James 1:27 

Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

One thing to note about James is that he was at the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15 that decided that Christians don’t have to be ruled over by the law of Moses. Acts 15:13 After they stopped speaking, James responded: “Brothers and sisters, listen to me. This is the Council where some Christians had joined the party of the Pharisees. The circumcision and law of Moses party. The Pharisees were bewitching the Christians into obeying the law that came through Moses. Acts 15:5 But some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to command them to keep the law of Moses.” The council responded with, why are you testing God? The Christians already believed in Jesus. The Pharisees wanted the Christians to live “the Christian life” under the law of Moses, obeying the law, keeping the law. The Jerusalem Council said no, that’s too heavy of a burden. Acts 15:8 And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he also did to us. 9 He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith. 10 Now then, why are you testing God by putting a yoke on the disciples’ necks that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear? 11 On the contrary, we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus in the same way they are.” We live the whole Christian life under the law of faith. We are confident that we are the righteousness of God by faith, apart from our good or bad behavior.

Galatians 3:1 You foolish Galatians! Who has cast a spell on you, (some translations use the word bewitched) before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? 2 I only want to learn this from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or by believing what you heard? 3 Are you so foolish? After beginning by the Spirit, are you now finishing by the flesh? The flesh can be understood to mean the works of the law in this context. “After beginning by the Spirit, are you now finishing by the works of the law?” There are other words and phrases that the New Testament uses that refer to the law of Moses:  the wisdom of the world, the world, darkness, salt, the flesh, the law of sin and death, Moses, Mount Sinai. 

When Jesus was publicly portrayed as crucified He took the law and all of its obligations that are opposed to us and against us away at the cross. He gives us His Spirit and other laws to live under: the law of faith, the law of freedom, the law of love, the law of the Spirit of life in Christ, the law of Christ. These are freedom from Moses laws. Colossians 2:13b forgave us all our trespasses. 14 He erased the certificate of debt, with its obligations, that was against us and opposed to us, and has taken it away by nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and disgraced them publicly; he triumphed over them in him. This includes the 10 commandments that were given through Moses at Mount Sinai. This includes the summary of all the law and prophets, love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself. The law that came through Moses gets relegated to the world, as the world’s wisdom. See 1 Corinthians 1, Christ becomes our wisdom. Meaning, your sins are forgiven and you are holy for the sake of Christ, crucified and resurrected. This is God’s love for you. God loves you. The law of love: is freedom from Moses.

When James is saying keep oneself unstained from the world, I understand him to be saying that the law of Moses is not ruling over us. Keep yourself unstained from the law. Jesus died to set us free from the curse of the good and holy law. Why, you ask? The power of sin is the law, and sin leads to death. 1 Corinthians 15:56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! We like to read this as the Spirit is helping us to obey the law, but instead we can read it as Jesus is setting us free from the law, the power of sin.

We as individuals might not have the gifts, abilities, or resources to look after orphans and widows in their distress. But the church, as a community, as a collection of gifts, abilities, and vocations does. We as individuals, and as the body of Christ, have been released from the law to bear fruit for God. To use our gifts, abilities, and vocation to help our neighbor out as we are willing and able to. Without Moses accusing us of all that we have left undone. With this mind set, on the Spirit, we keep ourselves unstained from the world.

With this knowledge we can read the book of James through the lens of freedom from the law. The law of freedom. James 2:12 Speak and act as those who are to be judged by the law of freedom. He gives examples of Rahab and Abraham who were not under the law, not obeying the law. James 2:23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness, and he was called God’s friend. Abraham believing God was God’s work in him. Rahab believing God was God’s work as well, and she helped the spies from the law of freedom. Rahab does marry into the Israelite’s camp, and became the mother of Boaz. Boaz does learn the law of Moses, and lives under it as the Kinsman Redeemer. He helps the poor and the oppressed, the sojourners, the widows and orphans, and he married a widow named Ruth. James does not use Boaz as an example of the law of freedom. Boaz is an example of living under the curse of the law, and points us forward to Jesus who came to live under the curse of the law to redeem us from the law. As our kinsman redeemer, from wrath, sin, the law of Moses, and a mind set on the law, Jesus tells his disciples, John 14:18 “I will not leave you as orphans.” I am sending you my Spirit. Jesus is about to go to the cross and take the law away from the disciples. They might feel like orphans when he does this. They have a secure attachment to the law, and to believe that Christ is the end of the law for righteousness is scary. It’s mind breaking theology. John 14:16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever. 17 He is the Spirit of truth. The world is unable to receive him because it doesn’t see him or know him. But you do know him, because he remains with you and will be in you. 

Galatians 4 teaches that this world, this Jerusalem, is bound to law and sin. It’s under a yoke of slavery. But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. 21 Tell me, you who want to be under the law, (obeying the law) don’t you hear the law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave and the other by a free woman. 23 But the one by the slave was born as a result of the flesh, while the one by the free woman was born through promise. 24 These things are being taken figuratively, for the women represent two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai and bears children into slavery — this is Hagar. 25 Now Hagar represents Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. Think of it this way, in one sense we are under our country’s laws, and we obey the civil laws to stay out of prison. Other countries laws are not ruling over us, because we don’t live in those countries. We are free from the civil laws of other countries. So it is with the law of Moses. We live in a world that is ruled by law, and in slavery to sin. But we have been released from law and sin, on account of Christ, crucified and resurrected. This is a mind that is set on the Spirit. A mind that is set on law and on sin is a mind set on the flesh. 

Many of us have been taught to read James from a mind that is set on the flesh. But when we understand that James was free from the law of Moses we can read his book that way.

James 2:26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. Faith that separates us from law. Works that are done from the law of freedom.

John 6:28 “What can we do to perform the works of God? ” they asked.

29 Jesus replied, “This is the work of God — that you believe in the one he has sent.” 

It is the work of God that we believe in Jesus for the forgiveness of sin and for righteousness. We are released from the law of Moses, keeping us unstained from the world. Under the law of freedom we do what we want to help our neighbor, without Moses accusing us of all that we have left undone. Forgiven and free. A pure and undefiled religion before God the Father, unstained from the world, unstained from the law.

Related:

Romans 7

Freedom from Law, Mark Anderson teaching Steven Paulson’s book.

(Disclaimer: I believe that the law really does come to an end in Christ. The law is not eternal, and this is difficult to wrap our minds around. The Jerusalem above is free and she is our mother. When we set our minds on things that are above, that’s what we are setting our minds on. The law is necessary for civil government in this world.)