James 2:19 KJV
[19] “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.”
James continues to warn us against dead faith. He wants our faith in Christ to go beyond the intellect. He wants us to have more than a head knowledge; he wants us to have a heart knowledge. Whenever faith is only in the head, it produces lip service but never a change of lifestyle. The individual has no works to follow his proclaimed faith because it is dead, just like he is.
There is another kind of faith James warns us about in this verse. It is a demonic faith that goes beyond the intellect and touches our emotions. It causes a feeling but never takes root in the heart. It is not saving faith, but Satanic faith. You see, even the devils believe and tremble. What they know and believe about Jesus touches their intellect and their emotions but never changes their heart. It never changes their will and desire. The word “devils” is used in the Bible to describe multiple demons. They know who Jesus is and the power that He has. They even become emotionally touched by what they know. It brought fear to them whenever they stood in His presence, yet they rejected Him. They chose to rebel against God and His Son long ago when God cast Satan out of Heaven.
We all know people who have “tried” church. They have an intellectual faith in God. They truly believe He is real. They also have an emotional faith in Him. What they know about Christ stirs their emotions. However, we will see later that they do not have a faith that touches their heart with the desire to surrender their will to Christ! My friend, it takes more than an emotional stirring to be saved. You must choose Christ and surrender your will to Him.