Jesus famously said:
7 “Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door[a] will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
It’s that theme from the sermon on the mount which James picks up on here. We’ve seen how James is following a similar line of argument to Paul in Romans 5:2-5 and Peter in 1 Peter 1:6-7. Both of those passages set out how we can face suffering against the context of what we have been given from God. Paul specifically links it to being justified and receiving peace.[1] Peter talks about the new birth we have received and inheritance that we have been promised.[2] So, James too will argue that we are equipped for the trials we are going to face. He will talk in terms of wisdom.
A Look at the text (Read James 1:5-8)
James recognises that there will be some who lack wisdom and so he says that if this is you, then you should ask God for it. God is the one who is generous. He doesn’t withhold gifts. He doesn’t “chide/rebuke” when we ask. Some translations say “he doesn’t find fault” or in other words, doesn’t look for a reason to say no to us when we ask but also I think there’s the sense here that we shouldn’t feel shame because we currently lack something within our character as though God will judge us for it. These are the grace gifts of a loving heavenly father(v5).
When you ask God, you are to ask with faith, you are not to come doubting. Doubting reflects a problem in a person’s character, it suggests fragility and instability. A wave is not in control of itself but shaped and blown by the wind. So, too a doubter is subject to the influences of others (v6). The consequence is that whilst God is generous and not fault finding, the doubter won’t receive (v7). The point that they are unstable is reinforced. They are caught in two minds, likely to ruminate and go to and throw between decisions (v8).
Digging a little Deeper
We will want to consider two questions. First, why does James put the focus on wisdom? Peter Davids describes it here as “the gift of God which enables one to be perfect or in James’ conception to stand the test.”[3] We might also consider how the Psalms and Proverbs describe “the fear of the Lord as the beginning of wisdom.” Then we remember that “Christ is the manifestation of wisdom, especially in his sufferings (e.g. 1 Cor 1:24).”[4] So, wisdom is not primarily an intellectual quality but rather it is a moral one and a relational one. In fact, wisdom is closely related to faith. We might even define wisdom as being trust in God practically lived out through our dependence on Christ.
Secondly, why is James so hard on those who doubt? Is he promoting a prosperity type Gospel, that we need to have enough faith and not struggle with it? It is helpful here to consider a couple of things. First, by considering what it is that we are asking for, the nature of wisdom and its connection to faith. Perhaps there is a sense in which we receive wisdom through beginning to exercise it, by responding to God in trust and reverence (fear). Secondly, notice that James’ issue isn’t with the strength of faith that someone has but with a concern that they might be in two minds. It’s this double mindedness and inability to settle that he is concerned with. Doubt here is not so much that we struggle to have confidence in something uncertain but rather that we know the certainty of it and still choose to listen to our doubts. As Varner observes, this is something rooted in Scripture and so, the readers would be familiar with the issue.[5] For example:
“The concept of ‘doubleness’ is found in Ps 12:2: ‘With a double heart do they speak,” as well as in 1 Chron 12:33 and 1 Kgs 18:21. It is the opposite of what is commanded in Deut 4:29: ‘You shall seek the Lord your God and you shall find Him when you seek Him with your heart and with your soul.’”[6]
Thirdly, doubt here is about failing to trust God and believe in his promises. It’s not about being uncertain as to whether something is right or available for me. It’s about my view of God, his goodness and his faithfulness. Fourthly, there is the practical point that if I am in effect walking away from what God is offering me, refusing to accept it then I won’t receive it.
A look at ourselves
It is important then, that we don’t use the words of James 1:5-8 to cajole those who are struggling and fragile. We are more likely to beat faith out of them than into them. Nor should we use these words to insist that everyone must be united and unquestioning about our particular desires and projects or to blame them for a lack of faith if things fail. What these words encourage are a single minded pursuit of and trust in God, coming to him and saying “Lord I believe, help my unbelief.”
[1] Romans 5:1.
[2] 1 Peter 1:3-4.
[3] Davids, The Epistle of James, 71.
[4] Davids, The Epistle of James, 72.
[5] Varner, James, A commentary on the Greek text, 69.
[6] Varner, James, A commentary on the Greek text, 69.
Faithroots 