This coming Lord’s Day our sermon passage will be James 1:27 and 2:15-16. As you remember, we are considering the three tests of true faith as James boldly sets them out in 1:26-27. Test number one was that of a controlled or bridled tongue (1:26; 3:2-12). The second test is discovered in the words of 1:27—“to visit orphans and widows in their affliction.” We will refer to this as the test of a compassionate heart. As with the first indication of a vital and real faith in Christ, this proof is further explained in later sections of the Epistle. We see it most clearly expounded in the strong words of 2:15-16. Here James will confront what has been referred to as “heartless orthodoxy” (J. Blanchard, James, 162). As you prayerfully meditate upon these most convicting verses, let’s unite our voices in prayer for the preaching of the Word of God.