What Are the Lost Gospels and Why Aren't They in Your Bible

They Were Never Lost, Never Inspired, and Never Meant to Replace Your Bible

I can’t even count the number of times I have heard the phrase “the lost gospel” of so-and-so, said this or that. Drives me nuts and makes me sad to see this out there among Christians. They’re treated like some long-hidden conspiracy buried underneath a mountain of security clearance, and it just got whistle-blowen. 

The problem, though, is that they were never lost in the first place. Using the word “lost” doesn’t make them special or some secret God didn’t reveal to us. First and foremost, these books aren’t in the Christian Bible. 

If you say you are a Christian yet whip out the Enochs, Maccabees, Gad the Seer, Wisdom, Tobit, Judith, etc, when trying to prove a view, doctrine, or use it to object to something in the Bible. You're not even on the right track to begin with. If you're not a believer and do this, then that’s a whole different conversation.

Remember, this is God we’re talking about here. The Creator of the whole universe, the Creator of the eyeball, the Creator of DNA. He didn’t “lose” anything.

The Dead Sea Scrolls.

Yes, the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1946, and fragments and scrolls (a few) of these so-called lost gospels were found, but they were hardly lost; these writings and/or what they taught were already in circulation way before they were found.  There is no giant conspiracy to be had here.

Please pause for a moment. Do you believe in the Bible and its authority, or do you hold satan’s hand to pursue what you want to believe instead? This is a valid question to ask any Christian who gives these writings any authoritative or Biblical weight.

I like to tell people, you either trust God or you don’t; the same goes for the Bible. Either you trust it, or you don’t. There is no mix-and-match game here, so who are you walking with?

Not even sure where to begin with these “lost” gospels. Here’s one: What was found in 1946 was already in circulation during Jesus’s time; they weren’t “lost” as I stated before. 

When Jesus was in the midst of His ministry, neither He nor His disciples quoted, referenced, or made those texts authoritative. These “lost” teachings show us the world that Jesus was walking into when He started His ministry.

I know a few of you have heard that Jesus quoted the book of Enoch. On the surface, sure, that’s what it looks like, until you find out that the book of Enoch took “shall inherit the earth” from the book of Psalms. (click here to explore that)

Here’s another: Just because these texts were in circulation among people doesn’t make them correct or authoritative. We have how many books on religion circulating out there now, spinning off all sorts of stuff. Are you going to tell me those are authoritative as well, just because they quote the Bible or have some spin on it?

Another point: They were already not included by the religious leaders of the day, and for many valid reasons. Such as, but not limited to :

• Proven discrepancies.

• Salvation by works and not through faith.

• Writings about “secret” knowledge. (Gnostic)

• Contradictory moral teachings.

• Writings were intended to alter the history of Jesus to suit ulterior purposes.

• The Bible has a united purpose. These texts seek to disrupt that.

• The Gospel of Thomas was written far too late in history to have been written by the Apostle Thomas.

• In one, Jesus is described as disrespectful and spiteful.

• None were written by prophets.

• Tobit also includes some freaky witchcraft voodoo stuff, directed by that angel on how to deal with a demon, that's so not Biblical.

• Some contain elaborate, whimsical, and wild tales that completely contradict the Bible. (Enoch being a big one there)

• The Book of Judith celebrates the seed of Simeon, even though he is actually cursed; also, the book of Judith praises her lies and deceit.

• Praying for the dead. 

• Giving of alms to cleanse sins.

• Forgiveness of sins by prayer alone.

• The book of Wisdom used to proclaim that Mary was without sin.

• Parts of Sirach glorify wealth.

• Numerous contradictions within the books themselves

• Baruch is absent from the Hebrew canon, which was finalized by the Jewish community long before Christ.

• Writers from the different sects in the area took liberties to modify them as they saw fit.

  
  

I could honestly keep going.

While yes, these “lost” books do hold historical value for the sake of understanding culture, what Jesus was walking into, where beliefs, myths, doctrines, etc. came from, heck, I own every one of them for research purposes myself, but they are far from accurate and ultimately fall short of Biblical inspiration. 

The Bible is my gold standard; if a book doesn't align with the word of God, it’s out, plain and simple. This should be your standard as well.

Look at it this way: who’s really talking to you?

The Holy Spirit or some other spirit? “But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them — bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.” 2 Peter 2:1–3

I know some are spitting fumes right now at me because you want so badly for things in these books to be true and still claim you are a Christian. But you can’t, I’m sorry, it just doesn't work like that. 

The lost gospels make for a great conspiracy theory but when you actually sit down and look at why they were excluded from Scripture the answer is not even complicated. These texts/books/teaching/writings were never accepted into the Hebrew canon back then, they were never affirmed by Jesus or the apostles, and lack consistent prophetic authority, doctrinal harmony, and historical accuracy.

You want to use uninspired works to discredit inspired works? Good luck with that.  Ultimately, it is always your choice, but think about your choices. Do they take you away from the Bible? Then there’s a problem.

© Jane Isley

Want more content like this? Explore more articles in Rethinking Doctrine.

If this helped you think more clearly about what belongs in your Bible and what does not, join the newsletter for more every two months. Sign up here.

Press Ctrl + P (Windows) or Cmd + P (Mac) to print this article or save it as a PDF.