The double minded man

[ZNPaaneah]

1:6-8 The Double-Minded Man — This may be an original term by James.

We have discussed repeatedly that if you listen to Witness Lee you can hear the message of “God-driven obedience” but when you look at his life you see “self-centered disobedience”.

1:22-24 The Double-Minded Man Hears But Does Not Do

The focus is on the immediacy of the double-minded man’s forgetfulness. We are often amazed at how sins committed by the Catholic Church 500 years ago condemn them today, whereas sins that those in the leadership commit are immediately forgotten and referred to as “ancient news” without anyone ever dealing with them. Their condemnation of others is as though they have forgotten what their own face looks like.

1:26 The Double-Minded Man Is Religious But Not Godly

He cannot see that his faith is “worthless.” Laws notes that this “adjective [was] often applied to pagan religion…which may give an extra pejorative thrust to James’s condemnation.” This has been a major thrust in our recent debate on “deification”. I have pointed out that the use of this word is worthless, it adds nothing to the teaching, is often applied to pagan religion, and should be condemned.

2:1-4 The Double-Minded Man Claims Impartiality But is Biased

The true believer is impartial and a peace-maker, while the double minded man shows partiality and is conflict-ridden. We saw this worked out in the Lord’s Recovery. In order to silence anyone who might question what was going on “degrees of sanctification” were introduced, which ultimately became deification. The implication being that someone with only a few years of sanctification could not question a person who had been “deified” for 50 years. The double-minded man professes to hold faith in the resurrected Christ, but operates according to worldly standards of wealth and power. We saw this with Witness Lee. His fabricated story concerning Watchman Nee was crucial for his wealth and power. His close association with Watchman Nee was critical for him to sell his ministry and would not be worth anything if Watchman Nee were discredited with adultery.

2:14-17 The Double-Minded Man Claims Faith But Has No Works

Double-mindedness is revealed in a faith that is alone and that has no works to prove it. The test is generosity. The double-minded man says that he loves those he claims as brothers and sisters, but when it comes time to demonstrate that generosity, his faith shows itself to be “by itself.” We have noted repeatedly that the Local Church is locked into giving money to LSM for standing orders they don’t want, legal defense funds which are an abomination, training fees, etc. As a result charitable works are actually condemned by Witness Lee in his ministry.

3:8-9 The Double-Minded Man Blesses God But Curses Man

The double-minded man is forgetful when it serves his purpose, partial towards evil men like PL over JI, and greedy of gain. In short he is hypocritical: publicly appears godly and privately wicked. So much so that he blesses God and curses his fellow man and savages those whom he does not like. All in the same ministry.

(I have referenced A message by Owen Strachan, November 23, 2007)

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Admin Note:
Here is the referenced article in full