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Writer's pictureAndy McIlvain

Am I Double-Minded? - Brandon D. Crowe


Am I Double-Minded?
Am I Double-Minded?


In this excellent article written by Brandon D. Crowe from The Gospel Coalition, we are reminded of our double-mindedness.


Double-mindedness is fluctuating between God’s Word and people’s opinions. It may occur when you act on what you think the Word says, instead of searching the Scriptures for yourself and finding out what God has actually promised.


Am I Double-Minded? - Brandon D. Crowe

"We strive for perfection in our spiritual disciplines. Doesn’t Jesus himself say, “Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt. 5:48)? The book of James appears to support this line of thinking when it states that an individual must pray “in faith, with no doubting,” because a “double-minded man” is “unstable in all his ways” (James 1:6–8).

Portions of James’s letter are difficult to understand, and what he says about prayer appears unattainable. Do any of us truly possess perfect faith when we pray? James states that if we have doubts in our prayer life, we shouldn’t expect to “receive anything from the Lord” (v. 7).

To answer this pressing question requires us to identify the double-minded person. Once we understand who James has in view, then we can better understand what James says about prayer.

Who Are the Double-Minded?

James is the only New Testament writer to use the terminology “double-minded” (dipsychos), and he doesn’t come right out and define the term. So we must determine what it means from the context of James and by comparing his language to similar writings of his era.

It could be that the double-minded are immature believers—a view that would fit with James’s emphasis on the need to press on to maturity in our faith (1:4; 3:2). If so, the double-minded are those not yet mature in their faith. This is possible..." from the article: Am I Double-Minded? - Brandon D. Crowe


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