Pure Religion (James 1:26,27)

 

What is Religion? 

Religion has been around almost as long as sin. Before humanity’s rebellion brought sin into creation, there was a relationship between God and mankind. Religion was developed by men after they lost that relationship as a means to try to regain it. We see the first religion in Genesis chapter four.  

This word “religion” used by James here is rare in the New Testament. Aside from here in the letter of James, it is only found in two other passages. In Acts 26:5, Paul uses it to describe the Jewish system of belief, and more specifically he speaks of the Pharisees. And in Colossians 2;18, Paul uses it again to talk about cults that worship angels. So, it is decidedly not a positive word in New Testament thought. It refers to humanity’s attempts to solve their own sin problem on their own terms.  

James uses it partly in this same way. He warns people who consider themselves as “religious” that their man-made systems can be false friends. True or “pure” religion is not about systems of belief or self-justification. People who are truly in a relationship with God will demonstrate it in their lives. 

What Matters to God? 

When James says that pure religion is helping orphans and widows and staying clean, he is not supplying an exhaustive list, nor is he creating a new religion to be used for self-justification. He is talking about the things that matter to God’s heart and should therefore impact our hearts. We should be about helping the downtrodden and the oppressed. We should be all about the values that God talks about in Micah 6:8, “do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God.” Or in Amos 5:24, “Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”