You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that – and shudder.
James 2:19 (NIV)
Most overweight people are quite familiar with the cause of their condition. They know the butter-and-jam laden croissants they are about to eat are loaded with calories and fat. They know that the broccoli they shunned in the supermarket would be much better for them. They know which food would be kinder to their cholesterol count, but they consume the dangerous pastry just the same. Mere knowledge cannot help them; it all depends on what they make of that knowledge. The same is true of knowledge in the spiritual realm.
James rebuked those who thought that an intellectual grasp of monotheism gained them a sort of spiritual advantage. If they, so to speak, signed off on a rudimentary doctrinal statement, then they were somehow blessed by God. But the apostle had no patience for such trivialities, noting that demons themselves believed the basic facts about God—that He existed, that He was one. Indeed, they believed this so deeply that they were wracked with dread. But it availed them nothing, for faith is more than cognitive subscription to propositions. Unless the demons worship and obey God, they are condemned.
Incidentally, James 2:19 offers an example of prophetic sarcasm. When James exclaims, “Good!” (“You do well!”), he means it as an ironic “Whoopie!” This is the same tone one finds in 2 Corinthians 11:19, where Paul calls the church members “wise” for putting up with fools, and on Mount Carmel, when Elijah suggests that Baal might be sleeping (1 Kings 18:27). While sarcasm should be used sparingly, it is not sub-Christian and can be quite effective.
It has been said that evangelicals are doctrinal exclusivists, but functional universalists. They say they believe in hell, but their failure to evangelize is just the sort of behavior one would expect from those who believed that all will work out well for non-believers. Lacking a sense of urgency to witness, they show themselves skeptical of the Judgment.
Any number of church members will express disdain for immorality, hope for cultural reform, and faith in the power of God to change lives, but relatively few will act with boldness upon such stated convictions. Perhaps, if they listened carefully, they would hear the voices of the prophets thundering across the ages, “You believe that abortion is evil. Great! So do the demons—and rejoice.” Or maybe the preacher would hear, “You believe that the pulpit is strategic. Wonderful! So does the devil—and trembles.” But what will these saints and Church leaders make of these beliefs? That is the faith question.
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