God: "I looked for someone to take a stand for me, and stand in the gap" (Ezekiel 22:30)
Ascribing to and endorsing orthodox doctrines should never be confused with genuine faith. Demons can confess monotheism (Jas. 2:19), and yet their hearts are far from the one true God. Indeed, they hate Him and all of His ways. Consider the reactions of the demons when they encountered Jesus during His earthly ministry. They acknowledged that He was “the holy one of God” (Mk. 1:24), and in that sense, “they believed” in Him and knew more about Him at that stage in His ministry than most anyone, even Jesus own disciples. But they certainly didn't love Jesus, and they didn't believe in Him to the extent that they entrusted their lives to Him. This leads me to conclude that there is a kind of faith, and intellectual understanding, that is “bare” and “empty.” It subscribes to mental propositions but doesn't embrace and love Jesus, and in the final analysis it proves to be no faith at all.
Romans 2:14-15 indicates that the conscience is your ally in teaching your children to understand their sin. The conscience within man is always either excusing or accusing. If you make your appeal there, you avoid making correction a contest between you and your child. Your child’s controversy is always with God.
