Double-Mindedness

God is working within me in a tremendous way, and is giving me light to a degree I have never experienced before. I’m very happy and thankful for this, and I want to let this light shine for everyone, through both the spoken and the written word.

Can you guess what my theme is today? I suspect that you simply won’t be able to, so you might as well give up. But it is God’s Word, of course—there isn’t any other place to find a theme. I can’t remember ever hearing of anyone speaking about it, and it’s very important, too. So I would like to fervently exhort each and every one to do his very best to acknowledge the truth and receive this light. I hope that’s what you are all interested in, and absolutely nothing else.

It’s written about in the Scriptures and in the first and second letters of Clement and in the letter from Barnabas. It’s also written about in a letter from someone called Hermas.

I’m sure that, generally speaking, unfortunately, most people believe that they are completely free from the sin I’m going to shed light on today. That would be my guess. But I don’t believe that’s how it will end up today.

Four different letters have now been translated [these letters are believed to have been written about the end of the first century], and they all have something in common: They are characterized by an overwhelming degree of godly fear that we just aren’t accustomed to. I recommend that you read them very slowly and thoughtfully. They are so weighty that you will need to take a lot of time to get their message properly imprinted on your hearts.

There is a lack of each individual working out the salvation of his own soul. It’s quite common that people work more on the salvation of others than on their own salvation. This is actually one way of expressing what our theme is going to be this evening. People are very aware that others should be different, but have tremendous difficulty in realizing that they themselves ought to be different. That’s how it is, whether you believe it or not. But I hope you will come to believe it tonight.

This is how it was in David’s day, and it’s that way even more today. “Every one utters lies to his neighbor; with flattering lips . . .” (Psalm 12:2), and then comes the very word which is our theme: “. . . and with a double-minded heart they speak.” Our theme, then, is double-mindedness. Double, of course, means “two”—that is, having two minds and not, as I think the vast majority regard themselves, as having only one mind. To a very great extent they have two minds. As far as they understand, they seek salvation with all their hearts. But that’s seldom true. They don’t just seek salvation, but something else besides.

There is the well-known verse about the eyes of the Lord running to and fro throughout the whole earth, high and low and wide and deep and long, to find those whose hearts are wholly for Him. You don’t exactly get the impression from this verse that the earth is swarming with such people. And in the deepest sense, the promises of God, which we have in the New Testament, belong only to those who seek God with their whole heart—those who seek only salvation itself. What’s common is to get mixed up in other people’s business. As sure as God lives, we have all done this, and many still continue to do it, in spite of the scripture in Peter which says we must not suffer as criminals or other evildoers, nor as those who get mixed up in the affairs of others. To be a busybody is classed along with the very worst sins that exist.

It is common for people to judge others and defend themselves. This is as backward as can be. You criticize others, defend and excuse yourself, and explain away the very things you should be judging yourself for. That is to reject salvation itself. Most people do this without even realizing it. That’s how deluded they are, and yet, they believe they are greatly enlightened. They don’t realize what their true condition is.

Verse 3. “May the Lord cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that makes great boasts . . . .” These things are characteristic of such people.

Something dreadful is described in one place in the New Testament. It says that Paul wanted to send someone to a church, but had no one with a genuine care for them except Timothy. And what else is written there? Quite simply, “For all seek their own.” We have to believe that those he wrote about didn’t have any inkling of this fact. These were co-workers. They fully imagined that they actually did have an upright and true care for souls. Of course, they spoke remarkably well. But in the midst of all this they thought about themselves and sought their own. Normally, the more brilliantly you speak, the more you are looked up to. Most people are that naïve. But it’s easy to see how one can err in one’s judgment. The people who are written about here weren’t heretics. No, they had the right doctrine, understood it wonderfully well, and were excellent preachers of it. But they neglected themselves. They considered their ministry as being terribly important, which is easy to understand, since those who listened to them thought so, too. And in one way the listeners were justified, since what they heard was correct.

What should we do with this scripture? It’s not a misprint. There are multitudes of Bible translations in various languages. You can read as many as you want; they all say the same thing. He didn’t have anyone to send. That doesn’t mean that there weren’t any other upright souls, but that among his co-workers he had no one at that time that he could send, besides Timothy. It says, “for all seek their own.” They sought their own honor.

