Well, please turn in your Bibles to the book of James, James chapter 1. Our consideration this evening is verses 5 to 8. I do want to read, however, the entire chapter, review a little bit concerning verses 2 to 4, and then we'll move on to the believer's request during times of trial. James chapter 1, beginning in verse 1.
Scripture Reading: James 1
James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greetings. My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord. He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away. For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass. Its flower falls and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits.
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. Let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted by God. For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he himself tempt anyone.
But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is full grown, brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
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. So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath, for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore, lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted Word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror, where he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. If anyone among you thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, This one's religion is useless. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this, to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.
Amen. Well, let us pray.
Opening Prayer
Thank you, Father, for the Word of God, and thank you for its sufficiency and the fact that it speaks to all matters of faith and practice. And God, as we come to this passage tonight, it's a passage that is familiar to all of us, and what it speaks to is familiar as well. There's no lack of trial, no lack of difficulty, no lack of affliction in the lives of God's people. Thank you that you not only tell us these things, but you prescribe ways through these things.
Ways, hopefully, that will bring glory and honor and praise to you and continual steadiness to our souls and growth and grace. Again, forgive us for all of our sins and our transgressions and do supply the Holy Spirit that we may receive with thanksgiving the written word. And we pray these things through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Well,
Introduction
a few weeks ago we considered verses 2 to 4. We noticed the believer's response to trials. In many ways, this is absolutely contrary to the way we actually respond. When trials come, we freak out or we panic or we get angry or we want to run and hide.
But that's not what James says. He tells us that we are to count it all joy when we fall into various trials. That doesn't mean some foolhardy laugh. in the midst of calamity and difficulty, but it means a steady composure, an understanding that God is in control, and that joy that should permeate our hearts in all situations and in all circumstances. When James speaks of trial in verse 2, he is talking about that.
He is talking about difficulties, hardships, afflictions. The same Greek word appears in verse 13. Context dictates, however, that in that verse it is a temptation, it is a solicitation to do evil. That's not what's in view in verse 2.
James is not saying, when you fall into various solicitations to do evil, count it all joy. That's not the point. It is to count it all joy when you fall into various trials. And the specific disposition that we are to have, or the specific, rather, recognition that we are supposed to have, is in verse 3.
Knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. So these things have a remedial effect in the lives of God's people. He doesn't afflict us. He doesn't send trials.
He doesn't send difficulties to pick on us. He doesn't do it simply to frustrate us. He doesn't do it because He's angry with us. He does it for our good to conform us more and more unto the image of Jesus Christ and such that the testing of our faith will indeed produce patience.
Patience isn't learned on a beach sipping drinks. Patience is learned in the context of difficulty, hardship, and pain. That's where the people of God learn patience. Jesus learned obedience through suffering, according to Hebrews 5.
That will probably be the path that we take as well. And then James indicates in verse 4, that patience, let it have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. And that brings us, secondly, well, that was the first point a few weeks ago, that brings us to the believer's request during trials. There's two things I want to consider in verses 5 to 8 tonight.
First, the pursuit of wisdom in verse 5, and then secondly, the necessity of faith in verses 6 to 8.
The Pursuit of Wisdom
Let's note first of all the pursuit of wisdom, and there are four sub-considerations here.
The Assumption: We Lack Wisdom
There's an assumption by James given to us in verse 5. He says, if any of you lacks wisdom, I think that's an assumption that fits. We all lack wisdom when it comes to affliction. This isn't wisdom in the general sense of having skill and knowledge to live our lives in this world, but it's wisdom specifically conditioned upon the afflictions and the trials that we face.
And notice the flow of thought. Verse 4 says, "...let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing." And then in verse 5, "...if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God." Verse 4 looks at the end of the process. The believer taught under trials. The believer tutored under affliction.
