James calls his readers to not just hear the words of the law—most likely referring to the laws given through Moses—but to put them into practice. In Matthew 7, Jesus reminds us that everyone who “hears [His]words . . . and puts them into practice” is like the man who builds on a solid foundation (vv. 24–27). In James 1:27, the writer describes how we put what we hear into action when we “look after orphans and widows.” James, like the prophets before him, is calling believers in Jesus to care for those who are vulnerable (see Isaiah 1:16–17). This is the practice of God Himself: “He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing” (Deuteronomy 10:18). James is calling us to be like God our Father in the same way that Jesus calls us to be perfect like our heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:48).
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