Is belief in God Enough?

Read James 2.

Occasionally, someone with no religious affiliation or practice at all may say, "Yes, I believe there is a God" or even, "I believe in God."   But if that is all the person has they are in bad company.

James 2:19: "You believe that God is one; you do well.  Even the demons believe--and shudder!"

To shudder in the original language has to do with getting chills, trembling in fear, or to be horrified.  It is the only time in the New Testament where this Greek word is used.  The demons of hell know more about the living God of heaven than any human on earth.  They already know God's eternal power and have experienced some of His judgment.  They also are keenly aware that their eternal fate is only a matter of time.  That same Lake of Fire awaits all those who refuse to embrace Jesus as their Savior from that punishment (Revelation 20).

Belief that there is a God is insufficient.  The unfolding story of the Bible reveals how God wants individuals to deal with their personal sin.  That is why Jesus came.  "Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God." (John 3:18)

And, there is more.  Our eternal faith in Jesus will be evidenced by how we serve God and serve others.  The book of James is not talking about something his readers do not understand.  Clearly, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, he wrote this to "brothers" (2:1 and 14), fellow believers.  Without the intentional practice of our faith, verse 20 calls that kind of belief "useless"; of no value.

The comparison of this truth is found in chapter one.  If a person looks in the mirror and sees something that needs attention, yet does nothing about it, what good is that?  Spiritually, it is willful disobedience.  The only ones being deceived is ourselves.

Jesus told His followers in John 15:8, "By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples."  Yes, Jesus has expectations of those who claim to know Him.  He expects His followers to put their faith into practice.  He wants to see the proof.

If the body is alive, it will show some sign of life.  If it does not respond (there is no breath, no heartbeat, no evidence at all), the Coroner will pronounce the body dead.  "For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead." (v.26)