With this, James is also implying that it's very difficult to practice pure and undefiled religion before God…unless we see some serious changes inside of us. Just as James pointed out in James 1:5–8, the world's wisdom is not like God's. It means not compromising with a system that hates God. To be unstained by the world means that we refuse to be driven by our own appetites and desires and selfish goals. Later in this letter, James will describe worldly wisdom as bitter envy and selfish ambition. When the New Testament speaks of "the world," it usually means the "world system." This is the fallen, sin-soaked attitude of humanity, which rejects God and opposes His wisdom. According to this verse, "pure" religion is defined as caring for those who are in need, and avoiding the sins of the world. Children without parents, and women without husbands, were among that culture's most needy. Widows, in that culture, were women who had lost their husbands prior to bearing children. At the time James wrote, these represented society's most helpless members. James is not restricting "right religion" to only literal care for literal widows and orphans. And don't let yourself be polluted or stained by the world.Īs with other verses, we need to carefully understand the point at hand. It is simple, though not easy: show up with the widows and orphans in their suffering. Now, though, James writes that there is a form of religious expression that is still pure and undefiled before God. None of them was pure or undefiled religion. All of them gave people a false sense of security in exchange for money or loyalty or ritualistic obedience. All of them had specific rules and practices. In addition, the culture of that era was packed with religions that included the worship of all kinds of idols and false gods. It had been corrupted over time by its human leadership, leading to great misunderstanding about who God was and what He wanted from His people. He was born into the religion of Judaism, a political-religious system instituted by God Himself. James lived in a very religious time in history. So far as Christianity is concerned, obedience to God is meant to be followed down to the level of every word we speak. What this implies is that it is not enough to participate in religious ceremonies, keep a few commands, or refer to ourselves as a religious followers. In the previous verse, James called out anyone who labels themselves as religious, but doesn't control their tongues-their words. James 1:27, CSB: Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained from the world. James 1:27, NLT: Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. James 1:27, NASB: 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. James 1:27, KJV: Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. James 1:27, ESV: Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. James 1:27 Parallel Verses James 1:27, NIV: Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
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