There is a remarkable word in Sirach about this. It speaks about a man of understanding (one who can speak wonderfully) who is not able to be of benefit to himself. That really hits the nail on the head. Have you ever heard of anything so sad? They are able to help others; they are great speakers, so they get a lot of recognition. And yet things aren’t as they should be with them personally. They are so occupied with others, in the wrong way, that they neglect themselves.

However, if a person is upright, he will get light. He can’t avoid it. Psalm 112:4 says, “Light arises in the darkness for the upright . . . .” And here is a remarkable explanation of what it means to be upright: “. . . he who is gracious, merciful and righteous” (Norwegian). Such people have a living interest in the salvation of their own souls and work on it tremendously. Light is shed all along their path. They can’t avoid getting light. As certainly as God lives, light arises for them. Then they seek a deeper degree of salvation for themselves and are saved to a deeper degree.

I think Psalm 119 is one of the most unique passages of Scripture that exists. It shows what a man who is free from double-mindedness is like. I recommend that you read it very slowly and thoughtfully. Read it many times in one sitting so you get a clear impression of what an upright, single-minded man is. There’s no reason to be in doubt about it. This is such a tremendous thing—176 verses, virtually all about the same thing. I believe David to be the author of this Psalm. It simply couldn’t be anyone else. The kind of overwhelming, 100% love for God’s law, which is evident throughout the entire Psalm, is tremendous! I recommend that each one of you follow my advice! You have good reason to do so. This advice can’t have anything but a phenomenal effect, if you follow it.

Verse 113. “Those of double-mind, I hate, but your law I love.” God called David a man after His own heart—a man of like mind. He was anything but double-minded. All that mattered to him was to be thoroughly saved. When a person is interested in being thoroughly saved, but also has a little interest in something else, he has two minds. That’s undoubtedly how it is for the majority of people, to one degree or another. This matter of degrees applies, of course, to everything—this has become even more evident through the crystal-clear light that I now have received.

Double-mindedness is mentioned in two places in the letter of James. I have for many years called James a specialist. He is a specialist in practically everything he writes about. What he writes is as strong, clear, plain and direct as can be. He must have been a tremendous man of God. James 1:5. He mentions wisdom here as an example, but it applies to everything we can obtain through salvation, such as godly love.

How is it usually when it comes to people’s prayers? It’s like this: People think that to pray is to express what they want and then they’re done. But that is a complete misunderstanding. It’s actually a contradiction. Of what interest is it to God when I do nothing more than tell Him what I don’t have? And of what interest is it to me? In the deepest and truest sense, this is what prayer is not. To pray for wisdom, love or patience, and not even expect to receive it, much less believe that I have already received it, is double-mindedness. Yes, I would really like to have it, but I am managing remarkably well without it. Most people pray that way as long as they live, and never receive what they pray for. In other words, they are double-minded; they have two minds. James hits this point so hard that you’d think it would be enough to raise the dead. But usually nothing happens—it doesn’t “raise” a thing. People aren’t filled with love, wisdom or patience, or anything else they pray for.

Verse 6: “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting.” Jesus expressed the same thing in these words: “And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive it, if you have faith.” First we hear, “Ask, and it will be given you.” That’s for beginners. But then it is put more exactly: “And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive it, if you have faith.” Faith isn’t indefinite or intangible; it is firm and definite. It is the full conviction that you will receive what you prayed for. This is written about in 1 John 5:14-15 also. It says that when we pray according to God’ will—and we always do that when we pray about salvation—we have this confidence in Him, that we have what we prayed for.

“For he who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.” He is tossed back and forth like a ping-pong ball. Then there is something in verse 7 that is dreadfully strong, but very true: “For that person must not suppose that a double-minded man . . . will receive anything from the Lord.” And in verse 8 we have a character description of such a person: “. . . unstable in all his ways.” If people would take this seriously, they would recognize that they are double-minded—just about every one of them. When you pray, you aren’t done just because you have stated what it is that you want. No; but when you have gotten faith that you will receive what you prayed for, then you are done.

