Do You Tremble?
The demons believe in God and they also tremble. How about you? Do you believe and tremble? Or do you believe and repent?
James 2:19
You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!
The demons believe and tremble, but do you even know why they tremble?
THE DANGER OF DEMON-LEVEL FAITH
Matthew Henry perfectly explained why the demons trembled: “If you content yourself with a bare assent to articles of faith and some speculations upon them, thus far the devils go... They tremble, not out of reverence, but hatred and opposition to that one God on whom they believe.”1 Many people know of God yet remain unchanged in their ways. They are still motivated by their own needs and emotions rather than transformed into a new creation in Christ. Sadly, the Word of God is not a lamp to their feet (Psalm 119:105). They lack the fear of God.
We have countless people who profess to be Christians, yet they merely believe and tremble, but they don’t “believe and repent” (Mark 1:15). A faith that is content to “believe and tremble” will lead only one way, as Matthew Henry also said: “as their faith and knowledge only serve to excite horror, so will yours in a little time.”2
A FALSE GOD AND A LACK OF FEAR
Scripture repeatedly calls us to fear God, as early as Genesis 22:12, yet many Christians don’t tremble at all because they’ve created a god who is all love, incapable of judgment, and too weak to punish sin. They have replaced the God of the Bible with a god of their own making. Many believers are content dedicating only a small portion of their lives to God. They wish to be saved by the skin of their teeth, having done little for Him and His kingdom because their love for the world outweighs their fear of God. If you refuse to obey and respect His commandments, the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:21-23 will reflect the lack of fear you have shown God in your life.
I see many Christians who use profanity, drool over lustful images, take God’s name in vain, drink until drunk, use hallucinogens to compromise their minds, and embrace many sins because they don’t fear God. Worst of all, they become stumbling blocks to other believers, particularly on social media.
THE EMPTY PROFESSION OF FAITH
What good is a profession of faith without possessing true faith? As R.C. Sproul said, “It’s the possession of faith, not the profession of it that translates a person from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light.”3 For those content living in sin while professing faith in Christ, Charles Spurgeon warned: “Away with your profession, for it is an awful lie. Away with that profession, for it is an empty vanity! away with it! It will only add to your destruction, and cannot save you.”4
Merely pretending to follow Christ won’t save you. As Spurgeon further said, “Now, I address some pretended Christians here who are not alive to God. Let me beg of them to relinquish their profession, or if not, to make it real. Either be what you profess to be, or drop your profession. Lie not unto God.”5
Charles Spurgeon also addressed so-called Christians who seek comfort in church with their demon-level faith: “If you be not true Christians, away with your profession altogether... Oh, no, I would rather send every heart home uncomfortable than let the hypocrite sit down at ease; I would rather wound the child of God than allow the hypocrite to escape.”6
CONCLUSION
I beseech you, do not settle for a weak faith that places you on the same level as demons. I pray you desire a true, salvific faith: one that calls you to “repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). Do not be content with “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof” (2 Timothy 3:5).
May you stop living for yourself and start living for our Lord Jesus Christ. True faith transforms, convicts, and compels obedience, leading to a life that honors God rather than one that mirrors the trembling, empty belief of demons.
Matthew Henry, The Matthew Henry Study Bible, King James Version, (Hendrickson Bibles, 2010), p. 2117
Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Volume VI-III, (Devoted Publishing, 2018), p. 126
R.C. Sproul, “The Center of Christian Preaching: Justification by Faith (Session IV),” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ph3MZ73E7E
Charles Spurgeon, The Complete Works of C. H. Spurgeon, Volume 5: Sermons 225-285, (Delmarva Publications, Inc., 2015), Sermon Nº. 238
Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of the Old Testament, Volume 4, (Zondervan Publishing House, 1951), p. 596
Charles Spurgeon, Sermons Preaches And Revised By The Rev. C. H. Spurgeon, Six Series, (Sheldon and Company, 1860), p. 348