Working Out Salvation with Fear and Trembling in a Wealthy World

Posted on 12/19/2025 by Paul Pavao

Apparently, there are people who think that when Jesus sits on his glorious throne and puts the sheep on his right and the goats on his left, that he will say to Mother Teresa, “I was hungry, and you did not feed me; I was sick, and you did not visit me.” In Jesus’ recounting of this future event, it is only those who are sent into the fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

Meanwhile, they also believe that in their comfortable, middle-class American lives Jesus will say to them, “I was hungry, and you fed me; I was sick and you visited me.” It is only those who will enter the everlasting kingdom.

God once said, “This one will I look upon, he who is of contrite spirit and trembles at my word” (Isa. 66).

It is so hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven that it takes a miracle. Many of us do not recognize how wealthy we are in worldly goods. There is a reason that Paul taught us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. God have mercy on my soul that I might care even 1/10 as much as Mother Teresa did for “the least of these” and that the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches do not pierce me to death with their thorns.

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Bathing in the Scriptures and the Presence of God

Posted on 12/07/2025 by Paul Pavao

Hardly a day goes by that I don’t get important reminders from Scripture. Today:

Prov. 25:26 – Like a muddied spring … is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked.–I have done that so much in my life.

Prov. 25:28 – A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.–Yikes. I’m working on losing weight because of high blood-pressure and a pre-diabetic A1C. It’s the holiday season, and I am not a bastion of self-control.

Prov. 25:5-10 – I found references to Jesus teachings.

Ps. 82 – I just enjoyed reading about the divine council; grateful I was taught about it. I took note of what God wanted from the sons of God to whom he had given the nations to judge.

Ps. 84 – I filled my own soul with longing for the courts of God, and I remembered the joy of long hours of prayer and worship with God’s presence filling the room. I need more of that in my life.

Ps. 84:5-8 – There is power in those who are longing for a city that was built without hands. Their tears (“Valley of Baca” means valley of tears) make springs wherever they go, they get stronger and stronger, and EVERY ONE OF THEM appears before God in Zion.

How great is our God! A day in his courts is better than a thousand elsewhere!

Finally, Psalm 85. God forgave the iniquity of his people; he covered all their sin. Our God is the God of Israel and the apostles, who is filled with mercy and lovingkindness as his central trait. It is his mercy that is the central mark of his holiness, not judgement and condemnation. Yes, “Righteousness will go before him,” his mercy is to enable our righteousness, and the righteous live in his ongoing mercy.

Be upright in heart, then, saints. Praise his name continually, long for his house, the fellowship of the saints, for he lives where we gather even if it is twos and threes. Assemble, pray, encourage, hear the Word of the Lord.

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The Role of Early Church Unity in Strengthening Modern-Day Faith

Posted on 12/02/2025 by Paul Pavao

This is a guest post by Merry Usman.

In a world increasingly fragmented by denominational divisions, cultural conflicts, and personal preferences, the church is called to stand as a beacon of unity. Yet, this call often feels difficult to realize amid doctrinal disputes and diverse interpretations of Scripture. 

The early church, however, provides a powerful model of unity that transcended differences and glorified Christ. By examining the unity displayed in the Book of Acts and the writings of early church fathers, we can uncover profound lessons for cultivating togetherness within the body of Christ today.

Unity in the Early Church: A Biblical Model

The Book of Acts offers one of the most vivid portrayals of unity in the early church. From the moment the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles at Pentecost, a supernatural bond was formed among the believers. Acts 2:42–47 describes a community devoted to four key pillars: the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer. This shared commitment created an atmosphere of mutual care and generosity, as “they had everything in common” (Acts 2:44, NIV). Those who had resources freely gave to those in need, ensuring that no one went without.

This unity was not a product of human effort but a result of their shared identity in Christ. The early church was composed of people from diverse backgrounds: Jews and Gentiles, rich and poor, men and women. Despite these differences, they demonstrated a remarkable commitment to one another. Their unity had tangible effects—not only did it meet practical needs, but it also served as a powerful witness to the watching world. Luke records that “the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47, NIV).

