Monthly Archives: October 2025

How I Finally Reconciled “Faith Alone” and “Works” in the Bible.

Posted on 10/28/2025 by Paul Pavao

I was taught, like most Protestants, “salvation by faith alone.” The problem with this is that I was taught that “salvation” meant “going to heaven.” The two, however, are not equivalent. This is the story of how I found out … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Dealing with Scripture Honestly, Early Christianity, Evangelicals, Gospel, Modern Doctrines, Protestants, Verses Evangelicals Ignore | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Psalm 38: What Is Righteousness and How Merciful Is God?

Posted on 10/25/2025 by Paul Pavao

Caught again, your faithless friend. Don’t you ever tire of hearing what a fool I’ve been? (“Stubborn Love” by Kathy Troccoli) King David wrote Psalm 38. It seems like it has to be about the Bathsheba incident because he is … Continue reading →

Posted in atonement, Bible, Dealing with Scripture Honestly, Evangelicals, Gospel, Modern Doctrines, Rebuilding the Foundations, Teachings that must not be lost, Verses Evangelicals Ignore | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

I thought the retired pastors were motormouths, but they are actually gushing wells

Posted on 10/23/2025 by Paul Pavao

I go to a Wednesday morning Bible Study with three long-time pastors even older than I am. If you meet someone who just wrote a book, you will have trouble talking about anything other than the new book. In the … Continue reading →

Posted in Miscellaneous, missions, Modern Doctrines, Testimonies | Tagged | Leave a comment

Responsibility and Authority: What Others Won’t Tell You About Women in Ministry Roles

Posted on 10/21/2025 by Paul Pavao

The point of this post is to argue that the issue of women in ministry roles cannot be reasonably argued nor understood without understanding the connection between responsibility and authority. I apologize for the provocative title, but that is what … Continue reading →

Posted in Dealing with Scripture Honestly, Miscellaneous, Modern Doctrines | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Understanding the Trinity: How Proverbs 8:22-31 Harmonizes Scripture and Personalizes Creation

Posted on 10/18/2025 by Paul Pavao

Scripture quotes today are from  the ESV, which was an accident. Usually I use the World English Bible because it is not copyrighted. Lately, though I have been reading the ESV, and I forgot to switch my Bible app back … Continue reading →

Posted in Dealing with Scripture Honestly, Early Christianity, History, Modern Doctrines, Teachings that must not be lost | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Prophecy Watchers Conference: The Rapture, the First Resurrection, and the Problem with the Pre-Trib View

Posted on 10/12/2025 by Paul Pavao

I am at a “Prophecy Watchers” conference in Norman, OK. I am going to make a strong effort not to personally insult or slander any of the people at this conference. Both speakers and attendees appear to be among the … Continue reading →

Posted in Dealing with Scripture Honestly, Early Christianity, Far-fetched, Miscellaneous | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Not a few good men, but a righteous people, zealous for good works

Posted on 10/05/2025 by Paul Pavao

“Save, O Lord, for the godly one is gone; for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man. Everyone utters lies to his neighbor …” (Ps. 12:1-2) Just like when we speak, “everyone” rarely means everyone in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Dealing with Scripture Honestly, Evangelicals, Modern Doctrines, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments