The new pastor of my congregation asked an interesting thought-question recently: If the demons believe in God, what exactly do they believe about him?
- They believe that God exists (James 2:19)
- They believe that Jesus is the Holy One of God (Luke 4:34)
- They believe that God will bring an end to their evil reign (Luke 4:34)
- But they do not work for mercy; they are "the accuser" (Revelation 12:10)
When we accuse each other -- even with cause -- we often do the work of the opposition.
4 comments:
I hope I've never done that!
I think James just means believe that God exists. I think it is a straw man argument in the faith versus works conversation. Because I think Paul’s idea of faith is much closer to being faithful that accepting a set of facts. But James want to emphasize the need for action, so imho mischaracterizes Paul’s view of faith ir belief.
Hi Martin
Human nature being what it is, we've all been on the wrong side sometimes. It does make me think ...
Take care & God bless
Anne / WF
Hi JimII
I think the same way about what James was saying, probably just that demons aren't atheists and that if someone's declaration of faith is basically "I'm not an atheist" then that's a really low bar for "faith", as you said.
Thanks for adding your thoughts!
Take care & God bless
Anne / WF
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