Verse 5 deals with the believer during affliction, and what the believer needs during affliction is wisdom. Wisdom, in the language of Manton, he says it, wisdom is to be restrained to the circumstances of the text, not taken generally. He intends here wisdom or skill to bear affliction. So believers ought to pray for wisdom in all areas of life, general things, work life, home life. church life, family life, whatever it is.
We need wisdom in order to live in a pleasing manner to God. But here specifically, the context is one of affliction and trial and difficulty. You need wisdom when you go through these things. Gill says, it intends wisdom to behave aright under temptations and afflictions.
So we have an assumption. If any of you lacks wisdom, Does this find a place in your heart? I think we'd all suggest, or we would all say, yes, I lack wisdom, especially when affliction hits, especially when trial hits. Remember a couple of weeks ago we considered the various responses.
It's not counting it all joy. It's getting angry, it's getting confused, it's getting upset, it's getting unsettled, all those things. We need wisdom in order to navigate through those seas of affliction. Now note, secondly, he exhorts the people of God.
If any of you lacks wisdom, that's our assumption.
The Exhortation: Ask God
Let him ask of God. Here's the exhortation. Let him ask of God. The means employed for the acquisition of wisdom is prayer. sweet hour of prayer.
We ought to go to the Father in the midst of affliction, and we ought to call upon Him, asking for wisdom. Now, James is not against Christian fellowship. There are seasons and instances in our lives when something will plague us, and it's not wrong for me to go to a brother, to go to a sister, to go to a trusted friend and ask them for advice. There is nothing wrong with that.
There's nothing wrong with reading a book on how to deal with or navigate successfully through the seas of affliction. But brethren, if we go to brethren, or we go to books, and we bypass God, then we are neglecting the primary source of wisdom Himself. And this is James' emphasis. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God.
James shows a knowledge of Matthew's gospel several times in this small section of Scripture. Matthew 7, specifically verses 7 to 11. Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find.
Knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?
If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father, who is in heaven, give good gifts to those who ask Him?" You see what James' encouragement is, or James' exhortation is? We are to ask God. If you lack wisdom, ask God. If you continue without wisdom, the problem is that you're not asking God.
Don't blame God because you're a fool. Blame yourself because you don't ask. Manton comments on the necessity of prayer for wisdom. He says, God will have everything fetched out by prayer.
Love that turn of phrase. God will have everything fetched out by prayer. He giveth nothing without asking. We usually wear with thanks what we win by prayer.
And those comforts are best improved which we receive upon our knees. Beautiful sentiment from that golden-tongued Puritan. God will have everything fetched out by prayer. If any of you lacks wisdom in affliction, in trial, in hardship, in difficulty, let him ask of God.
And as we consider this statement, we ought to consider the reality that God is the source of wisdom. Just a few specimen passages from the Scriptures will evidence that this is the case. Job 9.4, God is wise in heart and mighty in strength. Job 12, 13, with Him are wisdom and strength.
He has counsel and understanding. Psalm 147, 5, great is Yahweh and mighty in power. His understanding is infinite. Isaiah 40 and verse 28, His understanding is unsearchable.
Romans 16, 27, to God alone wise be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen. Colossians 2.3, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 1 Timothy 1.17, now to the King Eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who is alone wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
Jude 25, to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen. So God is the source of wisdom. As you sink into the affliction, if you lack wisdom, let him ask of God.
He is the source of it. He gives it to those who ask. You see how theology proper is necessary for everything. We need to know who God is, we need to know what He's about, and we need to know that He has the resources necessary for His people.
We ought to contemplate and consider the attributes of God when we go through these various issues and trials, so that we can come to Him and we can bring that to Him and say, Lord God, You are the fount of all wisdom. I find myself in a perplexing situation at this particular time. Would you please give me some of that wisdom so that I can navigate successfully through these waters?" So there is an assumption, there is an exhortation.
The Encouragement: God Gives Liberally
Note thirdly, under the pursuit of wisdom, there is an encouragement. There is a great encouragement. If you lack it, ask of God. But he doesn't stop there.
Notice how he goes on to describe this God. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives. He gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. He gives.
