Secret Book of James 1:14–16

¹⁴ In response I told him, “Lord, we can obey you if you want us to, because we’ve abandoned our fathers, our mothers, and our villages, and have followed you. So help us not to be tempted by the devil, the evil one.” (SJM) ^15a In response the Lord said, “What good is it to you if you do the will of the Father, and he doesn’t give it to you as a gift when you’re tempted by Satan? But if you’re oppressed by Satan and persecuted and do (God’s) [5]will, I [say] that he’ll love you, make you my equal, and regard [you] as having become beloved through his forethought by your own choice. (SJM) ^15b So won’t you stop loving the flesh and being afraid of sufferings? Or don’t you know that you haven’t yet been abused, unjustly accused, locked up in prison, illegally condemned, crucified by reason, nor buried in the sand as I myself was by the evil one? Do you dare to spare the flesh, you for whom the Spirit is a surrounding wall? (SJM) ^15c If you consider how long the world existed <before> you, and how long it will exist after you, you’ll find that your life is a single day and your sufferings a single hour. For the good won’t come into the world. So scorn death and take thought for life! Remember my cross and my death, and you’ll live!” (SJM) ¹⁶ But in response I told him, “Lord, don’t teach us about the cross and death, because they’re far [6]from you.” (SJM)