Question:  Dear Greg,

            I was wondering what your opinion is on the “Nag Hammadi gospels”.

            Love your radio show!

            Yours in Christ,

            David

Answer:  Dear David,

            The Nag Hammadi gospels are also called the Gnostic gospels.  In my opinion they are a “different gospel” (Galatians 1:6-9).  Having said that, I don’t believe that gnosticism was the primary culprit in the Galatianizing heresy, but there were roots of that worldview present.  Other New Testament epistles are more direct, primarily the three letters of John, his Gospel, as well as Colossians in addressing gnosticism.  Gnosticism is another legalism—this one being as much about what you know, as well as what you do with that knowledge.  Gnosticism is thus the enemy of the grace of the gospel, and the Nag Hammadi gospels illustrate this.  Gnosticism attempts to redefine who and what Jesus is and what redemption and salvation are all about.

            In Christ,

            Greg Albrecht