TRUE RELIGION

JAMES 1:26–27

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans [the fatherless] and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world

(James 1:27).

In our last study James said that true Christians study the Bible and labor to obey God, knowing that joy and peace come from conformity to God’s will for our lives. James now gives several illustrations of what true religion means.

First of all, he says that a true Christian keeps a tight rein on his tongue. James will have more to say about the tongue later on, but here he seems to refer to people who continually prattle. They say whatever they think, even if it hurts. They are full of their own ideas. People like this are not open to the Word of God. This is particularly seen in that they are not open to those whom God has appointed as teachers in His church.

It is easy to claim to be open to the Scriptures when all it means is that you read the Bible yourself. If that is all you do, the Bible soon becomes a mirror of your own preconceived ideas. The true test of submission to the Word is your openness to what is taught by other people who have been appointed to teach the Bible in the church. A person who is full of his own words will not be open to the words of others.

Second, James says that true religion is seen in our care of those who are weak and helpless. In the ancient world, the two most helpless kinds of people normally encountered were widows and those who were fatherless. Such people had no protector or advocate. James says that real Christians will become protectors for those who are helpless.

Even though women have more power today, we need to be sensitive to the plight of widows and of children who don’t have fathers. Soon after a woman’s husband dies, she finds that she is no longer invited to events as before, because she no longer has an escort. Widows become very lonely. When James says to “visit” widows he primarily means taking care of them. We should, however, also extend his meaning to the simple act of spending time with such lonely people. Similarly, children in single-parent homes need “aunts” and “uncles” to make up what is lacking in their experience. Remember that God has given responsibility to the church, not the government, to care for the weak.

CORAM DEO

James 3–5

Are there widows or single parents in your church? Are these people being visited? Do the children have surrogate fathers and/or mothers to help make up what their single parents cannot provide? Consider what God would have you do to fulfill this aspect of true religion.

For further study: Deut. 14:28–29 • Ps. 146:5–10 • Isa. 1:12–15

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