The challenges to unity in the early church were real and frequent, yet they were met with grace and wisdom. In Acts 6, tensions arose between Greek-speaking and Hebrew-speaking believers over the distribution of food to widows. Rather than allowing this issue to fester and create division, the apostles appointed deacons to address the matter. This collaborative and Spirit-led response preserved the church’s unity and allowed the apostles to continue focusing on prayer and teaching the Word.

Lessons from the Early Church Fathers

The writings of the early church fathers further underscore the importance of unity. Ignatius of Antioch, writing around AD 110, urged Christians to maintain harmony and avoid schism. He emphasized that unity under Christ—reflected in obedience to church leadership—was essential for the church’s mission and testimony:

“Be eager, therefore, to do all things in harmony with God, with the bishop presiding in the place of God, and the presbyters in the place of the council of the apostles” (Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Magnesians).

Similarly, Cyprian of Carthage wrote extensively about the dangers of division. In his treatise On the Unity of the Church, he likened the church to the seamless garment of Christ, which was not torn even during His crucifixion:

“God is one, and Christ is one, and His Church is one; one is the faith, and one the people cemented together by harmony into the strong unity of a body” (Cyprian, On the Unity of the Church).

These early leaders understood that division weakens the church’s ability to fulfill its mission. They called believers to prioritize unity, not as an optional virtue but as a reflection of God’s own nature.

The Theological Foundation of Unity

The unity of the church is deeply rooted in theology. Ephesians 4:4–6 reminds us:

“There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”

Unity is not simply about getting along or tolerating one another. It is a reflection of the triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—whose perfect unity serves as the ultimate model for His people. When believers come together in unity, they reflect God’s character and fulfill Jesus’ prayer in John 17:21:

“That all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”

Barriers to Unity in the Modern Church

Despite the clear biblical and historical call to unity, modern churches face numerous barriers to togetherness. Denominational differences, cultural diversity, and personal preferences often create divisions. Doctrinal disputes can lead to hostility, while competition among churches can hinder collaboration.

In some cases, these divisions stem from legitimate theological concerns. It is important to recognize that unity does not mean compromising truth. However, it does require approaching disagreements with humility and a willingness to listen. As Paul exhorted in Philippians 2:3–4:

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”

Practical Steps for Fostering Unity

To overcome these barriers and foster unity, modern believers can draw inspiration from the practices of the early church. Here are some practical steps for cultivating togetherness within local congregations:

  1. Focus on Christ-Centered Essentials
    The early church’s unity was grounded in their shared faith in Christ. Today, we can prioritize the core truths of the gospel—salvation through Jesus Christ, the authority of Scripture, and the hope of eternal life—rather than allowing secondary issues to divide us.
  2. Encourage Open Dialogue
    Just as the apostles convened to address disputes in Acts 15, modern churches can create spaces for prayerful dialogue about theological differences. Approaching these conversations with grace and a commitment to seek God’s will can lead to greater understanding and unity.
  3. Serve Together
    Unity is often forged through shared mission. When believers serve their communities together—whether through outreach programs, disaster relief, or acts of kindness—they set aside personal differences to focus on a common goal.
  4. Practice Generosity and Hospitality
    The early church’s generosity was a hallmark of their unity. Sharing resources, inviting others into our homes, and creating spaces for fellowship can strengthen bonds within the church.
  5. Pray for Unity
    Prayer is one of the most powerful tools for fostering unity. As we pray for our churches, communities, and leaders, we align our hearts with God’s desire for oneness among His people.

The Power of Unity as a Witness

Unity within the church is not merely for the benefit of believers. It is a powerful testimony to the world of God’s love and transformative power. Jesus emphasized this in John 13:35:

“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

When the church embodies unity, it becomes a compelling witness to the watching world. In an era marked by division and discord, a unified church stands out as a beacon of hope and a reflection of God’s kingdom.

