Do You Have Devil-Faith?
[For the sake of this article I am not going to differentiate between various types of evil beings, I use the term “devils” to refer to any spirit that is in rebellion against God.]
Do you have devil-faith? Or do you have the kind of faith that pleases God? Well, what kind of faith do devils have? They have a belief in:
There is One God
Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. (Jas 2:19)
Devils are not atheists. They know there is one true God. Atheists do not believe that God exists and they hate Him with all their heart.
The Sovereignty of God
“...art thou come hither to torment us before the time?” Although they fight desperately against the will of God, they believe that the Lord will have His way in the end. They understand it as a given that God will punish them.
An Assurance of prophecies
“...art thou come hither to torment us before the time?” Devils believe that the prophecies predicting their end will come to pass no matter how they may resist God.
A Horror filled dread of hell
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? (Mt 8:29)
Apparently, devils have some specific amount of time of freedom. They believe that at the proper time, they will be in a place of torment. Their fear of this causes them to tremble.
They Know that Jesus is the Holy one of God; the Son of God
Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art; the Holy One of God. (Lu 4:34)
And devils also came out of many, crying out, and saying, Thou art Christ the Son of God. And he rebuking them suffered them not to speak: for they knew that he was Christ. (Lu 4:41)
Devils believe that Jesus is the Son of God. This is the faith that devils have. Do you have anything different than that?
Do you believe there is one God? Do you have a conviction that He exists? Do you believe in the sovereignty of God? Do you believe that prophecies and all the promises of God come true? Do you believe in the reality of a literal hell? Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God? Congratulations. You qualify to join the ranks of the damned. This is the faith that devils have.
Is your faith different in any way?
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. (Heb 11:6)
In order to please God you must believe that He exists. That part is just like the devils' faith. Here is the part that is unique to men: “And that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him”. If you trust in Him alone, that He is faithful to His promises; that He will do exactly as He said, you will be found with the kind of faith that pleases God.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him (Jesus) shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16 NIV)
You may have doubts. Feelings may plague you. Regardless, if you esteem God as true and faithful, you have the Absolute One's promise that you will be granted eternal life. That really is the issue. Is God to be trusted? To the one that determines to hold God's promise to themselves personally as reliable, that one goes past devil-faith and possesses the kind of faith that pleases God.
Sept 22, 2023