Amen, and amen. We're turning to the book of James this evening, the book of James chapter two. For those who normally watch in, you know that we have been making our way slowly through the book. And for those who are joining maybe for the first time, we welcome you in our savior's precious name. And may the Lord be pleased to encourage our hearts as the word is preached. We're reading from Again the verse 14 of James chapter 2 and we'll read a number of verses down to the verse 20. James chapter 2 and the verse 14. What does it profit my brethren? Though a man say he hath faith and have not works, can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled, notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body, what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say thou hast faith, and I have works. Show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God, thou doest well. The devils also believe and tremble Wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Amen, and we'll end our reading, as I said, at the verse 20. And let's just, again briefly, unite in prayer. Loving Father, we now seek the help of thy spirit to preach the word. Grant, Lord, enabling, and grant, O God, the help of thy spirit. We cry, Lord, that all who listen in, will be challenged and instructed in the things of God. Bless our souls and bless the work of God in these days. And may the blessing of the triune God be upon the ministry of the word, for we offer prayer in and through the Savior's precious and worthy name. Amen and amen. Well, last Wednesday night, we were considering together faith that doesn't work. We thought about a fruitless faith, a faith that had no fruit to it. Surely this is, as James describes it, a dead faith. And that is how he describes a such a faith in verse 17 even so faith if it hath not works is dead being alone and he repeats that claim and that truth again but will thou know O vain man that faith without works is dead this is the type of faith that has a person boasting about many things but there are no accompanying evidences to back up such a claim. And James concludes that such a person, a person who says that they have faith, but there are no works of mercy or benevolence accompanying such a claim, is a person who possesses a dead faith. It is not a saving faith. It is not a faith that unites a person to the Lord Jesus Christ. And so James speaks first of all about a dead faith. Tonight we come to focus upon a second kind of faith that James deals with here in this chapter number two. Namely a demonic faith. A demonic faith. And really our text for this evening is the words of verse number 19. Thou believest that there is one God, thou doest well. The devils also believe and tremble. Now you can imagine the shock that must have came across the congregation when James's letter was first read in that particular gathering of God's people. He speaks here about a faith that the devils have. He speaks about the devils believing and trembling. And what James is trying to do here is to stir and to shake these people out of their complacency and for some, out of their self-deception. You see, James did not believe that all who would gather for public worship were true possessors of saving faith. He understood that, as in the parables, there would be a mixture. Those tares among the wheat or the chaff among the wheat. There would be goats among the sheep. And so, as they sat in the congregation, James wants to shock the congregation by reminding them that the devils have a faith. There is such a thing as a demonic faith. You see, sadly, there were people within the congregations who were claiming to be in possession of faith. But James addresses such people and says to them, you think you have faith without works? You think that's enough? He says, think again. Because the devils believe and tremble. In other words, what James was saying to these individuals was that the devils have a superior faith than your faith, the faith that has no accompanying works, because the devils go a step further. The devils believe and they tremble. In other words, they are emotionally stirred. by the truths that they have come to believe. They give certain mental assent to orthodox tenants of truth, and they tremble when they think upon the very matters that they give their assent to. Now the question then must be this evening, what do the devils believe? Well, that's what we want to consider this evening, in a message I've entitled A Demonic Faith. A Demonic Faith. Now let me begin by saying that there are no liberal devils. There are no devils who assent to the heresies that are wildly followed by others in this world. There are no modernist devils. There are no Unitarian devils. There are no heretical devils. All devils, if they could, would sign the Westminster Confession of Faith, or any other reformed confession that you think of. The Baptist Confession, the Belgic Confession, to name but a few. They would take such confessions as their Confession of Faith. James 2 verse 19 says, that the devils believe, and they tremble. There are certain fundamental, sound, orthodox, reformed, biblical truths