Christian Complacency

James 2:19- You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.

James makes an example of the demon realm to disprove the objector’s assumption that a sure belief automatically produces behavior consistent with that belief. James says do you believe God is one. He’s referring to the confessions of the Jews found in Deuteronomy 6:4.

 Deut. 6:4- “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God; the LORD is one!

This statement from Scripture is not a statement of the Gospel. James is purposely not using an example of belief in the Gospel, because his point is not about who is saved. He is arguing a general point about the relationship between any belief and behavior. James says that when a person accepts a statement of Scripture to be true, they do well, but now James wants the reader to consider whether a strong belief must always result in behavior consistent with that belief or is it possible to have a strong belief and yet still act in ways that are inconsistent with that belief.

Note: To prove his point, James says consider Exhibit A: the demon world. Demons are fallen angels. They were once in heaven serving the Living God. They knew the goodness of God and they understood His power, and when Lucifer rebelled against God, a third of the angelic realm rebelled with him and together, these rebellious angels have come under judgment and are appointed a place in the abyss and later the Lake of Fire.

In the meantime, these fallen angels, or demons we call them, serve Satan as they await their judgment moment. James points out that these demons also believe that God is One. Again, notice that James didn’t say that they believe in the Gospel. Rather, the demons know that God exists, that He is the only true God. They have this knowledge from firsthand experience. It doesn’t even require faith on their part. They have seen Him. They know He is real and that He has real power. They also know He will be their judge, and they know that He will hold them accountable for their sin in rebelling against Him. You see proof of their belief and understanding in the Gospels when Jesus encountered a legion of demons.

 Luke 8:28- Seeing Jesus, he cried out and fell before Him, and said in a loud voice, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me.” Luke 8:29- For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had seized him many times, and he was bound with chains and shackles and kept under guard, and yet he would break his bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert. Luke 8:30- And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion”; for many demons had entered him. Luke 8:31- They were imploring Him not to command them to go away into the abyss.

Note: They immediately recognized Jesus; they knew Him to be Lord. They called Him by name, and they anticipated that Jesus would cast them into the abyss, into Hell. The demons know all these things. Their belief is absolutely 100% sure. They have no doubt about what their future holds.

 James says that belief only produces a shudder. A unique word in the New Testament, it means to shiver in fear. James is saying that these demons are so certain of their coming judgment, they are shivering in fear, and yet that belief in God didn’t stop them from rebelling against Him. It hasn’t brought them to repentance. They continue rebelling today; so, to the objector who says that a true faith will always result in works consistent with that faith, James asks you to consider the demons. Demons know the same thing you know. In a sense, demons have an even better understanding of God than we do, and yet they aren’t living a life of good works for God. Should we assume that a believer’s belief in God will always compel him to produce good works?  The obvious answer is no. There must be a conscious decision to follow that faith with behavior.

Some might argue that Christians are different than the demons because we have the Spirit, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit ensures we are brought to good works. Scripture never makes that promise. It promises us that the Spirit is a deposit and a guarantee of our future inheritance in Christ, but Scripture also teaches clearly that the degree of our inheritance is in our control and not assured, and if we’re not careful, Paul says in Ephesians 4:30 that a believer can grieve the Spirit.

Others might point to Ephesians 2:10 where Paul says we were created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God has prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Is Paul teaching that a believer’s good works is inevitable because God has ordained them to happen? No, Paul is teaching that the course of our works has been established by God, not the inevitability of us following that course. God has already decided what works we are to accomplish to please Him, so we can’t decide for ourselves what works please God.

James warns that it’s possible for a Christian to act, in a sense, like the demons. We can know the truth about Jesus, yet we can still find ways to sin against Him and not live a life pleasing to Him.

Christian complacency holds this thought- no matter what happens, you are fully self-satisfied with your current personal effort in pursuing Christ. With this, we run the risk of not growing and becoming empty in terms of spiritual maturity.