Conclusion

The unity of the early church serves as a timeless example for believers today. By reflecting on their practices and teachings, we can draw valuable lessons for overcoming doctrinal divisions and fostering togetherness within our own communities.

As we focus on Christ-centered essentials, practice humility, and commit to serving one another, we embody the prayer of Jesus and glorify God through our unity. Let us strive to be a church that reflects the seamless garment of Christ—whole, unbroken, and united in purpose—for the glory of God and the good of the world.

Author’s Bio: Merry is an experienced writer and SEO specialist with a passion for creating compelling narratives that connect with readers. With a strong background in Christian marketing, she has spent the past five years crafting impactful content and optimizing digital presence for a leading Christian brand. She enjoys writing about faith-based topics, including the significance of Christian gifts from Israel, helping believers find meaningful ways to express their devotion.

Posted in Church, Early Christianity, Unity | Tagged | Leave a comment

The Day God Put on Armor: Isaiah’s Hidden Explanation of the Atonement

Posted on 12/02/2025 by Paul Pavao

Isaiah 59:15 and the chapters following are surely the best picture of the Atonement that no one pays attention to, much like Proverbs 8:22-31 in regard to the Trinity and creation.

The Breach That Requires Atonement/Reconciliation

Let’s jump right into it, though we will have to lay a foundation in Isaiah 59:1-2.

Behold, Yahweh’s hand is not shortened, that it can’t save;
nor his ear dull, that it can’t hear.
But your iniquities have separated you and your God,
and your sins have hidden his face from you,
so that he will not hear.

Think about the problem here. Yahweh can save, but our sins have gotten in the way of his salvation. This is strange because one of the problems God saves us from is our sins. For example, after committing adultery with Bathsheba and murdering her husband Uriah, David does not only ask for mercy (Ps. 51:1-2), but he also cries out, “Create in me a clean heart” (Ps. 51:12).

Still, under the Law of Moses, as the apostle Paul points out, “The one who does [the laws] will live by them” (Rom. 10:5). An anonymous Christian writer, sometime in the early second century, pointed out:

As long then as the former time endured, He permitted us to be borne along by unruly impulses, being drawn away by the desire of pleasure and various lusts. This was not that He at all delighted in our sins, but that He simply endured them; nor that He approved the time of working iniquity which then was, but that He sought to form a mind conscious of righteousness, so that being convinced in that time of our unworthiness of attaining life through our own works, it should now, through the kindness of God, be vouchsafed to us; and having made it manifest that in ourselves we were unable to enter into the kingdom of God, we might through the power of God be made able. (“Epistle to Diognetus,” ch. 9)

This Christian from 1,900 years in our past explains why God put Israel through the rigors of the Law of Moses and the punishments for failing to live up to its demands. Adam was not enough. Israel had to drive it home to us that it is a rare human being that lives righteously. (Let’s remember that Job, Daniel, Joseph, the prophets, and some few others lived faithful to God under the Old Covenant.) He wanted the whole human race to know that we can only enter the Kingdom of God by the power of God. (In the same way as a rich man can only overcome the deceitfulness and temptations of riches by the power of God [Matt. 19:23-26].)

When you are done reading my blog post, go back to this link, and you will love his poetic description of what God did as described here by Isaiah.

Isaiah 59:3-14 goes on to describe the problem of sin in the same exquisite and painful detail that Romans 3 does, but let’s jump to the solution, the method of God’s atonement.

The Solution

Isaiah 59:15-16 has to be one of the most fascinating comments in the Bible.

Yahweh saw it,
and it displeased him that there was no justice.
He saw that there was no man,
and marveled that there was no intercessor.

God says something very similar in Ezekiel 22:30-31:

“I sought for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I would not destroy it; but I found no one. Therefore I have poured out my indignation on them. I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath. I have brought their own way on their heads,” says the Lord Yahweh.

