Chapter One

Inscription and greeting (1). Instruction in temptations (2–11): on temptations and patience (2–4), on wisdom and prayer (5–8), on the insignificance of wealth (9–11). The nature and source of temptations; the all-perfect God — source of all good and salvation (12–18). Restraint of anger and tongue, fulfillment of the law (19–26). The essence of true religion (27).

James 1:1. James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes scattered abroad—greetings. The naming of himself as a servant of God and Jesus Christ is fully understandable from the lips of Holy James as a true apostle of Christ: according to the remark of Blessed Theophylact, “the apostles of the Lord place above all worldly honor the fact that they are servants of Christ.” By this seemingly strange naming of himself, the Apostle perhaps intended to arouse faith and humility in his readers and also to win their trust. Contrary to some modern commentators (such as Haltzmann, Jülicher), the expression “to the twelve tribes scattered abroad” does not at all mean the spiritual Israel or the Church of Christ scattered among Jews and Gentiles — such symbolism or allegorism is entirely foreign to the epistle of the Holy Apostle James — but means, in its literal sense, precisely the Jewish Christians outside Palestine; probably these were “primarily Christian communities beyond the Jordan, of Damascus and Syria, where Christianity, as is evident from Acts 9 and following, spread very early” (Professor Bogdashevsky). The address to the readers with the wish to “greet” (rejoice), while somewhat recalling the greeting customary among Greeks and Hellenistic Jews (see 1 Macc 10:18; Acts 23:25 and others), has, however, a specifically Christian meaning for the Apostle, as in the circular letter of the Jerusalem council, edited by the same apostle (Acts 15 and following), namely the meaning of joy in the Lord Jesus as God the Savior and Redeemer. Full of joy and blessedness himself, even in the most severe trials of faith, St. Apostle wishes his readers above all this high and insurmountable joy of earthly sorrows.

James 1:2. Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you fall into various trials, James 1:3. knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance; James 1:4. and let endurance have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. The wish for joy (verse 1) from the lips of the Apostle expresses his profound Christian worldview on life. By this worldview St. Apostle illuminates for his readers their own life, which seemingly abounds in sorrows. “Temptation and sorrow for God’s sake the apostle considers both praiseworthy and worthy of joy, because they are the strongest bonds and the growth of love and contrition, therefore it is said: ‘My child, when you come to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for temptation’ (Sir 2:1), and Christ said: ‘In the world you will have tribulation, but be courageous’ (John 16:33). For without struggles one cannot receive crowns either in the world or from God” (Blessed Theophylact). Temptation (Greek peirasmos, Hebrew massa) in the language of Holy Scripture, besides the general meaning: trial, test, proof (see, for example, Gen 22:1; Deut 8:2 and others), usually has a narrower and more specific meaning in the sphere of moral life: an inclining, seduction toward something vicious, bad, sinful (for example, Matt 4:1; Luke 4:2), whereby such seduction or inclining of human will can come from the evil will of the devil or people, and can also proceed from the concurrence of circumstances and various objects. “All objects, actions, and circumstances that subject faith and the rules of Christian morality to trial are temptations. Of course, they are not temptations by their very essence, but in relation to man’s response to them: what is a temptation for one serves not to tempt another” (Bishop Michael). The Apostle in this case understands by “various temptations” apparently most closely the external hardships of the epistle’s readers: the hardships of poverty, the seductions of wealth, persecutions from various sides, and so on. Every such temptation a Christian, according to the Apostle, should meet and receive not only without despondency, murmuring, or discouragement, but even with complete, unmixed joy. “Temptations bring great joy to the zealous because through them the trial of such persons is revealed, and trial leads to complete effect” (Blessed Theophylact). According to the profoundly true remark of Bishop Michael, “this is such a height in the apostle’s contemplation of the moral law of development that it was not reached even by the highest minds of pagan antiquity and can be ascended and lead to only in Christianity, which not only has pointed out but also gives man the grace-filled strength to ascend to such a height.” For a complete representation of temptations one should compare with the apostle’s instruction (verse 2 and following) the Savior Christ’s commandment about the prayer of Christians to God the Father: “do not lead us into temptation” (Matt 6:13; Luke 11:4). It is evident that besides temptations of an external, so to speak, elemental character, there are temptations that are purely spiritual or of the soul, representing great danger of spiritual fall and spiritual death. Such a character of temptations is well known to St. Apostle James as well, as shown by his words in Jas 1:13-15. Thus, if temptations sent by God are to be received by us with complete submission to his will and complete joy and equanimity, then from temptations threatening our faith and morality we should guard ourselves both by the sinlessness of our life and by prayer to our Heavenly Father for their repulsion from us, provided, of course, that it is the will of the Lord. But with such a distinction in temptations, “steadfastness is beneficial in each of their kinds” (Blessed Theophylact). On such a property of trials and sorrows speak in agreement both Apostle James in verse 3 and Apostle Paul (Rom 5:3). Steadfastness, hupomone, means constancy in virtue and forms an essential condition of true Christian perfection. Therefore it is said further, verse 4: “and let steadfastness have its full effect, so that you may be perfect and whole, lacking nothing.” Only through steadfastness are removed the obstacles on the path to moral perfection, and only under the condition of steadfastness are united and acquire strength in the human soul all the separate virtues, and Christians in this case can hope that they will be “perfect” (teleioi) — fully attain the goal of their existence, “whole, lacking nothing.”

