He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.a doubleminded man, unstable in all his ways.
10 sermons cite this verse
… the Bible tells us in the book of James that a double minded man is unstable in all his ways and that word unstable actually in Greek means staggering like a drunk that's literally what it means that when you're pulled in different directions by a decision because you just can't figure out which way to go it creates enormous tension in your life and then even after a lot of times you've made a decision you start guessing, second guessing yourself did I make the right decision? And then you just prolong the pain. Now what is the antidote? Well the antidote is to let God guide you. And we're gonna look at that as we come to our fifth message in this series on living in the goodness of God where we're going verse by verse through Psalm 23. And the Bible tells us that life is a journey and that God has given us a roadmap. It's this book, the Bible. this is our roadmap for life, that God has given us a compass, that's our conscience, that keeps us headed in the right direction if we listen to it, and that God has even given us a personal guidance counselor, and he is the Holy Spirit. And a personal guide is even the best thing at all. That's better than a map. If you have a guide taking you through a city you've never been in, that's a whole lot better than you trying to figure it out on a map or with a compass. …
… wave of the sea driven and tossed by wind let not that man suppose he will receive anything from the Lord. He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. Verse 12, blessed is the man who endures temptation. For when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love him. Verse 18, of his own will, he brought us forth by the word of truth that we might be a kind of first fruits of his creatures. Look at verse 18 again. Of his own will, he brought us forth by the word of truth that we might be a kind of first fruits of his creatures. Let me stop here for this verse just a moment. We'll read a couple more and then we'll go back to the beginning and talk. the one who spoke the worlds into being spoke you into life and literally spoke his truth to you and caused you to be born again by the spirit of the resurrected Christ that took up residence in you. But it was the declared word of God. He declared his will over you. He declared his nature over you. His word is actually the seed of his own nature. And he declared the seed of his own nature, and he planted it into your soul, into mine. And it helps to bring about continuous transformation of our lives according to his design, his purpose, his will. And he says that this word causes us to be the first fruits of his new creation. …
… Gonna need more. All right, James 1.8, right? Twice in the book of James, that comes up. Well, let's tackle the first one. James 1a, the man can become a, look at it, double minded man, unstable in all of his ways. And at the end of the book, he shows that this is the result of sin and confession makes it whole. Okay, so sin splits the self, confession makes it whole. You can end up of two minds on something. Literally, the two words double-minded with a hyphen in the middle, in the Greek, it actually means a fracture that leads to two souls. A fracture that leads to a split self. A shattering of the glides. It's not one windshield anymore. I got all these different windshields. Which one am I going to look through? Happens quicker than you think. Starts with a pebble, grows quickly. and before you know it, you can hardly see straight and you're a danger to others along the way. Unstable in all his ways. …
… way you speak. It changes the way you prophesy. I hear God saying you're not even walking in the full authority of your anointing because you've been divided. But a double-minded man is unstable in all of his ways and that's why you're on one minute and off the next but i hear god saying in 2026 you gonna be on 24 7 call me 7-11 call me i hop baby i'm on 24 7 baby call me cbs walgreens i'm on 24 7 i'm gonna make sure that everything that god put inside of me is showing up in everything that I do. Okay. Oh. Oh. It's deliverance. It's deliverance in this room. It's deliverance in this room. If you an intercessor, now is the time to start praying. I need you to start praying against principalities. I need you to start praying against strongholds. I hear God saying somebody is coming out. Come out. Come out. Come out. Come out, come out, come out. You coming out of that fear. …
Jesus Christ said, no man can serve two masters. The apostle James said, a double-minded man is unstable in all of his ways. To be successful, you've got to narrow your interest. In your life, someone or something is going to be number one. The Bible says, Jesus says, Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. That means where the king is supreme. People say, don't put all your eggs in one basket. Friend, put all your eggs in one basket. And watch that basket. Listen, Jesus is L-O-R-D, Lord. Concentration is the secret of power in any realm. If you take water and put it in a channel, it becomes a mighty river. Just spread it out, it becomes a stagnant swamp. Everything, everything in your life ought to come under the heading of the Lordship of Christ. He must have preeminence in everything. But you say, Pastor, I have a job. I've got, I've got to pay attention to my job. I have a family. …
