Saving Faith and the Faith of Demons

James 2:19 Faith in Christian Experience

In "Saving Faith and the Faith of Demons," Pastor Albert N. Martin expounds James 2:19, contrasting saving faith with the 'faith of demons.' He argues that while demons possess an orthodox, disturbing intellectual assent to biblical truths, their faith lacks beauty in its object, moral transformation, and loving obedience. Martin challenges listeners to self-examine whether their faith is merely intellectual and emotional, or if it is a Spirit-wrought faith that beholds Christ's loveliness, progressively conforms them to His image, and impels them to meticulous, universal obedience.

3 illustrations in this sermon

The Nature of Demonic Faith: Orthodox and Disturbing

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Unorthodox Batting Stance

In this part of the sermon: He details the nature of demonic faith: it is orthodox (believing right things about God, Christ's person, office, and judgment) and disturbing (causing them to 'shudder' in…

An analogy of an unorthodox batting stance is used to explain the meaning of 'orthodox' faith as believing the right things, contrasting it with an unusual or incorrect way.

And I remember one time preaching on this text and a little boy came up to me afterward and he said Pastor Martin what's orthodox mean? And I said if I ever preach on it again I will not only say it is an orthodox faith but I'll put a parenthesis a faith which believes the right things. You see a man stand up at the plate and instead of placing if he's a right a left handed batter like I am his left hand above his right hand if he's this way he bats cross handed and if he has a strange crouch we say he has a very unorthodox batting stance and swing. It's unorthodox it's not in keeping with the...

22:21 - 23:39 Read in full sermon

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Cat Screeching in the Dark

An analogy of a cat screeching out in front of a car in the dark, causing hair to stand on end and heart to race, illustrates the 'shuddering' terror experienced by demons due to their faith.

text it is a disturbing faith notice what James tells us you believe that God is one the demons also believe that God is not everything is he he is the truth you believe that in the world all things are not the truth but that we all are the truth all And with no warning, that cat shoots right out in front of you and gives one of those screeching meows. And what happens? You feel the hair crawl up on the back of your neck. You feel the fuzz on your arms stand up on end.

29:28 - 30:26 Read in full sermon

The Deficiency of Demonic Faith: No Beauty in Object

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Lack of Christ-Centered Conversation

The point: Ask yourself if Christ is lovely in your heart and if there is a beauty in Him that makes your heart desire Him.

Martin recounts his distress during his evangelistic ministry when staying in evangelical homes where conversation revolved around secular topics rather than Christ, illustrating a lack of enamoredness with Christ despite professed faith.

I don't often use anecdotes in preaching simply because my call is to preach the Word, not tell stories. But I shall never forget when I spent some five years in an itinerant evangelistic and Bible-teaching ministry early in my ministry way back in the early fifties, mid-fifties. One of the things that used to distress me no end is to be put up in homes for a week or two as the guest preacher and to be in homes of people who were members in good standing of evangelical churches, often deacons' homes, sometimes pastors' homes, and to find when we came to the table, there was no spontaneous talk...

46:34 - 47:59 Read in full sermon

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