Wisdom from the Letter of James

I would invite you to take your copy of God's Word and open to the book of James, James chapter 1. As I have opportunities to preach and of course our pastor Rob and his family are in California and should be driving home soon, I think begin driving home tomorrow, so we want to pray for them as they travel for their safety.

But as I have opportunities to preach, I am preaching through the book of James. So far just two sermons, I did an introductory sermon and then we looked last time about a month or so ago at James chapter 1 verses 2 -4 when we were talking about trials.

Reading James 1:1–8 in Context

So now we will pick up our primary text this morning will be verses 5 -8, but I would like us to read the full context just so we can keep this in mind. So I would invite you to stand as we read God's Word.

James chapter 1, we will read verses 1 -8. James chapter 1, 1 -8, James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes who are in the dispersion, greetings. Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith brings about perseverance.

And let perseverance have its perfect work, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

But he must ask in faith, doubting nothing. For the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

May God bless the reading of his Word. You may be seated. So just briefly for review, since it has been several weeks since I last preached in James. Last time we considered verses 2 -4, and we saw that trials are inevitable, James says, when you encounter trials, not if.

Our lives are marked by trials. Trials are the direct result of the fallen state of the world. Job 5 -7 says that man is born for trouble as the sparks fly upward. Just as naturally as we live in a fallen world, trials will come.

Same when you stoke a fire and the sparks fly upward. Just as naturally as that, we will have trials. The apostles all had trials and suffering in their lives. Stephen, Peter, Paul, John, they all suffered incredible persecutions.

And of course, Jesus himself was troubled at the death of Lazarus and then his own crucifixion as the wrath of God was poured out that burns against the sins of his people. And then we saw that trials do not mean that God is displeased with us, not at all.

In fact, often quite the opposite is the case. Oftentimes, trials are because of our faith, not in spite of them. Jesus said in John 15 -20, if they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. This is an argument from the greater Jesus to the lesser us.

If Jesus was persecuted, we will also be persecuted. And then we considered the nature of trials. We saw that trials are not temptations. If you have the King James, you might see that it says, count it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter diverse temptations.

Trials are not temptations. That's really not what is in view here, is times of objective suffering, not really subjective temptations. And then we saw the purpose of trials, that trials serve to curb our own pride, trials serve to engender in the lives of us as Christians humility.

And we are all in need of humility because none of us is without pride, not a single one of us. In fact, the Apostle Paul had pride. This is the man who wrote roughly a third of the New Testament, and he had pride, and God gave him a thorn in the flesh to humble him, to keep him from exalting himself, that we read in 2 Corinthians 12.

And then we saw that trials serve to conform us into the image of Christ. Trials conform us, the slave, into the image of our master of Christ. Psalm 119, verse 71, David said, it was good for me that I was afflicted so that I might learn your statutes.

There is something about suffering that helps us to learn of God in a deeper, more experiential way that we would not otherwise learn of him. And then we saw that trials are tests of our faith. Trials and suffering, they bring us face to face with our own weaknesses.

We talked about how spiritual growth is a growth downward. It is only when we have a lower view of ourselves that we will have a higher view of God. There is an inverse relationship between how we view God and how we view ourselves.

The more highly we think of ourselves, the more lowly we will think of God. The more lowly we think of ourselves, the more highly we will think of God. And then we talked about our response to trials.

Notice that James says, count it all joy. James does not say, enjoy your trials, because trials are not enjoyable. That's why they're called trials. So don't fall into this hyper-spiritual trap that if you're going through a trial and you're not enjoying it, then there is something wrong with you.

No, we're not supposed to enjoy trials. We don't enjoy them, but we can count them as joy. And then we saw the result of trials. Trials are so that we will be, as James says in verse 4, so that we will be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

We are fully equipped to engage trials, to remain through these trials. We have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. We have God's sufficient word. We have the fellowship of the brethren. So we have everything that we need.

And ultimately, trials are for our sanctification and one day, our completeness and perfection when we are glorified and have eternity in heaven. So with that as just context here, a little bit of review, let us go now to our primary text, verses 5 through 8.

Asking God for Wisdom in Trials

James says, but if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. So perhaps we should begin by defining wisdom before we talk about how we obtain this wisdom.

