BUT THE DEMONS BELIEVE THE GOSPEL?


What about the demons? If faith is simply to believe the gospel, why aren't they saved?

The problem with the demons is that they don't have the imputed righteousness and blood of Christ. He never died or obeyed the Law for any demons. So none of them can be righteous before God by Christ's work.

But they believe, right? Yes they do. But believing the gospel doesn't actually make someone righteous. It just so happens that ALL humans that believe have the imputed righteousness of Christ. The righteousness is what actually credits them righteous before God. Their belief is simply the way they find out they are saved.

CORRESPONDANCE WITH HEATH BARKLEY

== Heath Barkley writes to me: Andrew, Interesting page. I enjoyed the article. I have a few thoughts though: "You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe-and tremble." (James 2:19) Keeping James 2:19 in mind, is a mere assent to "Bare Truth" really all the Bible calls for? ... The Devil and his cohorts are good theologians with a solid belief in all the facts (well beyond the bare details) yet they are not saved because they have not seen any real goodness or value in the Gospel. (Granted they are also without a redeemer but we are following the flow of the text here.)===

My response: Yes, the devils do indeed believe the gospel, and the Word of God to be true. As you point out Heath, the Word says they believe in God. Elsewhere it says that they believe Christ "is the Holy One of Israel."

However, the reason the demons are damned is because they are NOT perfect. They are wicked, deceiving spirits. And any spirit or human without a perfect righteousness will be thrown into the Lake of Fire at Judgment Day and be eternally tormented. The devils know this by the Word, and it gives them an assurance of damnation, a hope of wrath, and a faith in eternal anguish for themselves.

On the other hand, the Word promised SALVATION for ALL humans who believe the FACTS of the gospel. But God still demands UNIVERSAL PERPETUAL OBEDIENCE from the sinner, and curses ALL men who do not have a holiness equal to His own. "The souls that sins shall die", "cursed is everyone who cannot obey all these statutes", "not the hearer of the Law, but the doer of the Law shall live."

So, how can a sinner fellowship with this Just God? The answer lies in the IMPUTED RIGHTEOUSNESS of Jesus Christ. This is the ONLY THING NEEDED to present the filthiest sinner PERFECT before God. "In the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed" which makes God "just and justifying the ungodly" by "the obedience of One" God-man Jesus Christ. He "is the end of the Law for righteousness for all who believe." Christ was "made of a woman, made under the Law, to redeem those under the Law". He says, "I come to do your will, My God ... I am perfect ...". "He has clean hands, and a pure heart ... and has not lifted up his voice." Jesus Christ FLAWLESSLY kept all the Law, in the place of His sheep.

The means that the sheep need to do NOTHING in order to be justified!! No love, no commitment, and no thoughts are required for get God's love, if you are elect. He already loves the Elect "with an everlasting love".

== Heath writes: Many of our church members are the same way. They attend, claim to believe, and yet live the complete opposite through most of the week. (Divorce, adultery, fraud, deceit) They are in essence doing no more than the demons. Their view and values have yet to be changed. (Bare Truth at least qualifies us to be a demon) ===

My response: Why are you assuming that some of the unregenerate have a bare belief of the bare truth??

Even the most clever unbeliever is "DECEIVED and deceiving". When Paul was an unbeliever, he was totally ignorant of the fact that murdering Christians is wrong. "Being IGNORANT I did it in unbelief," he says. In the days of his enmity it can be rightly said that he was "BLIND leading the blind." Paul, when he was called Saul, had a zeal for religious things (and he called his idol, "God") but this was NOT ACCORDING TO KNOWLEDGE.

Now, there is an interesting connection between the devils and unbelievers. According to the Scriptures, the devils who know the truth go about to continue to keep all unbelievers in the darkness, who they "deceive". Thus, when the Word speaks of the "doctrines of devils", it means that unbelievers have been deceived into believing doctrines that have been made-up by the devils. "If our gospel is being hidden, it has been hidden in those being lost, in whom the god of this age has BLINDED the thoughts of the unbelieving, so that the brightness of the gospel of the glory of Christ who is the image of God, should not dawn on them." (2 Cor 4:4). "And you being dead in deviations and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the ruler of the authority of the air, the spirit now WORKING in the sons of disobedience." (Eph 2:1-2). "And the great dragon was cast out, the old serpent being called devil, and, Satan; he DECEIVING the whole habitable world was cast out onto the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." (Rev 12:9).

In all the above passages, we read of the the devil DECEIVING unbelievers. Therefore, the gospel has NOT dawned in the hearts of the ignorant.

=== Heath writes: If not I also wonder what your view of sanctification is. Do you believe that we are being conformed to the image and likeness of Christ? If we are, why would not find some assurance in seeing Him in ourselves through our actions? ==

My response: Heath, no assurance whatsoever can be based on our obedience to the Law. This is because IN ORDER to obey YOU NEED FULL ASSURANCE OF SALVATION.

