Verses 26-27: If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless. Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
In these last two verses of chapter one, James illustrates three essential qualities of pure religion: a bridled tongue (vs. 26); visiting the orphans and widows and keeping unstained by the world (vs. 27).
First the words ‘religion’ and ‘religious’ need to be explained. This is the only time in the New Testament that the form of these words is used. It is defined as the diligent performer of divinely ascribed duties of outward service to God.1 The key point being made here is that the external practice of service toward God should reflect the internal characteristics of godliness in every aspect of the believer’s life. And this would include, as indicated here, the tongue.
James will revisit this issue of the tongue in chapter 3, but on this occasion he is most likely referring to the anger and the filthiness and wickedness as previously mentioned in verses 20-21. James asserts that believers who considers themselves being diligent in serving the Lord and yet commit sins of the tongue are deluding themselves. And as a witness to others, believers and unbelievers alike, it characterizes a dishonest personality, and James has already stated that a double-minded man is “unstable in all his ways” (vs. 8).
The bottom line pertaining to this type of religion: it is worthless, vain, and empty. Spiros Zodhiates characterizes it as “building houses on sand, chasing the wind, shooting at stars, pursuing one’s own shadow.”2 The life of such a believer is counterproductive—they produce no divine good and Jesus Christ is not glorified.
The external practice of our faith, which James labels our ‘religion,’ is to be ‘pure’ and ‘undefiled.’ Pure in a spiritual sense means to be free from sinfulness, because of the internal thought process that contemplates and disallows sin to characterize the believers’ external actions. Undefiled is a Greek synonym of pure, it lends itself to the idea of “the absence of anything that would constitute guilt before God.”3
But this may go much deeper. What do we base our religion upon? The external practice of our faith must be grounded upon the Word of God. Our understanding of His truth must not be tainted or corrupted by false doctrine. James has already stated that we were brought forth by His Word of truth (1:18); that the Word has been implanted (1:21); that we should be doers of the Word (1:23) and look intently into the Word (1:25). So it stands to reason that in order for us to perform the external practice of our faith that it is essential to have an untainted understanding of His truth.
Also, it is important to note, as James states, that our entire life of faith is never hidden from our God, our Creator. We do not live in a vacuum. All of our endeavors in this life, good or evil, are performed “in the sight of our God and Father.”
Now James provides us with the last two essential qualities of pure religion. He mentioned the first one in vs. 26, a bridled tongue. The next two demonstrate some practical examples of what it would look like to perform the external practice of our faith.
First, to visit orphans and widows. These were probably the most overlooked people in the ancient world. The Lord extended a special protection over them. Since the estate of a man upon his death would be passed down to his son, the wife would be widowed and oftentimes neglected. The Lord stated that they were to be cared for and be allowed to glean the fields, the orchards and the vineyards after the harvest:
The orphan and the widow who are in your town, shall come and eat and be satisfied, in order that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do. (Deuteronomy 14:29b; cf. Deuteronomy 24:19–22)
The treatment of widows by the Jewish religious leaders was condemned by the Lord Jesus:
“Beware of the scribes…who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.” (Luke 20:46-47)
To visit orphans and widows in their time of distress is an act of love, which is only one of the evidences of the external practice of our faith. However, this does not imply that this is the exclusive example of our practice. Paul explains in greater detail these evidences, describing them as the fruit of the Spirit:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)
The last essential quality of pure religion is to “keep oneself unstained by the world.” The verb ‘keep’ has the idea of guarding or watching over. The point being is that we are to be constantly on the guard so that we are not stained by this world. R.C.H. Lenski has aptly defined ‘the world’ as:
“…a designation for the ungodly, unbelieving mass of men…The world is vile and foul; to guard oneself unspotted means that none of this uncleanness lodges permanently in our hearts and souls.”4
So, what’s so bad about this world? Scripture tells us that the world about us is a spiritual battlefield, and we are embroiled in this conflict whether we realize it or desire to remain oblivious. For the apostle Paul stated:
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12)
This is the reason why the apostle John commands us:
Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. (1 John 2:15-16)
The world offers a philosophy of life in contrast to the Biblical meaning of life and the existence of man. The unbelieving world acquires their meaning of this life from the ‘forces of darkness’—Satan and his demons, influencing the lives of mankind. However, believers are supposed to acquire the meaning of their lives from the Word of God.
Lewis Sperry Chafer succinctly sums this up:
The cosmos [world/kósmos] is a vast order or system that Satan has promoted, which conforms to his ideals, aims, and methods. It is civilization now functioning apart from God—a civilization in which none of its promoters really expect God to share, who assign to God no consideration in respect to their projects; nor do they ascribe any causativity to Him. This system embraces its godless governments, conflicts, armaments, jealousies, its education, culture, religions of morality, and pride. It is that sphere in which man lives. It is what he sees, what he employs. To the uncounted multitude it is all they ever know so long as they live on this earth. It is properly styled the satanic system, which phrase is in many instances a justified interpretation of the so-meaningful word, cosmos. It is literally a cosmos diabolicus.5
[1] Zodhiates, S. (2000). θρῆσκος, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament, Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, G2357.
[2] Zodhiates, G3152
[3] Packer, James I. (1986) ἀμίαντος, In The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology (Colin Brown, Ed.), Grand Rapids: Zondervan. 1.448.
[4] Lenski, R.C.H. (2001). Commentary on the New Testament. Hendrickson Publishers, Inc, 10.561.
[5] Chafer, L.S., (1976), Systematic Theology, Dallas, TX: Dallas Seminary Press, 2.77-78.
© 2023 David M. Rossi