Today, we might look at the stories of the Greek gods as being somewhat silly. Maybe we would consider the stories a type of literature, but that is probably about the end of it.
Yet at the time of Jesus and subsequently Peter, Paul, James, and the other apostles, the Greek gods, who were then also adopted in large part by the Romans, were the predominent religion of the time. There were temples built throughout the Greek and Roman world so that people could take their animals to go and perform sacrifices. The people worshiped these gods through sexual acts with temple prostitutes. And much more…
This was the context, then, for James to call the people into demonstrating their faith in Christ through what they do:
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that —and shudder.
James 2:19
The preaching of the Christians to believe in one God at that time stood sharply in contrast to the prevailing culture. Yes, the Jews also believed in the one, true God, Yahweh. But now, those that followed Christ also understood that God had come to them in the form of a man. Jesus himself was God. One God, yet showing himself in three different ways, as three different persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
James is trying to get his readers to understand: They can’t just believe and say that everything is fine. That isn’t how it works. No, instead, you must act on your beliefs. He, essentially, is saying:
You think that you are in good shape with God because you believe that there is just one God? Well, not so fast… No, don’t forget that the demon KNOW that there is just one God. And they shudder because that one God will wipe them out. That one God will destroy them.
Why? Because they don’t act like they believe. They won’t do what they are called to do. They say that they have faith, which is great, but you don’t see any evidence of their faith. Faith acts. Faith moves. Faith demonstrates itself in the form of specific actions.
That which we believe should change us to such an extent that we should see evidence of the change. There is one God and that God is one in whom we place our faith. And our faith moves us to be changed and to help others do the same.