Friday, September 23, 2011

Bible Truth #310 - James 2:19

Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

Even though this is a continuation of a theoretical debate that started a few verses prior, I would like to point out the futility of “believing in God” by a man who was not chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world.

Here we find James, the younger brother of Jesus, responding to a claim by a man who was lost, who was NOT living for God, but claiming He believed in God. James tells us that the demons also believe that there is one God. Surely no one will say they are saved. Arminians will say that the demons believe with their head and not their heart, they only give intellectual assent to the fact that there is but one God. This belief in God is what some lost people claim but they also aren’t saved.

Well just how do you believe with your “heart” in a way that makes you saved? As I wrote in my post about Romans 10:9, the Greek word for heart is kardia (Strong’s G2588) which tells us in this context that the heart is the center and seat of spiritual life. Since the spiritual heart of a lost man is dead (Ephesians 2:1, 2:5; Colossians 2:13), and every imagination of the thoughts of his heart are only evil, continually (Genesis 6:5), how can he believe in God or Jesus Christ in any other way but with his head? That is the only way a lost man can believe. The only thing of which he is capable is to give intellectual assent to the fact that there is one God. This is no different than that of which the demons are capable - which is not surprising since every lost man is demon-possessed (Ephesians 2:2).

But even this displeases God. A lost man believing in, and worshipping Him, displeases God. How do I come to that conclusion? God is not indifferent toward man so if Paul tells us a man in the flesh can not please God (Romans 8:8), He must be displeased with every action a lost man undertakes. God is displeased with every thought, every word and every deed of a lost man. Yes, this includes when a lost man prays, when he worships God, and when he “accepts Jesus” as His Savior. He is doing it “in the flesh” because his spirit is dead. Everything he does is in the flesh, EVERYTHING!

Now please consider the word “believe” used twice in this verse. The Greek word used both times is pisteuo (Strong's G4100). The word and meaning is the same and the only difference is context. What makes the meaning of the word accurate in each passage is whether the believer (of fact), demon or man, is indeed chosen or not. A man who has had his spirit quickened no longer has a heart of stone but a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26) and is able to believe in his heart. It is now natural to do so whereas before, it was natural to hate God (John 3:20). A man who is not chosen, or who has been chosen but not yet quickened, can believe only intellectually, not spiritually. But it is belief on the same facts. I have asked Arminians, “Just how do you believe in your heart? How do you apply the ‘intellectual assent to fact’ to your heart?” The answer of course is the lost man’s heart is dead and it must be quickened before he can believe with it.

Spiritual life must first be given to a man and God does it when He saves a man by quickening his dead spirit through faith, the faith God gives him (Romans 12:3, Ephesians 2:8-9). God simultaneously gives him belief (John 6:29, Philippians 1:29), repentance (2 Timothy 2:25) and understanding (Luke 24:45, 1 Corinthians 2:14, 2 Timothy 2:7). Then, and only then will a man respond to God in faith and confess Jesus as Lord, and believe in Him. These are the results of salvation, not the cause.

The bottom line is that James is telling us mental assent to the fact that there is one God is the same belief that demons have and is not the belief God provides when He quickens a lost man’s spirit. The self-initiated belief demons possess does not save them, neither will it save any man. It is vain belief (1 Corinthians 15:2).

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