If anyone among you thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.” James 1:26-27
Numerous expressions of God’s righteous requirements litter the biblical text. In Matthew 7:21-23, Jesus summarized the matter quite well declaring, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (ESV). From this, and many other passages, we must conclude that entry to the kingdom of heaven requires an active, working faith (cf. Romans 1:5; 16:26; James 1:19-27).
Since Christianity’s inception, disputes over what constitutes proper religious devotion to Jesus the Christ have wreaked havoc on the church and led to a plethora of religious divisions which have served only to thwart the God-given purpose of the church to make all people followers of Christ (Matthew 28:18-20). All of God’s word builds to this end. A cursory look at the religious landscape throughout the centuries reveals that the religious pendulum has perpetually swung from liberalism to legalism.
On the one hand, we have those who are careful to perform all the right acts of worship, refuse to participate in sinful behaviors, zealous to share the gospel plan of salvation, but unwilling to take part in efforts to provide for the needy. On the other hand, we have those who will do anything to care for the earthly needs of people, but who would never speak a word against the various sinful practices among the target audience. Neither option pleases the Lord.
What then is pure religion? In James 1:19-27, James eliminated both these attitudes toward religious devotion. In verses 21-25, James commanded purifying our thoughts and actions by receiving the word implanted in the heart and doing it. After a brief look at worthless religion, James concluded the section with the Spirit inspired definition of pure religion. It begins with the relational aspect of tending the needs of orphans and widows. The term orphan in the Greek language carries the idea of those who have lost both parents or those with parents unwilling or unable to care for them (Woods, Gospel Advocate). 1 Timothy 5:9-16 defines those who are widows indeed demonstrating their immense need for the care of Christ’s people. The emphasis in both instances is that the church has a responsibility to care for those who are unable to care for their own needs and have no family upon which to lean. Finally, we are to keep ourselves unspotted by the sinful things of the world (James 1:26-27). Either of these is incomplete without the other.
Throughout the biblical text, we see God’s central concern for the poor and needy in conjunction with the rest of His calls to purity of life (cf. Psalms 82:3; Proverbs 22:23; 31:9; Isaiah 1:16-17). Jesus chided the Pharisees for their meticulous concern for the external expression of the law to the neglect of the “weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness” (Matthew 23:23-24). Considering these truths, let us be sure to take up the cause of the helpless as we strive for unstained lives. If we do so, we may rest assured our religion is pure.