True Belief

It may surprise you to know that the demons and the devil himself are neither atheists nor agnostics. The devil and the demons believe in the existence of God. The devil and his demons believe in the deity of Jesus Christ. The devil and his demons believe that the Bible is the very Word of God. And the devil and his demons believe Jesus is coming back again.

So you could say, in a very limited sense, that the devil and his demons are orthodox in their beliefs. By that I mean they are orthodox in that they do believe the right things about God. But it is a devil’s faith.

James used this shocking analogy to point out that even correct belief, as important as it is, is in itself not enough. After all, not only do the demons believe, but they also tremble. In fact, it is an interesting word that James used. “Tremble” means “to bristle,” and speaks of the type of horror that would cause your hair to stand on end.

The devil and his demons tremble before the Lord, because they know His power. They know His authority. But do they believe in the sense that James is describing? Do they trust in Him? Do they cling to Him? No, they do not.

So you see, you can know the right things about God and not necessarily believe, in the biblical sense, in God. True belief in Jesus Christ is the quality of faith that will bring you to Him to commit yourself to Him, to rest completely on Him, and to trust Him fully, which will result in a radical change in your attitudes and lifestyle.