James 1:5. But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all freely and without reproach, and it will be given to him. The work indicated by the Apostle (verses 3–4) of patiently and calmly enduring trials is not an easy task to accomplish and at the same time is inaccessible to ordinary human understanding: to help a person in both respects can only true wisdom. “He calls wisdom the cause of complete effect, for he knows that the testing of faith and steadfastness in temptations is not the lot of all people but of the wise in God, therefore he moves those wishing to display faith and steadfastness toward prayer for wisdom” (Blessed Theophylact). Wisdom, Greek sophia, Hebrew hokmah, means in general correct understanding, knowledge of divine and human things, and chiefly means the practical correct determination of the goals of action and the means to achieve them. Thus — on the Old Testament biblical basis (Prov 1 and following), in the same way — in the New Testament, for example, in Apostle Paul (Col 4:5; Eph 5:15) sophia often means the wisdom of Christian behavior. Without doubt, in such a sense St. Apostle James speaks of wisdom. This is not simple rational human wisdom, but that wisdom coming from above and full of good fruit of life of which Apostle James speaks later (Jas 3:17). “He speaks not of human wisdom, but of spiritual, for in it he indicates the cause of complete effect, and that cause is heavenly wisdom, by strengthening which we can accomplish what is good perfectly” (Blessed Theophylact). One who has such wisdom should, according to the apostle’s instruction, pray to God. The possibility and ease of receiving what is asked from God the apostle shows by expressly using statements about God which demonstrate that providing blessings to those who ask is an inseparable property of Divinity (“God who gives”), and that the love in God’s giving is such that God gives to all “generously and without reproach” (simply and without rebuke) — out of pure goodwill and without any reproaches, such as occur in human charity.

James 1:6. But let him ask in faith, without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the sea wave, tossed and driven by the wind. James 1:7. Do not think that such a person will receive anything from the Lord. James 1:8. A man with divided mind is unstable in all his ways. In God there cannot be a reason for the non-fulfillment of a person’s request for wisdom or any other gift, but such a reason can lie in the person himself, in his inner disposition. Before all else and more than anything for one who asks God for wisdom (or anything else) there is necessary firm faith, free from any doubt or wavering. “If he believes, then let him ask, but if he does not believe, then let him not ask either, for he will receive nothing of what he asks. One who doubts — and he is the one who asks with pride... One who doubts is he who is far from firm action and is uncertain whether one thing or another will happen” (Blessed Theophylact). Conversely, the prayer of a Christian asking for wisdom should be free from any wavering, which the apostle compares in respect to instability, movement, and unreliability — with a wave of the sea (verse 6, compare); prayer should indeed be firm and stable, based on the unshakable foundation of faith. “Just as a beneficent God is all compassion and beneficence, so the asking person should be all faith and confidence” (Bishop George). In verse 8 the apostle, repeating in figurative form the thought expressed in verse 6 about the destructiveness of doubt and wavering, calls a person subject to this affliction of doubt and wavering “double-minded,” dipsychos, as if having two souls, one striving toward God, the other toward the world; from this — instability and disorder in all his ways, in all his moral activity. “A double-minded person — one in confusion, disordered, imperfect, of divided mind, a hypocrite... otherwise the apostle calls such a person unstable, one who does not strive firmly toward either the present or the future, but is tossed about here and there, holding to the future one moment, the present the next” (Blessed Theophylact). “Cast aside your own double-mindedness and do not doubt at all in asking the Lord and receiving from him” (The Shepherd of St. Hermas, Commandment 9).