Knowledge and wisdom are related, but they're not synonymous, okay? Knowledge and wisdom are related, but they are not synonymous. Knowledge is an accumulation of information. Wisdom is knowing the proper use and application of that information.

One can have great knowledge and have very little, if any, wisdom. You can have a lot of knowledge and have very little wisdom. But the converse of that is not true. You cannot have great wisdom with little knowledge, okay?

So you can have a lot of knowledge, have practically no wisdom, but you cannot have great wisdom with little knowledge. For example, knowledge is knowing how to operate a firearm. That's knowledge. Wisdom is knowing when to use that firearm and when to keep it holstered.

So you can know how to operate a gun, but that's knowledge. But wisdom is to know when to use it, when not to use it. You can have social media accounts, and you can put all kinds of information up there.

That's knowledge, but knowing what information to put up and what not to put up and when not to put it up, that is wisdom. And unfortunately, many professing Christians today don't apparently have enough wisdom to rightly handle social media.

They'd be safer with a weapon than they would with social media. So difference between knowledge and wisdom. But look at verse 5, but if any of you lacks wisdom. If any of you lacks wisdom, now this phrase immediately brings up a question, does it not?

Because notice the two lacks here. Verse 4 says, let perseverance have its perfect work result so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. And yet the very next phrase, but if any of you lacks wisdom.

So how on the one hand, verse 4 says we're not to be lacking anything, but then James turns right around and says, if any of you lacks wisdom. It appears to be a bit of a contradiction. But it's not because the goal here of trials is completion, completion.

The spiritual completion that is the goal of trials will only be obtained with the wisdom of God and we are to strive for completion, we are to strive for perfection. But that is a goal that we will never fully attain this side of heaven.

We are perfect and complete in the sense that we have everything that we need. We have the Word of God, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we have the fellowship of the saints. But none of us will exhibit perfect wisdom this side of heaven, that is our goal.

And so James says, if any of you lacks wisdom. Now many people take this verse as a standalone verse and hold that as a blanket promise for wisdom in all circumstances. For example, if you don't know where to go to college, ask for the wisdom of God.

If you don't know which car to buy, ask for the wisdom of God. Or where to live, what job to take. If God wants you to be a dentist or a plumber, you know, ask for the wisdom of God. And though that is true and that could be applied in a broader sense from scripture, it is appropriate, of course, for us as Christians to ask for God's wisdom in all things.

But the specific context here is specifically in view of trials, suffering that comes from trials. We need God's wisdom at all times, but especially so, acutely so, when we are going through trials. Physical, emotional, spiritual trials bring our need for God's wisdom into sharp and acute focus.

And James says, but if any of you lacks wisdom. The if here, dear ones, does not indicate that there may be times when we never need the wisdom of God. Or we may never be lacking for wisdom. That's not the sense here.

Remember, this is connected to trials, which are inevitable. So the sense of this is, in other words, if you find yourself in a trial, ask for wisdom. Ask for wisdom. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously.

Let him ask of God. Asking in and of itself denotes humility, dependency upon God. It is a posture of humility on the part of the created before his creator. And asking of God is not an option. It's a command to us.

It is mandatory. Not asking God for wisdom betrays in us pride. The man or the woman who does not ask God for wisdom is a man or a woman who is very arrogant and very confident in himself or herself. Remember, spiritual growth is a growth downward.

If you have never asked God for wisdom, or if this is not something that you do on a regular basis, then I would encourage you to do it and check your pride. Because not asking God for wisdom is an indication that pride has seeped in and found a place in our lives.

Let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach. Now, this phrase, who gives to all, this is actually quite beautiful. This is actually quite beautiful in the Greek. In the Greek, it literally says this, let him ask the giving God.

Let him ask the giving God. God is by nature a giver. He is the ultimate giver. God gives us life. God gives us common graces, as we sometimes refer to the general blessings that God gives to everyone lost or saved.

Whether you're a Christian or not a Christian, we can all enjoy a good meal, a nice steak. We can enjoy time with friends and family members and things like that. These are common graces that God gives to all of us, whether saved or lost.