As is typical with the words “no one” and “everyone,” God means “almost no one” here. Jeremiah stood before God in Jerusalem, warning its citizens and pleading for Jerusalem until God told him to stop praying for them (Jer. 7:16; 14:11). He gives the reason for this in Ezekiel 14:14 (and repeats it in 14:20):

“Son of man, when a land sins against me by committing a trespass, and I stretch out my hand on it, and break the staff of its bread and send famine on it, and cut off from it man and animal—though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only their own souls by their righteousness,” says the Lord Yahweh.

I know we’re off on a rabbit trail, but if you think God always means “no one,” rather than “almost no one” or “hardly anyone,” when he says “no one,” you will be constantly confused by the Bible, wondering who the “generation of the righteous” is (Ps. 14:5) when there was “no one who does good, no, not one” just 2 verses earlier (Ps. 14:3).

Okay, back to Isaiah 59. God says that there was no intercessor, but this is prophecy. This is not the time of sending his people into captivity in Babylon, when he told them he was cutting off the land even if Noah, Daniel, and Job lived there. In Isaiah 59, God had a different response to the lack of an intercessor.

Therefore his own arm brought salvation to him;
and his righteousness sustained him.
He put on righteousness as a breastplate,
and a helmet of salvation on his head.
He put on garments of vengeance for clothing,
and was clad with zeal as a mantle.
According to their deeds,
he will repay as appropriate:
wrath to his adversaries,
recompense to his enemies.
He will repay the islands their due. (Isa. 59:16-18)

Again, this is prophecy. Under the Old Testament, God had a physical, earthly nation with physical enemies, all of whom were figures of the heavenly kingdom and the spiritual forces of darkness that are our real enemies. When Isaiah says that God will repay wrath to his adversaries, he is not talking about Moab and Babylon nor any other earthly enemies. He was talking about principalities, authorities, dominions, and powers in the heavenly realm.

Thus, the result of God’s personal warfare on his enemies …

So they will fear Yahweh’s name from the west,
and his glory from the rising of the sun;
for he will come as a rushing stream,
which Yahweh’s breath drives. (Isa. 59:19)

That is the result. These are all big, booming, shake-the-heavens kind of words. God rises up; he puts on a breastplate (righteousness), a helmet (salvation), and he puts on “garments of vengeance.” The result is that everyone fears his name from the west to the east. It is “a rushing stream” being driven along by the breath of the Lord.

Whoo! It’s a wild storm in the heavenlies. On earth, though, it is quiet; the storm is unseen.

“A Redeemer will come to Zion, and to those who turn from disobedience in Jacob,” says Yahweh.

On earth, the Creator quietly slipped into his creation.

Hold that thought. When Paul quotes this verse in Romans 11:26, he says that God will “turn away ungodliness from Jacob.” That’s a different idea than that he will come to those who have already turned from ungodliness. This is because Paul was quoting the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament.

I am not going to address this discrepancy because it is irrelevant to this description of the Atonement in Isaiah. My position is that the Holy Spirit meant to say what he said through Isaiah, and he meant to say what he said through Paul. I can’t do anything about the fact that the way he adjusted what Isaiah said was through a Greek translation made by Jews in Egypt before Jesus was born. God does what he does, and I try to learn from his actions, not correct them nor misrepresent them.

Back to that thought: The Creator’s entrance into his creation was not completely unheralded. Sages from Persia saw signs in the sky and traveled to Jerusalem to greet the King of the Universe. Messengers from heaven announced the King’s birth to shepherds on a nearby hill.

Most of those in Jerusalem, the city of the great King (Ps. 48), had no idea.

The Results

And thus began the fulfillment of a promise made some 700 years earlier by Yahweh, the God of Israel, that he would put on garments of vengeance and crush his enemies. For his people, he would …

“As for me, this is my covenant with them,” says Yahweh. “My Spirit who is on you, and my words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart out of your mouth, nor out of the mouth of your offspring, nor out of the mouth of your offspring’s offspring,” says Yahweh, “from now on and forever.” (Isa. 59:21)

After the Creator crushed his enemies, there came a new covenant, a covenant that would forever change those who entered into covenant with God through the Redeemer who came to Zion. In the next post, we’ll talk about the crushing of God’s enemies, the way-over-my-head parts and the parts I understand. We’ll also move on to Isaiah 60 and start enjoying the prophetic promises of God that are given there.