James 1:9. Let the brother of humble circumstances boast of his exaltation, James 1:10. and the rich of his humiliation, because he will pass away like the flower of the grass. James 1:11. The sun rises with burning heat and withers the grass; its flower falls off and its beauty is lost. So also the rich man will fade away in his ways. True wisdom, necessary for a person to correctly understand the significance of temptations in the work of moral perfection and given by God as the fruit of true prayer, teaches a person to evaluate different things and phenomena of life differently than ordinary human wisdom does. Thus, two opposite phenomena of public life — poverty and wealth, whose improper use can always lead a person into temptation — are evaluated differently by worldly wisdom and completely differently by spiritual, Gospel wisdom. The first recognizes poverty as a great evil and wealth as an undisputed good. Conversely, true wisdom from God sees good or evil not in poverty or wealth in themselves, but in the Christian’s attitude toward poverty or wealth. A poor person but one enduring his poverty according to the law of Christ is taught by true wisdom to boast in his high calling as a Christian, which remains in force even amid complete external humiliation, and a rich person but one wishing to make use of his wealth according to Christ is taught by true wisdom to boast in his humility, his voluntary poverty — in the event of his fulfilling Christ’s commandment to sell possessions and give to the poor (Matt 19:21) or, at least, by his proper attitude toward fleeting wealth and its use for God’s purpose. The apostle proves the necessity for the rich of precisely such an attitude toward wealth by comparing wealth to rapidly perishing grasses and flowers under the action of the burning sun with heat (verse 11). By the word kaus on, translated in the Church Slavonic-Russian translation as “heat,” according to Old Testament-biblical usage, one should understand the mighty eastern wind, Hebrew ruach-qadim or simply qadim (see Gen 4:6; Exod 10:13; Jer 18:17; Ezek 17:10; Ps 77:26), otherwise called the “sirocco.” This wind in prophetic speech, besides its proper meaning, also has the meaning of the image of the destructive action of God’s anger (for example, Hos 13:15).

James 1:12. Blessed is the man who endures trial, because, having been tested, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord promised to those who love Him. Uniting what has been said earlier (from verse Jas 1:2) about temptations or trials that overtake people, the apostle now shows the final result of patient endurance of various life trials, namely: blessedness — having passed through the furnace of trials (Jas 1:2) and been morally cleansed in it, like gold is purified by fire, the Christian person has firm hope to be crowned with the crown of true life in eternal union with God. Love for God and Christ, expressed in a Christian’s patient endurance of various trials, will make them worthy to receive this high reward, according to the infallible promise of the Savior (Matt 5:10-11). “The apostle,” says St. John Chrysostom, “has sufficiently exhorted to endure temptations with joy, so that the matter might stand firm, and steadfastness would be complete; both of these happen naturally and are not without purpose. The apostle tries to convince them to fulfill what has been said above by another exhortation, when he says that one who endures temptation is blessed by the promise. For such a one, conducting a struggle as the athletes do, will be a tested man, proven in all ways. Therefore to him, after he has experienced sorrows, is given the crown of life, prepared by God for those who love him.”