Isn't it beautiful? He doesn't hold back. He doesn't restrain His hand. He doesn't look at you, floundering, and say, well, tough on you.
It'd be nice if you had some wisdom, but since you ask, I'm not going to give it to you. No, He does give. Proverbs 2, specifically verses 6 and 7. For Yahweh gives wisdom.
From His mouth come knowledge and understanding. He stores up sound wisdom for the upright. He is a shield to those who walk uprightly. He gives wisdom.
You see, that's an encouragement, isn't it? If I were to tell you, child, go ask your dad, you're not sure whether or not your dad's going to answer. You're not sure which way it's going to go. But if I say ask your dad, because he gives those things, and he not only gives those things, he gives them liberally, and he not only gives those things and gives those things liberally, he does so without reproach.
There is all manner of encouragement here for us as God's people to ask, to seek, and to knock. In other words, if we are in the midst of affliction and we are floundering, is it floundering or floundering? I think it's floundering. If we are floundering and we are having difficulties in trials and we don't have wisdom, we are to ask.
That's it. Not to conjure it up or not to, you know, whip ourselves in the back, go live on a pole, go out to a cave. We are to ask of God the encouragement He gives to all who ask, and He gives liberally. Note, the ideas of liberality and bountifulness and generosity are in view, along with sincerity and singleness.
In other words, God does this for His people. Calvin comments on this aspect of his liberal giving. He says, hence, no man ought to deprive himself of so great a privilege. If you are in affliction and you lack wisdom, ask God.
God will give you, and God will give you liberally. He doesn't just dole it out in some miserly manner. He doesn't just apportion out a few bits, but rather He gives to all liberally, and then it says He does not reproach those who ask. At the end, verse 5, if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all liberally and without reproach.
The idea here means to rebuke, to reproach, to insult. And I think it kind of goes like this. If your child comes to you over and over and over again asking for the same sorts of things, at some point, if you're like me and you're impatient and you're fallible, you're going to say, you're here again? Again?
I mean, we shouldn't do that. I shouldn't do that. I'm sorry. Please forgive me to my children and grandchildren.
I should have never done that, but it's in my heart to do that. It's in my heart after 5 or 10 or 15 or 20 times being asked the same thing to say, can't you hold on to what I've already given you? God's not like that. He doesn't reproach us.
He doesn't rebuke us. He doesn't insult us. It's not the case that if you lack wisdom and you come to God asking and seeking and knocking, He goes, oh, it's you again? Oh, you're back?
What'd you do with the wisdom I gave you last week? Did you squander it? Did you waste it? Did you misuse it?
Did you misspent? He doesn't do that. He gives to all liberally and without reproach. You see what James is saying?
If in the midst of affliction you realize you lack wisdom, ask God. He's the source of it. He gives it. He gives it liberally, and He won't insult you.
He won't upbraid you as the old King James says. He doesn't mock you. He doesn't rebuke you. He doesn't reprove you.
He doesn't roll his eyes and say, oh, you again. I don't believe it. You're back asking me for the same old thing. James assures us that our God doesn't do that.
Later, James will say that every good and perfect gift comes from our Father, whom there's no variation, no shadow of turning. He won't turn on you. He won't start upbraiding you. He won't start reproving you.
If you ask Him for wisdom each and every day for the rest of your life, He's not going to roll His divine eyes and say, I cannot believe that you don't know how to manage the wisdom I apportion to you. yesterday. Again, Calvin says, with reference to this whole idea that he will give without reproach. This is added, lest anyone should fear to come to God too often. Isn't that beautiful?
This is added, lest anyone should fear to come to God too often. There can't be something embarrassing about having to ask somebody the same thing we've already asked for. Again, the child coming to the father, coming to the parents. I lost my ball again.
I know that's just the worst illustration in the world, but there's something embarrassing about having to come back and acknowledge one's mistake and having to ask for that same thing over again. What Calvin says is that James has so structured this passage that we are not afraid to come too often to God. A modern commentator, Davids, says, God is then one who gives sincerely, without hesitation or mental reservation. He does not grumble or criticize.