We speak wisdom, however, among those who are full grown, yet a wisdom not of this world nor of the rulers of this world who are coming to nothing. But we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the wisdom that has been hidden, which God foreordained before the worlds for our glory, which none of the rulers of this world has known. For had they known it, they wouldn’t have crucified the Lord of glory, but as it is written, “Things which an eye didn’t see, and an ear didn’t hear, which didn’t enter into the heart of man, these God has prepared for those who love him.” But to us, God revealed them through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. (1 Cor. 2:6-10).

 

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Is This the Great Apostasy? Here’s what caused it.

Posted on 11/25/2025 by Paul Pavao

There is a reason that Christian history is divided into a pre-Nicene era (before the Council of Nicea in AD 325) and post-Nicene eras. Before the Council of Nicea, the churches were quick to announce the righteousness and virtue that God had produced in them by the salvation of Jesus Christ (cf. Eph. 2:10). For example, around the year 200, a Roman accused the Christians of having a “holier than thou” attitude. A slave named Octavius responded with …

And if you wish to compare Christians with yourselves, then even if in some things our discipline is inferior, yet we shall be found much better than you. You forbid, yet commit, adulteries; we are born men only for our own wives. You punish crimes when committed; with us, even to think of crimes is to sin. You are afraid of those who are aware of what you do; we are afraid even of our own consciences, without which we cannot exist. Finally, from your numbers the prisons boil over, but there is no Christian there unless he is accused on account of his religion or has deserted it. (Christian-history.org)

A few decades later, Origen answered a skeptic named Celsus and comparing the ekklesiai (plural of ekklesia, translated church or assembly) of God with the ekklesiai (the citizens who met to decide town of city matters) in various cities:

“For the ekklesia of God, for example, which is at Athens, is a meek and stable body, as being one which desires to please God, who is over all things; whereas the ekklesia of the Athenians is given to sedition, and is not at all to be compared to the ekklesia of God in that city. And you may say the same thing of the ekklesia of God at Corinth, and of the ekklesia of the Corinthian people; and also of the ekklesia of God at Alexandria, and of the ekklesia of the people of Alexandria.

“And if he who hears this be a candid man, and one who investigates things with a desire to ascertain the truth, he will be filled with admiration of Him who not only conceived the design, but also was able to secure in all places the establishment of ekklesiai of God alongside of the ekklesiai of the people in each city.

“In like manner, also, in comparing the council [different Greek word] of the ekklesia of God with the council in any city, you would find that certain councilors of the ekklesia are worthy to rule in the city of God, if there be any such city in the whole world; whereas the councilors in all other places exhibit in their characters no quality worthy of the conventional superiority which they appear to enjoy over their fellow-citizens.

“And so, too, you must compare the ruler of the ekklesia in each city with the ruler of the people of the city, in order to observe that even amongst those councilors and rulers of the ekklesia of God who come very far short of their duty, and who lead more indolent lives than others who are more energetic, it is nevertheless possible to discover a general superiority in what relates to the progress of virtue over the characters of the councilors and rulers in the various cities.”
(Origen, c. AD 230, “Against Celsus,” ch. 30, https://ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf04/anf04.vi.ix.iii.xxx.html)

The Great Apostasy?

We don’t say such things anymore. I know that some, perhaps even many, churches in the USA today could and would say that Jesus has changed their members enough that they live more virtuously than the world. Overall, though, we do not feel free to make that claim, and if we did, non-Christians would throw statistics and anecdotes at us proving that we are no better than the world at all.

