Before You Stop Believing

Before You

Stop Believing...

[eBook]

A Biblical look at nine church teachings that cause harm to many Christians.

By Colin P. Norris

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Published by Colin P. Norris

[Smashwords Edition]

Copyright 2022 Colin Peter Norris

This is the Second Edition of the 2005 book Before you stop believing... or stop going to church or stop trusting God.

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Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only, therefore it may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient.

If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Cover Design: Frog Print WA (frogprint.com.au)

All scriptures quoted are from the New King James Version (NKJV).

Contents

Chapter One

God Meant the Bible to be Simple

Chapter Two

Faith

Chapter Three

Sin & Righteousness

Chapter Four

Salvation

Chapter Five

Church

Chapter Six

Prayer & Fasting

Chapter Seven

Blessings & Curses

Chapter Eight

Money, Giving & Tithing

Chapter Nine

The Devil, Demons and Christians

Chapter Ten

Holy God, Holy People

Chapter Eleven

Conclusion

Introduction

I knew there were no such things as demons until one appeared in my bedroom in May 1986. The next day I asked Jesus to be Lord of my life.

Some people think that the way I became a follower of Christ makes me special; I think God knew I was just too pig-headed to accept Jesus without getting terrified by something over which I knew I had absolutely no control.

I believe God calls all those who are genuinely seeking the truth and He will orchestrate the time, place and people in their lives so they hear Him call. Just like He did for me.

Though I didn’t think I was special, I did soon realise I was different. Unlike most Christians I met, I questioned everything. I figured that if what I was told was the truth of God, it would stand up to the scrutiny and questioning of a mere mortal.

The problem was I found that questioning church traditions and contemporary doctrines makes some in authority very uneasy, especially if they don’t know the answers to the questions or if their job relies on following a particular line of doctrine.

So for my Bible College years most of my questioning was done in the College library. I spent every moment I could in the library reading a wide range of material from a wide range of ministers, theologians and scholars. Yet these ‘experts’ didn’t seem to have the answers either, for they so often differed in their opinions on scripture and doctrine.

That’s when I started looking for all the answers in the one book I quickly learned was reliable because it was based on unchanging truths rather than opinion. Even though I do have opinions on many things in the Bible, Before You Stop Believing is not a book based on my opinions or my experiences as a Christian. It’s founded entirely on the one book which has proven itself reliable over the centuries.

While doctrines, traditions and opinions come and go, the Bible remains true.

Before You Stop Believing is not a ‘theological’ book in that it does not promote any particular brand of theology. (Some theologians don’t even believe in God or Jesus.) This book is solely the result of checking and comparing all the scriptures I could find on the various areas I noticed gave Christians most trouble or caused them to lose heart.

For the sake of space, I have not quoted every relevant scripture on each topic but have set before you enough scriptures to demonstrate overall Biblical Principles.

If you are struggling in your Christianity, my desire is that by reading Before You Stop Believing, you will fully enter the exciting, challenging and satisfying life that comes from a true relationship with Jesus and fellowship with the Holy Spirit. If you are a new Christian I hope reading this book will give you a strong foundation so you never become disillusioned with your faith.

Colin Norris

Chapter One

God Meant the Bible to be Simple

Have you ever prayed and prayed for something and not got what you wanted? Ever believed and believed for something and it not happen? Ever given and given and not received in return more than you could hold? And have you ever done all you could to help people in the church and still been hurt by someone in the family of God?

If you can answer ‘yes’ to any of these questions you’ve possibly started to think that something must be wrong. Maybe it’s you, maybe it’s God, or maybe it’s the Bible. In any case, you have probably felt confused, betrayed and even disillusioned. Well that would put you in the exact same position as virtually every other Christian there is and has ever been. This conflict between what you’ve been told and what you’ve actually experienced has caused many Christians to stop believing in the Bible, stop going to church and stop trusting God. Others, like you, ask questions and look for the answers.

The good news is that there are answers and they can be found in the Bible. They are in reach of anyone who really wants to know the truth. God never intended the truth to be so complicated that only academic theologians could reveal God to you. God intended that any Christian who would read a Bible translated correctly into their own language could know God and His plan for them.

Unfortunately we’ve often been given the idea that the Bible is too big to read and too complicated to understand. But if you keep reading the Bible it will eventually become very clear to you. Don’t be scared by how big it is. Kids will tell you the way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. The same applies with reading the Bible. It doesn’t matter which of the 66 books of the Bible you read or how long they take you to read, just read them.

