The Devils Also Believe

James 2:14-19

For years I have been preaching that we are saved by believing in Jesus Christ. It takes nothing else but believing in the Lord Jesus Christ to receive everlasting life.

You can search the Scriptures for the words: believe, believed, believers, believest, believeth, and believing. You can see for yourself what the Scriptures say.

You will find 322 matches in 287 verses for those words in the Scriptures.

All The Scriptures With the Word Believe

Here’s what a plot looks like for all the occurrences of these words:

The Gospel of John has the most matches for the word believe, by far, in the entire Bible. The purpose of the Gospel of John is so that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ or Savior of the world. Towards the end of John, we see this written.

The Purpose of the Gospel of John

John 20:31
But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

When you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Bible says that you receive everlasting life in that moment you believe in Jesus Christ.

But there are many, many, many false preachers out there. They are the majority that will say you must do more than just believe in Jesus Christ. Their words are lies. They are ungodly men who deny Jesus Christ.

Now, I want you to look closely at these next Scriptures and you tell me what the Bible says.

Believe in Jesus Christ

John 3:15
That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 3:18
He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

John 3:36
He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

John 5:24
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

John 6:35
And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

John 6:40
And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

John 6:47
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.

Now, I could go on and on and on with Scriptures just like that. And I am going to give you some more.

John 11:25-26
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:  26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

Acts 10:43
To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.

Acts 13:39
And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.

Acts 13:48
And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.

Acts 15:11
But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.

Acts 16:31
And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

Now, aren’t all of those Scriptures very simple to understand? Now you have to make a choice here. Will you believe the Scriptures that are very easy and simple or will you believe an ungodly preacher of lies that tells you that being saved takes more than just believing?

And remember, I could give you many, many more Scriptures that are so simple and easy to understand.

Believe On The Lord Jesus Christ and Thou Shalt Be Saved

That Scripture right there is so easy. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.” Does it say anything else but believe right there? It only says to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. That’s it.

Now, with that said, I want to show you a trick and deception of the enemies of God out there. False preachers. Devil infested churches. False churches. Devil churches. They preach a false gospel. They preach something different than believing in Jesus Christ to be saved. I just showed you 15 simple and easy Scriptures that say it’s just believing in Jesus.

Here’s a Scripture that liars will use to deceive you. They try to use it on me constantly. It doesn’t work on me. I know the Scriptures. I know what this means, and I’m going to explain this to you. It’s so easy. When someone tries to use this on you, you’ll know what it means.

The lying false preachers will quote a piece of a Scripture. They’ll say that it’s not just believing in Jesus Christ that saves you. They’ll say, “The devils also believe.” They are trying to say the devils aren’t going to be saved but they believe in Jesus too so it can’t be just believing. Here’s the verse they try to use.

“But the Devils Also Believe”

James 2:19
Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

Now, what does it mean to believe in Jesus Christ for salvation. What does it mean to believe in Him to be saved? That Scripture clearly says, “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.” The entire verse speaks the truth. But the liars pull out the part that I have underlined there.

Do you see the semicolon and the colon? That connects the entire sentence. “Thou believest that there is one God.” That’s the subject of this verse. The Bible says you’re doing well if you believe that there is one God. But if you only believe there is one God, that believing in one God doesn’t save you.

All of those other Scriptures we just went over prior to this says to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and receive everlasting life. They didn’t say to believe there’s one God and receive everlasting life. That Scripture right there is telling you that the devils believe there is one God and they tremble.

Hey, they know that there’s one God. Does that save the devils? No. Does that save other people out there? No. People will tell me they don’t believe in Jesus Christ. But they believe there’s a God.

The Devils Don’t Believe Jesus Will Save Them

They do well to believe there is one God, but Muslims believe there’s one God. But they don’t believe Jesus is God. They don’t believe the Bible. They say they believe the Bible, but I’ll show them a verse and they don’t believe the Bible. They are being deceived into believing lies. Here’s the verse I’ll show them.

Hebrews 1:8
But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.

God the Father says to the Son of God, Jesus Christ, “Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever.” God in heaven calls Jesus Christ God. Jesus is God. There’s one God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They are one God. Jesus is God. There’s tons of Scriptures telling us that over and over and over again.

We can see in the Gospels, when Jesus was on this earth, that the devils knew who He was.

Matthew 8:28-29
And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way.  29 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?

The Devils Know Jesus Won’t Save Them

Notice that the devils know their end. Their end is torment. Their end is hell. They know that. And they know Jesus who is the Son of God and God Himself will be the one who throws them into everlasting fire and torment.

Luke 8:27-28
And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and ware no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs.  28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not.

Torment me not. They know Jesus. The devils believe in Jesus as God. They know Jesus is the Son of God. They know Jesus is God. They believe there is one God. You can see it right there in the Scriptures.

