Chapter 14: The Gift of Jesus

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For example, in the “Apocryphon of James”2 — we read the following

from our Lord Jesus:

Jesus said: “Verily, I say unto you, none will be saved unless they believe in my cross. But those who have believed in my

cross, theirs is the kingdom of God.”

“Verily, I say unto you, none of those who fear death will be saved; for the kingdom belongs to those who put themselves to

death. Become better than I; make yourselves like the son [or daughter] of the Holy Spirit!”

These teachings in the Gnostic book of James indicate the importance of our belief in the cross. It doesn’t mean belief that Jesus is God or that he

is the only way to salvation. It is consistent with canon Scripture. The issue of putting yourself to death is to crucify your flesh. It means to not be a friend of this world; be a friend of God. Believing in the cross means doing what Jesus said to do; that means obeying God’s Word.

Another Gnostic example is in the “Gospel of Thomas”3 — where we read the following in verse #70:

Jesus said: “If you bring forth what is within you, what you have will save you. If you do not have that within you, what you do not have within you will kill you.”

This teaching is consistent with the kingdom of God being inside of us. What all of us need to do is to acknowledge the truth of God that is in each of our souls and then submit ourselves to the will of God in this earthly life. Thomas again confirms what the canon Gospels teach about who it is

that is the brother or sister of Jesus. In verse #99, it reads:

[Jesus] said to them, “Those here who do what my Father wants are my brothers [sisters] and my mother. They are the

ones who will enter my Father’s kingdom.”