Do Not Err: What James 1:16 and Matthew 22:29 Teach Us About Knowing God Rightly

James opens his letter with a warning: “Do not err, my beloved brethren.” It’s a short, direct command, but look at what comes right before and right after it, and you’ll see exactly what kind of error James has in mind, and it’s the same root error Jesus confronts in Matthew 22:29.

"Do not err, my beloved brethren." — James 1:16 (KJV)

The Error James Is Warning Against

James 1:13 sets up the problem:

"Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man." — James 1:13 (KJV)

James goes on to explain that temptation actually comes from being drawn away by our own lust, which, when it is finished, brings forth death:

"But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." — James 1:14–15 (KJV)

Then comes the warning: “Do not err, my beloved brethren” (v16). The error James is correcting is a wrong view of God’s character, the idea that God could be the source of temptation or evil in someone’s life. He immediately corrects that error in the next verse:

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." — James 1:17 (KJV)

God isn’t the author of evil. He’s the unchanging source of everything good.

The Error Jesus Corrects

In Matthew 22, the Sadducees come to Jesus with a trick question about a woman who had been married to seven brothers, each dying in succession, trying to make the idea of resurrection look absurd (Matthew 22:23–28). Jesus’ response is direct:

"Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God." — Matthew 22:29 (KJV)

Their error had two parts:

• They Didn’t Know the ScripturesSo they misapplied a hypothetical about marriage to a resurrected state where, as Jesus explains, people “neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven” (v30).
• They Didn’t Know the Power of GodThey didn’t grasp that the same God who spoke to Moses as “the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” is a God who has power over life and death itself.

"I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living." — Matthew 22:32 (KJV)

The Same Root Error

Put these two passages side by side, and a pattern appears. In both cases, “erring” isn’t just making a mistake, it’s fundamentally misunderstanding who God is. James corrects an error about God’s character, that He could be linked to evil or temptation. Jesus corrects an error about God’s power, that He couldn’t raise the dead. Different situations, but the same underlying problem: people reasoning about God from assumptions instead of from what has actually been revealed about Him.

That’s worth sitting with. Both errors seem reasonable on the surface. It might seem logical that God allows temptation, since He allows the circumstances that lead to it. It might seem logical, from a purely human perspective, that a woman married seven times couldn’t have one husband in a resurrected life. But both conclusions are wrong, because both start from human logic instead of from what Scripture actually says about who God is and what He’s capable of.

Why This Still Matters

James and Jesus are both pointing to the same solution: know Scripture, and know it well enough that you’re not left drawing conclusions about God’s character or God’s power from assumptions. Error doesn’t usually announce itself. It shows up disguised as reasonable-sounding logic, “surely this is how it must be,” until it’s tested against what God has actually revealed.

That’s the charge behind “do not err, my beloved brethren.” Not a vague warning to be careful, but a call to know God as He has revealed Himself, His goodness, and His power.