James provided his readers not with a comprehensive description of true religion but with a concise test for the authenticity of our faith in Jesus: a controlled tongue, a compassionate heart, and a clean life. As Alistair Begg remind us, if we are God’s children, we ought to bear increasing resemblance to our Father, who has a special concern for the lowly and helpless. Our lives must be practically helpful and personally holy, balancing social involvement with a holy desire for personal morality.
27Religion 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.
Copyright © 2021, Alistair Begg. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Text provided by the Crossway Bibles Web Service.