But of course, he gives only to believers, his only begotten son. Jesus gave his life for us. He said in Matthew chapter 20, verse 28, the son of man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.

So God is a giving God and he gives to his own, not to the unsaved, but he gives to the saved his wisdom. Proverbs 2, verse 6 says, for the Lord gives wisdom. Dear ones, please never even entertain the thought that the Lord does not want to give to you.

He does. In fact, the Lord wants to give to you more than you want to receive from him. He is a giving God. Let him ask the giving God. It is God's joy to give to us. That is his nature. He is a giving God who gives to all generously and without reproach.

Generously and without reproach. This reminds us of the statement that Jesus made in the Sermon on the Mount recorded in Matthew chapter 7, verse 7, when Jesus says, ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find.

Knock and the door will be opened. And then a few verses later in Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, Jesus grounds God's response to our prayers in his character and in his nature. Listen to what Jesus says here.

If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him? We are to ask the giving God. If even evil people can give good gifts to their children, how much more so will God give to his own?

Because God is good and he gives because he is a giving God. It is his nature to give to us. It brings him joy to give to us. And again, God wants to give to us far more than we even want to receive from him.

He is a giving God. Later in chapter 1, verse 17, James says that every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of lights. God is a giving God to all, who gives to all generously and without reproach.

Of course, this is not to all people everywhere, rather to all believers. Every person who is in union with Christ and walking in obedience to God can expect, can expect to receive wisdom from God. God is not a respecter of persons.

You don't have to be in the ministry to receive wisdom from God. You don't have to have a seminary degree. You don't have to have a preacher, be a preacher to receive wisdom from God. The only qualification you must meet to receive wisdom from God is to know God, to be in union with the Lord Jesus Christ through repentance of sin and placing your trust in him.

If you belong to Christ, you qualify for his wisdom and he gives generously. He gives generously. Yes, because, dear friends, the well from which God draws his wisdom is a bottomless well. It is inexhaustible.

And he gives to all generously in abundance. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills and his resources are never exhausted. His resources are never exhausted. Also, though, in view here in verse five is the singularity of his motive for giving.

Why does God give to us? Dear friends, God has no ulterior motives. He is not influenced by anyone or anything. He does not have to pay anyone off. He owes no one anything. He gives wisdom to us simply because it is his sovereign decree and it is his ultimate pleasure to do so.

His wisdom does benefit us, but it is not primarily for us. Now, that may sound a little confusing. I want to flesh that out. God's wisdom does benefit us, but it is not primarily for us. It benefits us and it equips us so that we, in turn, can glorify him.

God giving us wisdom ultimately is for his glory. Yes, we are the beneficiaries of God's wisdom, but ultimately it is so that we can use that wisdom to glorify him. Everything that God does is for his own glory, even our very salvation.

Yes, we benefit from the work that Christ did on the cross, but our very salvation ultimately is for the glory of God. Everything he does is for his glory. And so when God gives us his wisdom, we benefit from that, but ultimately it is so that we can use that wisdom to turn it back towards him and glorify God.

God is glorified when we use his wisdom. And he gives to all generously and, this phrase, without reproach. Without reproach. God gives us his wisdom and he does so without finding fault in us. When we go to God and ask him for wisdom, there will be no chastising, no sentiment of how could you possibly not know what to do in this situation.

Nothing like that will we ever receive from God. Remember John the Baptist? This was the voice of the one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord. John the Baptist is the one who baptized Jesus.

John the Baptist said of Jesus, I am not worthy to untie his sandals. In other words, don't look to me, look to Christ, look to the Messiah. And yet, sometime after his baptism of Jesus, John found himself in prison and things weren't panning out the way that he thought that they would be.

And so he sent a question by his disciples to Jesus and the question was this. Are you the Messiah? Or should we be looking for someone else? John the Baptist's faith wavered, right? How did Jesus respond?

Did John the Baptist seriously ask you to ask me that question? What is he thinking? No. He said no man born of woman is greater than John the Baptist. Jesus did not chastise him. God gives to us without reproach.

He generously gives and he gives with no reproach at all. He loves his own. And then James says, when we ask of God, the giving God, for wisdom, this wisdom in our trials will be given to us. It will be given to him.