You can use the word prayer incorrectly. Some people have that tendency. They commit themselves to pray for hours and think if they pray for two hours it’s twice as good as praying for one hour. But if I don’t receive anything, either in the first hour or in the second, is that any good? The purpose of praying is to get a living faith. If I don’t get that, I don’t get anything. Then it doesn’t do any good to say that I pray a lot. The point is to receive something so that what I pray for comes to pass. I think this must be the most common manifestation of double-mindedness there is. This is certainly what everyone does to begin with. And a person can continue doing it his whole life long. It does have some small benefit, in that the person remains near God instead of falling way. But it is in vain, really.

There is no such thing as “trying to believe.” That’s just plain nonsense. Either we believe or we don’t believe, and that applies to everything we pray for. If we don’t believe, it doesn’t help to pray. And then to carry on praying like that for hours is futile, unless your only thought is to be able, in the end, to lay hold of faith. That’s the right thing. Then it doesn’t matter whether you pray for a long time or not, as long as you get hold of faith.

Jesus said, “And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world . . . .” People lack light concerning this. I think the best way to express it is that people would really like to get what they pray for, but they can get along without it. And it’s clear that this is the case because they manage to continue without receiving what they prayed for. On the one hand they seem so very interested (but probably not so extremely interested), and on the other hand, they aren’t the least bit interested. They are double-minded.

James 4:8. We have no excuse. It couldn’t be put more plainly. It’s impossible to follow light we don’t have. But if we are upright, light will arise for us, to a greater and greater degree, just as it is written. It says that we will go from light to light and from power to power—then things get done—and from glory to glory. Nothing except the life of God is glorious.

Verse 9. “Know your need!” (Norwegian)—that is, acknowledge your need. “Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning . . . .” Stop your laughing! “. . . and your joy to dejection.” Stop rejoicing, and acknowledge your sin! Pray for the salvation you need, and believe that you will receive it!

What follows in verse 10 is significant. “Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you!” What is written in verse 11 is also very significant. “Do not speak evil (backbite—Norwegian) against one another, brethren.” You can do this and at the same time say you love the brotherhood. That’s disgusting! It’s horrible! It’s so bad that there aren’t words strong enough to express it. “He that speaks evil against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law.” This is a remarkable light—it’s completely fantastic! Have you ever heard the like? Who will admit it? We need to take God’s Word to heart! It has nothing to do with our understanding. It has nothing to do with being gifted. It has to do with loving the truth. “But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.” Then you set yourself up as a judge of God and His Word.

Verse 12. “There is one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy . . . .” Who has a proper fear of being destroyed? “. . . who are you that you judge your neighbor?” Yes, what sort of “bigshot” are you who judge?

There is something called “feigned.” What does it mean? It means false. God’s Word is so rich! Just think if we could be much, much more interested in it! And take it deadly seriously, instead of so superficially, which is the usual thing. Paul called Timothy his true son in the faith. Does that tell you something? Either a person is genuine or false. He also called Titus his true son, but no one else.

How many exhortations have I given to make good use of the concordance? Apparently, no one has followed these exhortations. Otherwise, I’m sure I would have noticed the change. You aren’t as receptive as you imagine. You live in self-deception, more or less. What could be the reason my exhortations haven’t been followed? There aren’t words strong enough in our language to express how fruitful it is to really make use of the concordance.

If you look up the word “unfeigned,” you will find four verses. What they say is very significant. They speak about unfeigned faith and unfeigned love. Galatians 5 says that all that matters is faith, working through love. Here we have two principal elements and both can be feigned. There are various expressions for this in different Bibles. The German Bible uses the word “uncolored.” People color both the good they speak about, as well as the evil. When they want to tell about something that’s good, they feel the important thing is to embellish it, and the person telling the story turns out to be the center of attention. And when it concerns something evil, they lay it on even thicker. It’s because they aren’t completely true. They love the truth, but they also love coloring the truth and exaggerating.

I’ll read you something from the first letter of Clement. “Unhappy and miserable are the double-minded and those who doubt in their hearts.” These are the same people James writes about in Chapter 1. They pray because they believe in God; yet, just the same, they don’t believe. They are double-minded. They both do and don’t believe. In the second letter of Clement it says, “How miserable is the double-minded man who doubts in his heart.” In the letter of Barnabas it says, “You shall not be double-minded or double-tongued, for a double tongue is a snare of death.” But if I am to follow this, I need to have light about what double-mindedness is. And I hope every single one here gets this, at least to some degree this evening, and that you retain it so it can have an effect. Then double-mindedness will come to an end. This will have the result that you seek the salvation of your own soul, with all your might. And once you’ve been saved, you can speak about what you’ve been saved from, in order to strengthen others in faith.