The more you read the Bible, the more you will notice differences between it and some of the things you may have been taught.

The easiest way to check doctrines in the Bible is to look at Biblical Principles. These are themes that run throughout the entire Bible. For any doctrine to be valid it must line up with these Principles.

The best way to understand a Biblical Principle is to find every scripture you can on the subject. Only when you have everything in the Bible that God says about something, can you start to see what He really thinks about it.

Unfortunately we often approach the Bible as if it’s too big to understand. But the Bible is simply made up of various Principles that all join together to show us the heart and the will of God. The more you read your Bible the quicker you will start discovering Biblical Principles and the sooner you will get to know God better.

The main reasons we Christians get confused with what the Bible says are: 1) We make a Principle based on only a handful of scriptures (and some of them taken out of context) instead of everything God has said on it, and 2) We try to make scriptures fit our idea of what should be a Biblical Principle instead of letting our ideas come from the scriptures.

When we put our attention and effort on individual scriptures, we miss seeing the bigger pictures – the Biblical Principles. But when you put your attention on the Biblical Principles, you discover the beauty and simplicity of what God has been saying since the beginning. At last it all starts to make sense and you feel invigorated, fully charged with power, and more alive than ever before.

Your spirit was designed to know and understand the truths of God so you could have the awesome life you were created for. It wouldn’t make sense for God to want all mankind to have a relationship with Him but then make it so complicated that no one could.

The truths of God are simple, so simple everyone who has a heart for Jesus is fully equipped to understand them enough to apply them in their lives. Jesus was so often aggressive with the priests and scribes and Pharisees because they kept people from God by burying the simple truths in rules and rituals and religious traditions.

Your faith and trust in God and the Bible will be revived as you discover the simple truths He has put in your reach. These simple truths are the keys to entering the great life He intended for you. These are the truths He has hidden from the wise of this world and from the modern day Pharisees who twist scripture to suit themselves.

Einstein is said to have stated, "If you can’t explain something to a six year old, you don’t really understand it yourself." If someone can’t explain salvation or sin or righteousness or any other Christian doctrine to a six year old, or you, they don’t really understand it. Biblical Principles are truths which sum up every scripture on a topic in a way that any Christian should be able to understand.

As you read each chapter of this book have your own Bible on hand so you can check scriptures for yourself. And take your time, finding the truth is not a race to a finishing line, it’s a direction we travel in, one step at a time. But as you travel, you will see your Christian life start to change to what God planned for you.

Back to Contents...

Chapter Two

Faith

Faith is when you hear from God, believe what He says and respond appropriately.

The simple test for any Biblical Principle is to find every scripture you can on the subject and see if they all line up with the Principle. If they don’t, either you need to check your scripture to be sure it is adequately translated and in context; or the Principle is wrong.

But before we look at scriptures on faith let’s look at that simple Principle: Faith is when you hear from God, believe what He says and respond appropriately.

First, you have to hear from God. You personally need to hear from God. That’s not someone telling you what God says – that’s you hearing from God personally. That’s not you finding a scripture to back up what you want – that’s you hearing from God personally. You can not base your faith on what God has revealed to someone else.

How do you know it’s God? When you hear God you know it. If you’re a Christian you will know God’s voice when He speaks to you. It could be through scripture or through a leader in the church. It could be audible or just a thought you can’t seem to shake. It could also be through a child or a cartoon series or a secular song. God will use whatever means He can to reveal to you His will or His desires.

If you’re not sure whether it’s God, wait. If it is, He’ll keep speaking until you do hear Him clearly. But beware, not every voice you hear is God. And always remember that God never says things that are contrary to what He has already clearly said in Scripture.

The second part of the Biblical Principle of Faith is to believe what He says. Every person on earth hears from God. Everyone that comes into the world has a light on in them which reveals to them there is a God, that something greater created this planet and everything on it. The difference between faith and lack of faith is whether you believe what God tells you or reveals to you, and what you do about it.

Part three of the Biblical Principle of Faith is responding to what you believe. We all act on what we believe. The question is whether we believe what God says or what others say, or even what we want to believe God is saying. If you trust Him you will respond to what He says or reveals to you.

Even faith for salvation