So, the false preachers will use this to teach a works based salvation. They will twist the Scriptures, and they will twist the basic and simple definitions of the word believe. They will say, “Since the devils believe also, that means believing in Jesus, in your mind, is not what saves you.”

So, they’ll tell you, “The devils believe. Does that mean the devils are saved?” They’ll say, “Believing is an action. Not a state of mind. Faith without works is dead.” So, they ignore the hundreds of Scriptures and the entire point of entire books of the Bible.

And they go with, “The devils also believe so therefore we aren’t saved by believing. We are saved by our actions. Believing means to take action.”

Believing Doesn’t Mean Taking Action

And do you know what I say back to them? I say, “Did you just change the simple definition of the word believe? You did. You just changed the entire definition of the word. You don’t get to do that. Believing is up here in your mind. Believing is not an action you take or a work that you do.”

The simple definition of believe is to have confidence or faith. To put confidence in. To believe in Jesus is to trust Jesus. To believe in Jesus is to put faith in Jesus. If you want to be saved from all your sins, you must believe in Jesus. You must trust Jesus. You must put your confidence in Jesus. You must put your faith in Jesus.

Did the devils believe that Jesus would save them? Did they have confidence that Jesus was going to save them?

You can see that they didn’t. They said, “Art thou come hither to torment us before the time?” They said, “I beseech thee, torment me not.”

Matthew 25:41
Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

The devils know they aren’t going to be saved. They know that Jesus isn’t their Savior. They don’t trust that Jesus can save them because they know He isn’t going to save them. They believe that Jesus is the Son of God. But they don’t trust in Him as their Savior. They don’t have a Savior.

Jesus Came in the Flesh to Save Men and Women in the Flesh

Jesus came as a man to save men and women. He didn’t come to save devils. He didn’t die for the sins of devils. He came in the flesh. Devils don’t have flesh. They aren’t flesh and blood. Jesus came in the flesh and He took on flesh and blood. He bled for us. His flesh died for us. Again, Jesus didn’t come to save the devils.

Hebrews 2:14-16
Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;  15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.  16 For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.

The children of God are partakers of flesh and blood. That’s anyone like us who believes in Jesus Christ. Jesus took part in flesh and blood. The same as us. Devils are fallen angels. Look at verse 16. He took not on him the nature of angels. But he took on him the seed of Abraham or man. He became a man. Not an angel. Not a devil. He didn’t come to save devils. He came to save man.

Hebrews 2:17
Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.

Jesus was made of the flesh. He died for the sins of the people, flesh and blood. Devils are spirits. They are not flesh and blood. He didn’t come to save the devils. So it’s absolutely evil and wicked to say that we aren’t saved by believing in Jesus Christ because James 2:19 says, “The devils also believe.”

Don’t fall for this. Don’t allow some liar to say that believe means to take action. They say believe means to do work for God. They say you must keep doing good works in order to believe. Mind blowing! Believing happens right here inside of you. Believe in Jesus with all your heart, soul, and mind. Know that Jesus alone can save you.

Believing IN HIM is believing in Him. Not in you. Not in your works. Not in the things you do. Not in the life you live. Not in doing good things. Not speaking in babble. Not any of those things that this world deceives you with. Not repenting of sin. Not getting baptized in water.

Getting Baptized Doesn’t Happen In Your Mind

Getting baptized in water doesn’t happen in your mind and within. It happens out here when you decide to do it. Then you have to go do it. Getting baptized isn’t equal to believing. That’s the silliest thing I’ve ever heard. Don’t change definitions of words.

The dictionary doesn’t say believing is equal to getting baptized in water. The dictionary doesn’t say believing is repenting of all your sin. Believing is trusting and putting your confidence in something.

The devils believe there is one God. They know there is one God. They know Jesus is the Son of God. They know Jesus is God. They know Jesus isn’t saving them. They don’t have confidence in Jesus saving them because they know Jesus is only going to throw them in hell.

They know they can’t be saved. They left their first estate, their first home, with God. They left God. They aren’t going back.

Jude 6
And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.

Do the devils also believe in one God? Yes, the Bible said the devils also believe in one God. But they don’t trust Jesus as their Savior. They can believe that all they want but they believe a lie. Jesus isn’t saving the devils. He came to save us. And you very simply have to believe that Jesus can save you right now and give you everlasting life.

Everlasting Life Never Ends

And everlasting life never ends. Simple believe that. Put your trust in Jesus to save you right now and forever. Do you believe Jesus can save you right now without anything else? He died, He was buried, He arose from the dead to save you from your sins. Not the devils. You and I.

Believe that. He saves you forever. The end. Don’t let the liars deceive you. It’s only believing in Jesus that saves you. And once you do, you’re passed from death unto life just as the Scriptures say hundreds of times.

1 John 5:10-13
He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.  11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.  12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.  13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

And yet, with that clear and precise statement from God, the false preachers still attempt to deceive you. Remember the Scriptures and don’t be deceived.

Let’s pray.