This reflects God's statement in Psalm chapter 81 verse 10. I am the Lord your God who brought you from the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide and I will fill it. Open your mouth wide and I will fill it.

The picture here is of little baby birds. Little baby birds in the nest. And we've all seen these videos, these pictures, and they're looking up and their mouths are open wide waiting for mom to come and feed them, drop a worm in their mouth.

That's the picture here. God says to us, open your mouth wide and I will fill it. As helpless as those little baby birds are and as dependent upon their parents as they are, we, dear ones, are that dependent upon God.

The preacher Matthew Henry, Puritan preacher, said this, we cannot look for too little from the creature nor too much from the creator. In other words, our estimation of ourselves cannot be too low and our estimation of God cannot be too high.

Wisdom Is Not Passive but Requires Active Pursuit

Now, what this is not. Asking God for wisdom is not a passive endeavor. It's not automatic. It is not like you plug into heaven's iCloud account when you ask God for wisdom and he's just going to download information to you.

This is not a passive endeavor. When we ask God for wisdom, we do have our role to play in this. Peter says in 1 Peter 2, verse 2, as newborn babes desire the pure milk of the word. If we ask God for wisdom and yet are not in the word of God, then he's not going to give it to us.

Don't expect that if you never crack your Bible, if you never spend time with the Lord, if you never pray, if you never read scripture, please don't think that the next time you ask God for wisdom, he's just going to download it to you.

He's not. But if you are seeking the Lord, if you are reading his word, if you are spending time in prayer, if you are doing the disciplines of the Christian life and you ask for wisdom, yes, he will give it to you.

Let's look in Proverbs chapter 2, verses 1 through 7. I'll read this to you. You're welcome to turn if you want. Proverbs chapter 2, 1 through 7, Solomon writes, My son, if you will receive my words and treasure my commandments within you to make your ear pay attention to wisdom, incline your heart to discernment.

For if you call out for understanding, give your voice for discernment. If you seek her as silver and search for her as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of Yahweh. Notice what he says here.

If you call out for understanding, if you seek her, if you seek understanding as you would silver and search for her as hidden treasures, then and only then will you understand the knowledge of God. For Yahweh gives wisdom.

From his mouth come knowledge and discernment. He stores up sound wisdom for the upright, a shield to those who walk in integrity. Yahweh gives us wisdom. From his mouth comes knowledge and discernment.

And he stores up his sound wisdom, not for everyone, but for those who belong to him. So we have a role to play in this obtaining of wisdom. Salvation is all of God. All of God. Salvation, we sometimes use the term monergistic.

Mono means one. Erg is the Greek word for work. So in other words, the one work, the singular work of God. Salvation is all of God. But our sanctification, our progressive walk in holiness, our growth in holiness, our continued conformation into the image of Christ, as we grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, our sanctification, that is synergistic.

That's a synergistic work. In other words, we work with God in our sanctification. Our sanctification is not a passive endeavor. It's an active endeavor. Read and study the word of God. Pray. Be obedient to the word of God.

Do the right thing before God. Honor God in your words. Honor God in your actions. And when we participate in this progressive sanctification, that is a synergistic work. And it is to those people that God gives his wisdom and gives it abundantly.

Abundantly. James says it will be given to him. Not that it might be given to him. It will be given to him. Guaranteed. It's a done deal. When you come to God asking for wisdom, he will give it to you.

Jesus said in John 17, 17, Sanctify them in the truth. Thy word is truth. When we pray for things that are within God's will, they will be given to us. Again, God wants to give to us more than we want to receive from him.

Asking in Faith and Without Doubting

And then James says, Ask in faith without doubting. Now this is where it might make us a little bit nervous. Ask in faith without doubting. Let's walk through this a little bit. How we ask God for wisdom is just as important that we ask God for wisdom.

How we ask God for wisdom is just as important that we ask him for wisdom. So how do we ask God for wisdom? Well, the text says we are to ask God for wisdom without doubting. Without doubting. How do we do this?

Well, let's go to the text. John chapter 14, 13 and 14. Jesus says this, Whatever you ask in my name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

Now, upon face value, this might seem like it's almost like a blank check. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. And so many people have taken this verse, and they have reduced it to almost like a theological abracadabra, as long as you ask anything.

