True/pure religion

Jehovah God organized one nation on earth and only one, and that was the nation of Israel. He organized it for a purpose. They were his people. To Israel he said: "You only have I known of all the families of the earth." (Amos 3:2) He organized that nation, and dealt with it as an example and to demonstrate to his intelligent creatures his manner of dealing with mankind. He gave to that nation a code of perfect laws, and established amongst that people the true and pure religion.

In God's Word true religion is defined in these words: “To visit the fatherloss and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”

Religions may be properly placed in two classes, to wit: (1) the "true religion" (Jas. 1:27), which means a loving obedience to Jehovah God and a joyful service rendered to him; and (2) world religions, which include the various outward forms of worship practiced by men and by which men indicate their belief in some superior power, which power has to do, as they believe, with their eternal welfare.

“Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father, is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”—Jas. 1:27. 53 Thus the Lord, by his apostle, defines true “religion”. The religion that is practiced by the organizations under the Devil’s supervision consists of forms and ceremonies that dishonor God and Christ Jesus. It is the true followers of Christ Jesus, those who are Jehovah’s anointed witnesses, that practice the pure religion as defined by James, and this they do by making it their regular and formal business to work and to go about in the land visiting the “widows”, that is, those organizations that desire to know of God and his kingdom

But do not the Scriptures of the Bible show that there is a pure religion and a false religion? No, the Bible, which records God's Word of truth, shows exactly to the contrary. The apostle of Jesus Christ named Paul was originally called Saul of Tarsus. He was a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin, a lawyer of keen ability and a strict practitioner of the Jews' religion. He was a Pharisee, and a zealous one. When the Lord gave him an understanding of the truth, Saul ceased to be a religionist and became a Christian, that is to say, a true disciple of Jesus Christ, and thereafter he is called Paul the apostle of Jesus Christ.

At James 1:27 the word "religion", according to the Authorized Version of the Bible, is translated from the same Greek word threskeia used by the apostle Paul in Acts 26:5, but the proper rendering of that word in both texts is worship or form of worship, and the word "religion" is improperly used. The correct translation of the text is as follows: "For the worship that is pure and holy before God the Father, is this: to visit the fatherless and the widows in their affliction, and that one keep himself unspotted from the world." (James 1:27, Syriac Version)

Religionists, however, will point to James 1:26,27 and say: 'Do not these texts call the worship of God religion?’ According to some English translations of the original Greek text it would appear so, because they read thus: “If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain. Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” Examination of these texts reveals that the Greek word translated “religion” is the word threskeia, and “religious” is threskos. These two words, however, have no connection with the Thracians of ancient Greece, who were very superstitious religionists and devil-worshipers and therefore inventors of religious mysteries. Instead, threskeia is drawn from the Hebrew word darash, to seek, that is, to seek God, as at 1 Chronicles 28: 9; 2 Chronicles 15:2; 17: 4; Psalm 9:10; and elsewhere. Hence the Syriac Version, which is a translation into the language Jesus Christ spoke, renders threskos and threskeia properly; and Murdock’s English translation of the Syriac Version renders James 1:26,27 as follows: “And if any one thinketh that he worshippeth God, and doth not restrain his tongue, but his heart deceiveth him; his worship is vain. For the worship that is pure and holy before God the Father is this: to visit the fatherless and the widows in their affliction, and that one keep himself unspotted from the world.” Martin Luther’s Version translated threskeia as Gottesdienst, or God’s service.

Religion is frightened. Not the “pure religion” mentioned at James 1: 27, but the big orthodox religions of Christendom that have actually drifted far from true worship.

According to James 1:27, one proof of the true religion is that it would keep unspotted from the world. Protestantism, Catholicism and Judaism have not done this.

In the past we regarded “religion” as anything that was against God’s will. Now many brothers are using the expressions “true religion” and “false religion” to make a distinction. Is this advisable?—D. D., California. The brothers are correct in using the qualifying adjectives “true” and “false” respecting religion, so as not to be misunderstood, especially by those outside the organization. In the past we have had to do so much needless explanation and extricating of ourselves from embarrassing positions by not being specific on this. The footnotes of the New World Translation show the early use by Latin-speaking Christians of the term religio as the equivalent of the Greek term thres·keiʹa. It simply means “form of worship”, of which there can be a true and a false kind. Study over the footnotes in the New World Translation on the texts at Acts 26:5, Colossians 2:18 and James 1:26, 27, and see how the footnote renderings allow for the use of the term “religion” or “religious”, though the texts themselves use the expressions “form of worship” or “formal worshiper”. Hence it is well to make clear our use of the term “religion” by qualifying it as “true” or “false”, if the context or setting does not do this sufficiently.

The Bible reveals the development and progress of the pure religion in contrast with all the false kinds and shows its early triumph over all error of belief and practice.

Yet, the Bible plainly tells us that there is “one faith” that has God’s approval.​—Read Ephesians 4:4-6.

In contrast, the Bible says that those who practice true religion “beat their swords into plowshares.”