“Thou believest there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe and tremble” (James 2:19)

James is arguing and encouraging that faith to be faith, must be living and vibrant. Faith, which is mere religion – going through the motions of ritual and clinging to some outward formal identity – is not faith at all.

In this section of James 2 the apostle gets to the heart of the topic, where he writes about the importance of works flowing from our faith. Therefore Christianity must be about more than our views, our beliefs, our creed or our church affiliation. There must be a life that is consistent with our profession. Faith without works, James declared – is dead.

In making these arguments James brings in this very challenging statement – “the devils also believe”. In challenging these Christians who were elevating the rich man because of his riches and deprecating the godly poor man because his lack of riches he was in in effect saying – “you think its good to believe – the devils also believe. Indeed they also also tremble and by inference they are damned and doomed.

The challenge is very clear. Have a profession is not enough. Possessing a creed is not enough. Our lives must tell the story that we are Christians.

This is not an assault upon weak and struggling Christians who battle against weakness and fear. We all experience the weakness of the flesh. There are some whose fruit is slower inn development but still there is life. The question is not whether our faith is perfect, but whether it is real; not whether we never stumble, but whether we have truly come to Christ.

James’ concern is with those whose faith is not weak but counterfeit. He is urging self examination because the devils also believe and tremble.

Belief without Faith

Christianity is overwhelmed with earnestly held beliefs that have not resulted in the salvation of the soul. Like James we can say concerning those that believe – “Thou doest well”. To pay assent to the truth of Scripture seems infinitely better than to have no faith at all. I sometimes here it said – “Well – its good that they are worshipping in some place”. All of that may be true insomuch as someone who has a belief system that is Christian based is more fertile ground for evangelism. At least that person will claim that the Bible is God’s Word and that gives us a basis from which to build gospel conversation. But ultimately if that individual dies they are no better off than the secularists, the atheists, the Moslems, the Hindus or the Buddhists. The Protestant who claims the Protestant faith without being converted is no better off at the judgement day than the Pope himself. Belief without saving faith places one in the same position as the devils.

In the course of my lifetime I have have across Protestant Reformed groups who insist that all of their members makes a public profession of their faith by expressing their agreement with some of the historic creeds of Christendom. This is particular common among the Dutch Reformed Christians both inside and outside the Netherlands. The knowledge these people have of Calvinistic doctrines are immense. Their appreciation of the Heidelberg Catechism, the Dutch counterpart to the Westminster Standards, is most commendable. Yet these people will never discuss their new birth experience. Some have come out of that movement and confess that despite their knowledge and their reformed Protestantism they depended upon their creed and not Christ. It was a belief system without conversion and therefore was devoid of reality.

What about you today? You may know the Shorter Catechism. You believe the Bible is the Word of God. You sit in a Free Presbyterian congregation dressed well for Church. But do you know God?

Be sure that your belief is not which the devils possess.

Conviction without Transformation

This is both intriguing and terribly solemn. The devils tremble because they fear God. This is not fear that leads to repentance. They have neither the will nor the capacity to repent. They do know, however, that judgement day is hastening on and that their souls are lost. Therefore they tremble, but their trembling fails to convert.

One of the striking examples of this is the case case of Legion in Mark 5. The devils were afraid when Jesus drew near, yet they were unchanged.

This also reminds me of the apostates in Hebrews 6. These were a people with profession. They were enlightened, they tasted of the heavenly gift and the powers of the world to come – BUT they fell away rejecting what they believed and for that they stood condemned for eternity. Experiencing the powers of the world to come was insufficent.

The apostate, in the understanding presented here, is not a genuine Christian who has lost his salvation, but one whose profession has proved counterfeit. He may have enjoyed remarkable spiritual privileges and experienced deep conviction, yet without possessing saving faith. Hebrews 6 warns of the dreadful consequences of falling away after such privileges have been received. The passage declares that those described cannot be renewed again unto repentance. What a solemn warning against mistaking spiritual experience for the new birth! A profession may begin impressively and end in apostasy, exposing the absence of saving grace.

The Scriptures contain other examples of those who once trembled but showed no signs of true faith and repentance. Felix shook under the ministry of the Paul but he refused with the words “Go thy way for this season” (Acts 24:25).

Esau sought the blessing with tears, but he could not reverse what he had despised (Hebrews 12:26-17). His experience reminds us that spiritual opportunities must not be treated lightly. We must not presume that we can postpone responding to God indefinitely and then expect to recover every opportunity we have squandered.

God’s Spirit can cease to strive with man (Genesis 6:3). There is day of grace and this is the day of opportunity. But that day can slip away as the opportunities evaporates into the mists of time and the abyss of eternity.

If you are trembling today – make your calling and election sure. Repent from the sins that bind and fetter. Don’t remain in the trembling mode because that will never save your precious soul.

The Dangers of Spurning Privileges

The apostate, of Hebrews 6, was condemned with such solemnity because he was a man who had been blessed. Yet he spurned his blessings. The devils were fallen angels, created in perfection and living in splendour. Yet they rebelled against their kind and gracious benefactor and were therefore reserved in chains in everlasting darkness (Jude 6). Rejecting the greatest of privileges brings about the greatest of condemnations.

Christ spoke of Capernaum receiving a greater judgement than Sodom because He Himself had graced this city with His presence, preaching and power yet was rejected (Matthew 11:23) – as Leonard Ravenhill cleverly coined in a book title “Sodom had no Preacher”.

This brings into sharp focus how we view sin. The sin of refusing gospel privilege is the greatest sin of all which brings the sternest of judgments.

If you today say that you believe and admit that you have been deeply concerned about your soul and if you remain unconverted – the repercussions concerning your eternity are immense and exceedingly grave. Your sin is greater than the Roman Catholic who never hears the gospel of faith in Christ alone; your sin is greater than the Moslem who slavishly follows his prayers and rituals and who has never read a Bible; your sin is greater than the Hindu who bows before his images having never heard of Jesus; your sin is greater than the atheist who never has been taught as you have been taught. I also suggest that your sin is greater than the devils because Jesus did not die on the cross for their sins.

The Opportunity James Presents

In presenting this warning James presents an opprtunity.

He is calling sinners to repentance. There remains hope. Sin must be abandoned and living faith is to be grasped with both hands.

The story of the gospel is one of a kind and gracious God who forgives.

Don’t be satisfied with head knowledge, with a Christianity which has no life. Come to a personal knowledge of Christ today and live out that faith.