If you ask it in the name of Jesus, God's going to give it to you. So if you ask for a new Lamborghini, as long as you say in the name of Jesus, it's yours. That is not what is in view here at all. In fact, 1 John chapter 5, verse 14 clarifies this for us.

The Apostle John says, This is the confidence which we have before him, before Christ, that if we ask for anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the request that we ask of him.

That's the promise. So if we ask for anything that is in accordance with his will, it is a guaranteed yes answer. The name of God and the will of God are synonymous. The name of God and the will of God are synonymous.

So when we pray for things in the name of Christ, we're not using that as a catch word to kind of turn the key just the right way, and then God will give us whatever we want. When we pray for things in the name of Christ, what we are saying is may the will of Christ be done.

And when we pray for things that are within the will of God, yes, they will be granted to us 100 of the time. And the ultimate purpose of God granting to us things that we request that are within his will, ultimately, for God's glory.

The following phrase is a good phrase to pray. Lord, if it be thy will. That's a good way to pray. Lord, if it is your will, take this cancer away. Lord, if it is your will, ease my suffering. Lord, if it is your will, do this or do that.

That is a good posture to have before God. Lord, if this is your will. Sometimes God does remove the suffering. But, dear friends, more often than not, instead of removing the suffering, God gives us his sufficient grace to endure the suffering.

And instead of spending all of our time, Lord, take this suffering away, we should spend more time, Lord, use this in my life. Use this to conform me more into the image of my master. Use this to make me more dependent upon you.

Lord, may I endure this suffering well for the glory of Christ. And in the midst of my suffering, may I speak well of Christ. May I act in such a way that brings honor to him. May I glorify Christ in the midst of my suffering.

Maybe we should spend a little bit more time praying for things like that. Lord, if it be your will, take this away. But if not, use this in my life and use it ultimately for your glory. That is a good posture with which to pray.

James says he must ask in faith, doubting nothing. Doubting nothing. That seems like a pretty high bar, doesn't it? That we are never to doubt. The word doubt here means to differentiate it. The sense here basically is that the doubting person is someone who is disputing with himself.

You're arguing with yourself. That's the view here. That's what is in view. Arguing with yourself, hence doubt. Now, what this does not refer to when James says he must ask in faith, doubting nothing.

Doubting nothing does not refer to temporary bouts of doubt. That's not what is in view here. Does not refer to temporary doubts of doubt. One of the things that I so love about this book, and one of the things that sets this book completely apart from any other work of ancient literature, whether secular or religious.

One of the things that you will find in the Bible over and over and over and over, but you will not find in the Book of Mormon. You will not find in the Koran or something like that. Is that this book never hesitates to record the failures of its own characters.

Never hesitates to record the failures of its own characters. Doesn't shy away from that. Abraham failed temporarily. David had moments of failure. Moses had moments of failure. Abraham had moments of failure.

Some of the most revered people in the Bible, they had moments of doubt, did they not? Yes, they did. John the Baptist, we just talked about him. Asaph in Psalm chapter 73, he doubted. He saw the righteous suffering while the wicked were prospering and he doubted.

Peter, we all know about Peter. Peter had his moments of doubt. He had, you know, he's kind of famous for it. Jesus said at one point to him, get behind me, see. This book never shies away from recording the failures of its own main characters.

Never does that. So this is not referring to momentary bouts of doubt. It is not. Recall what Paul said in Romans chapter 4 verse 20 about Abraham. It's interesting. Paul said this, Romans chapter 4 verse 20.

He said that Abraham did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God. But Abraham actually did waver on at least one occasion because remember in Genesis chapter 17, Abraham said, will a child be born to a man who's 100 years old?

When he received the promise of God that he would have a child and his descendants would be as the stars of the sky, he said, well, I'm 100 years old. Will a man 100 years old have a child? So he did at least on one occasion.

He did what? He doubted. He doubted. So this is not a momentary struggle with doubt. What James is referring to here is intrinsic, settled, habitual doubt. Intrinsic, settled, habitual state of division when you are arguing against yourself.