that devils believe in and assent to that even some preachers and some Christians in our nation do not believe. So what are they? What are these truths? Well, the list is not exhaustive tonight, but I'll give you four. Firstly, the devils believe in the existence of God. The devils believe in the existence of God. The fundamental article of the Christian faith is the existence of the one only true and living God. This is the very thing that the devils are said to believe in here in James chapter two in the verse 19. It says, the devils believe. What do they believe? Thou believest that there is one God. Thou doest well. The devils also believe in this truth and they tremble. The devils believe in the existence of one God. They are monotheistic when it comes to their beliefs on the doctrine of God. This monotheistic belief that there is only one God, therefore stands in stark contrast to what modern secular society believes in. You see, today's society believes in a multiplicity of gods. They are polytheistic. in their thinking on the doctrine of the existence of God. Polytheism is the order of the day. People say that the Muslim, they have their goal. Others say the Jew, they have their God. The Buddhists, they have their God. The Hindus have millions of Gods. And the Christians, they have their God. And it really doesn't matter which of the Gods you follow, just as long as you believe in a God, all will work out for you at the end of life's journey. But we know that that is not the case. And so today in our world and in the religious world, it is a polytheistic mindset with regard to who God is and what God is like. And yet the devil, they believe in one God. Thou believest that there is one God, just one, the God of the Bible. the God of sacred right, the God of the Scripture, the God of the Old, the God of the New Testament. Thou believest that there is one God, thou doest well. And the devils believe in a monotheistic God, one God, yet three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In Acts chapter 16, two preachers by the name of Paul and Silas were confronted with a demon-possessed girl as they made their way to the place of prayer. We could just stop there and make a little application. Is it not the case that as we make our way to prayer that the devil is always there trying to hinder our approach to the throne of heavenly grace? He reminds us of our sin, our failures, our backsliding, or coldness, or lack of earnestness in the place of prayer. He's there to remind us of what we have done in a day that has passed or in a week that has passed. He's there to accuse us as the great accuser of the brethren. He tries to fill our time with many a distraction in the home. As we get down to prayer, tiredness comes upon the body and upon the spirit. A heaviness approaches. It seems that the heavens are brass. This is all, I believe, at times, the schemes and the plots and the plans of the wicked one. He wants to hinder us from getting to the place of prayer. And this is what this young woman was trying to do, hindering Paul and Silas getting to the place of prayer. As they made their way, the demon-possessed girl cried out these words in Acts 16, in the verse 17, These men are the servants of the Most High God, which show unto us the way of salvation. These demons, these devils, They testify to the reality of one who is the Most High God. This is to whom we approach to tonight. And it's amazing that the devil has a greater understanding of who God is than even some believers. We come to the Most High God in worship, in prayer and praise. This is who we're approaching tonight. Now as there are those in this world They would classify themselves as being an atheist or an agnostic. There are no atheistic, there are no agnostic devils. They all believe in God. They believe in the existence of one God, the true God. There are others in this world and they would call themselves skeptics or Doubters when it comes to the existence of a supreme being that the Christian calls God or Jehovah They say well, I don't know if God exists or not. Can I say that if you were able to interview any? demon or any devil Not one would be a skeptic Not one would be a doubter They would say that they believe that God exists. There are no skeptic, there are no doubting devils. Now, why? Why do they believe that God exists? Have you ever thought about that? Well, the reason why they believe that God exists is because they were created by God. Now, don't get me wrong. God didn't create evil, but God created the angels. They believe that God exists because the devils or the demons. These are but the fallen angels. They were created by God. They have seen God. They have seen his throne, they've been in heaven at a point in their lives. They know what happens in the spiritual world. Don't forget, as I've said, these devils, they are the fallen angels who along with Lucifer, the son of the morning, were cast out of heaven when they rebelled against God. And so they don't need any convincing to the existence of God. Because they used to be in his presence. The angels that left their first estate have been cast down in hell. And