His commitment to his people is total and unreserved. They can't expect to receive. This ain't health, wealth and prosperity. James isn't saying, if any of you lacks a big old nice car, let him ask of God.
If any of you lacks summer homes and vacation spots in Barcelona, let him ask of God. No, if any of you suffering saints in the sea of affliction recognizes the fact that they sincerely lack wisdom, of God. He gives to all liberally, and He does so without reproach. So under the pursuit of wisdom, we've seen an assumption.
There's an exhortation. There's an encouragement.
Reasons We Need Wisdom in Affliction
And now, fourthly, some reasons. Why do we need wisdom in the midst of our afflictions? That's a good question, isn't it? Why would we need wisdom?
We need deliverance, don't we? Isn't that what we would typically pray? God, I'm in the sea of affliction. Deliver me.
That's not what James says. God, I'm in the midst of affliction, you know, carry me off to the top of a mountain till it all blows by and then return me back home. That's not what James says. James says in the sea of affliction, the thing that you need is not deliverance, it's not even a boat, what you need is wisdom from on high.
Why? Well, in the first place, we need to be able to see the hand of God in our afflictions. We need to be able to see the hand of God in our afflictions. There's a reason why things happen to us.
We are not atheists. We are not deists. We are not secularists. We are not those who think that life is about random chance and, you know, the bashing of molecules against one another.
We are the people of God who affirm Romans 8.28. We know that God causes all things to work together for good. As I have pointed out repeatedly, what Paul means there is the bad things. He cannot mean the good things because none of us need convincing that God works good things for good.
What we need to be convinced of is that God works out bad things for our good, and the people of God need to see the hand of God in the midst of their afflictions. And in order to do so, they need wisdom. They need to interpret things from the divine perspective. There are a couple of illustrations of this in the Old Testament.
Job is a beautiful one. Job 1, naked I came into the world, naked I will return. The Lord is given, the Lord is taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord. Job saw the loss of family, Job saw the loss of possessions, Job saw the loss of essentially everything that was his through the divine lens of God's plan and purpose in his life.
We have seen in our studies in 2 Samuel, David, who was no stranger to affliction. You want to know and identify with a man who can probably know and identify with what you're going through? David is that man. It's an intriguing thing we saw on this past Wednesday night.
In 2 Samuel 19, Joab, just as an aside, says concerning David's situation here. Absalom has died, David is mourning and lamenting him, and he is demoralizing the troops. And Joab says, you can't demoralize the troops. You need to rally the troops.
You need to encourage the troops. You need to, you know, praise the troops for their having defeated Absalom and his army. But just as an aside, here's what Joab says in chapter 19, verse 7. And that will be worse for you than all the evil that has befallen you from your youth until now.
I mean, here's a man outside of David's life who has seen David's life, and he is able to say that this will be the biggest problem, the biggest issue, the biggest challenge. It'll be worse for you than all the evil that has befallen you from your youth until now. Joab knew the sufferings that David had gone through. Now, back to this point that we need wisdom to see the hand of God in our afflictions.
Go to chapter 16. 2 Samuel 16. Again, just a bit of refresher for those who were there on Wednesday night and encouragement for those who don't attend Wednesday night. There is more practical Christianity that we are seeing in 1 and 2 Samuel than anywhere else, but it's just where the people of God are. It is about the ebb and flow of God's people in this world, this messy, sinful world that is filled with afflictions and trials and difficulties.
All that to say, in 2 Samuel 16, David is departing from Jerusalem because his son just stole his crown and stole his throne. I mean, you think you've got problems? You think your son's not the nicest fellow in the world? Absalom stole the crown and the throne from his father.