James 1:13. In trial, no one should say: God is testing me; for God is not tested by evil, and He Himself does not test anyone, James 1:14. but each one is tested when he is drawn away and enticed by his own desire; James 1:15. then desire, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. Until now the Apostle has spoken of temptations in general, not distinguishing them by their source of origin and their very nature, and has pointed to their high beneficial significance as trials for the will and faith of a person (Jas 1:2). Now, with the tendency of weak-willed and little-believing people to justify their falls into temptation by saying that temptations are sent by God, the Apostle offers his readers a strict distinction of temptations by their origin and essence. Those trials or deprivations about which the Apostle has spoken thus far are sent by people by God with a good, saving purpose — to establish people, through trials, in good and bring them to true good, to life in the true sense. As examples of such trials in the Old Testament, one can name the trial of Abraham’s faith (Gen 22), Job’s (Job 1; Job 2 and following) and the Israelites during their wandering in the desert (Deut 8:2). In all these and similar examples of God’s trials of people, in the case of their enduring the temptation, the result or fruit of temptation is steadfastness, moral strength, moral perfection of those being tested, and the end of all — eternal blessed life (Jas 1:2-4). But there are quite different temptations coming from the devil or arising in the person’s own soul. In the passages under consideration, the Apostle speaks of these latter temptations, and the description given by the Apostle of temptation has great religious-psychological value, outlining completely the entire process or progressive course of the development of temptation in the human soul. First of all (verse 13) the Apostle with complete decisiveness eliminates any thought of a sinful person that temptation to sin and evil can come from God: such a thought fundamentally contradicts the basic concept of God as a being of absolute holiness and goodness — “God is unable to be tempted by evil, and he himself does not tempt anyone.” The word apeirasos should be rendered precisely as it is rendered in the Russian translation — in the sense that God is absolutely foreign to evil, is unconditionally not affected by any inherent evil inclinations. The Church Slavonic translation: “He is not a tempter to evil,” as well as the Vulgate: intentator — are not accurate, all the more because with such a rendering there would be a tautology with the following expression: “and he himself does not tempt anyone.” According to verses 14–15, the true source and actual foundation of temptation lies in a person’s “own desire,” idia epithymia. “Whoever through sin and incontinent life creates temptation for himself and, as it were, is constantly plunged in danger, he,” says the Apostle, “is tempted not by God, but by his own desire” (Blessed Theophylact). Wishing to show how temptation arises in the human soul (verse 14) and what ruinous consequences it ends in (verse 15), the Apostle for greater clarity uses a comparison of this psychological process with the conception and birth of a child. The originators of sinful temptation in the soul are, on the one hand, a person’s own desire, which has its foundation in the original, inborn sin (compare 1 John 2:16), but which is growing and strengthening under the influence of each individual person’s conscious inclination; on the other hand, is the person’s free will, agreeing with desire. Desire is the more passive factor; however, for a weak will its action is just as strong and destructive as the action of a prostitute on a seduced man. But the will of a person agreeing with temptation is already an active, impregnating principle, from the criminal union of which with desire comes conception, and then the birth of such a criminal child — sin, and sin then, in its turn, gives birth to its offspring — death, namely eternal spiritual death. And since temptations of the kind described have sin and death as their fruit, it is clear that they cannot proceed from God, who is absolute holiness and true life. It is also clear that people’s attempts to justify their falls into temptation by reference to God have no support. But still in the verses under consideration (13–15) this thought is argued only from the negative side, and therefore in the following verses Jas 1:16-18 the Apostle proves it in a positive manner as well.

James 1:16. Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. James 1:17. Every good gift and every perfect gift comes down from above, from the Father of lights, with whom there is no change and no shadow of turning. Having to give in verse 17 and 18 a positive and most powerful refutation of the error mentioned in verse 13, the apostle in verse 16 exclaims: “Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers” — an expression customary in apostolic epistles (see John 3:7; 1 Cor 6:9-10). The refutation itself is expressed in verse 17 and consists in the thought that from God, by his very nature, comes only what is good and perfect; consequently, he cannot be the originator or cause of temptations leading a person to sin and ruin: this would contradict the properties of the unchangeable divine being. The apostle very characteristically names God the Father of lights, ho pater ton photon. Whether to understand, with the majority of commentators, by the word ta phota the heavenly bodies or with other commentators (Blessed Theophylact) to see here the designation of angels — both are in accord with biblical usage and are justified by the biblical representation of God as Creator both of the heavenly lights (for example, Ps 135:7) and of angels (Job 38:7), which manifest in various ways and to various degrees the image of Divine Light — in any case, here is contained the thought of absolute purity and holiness of God’s being: the light of the heavenly bodies and even the light of the angelic powers is subject to fluctuations and changes; on the contrary, in God is eternal and unchangeable light, always equal to itself; he does not fluctuate between evil and good, from him always proceeds unchangeably only what is good. “In God of lights there is no change, for he himself calls through the prophet: ‘I am and do not change’ (Mal 3:6), and the expression ‘shadow of turning’ means that in God one cannot even conceive of any change” (Blessed Theophylact).

