounding the problem are the external forces like our secular culture and Satan’s attempts to knock us off kilter.

The Greek word translated ‘double-minded’ is dipsuchos. It is a compound word: Di + phsuchos. The word ‘phsuchos’ is the derivative for the English word ‘psychology.’ The word ‘dipsuchos,’ which James uses two times in his epistle—the only times it is used in the entire New Testament—is literally translated ‘two souled.’ This doesn’t mean that we are indecisive, despite some translations’ poor attempts to make it clearer. It represents much more. It tells us that there are two wisdoms that we can choose to live by. Verse 8 is intertwined with verses 5 through 7. Observe:

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. 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.

– James 1:6-8

Now compare this godly wisdom to another type of wisdom found in chapter 3:

Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. 16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.

– James 3:13-16

We can chose to live by the godly wisdom mentioned in James 1 or the fleshly wisdom mentioned in James 3. The latter wisdom is sensual and devilish. Living balanced in the wisdom of God results in calmer living and a more consistent walk. But pursuing hellish or even human wisdom in addition to God’s heavenly wisdom always results in confused and chaotic lives.

Consider your car. Most likely you have a radio installed in your car. Most likely you will find—at least since 1980—that the radio has two frequencies it can pick up: FM and AM. You can choose to listen to either one. However, there is no in between. You must listen to either one or the other. There is no ‘little’ AM or ‘in between’ FM.

This is very much like the Christian life. You and I can tune in to either godly wisdom or fleshly wisdom, but we can’t do both simultaneously—though we can flip-flop between the two in an instant.

Let me illustrate this in a more familiar way. We go to church and tune into the heavenly broadcast system, but on the way home, we switch frequencies in a single moment and tune into the fleshly broadcast system. We all contend with this inward struggle to maintain our balanced, undistracted walk with God.

The problem is actually more profound than we realize. God’s wisdom often has no appeal to the flesh whatsoever, for it speaks of trials, problems, difficulties, and troubles. It flies in the face of our fleshly desires and ambitions. Who likes trials? I mean, school would not be so bad if they never tested. Right? We can stand the lectures—a good time to sleep—as long as we aren’t tested on them! Tests in school are a reality, but it is up to you and me to choose how we will respond to those tests. We will diligently study, try to cram at the last minute, or even worse, try to cheat off our neighbor’s test.

The reality of living is that life tests us. We will face trials. However, God’s wisdom is designed to help us get a passing grade! The world’s wisdom has no such intention.

With this fact in mind, James from the beginning of his writing addresses the characteristics and the cure of the double minded person. These areas paint for us the main problem with this duality and conflict in our lives.

The Picture of the Double Minded Person

A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

– James 1:8

As we read this straightforward statement in James 1:8, we don’t get a clear picture of the double minded man. That’s because the verse is built upon verses 2-7. These verses paint a picture of the essence of a double minded person. So let’s examine the picture to gain the right understanding.

Part 1 of the Picture: Lacks Discernment

Look at verse 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. – James 1:6

The Greek word here translated ‘wavering’ is also translated as ‘discerning’ in other places in the Scriptures (Matthew 16:3; 1 Corinthians 11:29). In five instances, the King James Version translators translated it as doubt (Matthew 21:21; Mark 11:23; Acts 10:20; 11:12; Romans 14:23). James teaches us to establish that our faith is in God alone and not to waver. Why? Because a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.

The problem of double mindedness is directly related to a lack of faith. Further, a lack of faith is directly related to a lack of time spent in the Word of God. Romans 10:17 tells us that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.

A scripture-sustained faith in God is really the fulcrum of the balanced Christian life. When we lose our faith we lose our love, our joy, and our peace. How can we retain these gifts when we do not trust the giver of these gifts? If we are not in fellowship with God, how can we have His peace (Philippians 4:9), His love (1 John 4:8), or His joy (Galatians 5:22)?

If we are not in the Word of God, we will not have the spiritual discernment to act with the correct faith we need. Having an intimate knowledge and acceptance of the Scriptures brings tremendous faith and discernment in our prayer life.

Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) – Hebrews 10:23

When we can clearly separate between earthly wisdom and godly wisdom, our faith grows proportionally. A lack of faith is not the result of a double mind, but, in fact, a double mind is the consequence of a lack of scriptural faith. In addition, with a lack of discerning faith comes a plethora of pain throughout our lives.

I once heard the story of a man who went to the doctor with an acute anxiety problem. He hopped up onto the doctor’s table and said, Doctor, you’ve gotta help me. I’m dying. I’m tellin’ ya, everything I touch hurts. I touch my head, it hurts. I touch my arm, it hurts. I touch my stomach, it hurts. I touch my leg, it hurts. Everything I touch hurts! Doc, I’m dying!

Well, the doctor gave him a complete examination. After he finished, he leaned back and said, I’ve got good news and bad news. The good news is you’re not dying. The bad news is you’ve got a broken finger.

We chuckle at that, but the truth is we do this spiritually and emotionally in our lives. We have an area that hurts and we transpose that pain into every other area of our life. In our eyes, the problem is everywhere. Thus, lacking biblically balanced discernment, we blame people, friends, God, circumstances—everything but where the problem may really be: ourselves.

Part 2 of the Picture: Deceived Thinking

Notice what happens in verse 7.

For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. – James 1:7

Here is a man who thinks erroneously. His faith and discernment have been up and down, in and out with no consistency. Despite all of this, he still thinks he will get something from God.

No, he will not.

The Bible is rather blunt about this. James warns the Christian that his prayers will not be answered, because he is lacking vital, discerning faith in his life. It is self-deception to think otherwise. In my opinion, it is even worse than that. It is denial.

In fact, James further explains that this man resembles someone who looks in the mirror, sees all the imperfections, but then goes about his business without combing his hair, washing his face, or brushing his teeth. This person denies the existence of a problem that needs fixing.

He ignores the mirror and paints a picture in his mind’s eye that is self-deceiving. He promptly forgets what he really looks like, self-visualizes himself as a dapper, handsome hunk. He is far from reality. This is how we tend to live the Christian life.

Many years ago, a gentleman by the name of Jim Fixx authored a book entitled The Complete Book of Running. Jim Fixx lived in the New England area, and every week for the last 10 years of his life he ran 80 miles a week. That just makes my heart palpitate thinking about it. He appeared to be in tip-top shape, in the greatest condition for a man of 52. One day he went out on one of his long treks through the beautiful woods of Vermont, and while he was running, he had a massive heart attack and died. His wife Alice later explained that she believed Fixx had no idea that he was suffering from heart disease, because outwardly he appeared to be the perfect picture of health. Therefore, Fixx decided he was okay and never took the time to get a checkup.

You may be reading this and believe you are spiritually healthy; yet, when was the last time you had a spiritual checkup? When was the last time you hopped up onto the Great Physician’s table and allowed the x-ray of His Word to peer into the hidden areas of your heart and life?

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.   – Hebrews 4:12

It’s the Word of God that discerns our innermost thoughts and desires. It is the sharp scalpel of Scripture that divides the soul and the spirit—that which is natural and that which is spiritual. If we fail to experience that dividing, daily and personally, then perhaps we are living deceived lives.

Part 3 of the Picture: Disorderly Life

If we look at verse 8, we will see the third part of the picture here:

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