Friends: Knowing Jesus and being saved are not the same. 

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Spirituality Column #1029

August 4, 2026

Common Christianity / Uncommon Commentary

Even Demons Believe

By Bob Walters

“You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that.” – James 2:19

Christians are supposed to “fear God,” right?

You know who really fears God? Demons.

And you know who really doesn’t fear God? Unbelievers and atheists, who do not understand or accept who God is, who Christ is, who the Spirit is, the Bible’s authority, and what our divine mission on earth* is set up to be.

Sometimes it’s hard to tell who the demons actually are.

Sometimes, sorry to say, it’s hard to tell who the Christians are.

Usually, it’s not that hard to tell who the Jesus-ambivalent and atheists are.

As far as Christians fearing God, in a biblical sense, I think we can all settle on the translation of “fear” as awe and respect, not cowering in terror. I don’t perceive God (as a comedienne once put it) as “daddy with a switch.” Jesus came to love us and save us, not punish us. “For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:17) and “There is now no condemnation in Christ” (Romans 8:1) are the two most overlooked – and calming – verses in the Bible. They preach peace.  

Terror? That’s what the demons experience. The demons famously possessing the wild man named Legion, terrified when Jesus approached, knew exactly with whom they were dealing.  Read about it in Matthew 8:28-34, Mark 5:1-20, and Luke 8:26-39,

E.g., Matthew 8:29: “What do you want with us, Son of God? Have you come to torment us before the appointed time?” Don’t miss that last part, “before the appointed time.” The demons know Jesus, know he has power and enmity over them, and even seem to know there is a coming “appointed” time when their cause – and Satan’s – will be lost.

They ask to be sent into pigs and killed rather than deal with Jesus. Pigs! We are reminded of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15) whose sign of abject failure was tending pigs.

I once read that “No one can be ambivalent about Jesus: You either love him or you hate him. No one is neutral.” I’d debate that because of how much of my life I gave no thought to whether or not I was saved. Live and let live was my attitude toward Christ.

I was neutral then, but no longer. Salvation beckons, and we all hope for the best.

Still, Christians may wonder if we, me, I, individually, are saved. Historic Protestant theology provides an interesting three-part salvation test I had not previously seen until this week. It came in a podcast clip with Dallas preacher Josh Howerton (link below).

First, do we have knowledge (notitia) of Christ? Most atheists know that the church down the street worships a guy named Jesus in a book called the Bible. That is a fact.

Second, do we accept (assensus) that this story is true. That yes, Jesus is the Son of God, the Bible is real, and that in Christ we are offered salvation of eternal life. Fact.

A good example of the notitia person is Judas, who never affirmed Christ’s truth. Of assensus, those possessing knowledge and accepting Christ as God’s son, but don’t care and don’t love. There is no better example than the demons, who knew and feared Jesus.

Third is the clincher, trust (fiducia), or our acceptance. As Howerton explains, it is “when I put the entire weight of my life on that fact” of Jesus as Lord, and I act like it. This is the obedience part that sometime gives me the cold discomfort of, “Will I measure up?”

My hope isn’t in the reality of salvation in Christ: that is truth; I already know it. My hope is that the grace of God in Christ is greater than the weight of my sin. I don’t fear it; I trust it and pray.

When I have the chance to hug Jesus, I hope he hugs me back.

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) notes that our *divine mission on earth is to glorify God and to be part of that glory as we were created to be. That starts with believing in, living as, and loving Jesus as our Lord and Savior … and acting like it. Howerton Link - YouTube