James 1:18. In His desire, He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of firstfruits of His creation. As the highest manifestation of God’s love and goodness, the Apostle points to the begetting of people by the word of truth (logoi alethias), as proof of the same position, that from God can come only what is good. “Rebirth — this most perfect gift coming from the Father of lights — is the work of God’s good will. Resting in the depth of divine being, it forms a complete opposite to what sin produces, namely, the latter, as a bearing mother, gives birth to death, and God, as if herself becoming a mother, begot us into new life” (Professor Bogdashevsky). The greatness of this benefaction is shown already by the fact that it has been granted to people undeservedly, solely by God’s all-good will — “by his choice,” bouletheis. “He said ‘by his choice’ because there are people who suppose that the world came into being by chance” (Blessed Theophylact). Without doubt, this refers not to the creation of the world and humanity, but to the rebirth of humans through the preaching of the Gospel (compare 1 Cor 1:5; 2 Tim 15), which is called the power of God (Rom 1:16): through faith in the Gospel is laid the foundation of spiritual rebirth of a person, who through this faith appropriates to himself the redemption accomplished by Christ, and enters into a new covenant with God, is reborn to a new, holy life. The purpose of spiritual rebirth is indicated in the Apostle’s words: eis to einai hemas aparchen tina ton autou ktismaton, so that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creation. Here the Apostle, keeping in mind the custom of biblical Hebrews — in fulfillment of the requirement of the law (Exod 22:29; Lev 2:12; Num 18:12; Deut 18:4; Prov 3:9; Ezek 20:40) to offer as a gift to God and his sanctuary the first and best fruits (reshit bikkurim) of the earth, calls the first Christians the first fruits of the spiritual harvest (as also Apostle Paul, 1 Cor 3:9) in the sense of priority in time and honor (primi et honoratissimi, according to Oecumenius). In this, the Apostle views Christians in relation to the whole world as God’s creation. Renewal must touch all the world, as all creatures await, according to Apostle Paul (Rom 8:19-21), restoration to its primordial perfection; such restoration began with Christ’s first coming and will be completed at his second coming. Christians, according to Apostle James, are the first beginnings, the first bearers of this renewal, and on account of their small number are called “a kind of first fruits.” According to Blessed Theophylact, the words “a kind of first fruits” mean advantage and highest dignity, and “creation” means the visible world.” If, therefore, God in the fullness of his free love and goodness wished to beget people and make them the beginning of the renewal of the whole world, can he tempt a person toward evil and destruction? In giving in verse 18 the final basis for refuting the destructive error (Jas 1:13), the Apostle, at the same time, in the mention of the “word of truth” that begets humans proposes a theme for his subsequent discourse (Jas 1:19-27) on the Christian’s attitude toward this word of truth.