the devil roams this world to and fro, as in the days of Job, he walks to and fro through this world like a roaring lion. And he has his emirates, he has his friends, he has his allies in the spiritual world. And so they don't need to be told that God exists. You know, you may believe in this fundamental truth. You may believe that God exists, despite being taught in school and at university the lie of evolution and the theory of the Big Bang. You still believe in the existence of God, creation around you, a conscience within you, converting acts of God's grace around you. You all testify to the existence of a supreme being, God, the most high God. But just because a person believes in God's existence does not make that person a Christian. The devils believe. They believe in one God. They believe that God exists, and yet they are not saved. A mere intellectual assent to such a truth does not bring a person into saving union with Jesus Christ. The devils believe, but they're damned. They believe, but they're damned. Just because an individual believes that God is a being, all possible excellence and of infinite glory and blessedness, just because they believe that he is infinitely good and infinitely great, just because they believe that he is of unsearchable wisdom, of invulnerable truth, of immaculate purity, of exhaustless patience, of unbounding equity, of incomparable love, does not mean that they are a Christian, because the devils believe in all that. We would do then, brethren and sisters, we would do well to allow the Spirit of God to search all of our hearts, and that he would give us a discernment as to whether or not our belief in God goes further than a simple nod to the existence of God. but that we believe it in the heart. And in believing it, it has transformed the life. The devils believe in the existence of God. Something else that the devils believe in. The second thing that the devils believe in is in the deity of Jesus Christ. Another key, tenet, fundamental, orthodox truth They believe in the deity of Jesus Christ. The deity of Jesus Christ simply refers to the fact that Jesus Christ is God. This fact is a fundamental fact that must be believed if a person is ever to be saved. I say that because of what I read in 1 John 5 in the verse 1. Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. If Jesus Christ is not God, then all that he did in his life and all that he did in his death would be rendered powerless, useless, and worthless. However, this tenet truth, that Jesus Christ is God, is acknowledged by the devils. Let me give you three references. In Luke chapter 4, we read of the Savior's healing ministry. And in Luke chapter four in the verse 41, we read these words. Luke four and the verse 41. And devils also came out of many, crying out and saying, thou art the Christ, the Son of God. And he rebuking them suffered them not to speak for they knew that he was the Christ. Isn't it amazing that the devils knew that he was the Christ, but the Pharisees and the scribes did not acknowledge Jesus Christ to be the Messiah. They had a greater knowledge of Jesus Christ than the religious man of their day. And can I say that there are those in our nation clergy as they call themselves and those who call themselves men of the cloth and they have a lesser knowledge of God and who he is than even the devils that are damned. And so in Luke 4 the devils they say concerning Christ our the Christ the Son of God. In Mark chapter 3 Mark chapter 3 verse 11, we have another incident where when unclean spirits testified to the deity of Jesus Christ. Mark 3 in the verse 11, and unclean spirits when they saw him fell down before him and cried saying, thou art the son of God. Thou art the son of God. Concerning the demoniac of Gadara and the man from the Gadarenes, and legion who possessed that particular man. We read in Matthew chapter eight and the verse 29, these words, and behold, they cried out, who? The devils. There met him to possess with the devil, to possess of the devils. Sorry, this is, yes, in the country of, The Guernseys there, they met two possessed of the devils coming out of the tombs, exceeding fear, so that no man might pass that way. And behold, they cried out, saying, what have we to do with thee, Jesus, thy son of God? Jesus, thy son of God. The devils believed that Jesus Christ is the son of God, but they're not Christians. You may accept intellectually that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that he was born of a virgin, that he became flesh, yet at all times remained God, and yet believing that in your mind is simply not enough to save you from sin. For the devils believe the exact same thing as you, and they are not children of God. Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones said, if you do not believe in the unique deity of the Lord Jesus Christ, you are not a Christian, whatever else you may be. We are not looking at a good man only. We're not interested merely in the greatest teacher the world has ever seen. We are face to face with the fact that God, the eternal son, has been in this world, that he took upon him human nature, and dwelt among us, a man amongst men, God-man. We are face to face with the mystery and the marvel of the incarnation and of the virgin birth. It is all here. It shines out in all the fullness of its amazing glory. What manner of man is this? He is more than man. That is the answer. He is also God. Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And that is a truth that the devils believe. They are orthodox in their belief system. There's a third fundamental truth that the devils ascribe to, and that is they ascribed to the doctrine of hell. They believe in the existence of hell. In Matthew chapter 8, I've already read it. I didn't continue on in the reading. But in Matthew chapter 8 we meet those two possessed with the devils and they acknowledge that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. What are we to do? Verse 29 of Matthew 8. What are we to do with thee, Jesus thy Son of God? Art thou come hither to torment us before the time? To torment us before the time. the time. Now that latter question implies the dread and the fear that the devils have of Christ as their judge and their awareness of his authority and his power to punish them at the day of judgment by tormenting them in hell fire for that is the place of everlasting torment. The rich man spoke about being in torments. And so they acknowledge that there is a place, a place reserved for them in a place called hell. In another incident, this time in Luke chapter eight, the demons that had come to possess the man who had lived among the tombs were now at that madman of Gadara or the madman of the Gadarenes in Luke chapter 8 and the verse number 31 they made a request to the Son of God Legion verse 30 and Jesus asked him saying what is thy name and he said legion because many devils were entered into him and they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep now On our initial reading of that, we often think that when they speak about going out into the deep, they're speaking about the sea. that eventually the swine will run down into, verse 33. Then when the devils went out to the man and entered into the swine, the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake and were choked. And oftentimes we think, well, this is what they're speaking about, the deep. They're speaking about the lake that they'll eventually drown in. after Christ gives the command for them to leave and to enter into that herd of swine that were feeding on the hillside. But that's not what they're referring to when they speak about the deep. Because that word, the deep, translates the abyss. The abyss. That he would not command them to go out into the abyss. And really what is being referred to is not the place, the deep waters of the sea or the lake, but rather it refers to the prison in which many of these fallen spirits are detained. It refers to hell. The devils have no problem in believing in hell. The devils believe. and they acknowledge that such a place exists, such a place of torment awaits them, which they will be incarcerated for all eternity. You know, maybe you're not someone who is so foolish to think that hell, like others think, is pie in the sky, a figment of imagination, Something devised by the church to put fear into its membership and keep them in line and under control. You haven't swallowed the skeptics argument that because you've never seen hell or no one has ever come back to hell that it doesn't exist. No, you believe in hell. However, believing in hell makes your belief system no better than the devil's. For they believe in hell. They believe in torment. They believe in the place of the damned. The devils believe in tremble. The fourth thing that the devils believe in is the preaching of God's word to save the lost. They believe in that. Remember the parable that the Lord Jesus Christ told about the sowing of the seed, the different grounds, in the parable. And look here at verse 12. He gives the explanation of the seed that fell by the wayside. Those by the wayside are they that hear. Then cometh the devil and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. Here we find the devil himself aware that through the preaching of God's word, people believe to the saving of their soul. This is why he comes to snatch away the seed out of the hearts of those who hear the gospel. He well knows that if that seed germinates and produces the fruit contained within that seed, it will produce the fruits onto repentance. He knows that if it germinates it will cause and lead a person to believing on Christ and being saved from their sin. And that is why he comes to distract those who listen to the gospel. Causes them to think about tomorrow. Causes them to procrastinate and to put off the matter. At the end of the preaching of the gospel he fills their mind with other things or with the cares of this life. He believes in the Word, the power of it. He believes what the Word will do when accompanied by the Holy Ghost. And so into a good heart, he knows that it will cause the person to be brought to saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And that is why, that is why he comes to snatch away the seed off the Word. Isn't