James Expounds on Faith Volume 17

 Be Doers of the Word of God Part 5

James 1:27 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. KJV Note: NKJV=New King James Version

At first glance upon this final verse of Scripture here that the Apostle James concludes his discourse on being doers of the Word of God and not hearers only, as it is written here, "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) (KJV), however, an incompatible, inappropriate, or incorrect interpretation of the Apostles words might lead someone into a misunderstanding of what the Apostle is concluding for us. The key 🗝word in this entire passage is the English word 'religion' which is translated by the Greek word thrēskeia meaning (as used here) worship or worshipping. Worshipping God is not just sitting or standing in a building and singing songs, but it also involves what we do with our lives (according to what the Word of God says) and the things we do not do with our lives, for as it is written, "If you love Me, keep My commandments." (John 14:15) (NKJV). Here the Apostle is declaring the comforting of our brothers and sisters 'in Christ' primarily, for as it is written, "Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith." (Galatians 6:10) (NKJV). When we show care for our fellow brothers and sisters 'in Christ' we are showing care and love for Christ Jesus our Lord Himself, as it is written, "Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'" (Matthew 25:37-40) (NKJV). How do we know that the Apostle here is primarily speaking of the fatherless and widows who are of the 'household of faith', well when he declares they are to be visited in their 'afflictions' and this English word is translated by the Greek word thlipsis meaning (as used here) their pressure literally their anguish, burdened, persecution, tribulation, trouble. During this time ⌚ period of these early days of the ⛪ Church of our Lord Jesus Christ, believers had been forced to flee many places because of vilotile, vicious, and violent persecution from those who still belonged to the devil, i.e. two-legged devils. Therefore, just like the Apostle James wrote with these words, "James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the Twelve Tribes which are scattered abroad: Greetings." (James 1:1) (NKJV) of greetings to them at the very beginning of this letter not knowing where all the brothers and sisters 'in Christ' had gone, but confidently trusting in our Lord Jesus Christ and His Power to get this letter to each and everyone of them in their time of trouble.

Secondly, the Apostle James wanted those early Jewish converts to Christ as well as we converts to our Lord Jesus Christ today and of every era and generation 'to keep himself/herself unspotted from the world'. The little English phrase 'to keep' is translated by the Greek word tēreō meaning (as used here) to guard (from loss or injury, properly by keeping the eye upon. The English word 'unspotted' is translated by the Greek word aspilos meaning unblemished, that is, free from physical or moral spots or stains (physically or morally): - without spot, unspotted. Now as much as we try and make the Word of God bend or break or bow to our will, the reality is that it does not and never will change with the ⌚ times or move away from what eternal truth truly is according to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit/Ghost. So, we must bend our will to the Word of God and only those that do so truly can say and mean that they/we love 😍 love our Lord Jesus Christ (remember John 14:15 from above). Only those who truly love Jesus Christ belong to Jesus Christ and only those who 😍 love Jesus Christ believe and accept ALL of His Word as Divine Truth and the final authority on ALL matters. Many spiritual or religious people believe that Jesus Christ was a Prophet or a Good Teacher or any other thing said of Him by the cults and even false Christian religions and other spiritualities' and practices by people now and of all times, but the truth is that the True and Only Jesus Christ is not making His adopted sons and daughters to look like the world, love like the world (accepting every false & evil thing as good and right), and live like the 🌏 world, remember these words written by the Apostle Paul which makes this very point crystal clear, "But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, according to the glorious Gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust." (1 Timothy 1:8-11) (NKJV). The Word of God is crystal clear and without flaw or contradiction. Amen! Here is what Dr. John Gill had to say of James 1:27, "That which is sincere and genuine, and free from adulteration and hypocrisy:before God and the Father; or in the sight of God the Father of Christ, and all His people; that which is approved of by Him, who is the searcher of hearts, and the trier of the reins of men, 'is this': not that the Apostle is giving a full definition of true religion; only he mentions some of the effects of it, by which it is known, and without which it cannot be true and genuine; and they are these: to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction; and not only to see them, and speak a word of comfort to them, but to communicate to them, and supply their wants, as they may require, and according to the ability God has given: where there is true religion in the heart, there is love to God; and where there is love to God, there is love to the saints; and this will show itself to them, in times of affliction and distress; and where this is wanting, religion itself is not pure and undefiled: and to keep himself unspotted from the world: from the men of the world, who defile by their evil communications; and 'from the vices of the world', as the Arabic version renders it, which are of a defiling nature; and, where religion is in its power and purity, and the Gospel of the grace of God comes with efficacy, it teaches to separate from the rest of the world, and to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly."

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.


Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…