James 1:19. So then, my beloved brothers, let every person be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger, James 1:20. for the anger of man does not work the righteousness of God. James 1:21. Therefore, put away all uncleanness and the remaining wickedness, and in gentleness receive the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. The word of Gospel truth — in order to be in a condition to bear good fruit in the life of people, first of all must be heard and received with proper disposition. There is first needed complete readiness and zeal to hear the word of the Gospel. In doing so, the Apostle urges his readers and all Christians to listen to and appropriate the word of truth most of all, and least of all to strive for speeches, for abundance of words. Here, conversely, is needed great moderation and caution (compare Jas 3:1-2). Even more necessary is to avoid passionate anger, expressing the disposition of the carnal person, immeasurably far from God’s righteousness (20). Conversely, Christians, having cast out from their hearts all filthiness and every remnant of selfishness and malice, should with gentleness receive into their souls, as into ready soil, the plantings of Gospel truth, which are produced in a visible way by preachers of the Gospel, and in an invisible way by God himself — in spiritual-grace-filled rebirth (verse 21, see Jas 1:18). The apostle’s instruction (verse 19) regarding slowness in speech reminds us of the exhortation of the Old Testament sage: “be swift in hearing and answer a reply with patience” (Sir 5:13); for the original readers of the epistle, who came from the Jews, this instruction was particularly understandable and compelling, but the general sense of it has great psychological value and importance. Blessed Theophylact regarding this apostolic instruction remarks: “One should be swift in hearing — not merely hearing, but active hearing that moves one to put what is heard into practice. For it is known that whoever listens carefully and attentively will be ready to fulfill what he has heard, but whoever slowly resolves to do something and puts it off may later completely abandon the undertaking. Therefore, regarding the study of divine matters, the apostle commands swiftness, but regarding what the fulfillment of which is connected with danger, slowness. Such are: words and anger. For talkativeness in anger does not end in good.”

James 1:22. But be doers of the word, not just hearers, deceiving yourselves. James 1:23. For whoever hears the word and does not do it is like a man who looks at his natural features in a mirror: James 1:24. he looked at himself, turned away, and immediately forgot what kind of man he was. James 1:25. But whoever looks intently into the law of perfection, the law of freedom, and persists in it, not being a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, will be blessed in his doing. The word of truth, in order to lead people to salvation, must not only be carefully and attentively heard, but, like a seed received and appropriated by the soil, must be planted in the soil of the human heart and produce appropriate growth, that is, be expressed and manifested in good deeds; the entire life and activity of a Christian person should be the expression and realization of what the word of truth teaches. Whoever does not conduct the word of truth in his life deceives only himself, erroneously thinking that the divine word will still be useful for him in such a case, will bring him blessedness (verse 25), salvation, which in reality cannot be: perfection and blessedness are achieved not by simple hearing or knowledge of the word of truth, but by action in accord with the recognized word of truth (compare Matt 12:24-26). The Apostle further clarifies this truth by a vivid example: the word of God communicating truth to a person (Jas 1:18) is compared by St. James to a mirror, wherein, if in a mirror a person observes the image of his external aspect (prosopon tes geneseos), in God’s word is imaged the inner face of a person, the image of his moral being; but as a person who has seen in a mirror the features of his face and made no use of his observation, has not, for example, combed his head, soon and without trace loses from memory the impression received when looking into the mirror, so also a person who hears the word of Gospel truth and does not fulfill it does not have God’s word “remaining” (John 5:38) in him, forgets about it, and it brings him no saving fruit. “From an ordinary mirror the Apostle transitions to a mental mirror, concluding nothing from what has been set out in brief words. He should have said thus: whoever hears the law and does not fulfill it is like a person looking at his face in a mirror. As this person looked at himself, went away, and immediately forgot what kind of person he was, so also the one who saw from the law what he was created for, namely for God’s glory and for life according to the image of the one who created him, fulfilled nothing of what he saw, but acted exactly like the one who looked in the mirror: he should have made use of what he saw, but he, like the other one. And it is not without purpose that the Apostle does this: he concentrates the listener and impels him to hear this not in passing. For ‘blessed are not such hearers, but those who unite hearing with action’ (Blessed Theophylact). Beneficial and saving is the hearing and study of the word of the Gospel only in the case where this hearing and study is followed by an active fulfillment of the rules and commandments of the Gospel. The word of Gospel truth (Jas 1:18), as a word sown in our hearts (Jas 1:21), written not on tablets of stone but on the tablets of the heart (2 Cor 3:6), is a divine word, fully corresponding to our true nature. In this sense it is “the perfect law, the law of freedom” (nomos teleios ton tes eleutheria, Jas 1:25), compared with the Old Testament law, which in another apostle is called the law weak and imperfect (compare Jas 7:18-19) and the law of bondage (Gal 5:1): “that was an external law, fragmented, enslaving the will, but this is an internal law, acting internally on a person’s will” (Professor Bogdashevsky). On the freedom of the Gospel law Apostle Paul says: “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has freed me from the law of sin and death” (Rom 8:2). “To the words ‘the perfect law’ he adds (Apostle James) ‘the law of freedom’ in order to indicate its distinctive feature — freedom; for the law of Christ, by freeing from physical bondage, places the one who comes to him in freedom, makes him through this freedom more attentive and frees him from forgetfulness, harmful to all good” (Blessed Theophylact). If in the Old Testament righteousness consisted in the observance of “the commandments and statutes of the Lord” (Luke 1:6), then in the passage under consideration in the Apostle (verse 25) there is discussion of such a penetration into the law, such an appropriation of it that leads to the realization of the law. “The law of freedom” is not only a law that is freely observed, but also a law that gives you freedom, but all this — on the condition of “remaining” (paramenas) in this law a Christian, that is, if he makes it the constant law of his life and activity, — and with the endeavor of a person to be not a “forgetful hearer” but a “doer of the work.” “Under the blessedness promised to the fulfiller of the law is understood first of all the blessedness of the work itself, as is evident from the expression en te poiesei autou (“in what he does”), and then also the future blessedness, bringing comfort to a person’s heart in the doing of it in the present life” (Bishop George).

