In this sermon, Edwards asks “How do you know if you belong to God?” (puritansermons.com) and his followers can make up their own beliefs about how that is determined. However, through his rhetoric Edwards can persuade their thoughts to shift. He does this in this sermon by using the story of the “apostle James” (puritansermons.com). This helps to bring the sermon to a more realistic level. By incorporating biblical characters and explaining their roles in the Bible, Edwards ventriloquizes his ideas into the mouth of the “apostle James”(puritansermons.com). Edwards writes,
However, James is clear that although this belief a good thing, it is definitely not proof that a person is saved. What he means is this: "You say you are a Christian and you are in God 's favor. You think God will let you into heaven, and the proof of it is, you believe in God. But that is no evidence at all, because the demons also believe, and they are sure to be punished in hell."