… MINDS. IT IS A DISTRACTING THING. IT IS A DIVIDING THING. AND YOU REMEMBER WHAT THE APOSTLE JAMES SAID IN JAMES CHAPTER 1 AND VERSE 8, THAT A DOUBLE-MINDED MAN IS UNSTABLE IN ALL OF HIS WAYS AND THERE'S NOTHING MORE DESTABILIZING THAN WORRY. NOW, WHEN OUR LORD SAYS, TAKE NO THOUGHT, HE'S NOT TALKING ABOUT NOT PLANNING AHEAD. HE'S NOT TALKING ABOUT HAVING A FLIPPANT HAPPY-GO-LUCKY ATTITUDE THAT DOES NOT PROVIDE FOR TOMORROW. AS A MATTER OF FACT, THE BIBLE TAKES THE ANT THAT PROVIDES HER MEAT IN THE SUMMERTIME FOR THE WINTER AS AN EXAMPLE. THE BIBLE teaches that we should remember the law of sowing and reaping. God is not saying that we ought not to make provision for tomorrow. God is not saying that we ought to just go through life in a lackadaisical, happy-go-lucky, flippant way. It is not foresight but foreboding that is forbidden. Not foresight but foreboding that this passage deals with. If you're enjoying this message from Adrian Rogers and would like to dig a little deeper into today's topic, download this free companion Bible study. …
… the sinful eye is an eye with double vision. James says that a double-minded man is unstable in all of his ways. But the sad thing about the man with double vision is that he thinks that he sees. You see, Jesus said, if the light that is in thee is darkness, how great is that darkness? IT'S BAD WHEN A MAN IS IN DARKNESS AND KNOWS THAT HE'S IN DARKNESS. BUT ISN'T IT TRAGIC WHEN A MAN IS IN DARKNESS AND THINKS HE'S IN THE LIGHT? DO YOU KNOW IN THE BOOK OF JUDGES WHAT IT SAYS ABOUT A TIME OF MORAL DECLINTION? IT SAYS IN THE BOOK OF JUDGES THAT EVERY MAN DID THAT WHICH WAS RIGHT IN HIS OWN EYES. NOT, HE DIDN'T DO WHAT WAS WRONG IN HIS OWN EYES. HE DID THAT WHICH WAS RIGHT. and the nation was going deeper and deeper and deeper into moral declension. That's exactly where America is today. These people that are trying to lead this nation, they're not doing what they think is wrong. …
… YOU'RE HALF-HEARTED, YOU'RE GOING TO LOSE IT. LISTEN TO THESE VERSES. JAMES CHAPTER ONE AND VERSE EIGHT, A DOUBLE-MINDED MAN IS UNSTABLE IN ALL OF HIS WAYS. JAMES FOUR VERSE EIGHT, DRAW NYE TO GOD AND HE WILL DRAW NYE TO YOU. CLEANGE YOUR HANDS, YE SINNERS, AND PURIFY YOUR HEARTS, YE DOUBLE-MINDED. LISTEN TO THIS. I'M TALKING ABOUT A WHOLE HEART NOW. DEUTERONOMY CHAPTER FOUR AND VERSE 29, BUT IF FROM THENCE THOU SHALT SEEK THE LORD THY GOD, THOU SHALT FIND HIM IF THOU SEEK HIM WITH ALL THY HEART AND WITH ALL THY SOUL. Have you ever made up your mind, young man, that you're going to get clean and stay clean? I mean, have you ever said, I will by the grace of God? Daniel chapter 1 and verse 8, the Bible says, Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself. Have you ever purposed in your heart? Have you ever said, with my whole heart, I am determined? By the grace of God, I am determined. …
… But let not that man expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. Now, I want you to get the context of what James is saying here before we come to this matter of wavering faith because it all fits together. And so here's what he's saying. As these who were probably responding to him and talking to him about the difficulty and hardship, talking about the trials, he's writing to encourage them. And so he says, now, count it all joy when you fall into divers or various temptations and trials. doesn't make any sense whatsoever. Why should I get rejoicing over pain and hurt and things I can't change and things I can't alter in my life? Yeah, that's exactly what he says. And so he says, if you'll notice, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance, he says, now here's what I want you to do. He says, I want you to rejoice, count it a joy when you fall into these testings and trials and temptations. Now, in the King James says temptation, the word really a better word is the word here means those periods of testing which have a purpose in them. …
… But let not that man expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. Every single one of us has had the problem with wavering faith because there's some things that hit us blindsided or hit us right in the front. There's some things that you and I know that we need and we come to ask God for and we waffle in our faith. We say, well, now, here's what he said. Here's what I ask. I'm going to trust God. Hallelujah. Amen. About a half hour later, we say, oh, God, I hope you will. I hope you will. And so, what happens? We go back and forth. You know what he says? He says, don't expect to get it. That's a pretty strong statement. I want us to examine for a few moments what causes us to wave in our faith. We have been saved by the grace of God. We have the Bible. We have the promises of God. We know what he says. We know he's an unconditional loving God. We would agree that he's absolutely faithful. He's what in the world makes us weave and wobble and to and fro and wave in our faith? …