James 1:26 (DRB)

Passage

And if any man think himself to be religious, not bridling his tongue but deceiving his own heart, this man's religion is vain.

Nearby Context

James 1:24 For he beheld himself and went his way and presently forgot what manner of man he was.

James 1:25 But he that hath looked into the perfect law of liberty and hath continued therein, not becoming a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work: this man shall be blessed in his deed.

James 1:26 And if any man think himself to be religious, not bridling his tongue but deceiving his own heart, this man's religion is vain.

James 1:27 Religion clean and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their tribulation and to keep one's self unspotted from this world.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "think", "himself", "religious", "bridling", "tongue", "deceiving", "heart", and "man's". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "think" and "himself", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 25's "But he that hath looked into the..." into verse 27's "Religion clean and undefiled before God and...", so "think" and "himself" belong inside that flow. In James context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "think" and "himself" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.