Absalom schmoozed Israel, won or stole the hearts of Israel, launched a conspiracy, and had David thrown out of his own kingdom. You think you've got problems at home with your teenager. Yes, you probably do, and I don't want to minimize that, but David knew some sorrows here. At any rate, he is leaving Jerusalem, and a man named Shimei curses him, throws rocks at him, is just speaking ill of him, and Benaiah can't take it anymore, and he says to David, let me go take his head off.
Benaiah didn't like people misspeaking concerning his king. And David says, no, keep your sword in its sheath. And David, understanding that this was of the Lord. It's an amazing thing.
This was of the Lord. Now, what Shimei was saying wasn't precise. Shimei was saying that David was responsible for the death of the house of Saul. David wasn't responsible for the death of the house of Saul, but David was responsible for committing adultery with Bathsheba and murdering Uriah.
And so it was right that somebody come along and curse his name. He saw the hand of God in his afflictions. He recognized the hand of God in his afflictions. Going back to chapters 18 and 19, I've already mentioned.
Absalom dies on the field of battle. Actually, in a tree of battle. Remember the story, he's riding on his mule and his head gets caught in the terebinth tree and he's hanging there between heaven and earth. And a man sees him and reports it to Joab and Joab says, why did you leave him hanging there?
You've got to dispatch him. The man says, David said not to. So Joab goes and he plunges three javelins into the heart of Absalom, and then ten men basically carve him up. What is David affected about?
He's affected by the death of Absalom. Oh, Absalom! Oh, my son Absalom! You wonder why.
I've just explained that Absalom stole his crown and stole his throne and sent him packing. And Absalom was all about killing David. The plan, the counsel that he received, both from Ahithophel and Hushai, included the death of King David. So Absalom was all set on and bent on removing David from the earth.
So now in battle, Absalom dies. David should be happy because he gets to go back to Jerusalem. He gets to rejoice in the fact that God has preserved him. But he's aching, and he's in pain, and he's suffering, and he's struggling, and he's asking people about Absalom.
We asked the question on Wednesday night, why? Yes, natural affection. A man never wants to see the death of his son. That natural affection doesn't end.
Children, you don't know that, but we always love you. No matter what knucklehead you may be, we love you. That just doesn't change. It will always be the case.
There is that affinity, there is that affection, there is that deep-seated, deep-rooted love that will never vanish. And that probably marked David to some degree. But you know what was even more penetrating to David was chapter 12, verses 10 to 12. The fact that David's sin brought this on.
The fact that David's sin with Bathsheba and Uriah provoked the God of Israel to send Nathan to tell David, because of this the sword will never depart from your house. Because of this, I will raise up adversity from your own home. And because of this, your wives will be publicly defiled before all Israel." So at the death of Absalom, David is able to see the hand of God in his afflictions. Absalom's dead ultimately because of David's sin.
That's why he says, O Absalom, Absalom, O my son. That's why he's agonizing and grieving, and that's why Joab has to call him out of it and say, look David, you need to encourage the people of God, or they're not going to fight for you. David is a wonderful illustration of this principle, seeing the hand of God in our afflictions. Secondly, a reason we need wisdom is to appreciate the sovereignty of God in our afflictions.
Romans 8, 28. We know that God causes all things to work together for good. We need wisdom to see God's hand, to see His sovereignty, to see His supremacy, to see His majesty in the midst of our struggles. As well, thirdly, we need to understand the good end of God in our afflictions.
We need to trust the Scriptures. We need to trust the Bible. We need to trust James 1, 2 to 4, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. And when patience has had its perfect work, then you will be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
This is God's means. This is God's purpose. This is God's plan in your life. He uses afflictions and trials to conform you more and more unto the image of Jesus Christ.
So you need that wisdom to understand the good end of God in our afflictions. And fourthly, we need wisdom to help regulate our response to afflictions. You see, when we are afflicted, it's not okay for us to freak out. It is not okay for us to be mad at God.
It is not okay for us to harbor bitterness. It is not okay for us to say, well, God's always picking on me like this. God's always doing this to me. God's always out to get me.
