The opening matter about which the epistle of James provides pastoral counsel concerns the trials, troubles, and tribulations of our lives. Concerning this matter James delivers a series of four instructions. The first (verses 2-3) speaks concerning our attitude toward the trials of life; the second (verse 4), concerning our response of submission in the trials of life; and the third (verse 5), concerning our prayerfulness unto the Lord concerning the trials of life. The fourth of these instructions is found in the opening portion of verse 6. In relation to the instruction of verse 5 to “ask of God” for wisdom, verse 6 adds, “But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.” Thus it speaks concerning our trust in the Lord through the trials of life. This truth is expanded in the remainder of verses 6-8, giving a warning to those who waver with doubt toward the Lord. Grammatically, verses 6-8 present four individual sentences and may be divided into four individual thoughts. First, there is the complementary prerequisite of the first sentence -- “But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.” Second, there is the comparative picture of the second sentence -- “For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.” Third, there is the explanatory prohibition of the third sentence -- “For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.” Fourth, there is the defining principle of the fourth sentence -- “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.”
1. The Prerequisite of an Unwavering Faith
2. The Picture of an Ungrounded Character
3. The Prohibition of an Unwarranted Expectation
4. The Principle of an Unstable Life |