it amazing to think that the devil Frequent gospel meetings, more than some professing Christians. Sure it's only the gospel meeting. What need have I to hear of the gospel again? Sure I have been seethed. No need for me to attend the gospel meeting. No need for me to be found in my place. No need for me to watch into the service on a Sunday evening or a Sunday afternoon. That's the attitude of some believing Christians. Well let me say it's not the devil's attitude. Not the devil's attitude when it comes to the gospel meeting. He's there. Sitting in the front row. First to arrive. ready and poised to take the seed of the word out of the heart of the sinner when it is sown into that heart by the gospel preacher. I tell you, the devil believes in gospel preaching more than some believing Christians and some professing Christians. You may be orthodox and you may say that you believe that Preaching is God's only ordained way to save the lost, and yet believing in the power of the preached word does not make you a Christian. The devil believes it, but he's bound for hell. I trust that her attitude regarding the preaching of the gospel is right. I trust it is right. For you can't have the devil believing more than you believe when it comes to gospel preaching, can you, believer? Have the devil believe more than you do in the power of the preaching of God's word? You can't allow the devil to believe more than you do. Professing Christian, believing in God's existence, the deity of Jesus Christ, the virgin birth, the reality of hell, the power of the preached word or whatever other key fundamental belief and doctrine that you care to pull out of the word of God, Believing in such things is only to believe what the devils believe. Why? Why do the devils believe and why are they not saved? Well, although the devils believe, though their faith touches the intellect, touches their emotions, the facts their emotions, They are said to tremble, yet their faith never changes the heart. It never transforms the disposition of the well. It is bent on wickedness and sin and unrighteousness. The faith has not transformed the life. It is but mental assent. It is not heart experience. Saving faith, the faith that unites a repenting sinner to Christ, the faith through which men and women are genuinely saved, real faith is a faith that impacts the heart. Not just the mind, not just the emotions, but the heart, the soul. True saving faith rests in the heart. One preacher said, the demons are a prototype of a faith that claims orthodox belief, but lacks concurrent righteous behavior. concordant righteous behavior. An intellectual ascent to the fundamentals of the faith is not sufficient to save the soul from sin and hell. A person can be enlightened in the mind, even stirred in the heart, and be lost forever. For a person to be saved, truly saved, it must be a supernatural work of God done within the heart The Bible calls it the new birth, regeneration, salvation, conversion. True faith has three key ingredients. A knowledge of the truth, agreement to the truth, and trust in the truth. Demonic faith has only the first two ingredients. It lacks in a heart trusting in the truth. There must not only be an assenting to the truth, there must be a consenting to the truth. I believe to the saving of my soul. Albert Barnes said, a man should not unfair Because he has faith, even that faith in God which will fill him with alarm, that therefore he is safe. He must have a faith which will produce another effect altogether. And what is it? That which will lead to a holy life. Holiness is the fruit of righteousness in the heart. I close with this final brief thought. You read here in James 2 verse 19 that the devils believe and tremble. If the devils do that, should we not do the same? In Isaiah 66, verse two, we read these words. For all those things have mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the Lord. But to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word. This is what we should tremble at, to tremble at the word. and the God that we meet in the word. Oh, to tremble. May God be pleased to fix his eyes upon us in these days as he finds us trembling at his word because a reverential fear for him has taken hold of our lives. The devils believe and tremble. May it be said the saints believe and tremble. And then may God look upon us in mercy and send us the deliverance on the spiritual level that we so desire and seek in these days. A demonic faith. A dead faith. In the will of God, we will look at a dynamic faith. A dynamic faith. This is a faith that works. May God be pleased to lead us on through the study of God's precious word. Amen. Let's briefly pray and then some matters for prayer. Loving Father, we commit this meeting and our considerations to Thee in prayer. We pray that thou wilt search all of our hearts. May we be found in the faith. May we be those who possess a saving faith, a genuine faith, a true faith. O grant our hearts and our lives to be changed by such a faith within. And may our works be evidence of God's work within. And so prayer, we offer prayer in Jesus' precious name. Amen and amen.