What do You Believe?

​James 2:19 ~ “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!”
 
What do you believe concerning God? This question must be asked and answered—and it will be by all mankind. For someday all of humanity will be brought before God and judged. In a strange comparison of demons and mankind, we discover that the demons do not deny God, they do not doubt God. What they do is disobey the Almighty and have rebelled against Him. Led by the deceiver, himself, they seek their own authority (see Isaiah 14:12-14). In our text today we discover that convergence of belief. Before we reflect upon our text, let us first consider the condition of the faithless nature of man.
 
First, there are those who deny God. These are the so-called “atheists” of our land, spouting grand suppositions to try and defend their denial. Yet the Scripture says in Psalm 14:1, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good.” This is as foolish as a man riding in an airplane who denies the very existence of the company that created the transport. Surrounded by evidence, there is no cause for such a denial. Romans 1:19-20 declare, “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” Yet they continually live in their denial, and mainly for one reason: to enjoy their corruptions and ignore their coming eternal consequences. For, if there is no God then there is no judgment to come.
 
Second, there are those who doubt God. This is murky water, for there are those who doubt the existence of God (though not ready to deny Him), who doubt the power of God or the goodness of God. There are those who doubt the sovereignty of God, and the list could continue. God is perfect and not subject to the scrutiny of man. By way of example, consider the doubts they have of Christ’s return: “They will say, ‘Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.’ For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished” (2 Peter 3:4-6). Those who doubt the LORD do as Peter described—they deliberately overlook the truth of God’s word.
 
As we consider our text today, we encounter those who lay a claim to faith in God, “You believe that God is one; you do well.” Another view of this text might read: “you believe that there is one God—good for you.” It is as if James is telling the reader that they’ve reached only the base-line reality of truth. But, beloved, this is not yet the evidence of saving faith in Jesus Christ. It is a good starting point, for to know the salvation of Christ requires that you do believe in the Living God. Hebrews 11:6 states, “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” How many times has the question been asked of an individual concerning their faith in Christ Jesus and the reply comes back, “Well, I believe in God.” If that is the case, they’ve not made it yet—they are not born-again.
 
The fear is that those who linger only at the entry point of salvation are in the same place as the demonic horde who stand as enemies of God. For our text continues, “Even the demons believe—and shudder!” The enemy knows who Jesus is, and they tremble in His presence. In Luke 4:34 we hear a demon say, “Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” Though the demons “shudder” in fear and terror, knowing that their judgment is certain, many in this world who claim to know God do not even have that basic fear of Him. Romans 3:18 says, “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” The mere acknowledgement of the Almighty does not warrant salvation. For saving faith in Jesus Christ will be accompanied by a changed life.
 
As James would say in James 2:18, “Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” This is not a man-centered, effort-driven method of salvation. This is the proof of saving faith, for it produces in us a real change that brings forth a life that obeys the LORD.
 
In His Grace,
Pastor Michael

---