That's not legit. You cannot do that. You need wisdom to help regulate your response to afflictions. Listen to Manton. to moderate the violences of our own passions.
This is why we need wisdom in affliction. He says, He that liveth by sense, will, and passion is not wise. Skill is required of us to apply apt counsels and comforts, that our hearts may be above the misery that our flesh is under. That's why I read Psalm 73.
Asaph is very candid with us in that psalm, isn't he? Asaph says, but as for me, my foot nearly slipped. Truly God is good to Israel, but as for me, my foot nearly slipped. Why?
Because I saw the righteous suffer, and I saw the wicked prosper, and it was too much for me. I couldn't handle it. I couldn't face the reality that my beloved brethren were suffering and languishing and dying and struggling in pains and hardship and poverty. And then the wicked, the godless, the unrighteous, it seems like there's no problems in their lives.
They don't get cancer. They don't get Pinto cars. They have nice cars. They don't live in huts.
They live in nice houses. He says, this really bothered me until I went into the sanctuary. It was wisdom, divine wisdom, that brought a new perspective on the reality. This is the point.
We need wisdom to help regulate our response to our afflictions. Psalm 73, 17, Until I went into the sanctuary of God, then I understood therein. Hymn 21 tells us that blind unbelief is sure to err and scan his work in vain. God is his own interpreter and he will make it plain.
And David says, wisdom is the possession of the believer given by the Spirit that enables him to see history from the divine perspective. And that helps. to govern our passions so that we don't lash out to God or at God in anger. Well, that's the pursuit of wisdom.
The Necessity of Faith
Let's hurry on, secondly, to the necessity of faith. Verses 6 to 8. We've been told to ask of God. Now, verse 6 tells us how we are to ask of God.
And under the necessity of faith, there's three quick things we ought to observe. The command, the caution, and the dangers.
The Command: Ask in Faith
Note the command. Let him ask in faith. The focus in verse 5 is theological in nature. Let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach.
Right? The focus in verse 5 is on God. The focus in verse 6 is on us. We are to go to this God in faith.
David says, having described the willing father in verse 5, James turns to the other side of the transaction, the waiting child. That's verse 6. Let him ask in faith. Again, an emphasis that is picked up from Matthew's Gospel.
Matthew 17, 20 to 21. 21, 21 to 22. We see it in Hebrews 11, 6 as well. We must believe and believe that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. Gil explains the type of faith and view.
Let him ask in faith. Gil says not only in the faith of the divine being that God is, But in the faith of the promises He has made, and in the faith of His power and faithfulness to perform them, and in the faith of this, that whatever is asked, according to the will of God and is for His glory, and His people's good, shall be given. We must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. So He gives us this command, let him ask in faith.
The Caution: No Doubting
Note the caution with no doubting. You're not supposed to doubt. You're not supposed to, you know, waver. You are supposed to believe that God is who He says He is, and you are to believe that He will give what He has said He would.
Verse 5 is an open invitation. If you lack wisdom, let them ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach. But you are not to doubt. The danger of doubting is highlighted by James.
The danger of doubting is highlighted by Jesus. What does He say to His disciples in several places in Matthew's Gospel? O ye of little faith. You're not supposed to doubt.
God is big. God is massive. God is glorious. There's an account where a young boy went to hear George Whitefield preach, and when he returned home, His mother said, what did you think of Reverend Whitefield?
And he says something to the effect, Mr. Whitefield preaches a big God. So does James. Let him ask of God who gives to all liberally and without reproach.
When you ask, ask in faith, without doubting. Again, this isn't Benny Hinn-ism. This isn't that foolish Trinity Broadcast Network. This isn't health, wealth and prosperity.
This is for the saint in the sea of affliction who needs God and His wisdom. That's what James is telling us in this context. And
The Dangers of Doubt
then he highlights the dangers. If you don't ask in faith, there are certain dangers involved. Verse 6, let him ask in faith with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. The danger is he will be unsettled.
