Monthly Archives: November 2010

Righteousness, Justification, and God’s Kingdom People

Posted on 11/18/2010 by Paul Pavao

Yesterday I wrote on the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. (You can use that link to see it, or, if you’re on this blog’s home page, you can just scroll down to the post below.) The … Continue reading →

Posted in Gospel, Holiness | 1 Comment

Righteousness and the Man to Whom God Will Not Impute Sin

Posted on 11/17/2010 by Paul Pavao

I’m going to try a very theological post for those who have struggled with some of the same questions concerning faith and works that I have. Romans 4:6-8 says: David describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes … Continue reading →

Posted in Gospel, Modern Doctrines | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Should Gentile Christians Keep the Law?

Posted on 11/16/2010 by Paul Pavao

We do not keep the food laws of the Jews, but we do keep the food laws of the Law of Christ, which is the Law of Moses brought to fullness. We do so by meditating on the Word, parting from the world, and being in fellowship with those who do the same. Continue reading →

Posted in Modern Doctrines | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Why Do We Allow Musical Instruments When the Early Churches Did Not?

Posted on 11/15/2010 by Paul Pavao

You may not realize that the early churches, at least the ones in the 3rd century and later, did not allow musical instruments. The denomination that calls itself Church of Christ and claims not to be a denomination also claims … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Church, History, Modern Doctrines | Tagged , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Why Do I Disagree with the Early Churches on Procreation?

Posted on 11/14/2010 by Paul Pavao

Anyone familiar with the early Christian writings knows that from a very early date the churches began to oppose sex, even in marriage, for any other purpose than having children. I think they were influenced by Greek philosophy, not apostolic … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, History | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Why Do I Commune With Remarried Christians?

Posted on 11/13/2010 by Paul Pavao

To one who, before believing, had been loosed from a wife, she will not be counted a second wife who, subsequent to believing, is the first. For it is from believing that our life itself dates its origin. ~Tertullian, c. A.D. 200 Continue reading →

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Why Don’t You … ?: Head Coverings

Posted on 11/12/2010 by Paul Pavao

A friend that I’m honored even to know, who always treats me with a respect I don’t deserve, wrote me to ask why I don’t talk about the kinds of things that a lot of other early church fanatics talk … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, History | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Harmonization vs. Conflict in the Scripture

Posted on 11/08/2010 by Paul Pavao

In my last post I talked a little about faith verse works. I mentioned that "faith plus works" is not a bad thing in Scripture, but a good thing. It’s only a bad thing in our fundamentalist Protestant tradition. Why … Continue reading →

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Customs and Traditions

Posted on 11/08/2010 by Paul Pavao

This post was inspired by a quote from Mark Twain: Laws are sand, customs are rock. Laws can be evaded and punishment escaped but an openly transgressed custom brings sure punishment. How true this is. Recently, I wrote a page … Continue reading →

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For the Sake of Learning: War and Mankind

Posted on 11/08/2010 by Paul Pavao

I have to pass on a very interesting article from Scientific American. That article has some very interesting thoughts, backed up with some things we know about tribal societies, about why men engage in war. Those things are worth thinking … Continue reading →

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