James 1:27 (DRB)

Passage

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.

Nearby Context

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 "world", "religion", "clean", "undefiled", "before", "father", "visit", and "fatherless". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "world" and "religion", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The prior verse says "And if any man think himself to...", giving immediate footing for "world" and "religion". In James context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

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