He will be unsettled. If you have doubt in your heart, you do not believe God fully and earnestly, you will be unsettled. You'll be like the waves of the sea. This was a common metaphor.
Paul uses it in Ephesians chapter 4. The idea is that faith in God steadies the soul. Doubting the power of God leads to chaos and unsettledness. In your life, what do you prefer?
Calm or chaos? If it's chaos, then just doubt God. If it's calm, then don't doubt God. This is what James is saying.
You will be unsettled. But there's a second danger. He will be unanswered. Look at verse 7.
For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord. Not only will you be unsettled, you'll be unanswered. The tendency is to suppose that we will always be answered. But if we don't believe God and we doubt God, James tells us that we will not be answered.
Persons who pray and don't get what they are seeking typically blame God, don't they? Well, I asked God and He didn't give it to me, so, you know, too bad for Him, because I'm not going to serve Him anymore. Well, I question whether you served Him ever with that sort of an attitude, because the saint of Christ realizes that whatever my God ordains is right. But you see, there are those types of people that say, well, I prayed, I tried prayer, and it just didn't work.
So they blame God, don't they? Have you met those people? Maybe I'm the only guy that's ever met those people. A little affirmation, maybe you've been those people.
He didn't answer me. He didn't do what James says. Well, if you're doubting him, and you're an unsettled man, you're going to be an unanswered man. We never blame ourselves, do we?
Like I said this morning, we always try to shift it somewhere else. It started in the garden. God gets the first blame. The woman whom you gave me.
What's the implication? God, if you hadn't given me her, I'd be perfectly fine and happy. Everything would be great without that woman. Second in line for blame was the woman.
It's all her fault. If she wasn't here, boy, I wouldn't eat that fruit. We like to blame shift, and if we don't get the answers that we want from God, who do we blame? Do we ever say, you know what?
My faith is lacking. I'm doubting. I'm like a double-minded man, which is the next danger. Why would God answer me?
I don't even believe what He says. I have no faith. We don't ever, ever blame ourselves. We blame God.
To the dangers, if you doubt, you'll be unsettled, you'll be unanswered, you'll be unstable. Notice in verse 8. He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. Not just in his afflictions, but in all his ways.
In some senses, what James is saying in terms of praying and faith certainly applies to this request for wisdom, but it holds with all prayer, doesn't it? Allison says, he moves attention from God to human beings, in terms of six to eight. He offers teaching that applies not just to prayer for wisdom, but to prayer of any sort. He explicitly specifies a condition that must be met if prayer is to be answered, and he implicitly explains why some prayers appear to have no effect.
Human beings, not God, are to blame. You'll be unsettled, unanswered, and unstable in all your ways. You see, maybe the reason why your life is a mess is because you doubt God. If James is to be trusted, I think that's a legitimate observation.
Maybe your life is frazzled because you doubt God. The people who know their God, the people who trust in their God, are steadied, are stabilized, are secure. The people who don't trust God, the people who doubt God, are just the opposite. They're unsettled, they're unanswered, and they are unstable in all His ways.
The word used is literally double-souled or double-minded. Note its use in 4.8. He says, draw near to God, He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
It is a two-souled man, not in some weird hypostatic union, but because you are not committed to the God of heaven and earth. You are unstable in all your ways. The Word reflects a departure from what God calls His people to do. We're to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.
With all implies there's not to be a two-souledness. There is not to be a double-mindedness. There is to be a full soul, a whole soul commitment to God Most High. Proverbs 3, trust in the Lord with what?
With part of your heart? No, trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths. Israel was rebuked for being double-souled or double-minded nation.
And the word is, as I said, further described in verse 8. He's double-minded, unstable in all his ways. So maybe your life is a mess because you doubt God. Maybe your life is a mess because instead of praying, God, help me to fix the mess, you pray, God, grant me wisdom and grant me faith so that I don't doubt you at the throne of grace.
Ask, seek, and knock.