James 1:26. If anyone thinks he is devout and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, his devotion is empty. James 1:27. Pure and undefiled devotion before God and the Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. The Gospel law is undoubtedly perfect; but people’s relationship to this perfect law can take shape in the manner of the Jews’ relationship to the law of Moses: to guard against such an incorrect attitude toward the law of the Gospel is what St. James does in verses 26–27, armed here, verse 26, as also below Jas 3:1-8 against sins of the tongue, especially — against the passion for teaching. This vice was, apparently, very widespread in the Hebrew, and subsequently Jewish Christian society of the Apostle’s time. “According to the Jews’ understanding, religious is the one who is faithful in deeds, because such a one seems to not belong to the crowd. The Jews, fulfilling to the letter the prescriptions of the law, thought highly of themselves, considering all their religiousness toward God to be in their observance, and, busying themselves with them alone, dreamed of acquiring blessedness through them... To deter from such an opinion, the Apostle gives the present instruction. Having mentioned a doer of the work and called him blessed, he at once corrects the evil arising in many at the fulfillment” (Blessed Theophylact). Thus, according to the Apostle, empty (mataioss), worthless and vain religiousness is possible both in the observance of the law of Moses and in following the perfect law of Christ: from the danger of such show religiousness the Apostle warns in verse 26. Verse 27, in contrast to false religiousness, names true religiousness (threskeia) and characterizes it from two sides. The first mark of true religiousness, of value in God’s sight, is “to care for orphans and widows in their distress”: of course, this is only a particular example, only one of the types of active love and true religiousness, chosen, probably, as a favorite image in sacred writers of the Old (and subsequently the New) Testament for representing selfless love and charity (for example, Deut 10:18, see Job 29:12-13; Ps 67:6). This active love and charity, in order to be truly saving, must have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as its foundation (Jas 2:1). “So, if you wish to be religious, display religiousness not in reading, but in the fulfillment of the law, which consists especially in showing compassion to your neighbor, for compassion to a neighbor is a kind of likeness to God. ‘Be merciful,’ it is said, ‘as your heavenly Father is merciful’ (Luke 6:36); only our mercy should be free from partiality” (Blessed Theophylact). “This is how we can be like God — namely in mercy and compassion. Therefore, if we do not have this, we are bereft of everything” (St. Chrysostom). Another mark of true, pure and undefiled religiousness according to Apostle James is keeping oneself unstained from the world. World, ho kosmos, here is understood in the sense of the evangelist John’s view of it (John 7:7; see 1 John 5:19) — as the totality of all forces hostile to God and good. To guard one’s soul from all uncleanness of the world lying in evil, to resist evil and struggle against it — this, together with deeds of mercy and love, is an essential mark of true service to God.