Some practical thoughts from my commentary on James:
“Religion” is a word that can mean many things to many people. Some Evangelicals don’t even like the word being applied to them. But James is not afraid of the term. It simply means the outward manifestations of one’s personal faith. But James does not define the word “religion” in abstract terms. He describes how real religion “looks” in real life. Basically there are three fingerprints of a religion that is real in James 1:26-27:
1. Real Religion is Characterized by SOBRIETY Jas1:26 (the inward mark)
A lack of self-control may reveal a lack of saving faith. Self-deception misleads the heart and results in a worthless religion. James tells us that the lack of self-control can be seen (and heard!) very clearly in the example of a loose tongue. This statement prepares us for his essay on this subject in Jas3:1-12.
2. Real Religion is Characterized by CHARITY Jas1:27a (the outward mark)
James will later excoriate those who think they have faith and don’t care about the poor. Here the poor are exemplified by those most rendered destitute by their loss - widows and orphans. To “visit” them is more than a casual house call. It means an active involvement in a person’s life, even as God “visits” His people in salvation (Luke 1:68). “One test of pure religion, therefore, is the degree to which we extend aid to the “helpless” in our world — whether they be widows and orphans, immigrants trying to adjust to a new life, impoverished third-world dwellers, the handicapped, or the homeless” (Moo, 2000, 97).
3. Real Religion is Characterized by PURITY Jas1:27b (the upward mark)
James uses terminology that in the OT described the ritual purity associated with sacrifices. Ethical purity, however, transcends ritual purity. Later James will warn us about being friends with this evil world system (Jas 4:4). Moral stains from the world system are far more serious than ritual stains from an unclean animal.
Inward, outward, upward- Keep Clean!