Living Out Our Faith Openly - v.19
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Well, it has been a couple of weeks since were back in James. I am looking forward to getting back to that study tonight. Open your Bibles and turn to James 2. Our verse for tonight is verse 19 which says...
Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
Now, just to refresh our memory, this entire second paragraph is devoted to understanding the relationship between faith and works. Look back at verses 17-18.
Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
All along the Holy Spirit is teaching that a person who truly believes (has faith) in Christ as their Lord and Savior is a person who will demonstrate that faith by their words, deeds, and actions (their works). When we come to verse 19, the Holy Spirit points some who do indeed believe in God, however and without any doubt, they are not follower of God and thus there is no difference in their actions.
But, before we dive in, let’s do a real quick word study of this verse.
WORD STUDY
WORD STUDY
Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
Verbs
Verbs
Believest – to believe (accept); to accept as true; take to be true.
There is – to be (quality); to have the quality of being.
Thou doest – to do (act); to carry out or perform an action or course of action.
Believe – to believe (accept); to accept as true; take to be true.
Tremble – to shudder; to tremble convulsively, as from fear or excitement.
Nouns
Nouns
Devils – demon; a created supernatural being rebellious and hostile to God and anyone allied with Him.
Adverbs
Adverbs
Well – well (good); in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard; sometime sarcastically so.
Adjectives
Adjectives
One – one (single unit); used of a single unit or thing; not two or more.
Conjunctions
Conjunctions
That – that; because.
Also – and; also.
And – and; also.
“Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.” (James 2:19)
SPIRITUAL APPLICATION
SPIRITUAL APPLICATION
What is the Holy Spirit talking about?
What is the Holy Spirit talking about?
Again, as we already noted, the subject is about faith and its relationship to works.
What is the Holy Spirit saying about faith and its relationship to works?
What is the Holy Spirit saying about faith and its relationship to works?
Essentially, the Holy Spirit is positing proof that you can believe there is a God yet not have any change in behavior. That is the essence of this verse. Let’s break down is a little more.
Thou believest...
There is a quite a bit of difference between simply “believing” something and having “faith.” Belief is admitting that something is indeed true. However, faith is admitting that something is indeed true which then drives you to take some action based on that belief.
The example posited here is the belief that there is ONE God!
Without a doubt there are many who do indeed believe there is ONE God. IN fact, those who believer there is a God and believer there is One God are wiser than the person who believes there is NO God.
The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: There is none that doeth good.
Someone who believes there is NO GOD is a fool, is corrupt, does abominable iniquity. That is certainly a huge indictment against such a person. Yet, there is only a slight difference between the person who believes there is a God and the person who does not believe there is God. That difference is only in their acknowledgement of God. The works of both people remain the same. The both remain sinful and condemned in their sin.
Further evidence of those who believe in ONE God is that of the many monotheistic religions of today. The Muslim man believes there is ONE God. Yet, his understanding of ONE God is far cry from what God has revealed about Himself in His Word. There are many faiths today who claim to believe there is ONE God. However, those same people are following a false god who is not the God of the Bible.
The point is this. Believing in ONE God does save a person or even change them. Change only comes into a person’s life when they are willing to admit that yes there is only ONE GOD and that He is Jehovah God. And, in acknowledging Jehovah, they realize their hopeless and helpless condition before Him as sinful people. As they do, they must then accept the fact that Jehovah God sent His Son, who is God, to die for their sin upon the cross of Calvary. They are to BELIEVE all that Christ did for them as He died, was buried, and rose again. Then, and only then, does a person demonstrate saving faith.
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Saving faith is more than just a simple acknowledgement of ONE GOD! It is a faith which produces results. It is a faith creates action. It is a faith demonstrated by a continued to commitment to following Christ and obeying God’s Word.
Now, look back at our verse, verse 19.
Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
Not the Holy Spirit declares that “the devils also believe, and tremble.” We have a great example of this during Christ’s earthly ministry. Turn in your Bibles to Matthew 8.
And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time? And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding. So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine. And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters.
Note these demons immediately recognized Christ as the Son of God! What an astounding testimony to Christ’s deity! These demons had no doubts whatsoever that they were standing in the presence of God. Note also that they “trembled.” They begged Christ not to torment them before their time. SIDE NOTE: The Devil knows that his days are numbered as do demons. Without any doubt, this story stands as a testament also of the our text this evening. They know God. They know that there is ONE God. They know His mighty power. And, they tremble (shudder) in His presence. Yet, they still do what demons do. However, here is the big difference between demons and us. They rebelled and God judged them. Their fate is sealed. We, on the other hand, have perfect freedom to choose to know Him and to serve Him. We have the opportunity to be free of the bondage of Satan and sin. God has given us this time on earth as a time to know Him and commit to serving Him. Thus, there are many who “believe that there is one God” and have not submitted to His authority in their life. The question for us this evening is this! Have you submitted? Have made the commitment to serve Him? Or are you just playing a game by saying “I believe” and not living for Him as you should?
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
What Christ said here is the pretty much the same thing that the Holy Spirit is saying in our text. Anyone who claims to truly believe (have faith) in Christ is the person who will do the Father’s will as Christ exemplified in His life. In other words, your deeds match your mouth. My life and the way I live should be in perfect harmony with my declaration of belief.
Let me give you this example and we are done.
Let’s suppose that I stood up here and proclaimed “There is bomb in this room and it is going to detonate two minute blowing this place smithereens” and immediately run out of the room. Some of you would have complete faith in that statement. How would we know? They would be running for the exits. However, I could make the same statement and stand here doing nothing. Then, some might say “He is kidding. There really is no bomb in this room or he would be running out of here.” Of which scenario would you be convinced that I really BELIEVED there was a bomb in this room. Well, of course, it would be the first. Why? I took action based on something that I truly believed. I ran.
Well, is it not the same spiritually? You can tell me all you want that “You believe in God and that you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.” However, if you truly believe, would not your actions correspond to that belief? Would not your actions send a clear testimony that Jesus is Lord of your life? Would not your life be demonstrated by what you do?
That is exactly what the Holy Spirit is saying. Don’t just say you believe aka have faith! Don’t just rest in beautiful words. Let’s see some actions that truly demonstrate that you genuinely believe what you are saying!