Something else is written here. “Whatever circumstance you meet, take it as good.” Have you ever heard the like? Have you ever heard anything so wholesome and good, through and through? And this is exactly what the majority of people are far away from doing. They get more or less—the majority, more—put out by what they are exposed to. I personally can’t remember ever once being put out by what others have said or done, or not said or done. That’s because I believe in God. I believe in Romans 8:28, so it’s impossible to be dissatisfied with anything, not even a little, tiny bit. The strongest translations say that everything—both good and bad, right and wrong—works together for the best for those that love God. Certainly no one can be displeased when the very best happens to him—incessantly, without a break, and without any possible exceptions. Is it possible to be dissatisfied with that?

The dissatisfaction around us tells us that almost nobody believes this truth. What do they believe as a rule? Theories. They don’t believe it personally, for themselves, so that they put it into practice. And only this belief can save us. Even though we know all these good theories by heart, praise them, and say we believe them, it does us no good at all unless we lay hold of them personally so that we experience them. It’s not just that it would be dreadfully wrong to be a tiny little bit discontented, but when I believe this Word, it’s completely impossible to be discontented. Think as hard as you can! It is impossible to be displeased with the best there is, and that is exactly what you receive, incessantly, without exception. But since you don’t have a living faith in this, you encounter lots of problems, unpleasant experiences, and things that wear on you.

They have an expression in the world, “It gets on my nerves.” And that’s precisely what happens: If you take things in the wrong way, they do get on your nerves. But if we take things right, then our nerves—this is the way I’ve thought of it—become bathed in oil. It can even look as though a person has no nerves at all. They do, but it’s just that their nerves are bathed in oil, so of course there isn’t any friction or irritation from them to cause trouble. “It gets on my nerves.” What kinds of things does a person say that about? Of course, it’s what he dislikes about others—their conduct, what they say and do, and what they don’t say and do.

People can have problems and complexes. But who has them? Those who don’t believe, who are double-minded, and who care more about preserving their honor than they do about being saved. Such people are always concerned about what others think and say about them. I can’t remember ever being concerned about that, not even before I got victory over all sin. How it looks, how it sounds, what will be said, and what will be thought—it’s pure ungodliness to be the slightest little bit concerned about all that. That is clearly not seeking God with all your heart.

Everyone should, at least, be able to imagine how overwhelmingly blessed it would be to be free from double-mindedness—to be wholehearted, not to mention to believe in Romans 8:28. I constantly meet and experience only the very best. I almost don’t know how to express it. I’ll say it this way—I have become uncurably blessed. Neither man nor devil can mar my happiness in the least. They couldn’t even if they all joined forces against me. This is the result of whole-heartedness: a single mind.

I sincerely hope that many have now received enough light to become amazingly happy, in a hurry. It doesn’t need to take a long time. It will happen just as quickly as a person judges himself and comes to acknowledgment.

Something very good is written in one letter either from Clement or one of the others. He writes to one church about how good things had previously been with them: They would rather have been ruled than rule. Never in all my life had I heard this expression before I read it here. The worst thing under the sun for the average person is to be ruled—to do what someone else tells him. There’s another expression here: They would rather give than receive. I wonder how many in this assembly are like that—how many have whole-heartedly sought salvation to the degree that this is true, that God Himself will confirm it—that they would rather give than receive? That is a result of whole-heartedness. Don’t you think so? Let’s compete in being thoroughly saved! Let’s concentrate on the salvation of our own souls! Because as we ourselves are saved, we can be of benefit to the others. You can’t really benefit others by merely having knowledge and preaching about it.

I wish you the very best, my dearly beloved friends! At the very least, now we know that there is something called guile and something called double-mindedness, being double—wanting one thing and yet wanting something else as well. That’s useless. If we don’t believe, then nothing will come of it. Believe in a thorough salvation! And my heartfelt thanks for everything up until now!