Application
Well, brethren, in conclusion, in summary, we need to realize that we need wisdom to navigate through afflictions. It's incredible, isn't it? When you're in the midst of affliction, James does not say, pray for deliverance. Go to the healing service.
Find the most Pentecostal and charismatic group in your town, go to their tent meeting, and wander up and get the whammy so that all your things will be healed. That's not what he says. If you are going through afflictions and recognize that you lack wisdom, you need wisdom to navigate successfully through your afflictions. Secondly, we need to recognize the Lord God Almighty is the source of wisdom.
We ask Him But as well we search the Scriptures. How do we navigate successfully through affliction? We study the life of David, who by God's grace successfully navigated through affliction. We study the book of Job, who by God's grace successfully navigated through affliction.
We study the Psalms, which record for us David's navigation through those seas of affliction. We study the life and the ministry of the Apostle Paul. Did Paul just wander around and everybody loved him and esteemed him and praised him? Paul suffered tremendously.
Paul was hunted as well. Paul was persecuted. Paul was beaten. Paul was imprisoned.
Paul was ultimately martyred for the cause of God and truth. If we need to know how to successfully navigate trials and afflictions, let's study the man of sorrows who was acquainted with grief, who when he came to his own, his own received him not. Brethren, you see, God is the source of wisdom and He has given us His Word, so we ought to be in that Word so that we may know how to go through our afflictions. And as well, we need to understand that we need faith.
Let him ask in faith. I love that account in Matthew's Gospel. It's recorded for us in Matthew, but what we find in Mark is absolutely incredible. When Jesus tells the man with the son that needs to be healed if you believe, and he says, Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.
You see, God's not going to upbraid you if you confess that at the throne of grace. God knows that you have struggles. God knows you better than you know you. So if you were to say to God, wow, I'm struggling in this particular area.
God's not going to go, wow, I would have never figured that out. I'm perplexed that you have those struggles. God knows you intimately. So if you are struggling with doubt, or you are struggling with a lack of faith, be like that man.
Lord, I believe there is that seed there. It may be like a mustard seed, but it is there. Lord, increase my faith. so that when I ask you for wisdom, I will not be an unsettled man, an unanswered man, or an unstable man, but I will be a man that is secure and firm in his God." Well, brethren, let us heed James. Let us understand James.
Let us recognize the fact that afflictions and trials are part and parcel of the Christian life, And God has prescribed a way for us to deal with it, to go through it, and to navigate those seas of affliction. And if we are not Christians, it is not our ability to cope with affliction that makes us Christians. It is Christ. It is belief in Him.
It is faith in Him. Machen says in his book, What is Faith? Which again, I highly commend anybody who struggles with the idea of faith. Read J.
Gressom Machen's book, What is Faith? One place he speaks of faith. He says, faith the size of a mustard seed may not move mountains. Doesn't Jesus say this?
But there is one thing that faith will do. It will bring a soul to Jesus. That mustard seed faith, that glimpse, that look, that life, that is the thing that is needful. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
Being able to successfully navigate and cope with the trials and difficulties of life does not ultimately commend you to God. It is faith in Christ Jesus. And then, as you have that faith in Christ Jesus, successfully cope with the hardships and difficulties of life. Well, let us close in prayer.
Closing Prayer
Father, thank You for Your Word. Thank You for the clarity and the openness and the honesty of it. Your Word never lies to us and tells us that we'll never have problems or we'll never have difficulties, but it assures us and it affirms to us and it tells us everywhere that these things are so. But You don't leave us lacking.
You don't leave us on our own, but You prescribe a way through these things. So God, we ask that You help us to recall these truths when we come into trial. Give us grace to cry out to you for wisdom. Give us grace to do so in faith.
And I pray that you would go with us now and watch over this church. I love this church. I pray for each of the brothers and sisters here that you would watch over them in the coming weeks and months and years, that you would bring us together again, that we may worship you and glorify you and honor your great and holy name. And we pray these things through Christ Jesus, our Lord.
Amen.