#27 - Demonic Faith | James 2:18–19 | 5 Types of Faith

James says: You say you have faith? Show me.

James drops it clear: Even demons believe — and they shudder.
That means belief alone isn’t enough.

In this episode, we unpack three truths:

1. Agreement is not allegiance — You can affirm truth and still resist surrender.
2. Fear is not faith — Feeling something about God is not the same as trusting Him.
3. Saving faith surrenders — Real faith doesn’t just believe in God, it belongs to Him.

Because redeemed rebels don’t just believe.
They belong.

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Transcript

Welcome

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This podcast is for the ones to know that we're rescued, but also know that we're resent, saved by grace, sent to live differently. We're not rebelling against God, we're rebelling against everything that keeps us from Him. We'll talk faith, identity, purpose, leadership, and what it really looks like to follow Jesus in a loud and noisy world. We'll dissect scripture, we'll exposit it, we'll grow, and we'll stretch our faith. Welcome to the Daily Rebel. Welcome back, day two with the Daily Rebel, as we dive into James chapter two, verse 18 through 19. Here we

James 2:18-19

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go. James says, But someone will say, You have faith and I have works. Show me your faith without works, and I will show you faith by my works. You believe that God is one. Good. Even the demons believe and they shudder. So check this out. James anticipates this debate after talking about faith versus works. Is that you have faith, I have works, as if belief and behavior can live in separate lanes, as if faith is private and obedience is optional. But James says, no, show me. You can't display, uh you cannot display invisible faith without visible fruit. And then he shocks the room. Check this out. And it's a verse we don't always like, but we need to talk about more. He says, You believe God is one? Good.

Even Demons Believe

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He says, even demons believe that. See, not all belief is saving belief. Verse 18 is courtroom language. It says, Show me, demonstrate it, prove it. Faith is invisible until it acts. And then James quotes this central confession of Israel. The Lord is one. See, that's sound doctrine. That's out of Deuteronomy. He says that's that's orthodox theology, that's correct belief. And James says, demons affirm that too. They know who God is, they know who Jesus is. They are not confused by him. They they just refuse to surrender, so they shudder. They they they they tremble in fear. But

The Three Points

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here's the deal. Let me give out three points based on demonic faith. Here we go. Is number one, agreement

#1 - Agreement Is Not Allegiance

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is not allegiance. You can agree with truth and still resist God's authority. You can affirm doctrine

You can Affirm Doctrine and Avoid Discipleship

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and avoid discipleship. Agreement says that's true. Amen. That's so good. Allegiance says he's Lord. So agreement says, oh, that's true. Allegiance says, no, no, no, he's Lord. See, demons agree with theology, they they do not bow to it. That saving faith moves beyond acknowledgement into submission. You see, as redeemed rebels, we don't check the belief box. We don't say, because my parents are saved, I am too. I have a Bible, so therefore I'm a Christian. No, no, no, no. They change their life direction when they are saved by grace through faith. That's what redeemed rebels do. So I got a question: where do you agree with scripture

Where do you Agree with Scripture but ignore it?

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but ignore it? Is Jesus savior in your words, but Lord in your choices? It has belief altered your behavior. Agreement does not equal allegiance. Here's number

#2 - Emotion is not Devotion

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two emotion is not devotion. You see, demons shudder. They feel something, whether it's fear, recognition, intensity, but emotion is not transformation. You can feel moved in worship because of your spiritual goosey bumps because the cord struck, or you can feel convicted by a sermon by somebody that's hitting you with hard truth. You can be stirred by that truth and still never surrender to it. It's like going to this incredible encounter and experience and walking out unchanged. It moved you, but you still never surrender to it. But feeling something about God is not the same as following Him. See, Redeemed Rebels, we don't confuse spiritual

Don't confuse Spiritual Emotion for Spiritual Obedience

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emotion with spiritual obedience. God calls you to spiritual obedience even if you don't feel him, which

#3 - Saving Faith Submits

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leads me to number three. Saving faith submits. You see, demonic faith acknowledges God's existence, even the Son of God's existence. But here's the deal saving faith submits to God's authority. Demonic faith recognizes truth. Saving faith responds to truth. Even the demons know Jesus is Lord, but they refuse to crown him. Saving faith crowns him, not perfectly, but genuinely. We don't just believe Jesus saves, we surrender to him as Lord. So listen, we are saved by grace through faith alone. But biblical faith is not this, um, it's not agreement. It it is trust, it's dependence, it's allegiance, allegiance. The gospel didn't ask, do you believe God exists? It asks, have you trusted Christ and have you surrendered to him as both Savior and Lord? Demons even believe, but Christians' disciples follow. You see, dead faith, it talks, demonic faith actually believes. Saving faith bows, it bows the knee and surrender to the savior. And the demons, they bow out,

Disciples bow down, demons bow out

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they believe and they flee. So here's my question for you Have you agreed with Jesus or have you surrendered your allegiance to him? Because listen, redeemed rebels don't just nod at the truth, they kneel before it. So just like from yesterday, do you have dead faith? Do you have demonic faith? Which we're gonna get into what faith actually looks like these next three days. But listen, even the demons believe, even the demons agree, but they don't bow their allegiance. So, what are you? Are

The Rebel Close: Do you just believe — or do you belong?

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you saved by grace through faith? Are you following him based on a surrendered life? That's a question you need to ask yourself. And with that, we'll end it and we'll see you tomorrow on the Daily Rebel. Thank you for listening

Outro

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to today's episode. Before you go, if you want to help other people be equipped to be redeemed rebels, give us a follow and share it around with your friends. We'll see you next time.