Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse [your] hands, sinners, and purify [your] hearts, ye double-minded.
James writes to people torn between two loyalties. He gives them a promise that is easy to miss because it is so simple: move toward God, and God moves toward you. Then the verse turns sharp. It names hands and hearts, and it calls the readers sinners and double-minded.
The Invitation and God's Answer
The promise assumes that God is not reluctant. One writer notes how little of our time we spend in God's company. He pushes that thought to its edge:
I am sure of this. The moment God sees that we truly want His company, He will not hold it back from us. And we can be certain of this, though I say it with deep reverence: God wants our company far more than we want His.
The Order of the Steps
The verse does not stand alone. It follows submission to God and resistance of the devil, and the sequence is deliberate:
The order then is clear. First, humility. Then, submission to God, which involves resisting the devil. Third, drawing near to God. Of course no one can draw near to God except by gladly submitting to Him. As we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us. This is the way of His government. If we sow the seed of seeking His face, we will reap a harvest of light and blessing. We will feel that He is near.
A Place Before God, and the Desire for It
If believers are already brought near, why command them to draw near? One writer answers by separating what God has given us from what we want:
A place before Him, even a place in Christ, is one thing; the desire for what that place implies is another. So even to those who in one sense are already near, God says, "Draw near to God." And there is still a condition to meet before He can draw near to us. We are "no longer strangers and aliens." He looks for the affections of children in us, the affections of people who want to be close to Him. But this can only be ours in a way that suits His own nature.
Hands, Then Hearts
The two commands are not a repetition. The first deals with what we do:
The Apostle says, "Cleanse your hands." If we want to draw near to God, we must judge every act that does not suit His holy presence. We must not put our hands to anything that makes us unclean.
The second reaches to what we want. The same writer shows why outward correctness is not enough. He points to the Pharisees, the strict religious teachers of Jesus' day, who were experts at washing hands:
It is not enough to cleanse the hands; we must also judge the evil of our hearts. The Pharisees could make a great show of washing their hands, but the Lord had to say, "this people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me" (Mark 7:6). The heart is the seat of the Christian's affections. The heart must be cleared of every object that does not agree with God's will.
What a Double Mind Costs
A divided heart is not just untidy. It changes what happens when we pray:
Why is it that our prayers are not answered? James gives us two reasons. One is double-mindedness — that is, the mind half on one thing and half on another. If my mind is half on the world and half on Christ, I may pray every day of my life and get no answer to my prayers.
Another writer describes God's side of that same silence: He is quick to help the weak, but
He closes His ears to all who are double in heart. He looks for a pure walk and a sincere heart in those who seek to draw near to Him. It cannot be otherwise. He keeps His distance from those whose hearts are not open in His presence. He sees everything, but for Him to listen, the heart must be sincere.
Who Is Addressed — and How It Is Done
Commentators differ on the readers. Some take the words "sinners" and "double-minded" as a call to repentance for those not yet turned to the Lord. Others read the whole passage as written to believers who had slipped badly. One writer looks at the form of the Greek verbs, and it changes how the commands sound:
Still, all these verses call for faith, not for the slow work of human effort. That is true of cleansing the hands and purifying the hearts, just as it is true of the submission to God and the drawing near to Him that came before, and the sorrowing that follows. The verbs are all in a Greek tense that points to a single, finished action. So God calls for each of these to be done once for all, as a settled thing for the soul. Grace alone could do this. Otherwise man must labour in vain. God gives to faith what He demands.
Summary
- Move first. We draw near, and He draws near. And He wants our company more than we want His.
- Move in order. Humility, then submission, then resisting the devil, then drawing near. Each step clears the ground for the next.
- Move whole. Hands deal with acts unfit for His presence. Hearts deal with affections set on the wrong thing. Washed hands over a far-off heart is the Pharisees' mistake.
- A divided mind stalls everything. A mind half on the world and half on Christ leaves prayers unanswered. God listens to a sincere heart.
- Grace supplies the demand. These are not slow self-improvement projects. They are calls to faith, settled once for all. God gives to faith what He asks of it.