How can someone even begin to love God if they are ignorant of His love for them?? How can someone cry "Abba, Father", if they do not know He is their Merciful Father?? And can you even pray "Our Father in heaven", whilst being ignorant of whether or not you are a child of God??

Let me explain a little further. What motivates me to refrain from sin, is the love of Christ. "The love of Christ constrains us from sin". And why do I love Christ? "We love Him, because He first loved us." Now, if I didn't know that Christ shed His blood for me and obeyed the Law for me, there would be no reason to love Him. This is why in Luke 7 Christ says, "But they not having a thing to pay, he freely forgave... [And the woman] having been pardoned of her many sins, she loves much. But to whom little is forgiven, [the same] loves little."

Now, follow Christ's logic through. Obviously someone who is not forgiven at all, will NOT love at all. Clearly, anyone ignorant of their justification cannot love God. Assurance of justification must PRECEDE WORKS and be based on God's promise to save believers.

=== Heath writes: the absence of any Spirit made change in the believer should indeed be the grounds for doubt, even if the bare facts are acknowledged. ===

My response: Why do you keep suggesting that the unregenerate can believe the gospel?? I'd like to see you prove that from the Scripture !!

Indeed, faith without works is dead, i.e. non-existent. If someone hates the brethren, embraces heretics etc. then the Apostle John says they are not saved.

== Heath writes: We run into a bit of paradox here don't we? How can I understand and ascent to something that is spiritually discerned, and yet the demons do that much and they are not exactly commended for it. ==

My response: No paradox here. Of course the devils can have no assurance of salvation by their bare belief of the bare truth. The truth they are believing in tells them that God has promised to punish, pour wrath upon and eternally torment ALL devils in a Lake of Fire. From the beginning we read that Christ will CRUSH the serpent's head. Thus, we see that the devils TREMBLE. And you can also see how much they feared Christ in the New Testament.

Then we have God's promises to BELIEVERS. God has declared that "everyone believing in this One IS JUSTIFIED", "IS born of God", "HAS everlasting life", and "will NOT come into Judgment".

And how can a believer doubt God's testimony? God can't lie. He knows everything. He does not change. Indeed, He is the Amen, the Faithful and True. Could I, a mere creature, call in question statements made by the Creator of all things? GOD HIMSELF HAS SPOKEN and TOLD ME by His Word that "By His knowledge shall my Righteous servant justify many ... for He shall bear their iniquities." I have the knowledge, therefore I am justified. I have the witness, and the witness is the voice of God Himself in my conscience. "And they shall HEAR A VOICE COMING BEHIND THEM in the desert..." "My sheep, HEAR MY VOICE...and they shall NEVER follow a stranger... and I am KNOWN BY THEM."

To sum up: the word tells the devils they will be damned, so it gives them assurance of damnation. On the other hand, the word says all believers will be saved, so it gives them full assurance of salvation.

CONCLUSION

Faith is just belief, and belief is thinking that a proposition is true. Most Calvinists do not like this definition. Over and over they seek to prove that faith in the gospel is MORE than believing the propositions of the gospel are true. In attempting to do so, they appeal to the fact that the demons believe certain things about God. Apparently, this proves that for men faith is MORE than believing certain things about God.

But does it logically follow that if condemned demons believe X, then men can believe X and be still be condemned like the demons?  Of course not. There is a HUGE LEAP in reasoning here. Just because believing demons are damned, does not mean that believing men are damned too. That is an assumption on the part of the Calvinist which must be proven.

The fact is that the difference between salvation and damnation is not belief, but lies in obedience. The believer has the perfect obedience of Christ in His account, whereas the demon does not. Furthermore, the believers sins have been blotted out, but the demons have not.

So, how does belief come into play? Well, when a man believes the gospel to be true, it means the man ordained to Eternal Life. And all the Elect will be saved by Christ's work. Therefore, belief is sufficient evidence to that man's conscience that He is predestined to life. This is why Philip baptized the eunuch based on His confession that the gospel is true.

Acts 13:36 And as they were going along the highway they came on some water. And the eunuch said, Behold, water! What prevents me to be baptized?
37 And Philip said, If you believe from all the heart, it is lawful. And answering he said, I believe Jesus Christ to be the Son of God.

The eunuch believed the gospel, so it was lawful for him to be baptised. Of course, as we are about to see in the Gospels, many demons have said EXACTLY the same proposition as Philip. Now this does not make the eunuch's confession and faith of none effect. It simply means that when he believed, the belief was evidence to himself of his salvation. On the other hand, belief for demons is not evidence of salvation at all. In fact, the Word they believe in says over and over again -- they will be tormented, damned and suffer eternally in the Lake of Fire.