A settled state of doubt. That's what is in view. God responds to the one who though he may stumble in trials, though he may have temporary bouts of doubt, God responds to the one who is ultimately settled on who he is.

To those who may stumble but their lives are otherwise marked by an upward trajectory over a time, those are the people to whom God gives his wisdom. Dear friends, each and every one of us, we go through trials, and some of our trials may be so severe that they cause us to waver in our faith.

They cause us to go through a momentary time of doubt. Just like Abraham did. Just like Moses did. Just like David did. Just like Asaph did. Just like John the Baptist did. Just like Paul did. We will go through these momentary times of doubt.

But what is true of all of these people in Scripture who had doubts on occasion is true for us as Christians today. We may go through these brief seasons, but ultimately, as Christians, our lives, our nature is one that is settled on who God is.

We have confidence not in ourselves, but we have confidence in God. We have confidence that we are deserving God's wisdom. We are promised God's wisdom not because of who we are, but because of who he is and the merits of Christ.

We may stumble, but over time, the trajectory of a Christian is one of increasing holiness and decreasing sin. So that is what is in view here. Momentary doubts, not settled doubts. The one who has settled doubts will receive nothing from God.

That is what James says here. For the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. This point expands on the point that he just made in the last phrase. The one who doubts, James says, is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.

The picture here is not of a wave that rises and crashes on the shore and then is gone. That would be a momentary time of doubt. A wave that comes up, crashes on the shore, and then it dissipates. That is a momentary time of doubt.

That is not what is in view here. What is in view here is not a wave that crashes on the beach, but rather swells out in the open ocean, constantly rising, constantly falling, changing texture, changing shape from one moment to the next.

A state of constant flux out in the open ocean. That is what James has in view here. And that man will not receive anything from God. Hebrews 6, verse 19 says,. This hope we have as an anchor for the soul.

The man described here in James, who was tossed like the surf of the sea, that man has no anchor. He is like a child described by Paul in Ephesians 4, verse 14, who is easily tossed to and fro, carried about by every wind of doctrine.

The man who has no anchor, who is not anchored to the rock of Christ. That's what James has in view here. The man who is out there in the open sea in a constant state of flux. Rising, falling, swelling, ebbing, changing texture.

That's what James has in view here. And that is not us as believers. James says,. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man and stable in all his ways.

The man who is settled in doubt, settled in his doubting of God's character and in nature, will receive nothing from God. This is not a true Christian. This is a false professor of Christ. A double-minded man.

This is an interesting term, double-minded. In the Greek, it's dipsikos. And it literally means double-souled. And dipsikos, it is one of those words that is not found anywhere else in all of Greek literature, whether secular or religious.

This is the first time this word appears. Dipsikos. And it's used only in two places in the Bible. Right here and then again in chapter 4, verse 8. This dipsikos, it means double-souled. This is a term that James himself coined.

And of course, ultimately, the Holy Spirit coined, right? Because James is writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. So this is a word that's literally directly from the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit of God created this word.

And it's used only here and again in chapter 4, verse 8, when James says, Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded, you dipsikos. Now, some people have said this is referring to a believer who is just not where he needs to be.

But the term here, sinners, in chapter 4, verse 8, is only used in Scripture in reference to unbelievers. Okay, when you see the term sinners in Scripture, it's referring to unbelievers, not to Christians.

It is not that as Christians you and I don't sin. We do. But as Christians, we don't relish sin. Our lives are not marked by an habitual, unbroken pattern of sin. That's not a Christian. That's a lost person.

So when James says, Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded, this is an evangelistic call. He's talking about lost people. He's talking about lost people in chapter 4, verse 8.

And he's talking about lost people right here in chapter 1. These are people who profess to be believers but have not come into union with the Lord Jesus Christ. These are the people who are trying to serve two gods.

It's a spiritual schizophrenia, if you will. These are unbelievers. As a Christian, you are not a double-minded man or woman, unstable in all your ways. That is not us as Christians. We are to have confidence, dear ones, that the giving God will fulfill His promises and will always act in congruence with His nature.

Some of you have heard me say this in Sunday school. If you've been in the class, I've said this a few times. A lot of times we think that in terms that God can do anything, that there's nothing that God cannot do.