A telling example of this came from “The Trial and Testimony of the Early Church,” a video series I saw back is the 1980s. They re-enacted part of “The Octavius” debate, written by Minucius Felix and referenced at the start of this blog. In their reconstruction of the debate, though, when the Roman accuses the Christians of thinking they are better than everyone else, Octavius says they are not. Instead, he says that they took communion every week to remind themselves that they are not better than anyone else but were saved by the blood of Jesus.

I am not sure how The Christian History Institute justified changing Felix’ text, but their change is a perfect example of what I’m talking about. Before the Council of Nicea, the churches could argue that their members, even the ones who were more indolent (lazy) than others, still lived lives more virtuous than the average Roman.

They could do this because Jesus does change his disciples. A person who is led by the Spirit–and thus, according to Romans 8:14, all the children of God–will live a far better life than if he/she were not led by the Holy Spirit. If then, they are living a more virtuous life than they used to, then it is simple to be expected that Christians are living more virtuously, in general, than than non-Christians who are not led by the Spirit of God.

What Caused This Drastic Change?

I first noticed just how drastic this change from mainly virtuous people in the churches to worldly people in the churches when I was researching my book on the Council of Nicea. In AD 323, Eusebius, the bishop of Caesarea, wrote his Church History. It preserves writings and documents from early Christians that we would not have otherwise.

The Council of Nicea, however, was in AD 325, two years after Eusebius’ history. He did cover the Council of Nicea in his Life of Constantine, but for the consequences of Nicea, I had to go to histories written a century later. There are five of them, one each by Jerome, Rufinus, Theodotus, Sozomen, and Socrates Scholasticus. The last three were the easiest for me to access, so I used them to describe the “aftermath” of the council.

I was shocked at the violence. There is no violence at all in Eusebius’ Church History. Yes, there were disagreements and even schisms. The Novatian churches arose in the mid-third century, and there was a lot of name-calling between Cornelius, the duly elected bishop of Rome, and Novatian, who tried to usurp his seat. There was, however, no violence.

Let me give you two quotes so that you can be shocked with me at the difference:

By this internal war among the Christians, continuous seditions arose in that city, and many lives were sacrificed in consequence of these occurrences. (The Ecclesiastical History of Socrates Scholasticus, 439, Bk. II, ch. 12)

Dissension arose among the people [of Rome]; their disagreement being not about any article of faith or heresy, but simply as to who should be bishop. Hence frequent conflicts arose, insomuch that many lives were sacrificed in this contention. (The Ecclesiastical History of Socrates Scholasticus, 439, Bk. IV, ch. 29)

You can read the context of those quotes at the links provided. The churches of the fourth century were very little like the churches of the third century.

What happened?

This is how I put it in my booklet, “How to Make the Church Fail.” In the spirit of C.S. Lewis’ Screwtape Letters, I wrote it from the devil’s perspective, even though the history is accurate. This is the devil speaking:

Eusebius of Caesarea, though a brilliant theologian and meticulous historian, was one of my favorite tools, all the more effective because of his acknowledged wisdom and scholarship.

He authored The Oration of Eusebius in Praise of Constantine for the emperor who became his dear friend. He calls Constantine the beloved of the Word of God, and refers to the emperor’s “holy services,” when he offered to God, my Enemy, the souls of his flock.

I laugh at the very thought. Who is that flock? What souls does an earthly emperor offer to God? Are they his souls, or are they mine? Am I the ruler of this world, or was Constantine?

It was my flock that Constantine, the 
unbaptized emperor, offered to God’s kingdom. (pp. 16-17)

After the churches allowed the emperor Constantine to preside over and intervene in that first ecumenical council, the public rapidly followed him into the church. Before Constantine, the churches were often persecuted. Non-Christians did not “attend” Christian meetings because being a Christian could be fatal. In fact, Constantine and his co-emperor in the East, Lucinius, put an end to “the Great Persecution,” which lasted from AD 303-311. Many of the bishops at the Council of Nicea bore the scars of torture. One at least, Paphnutius, came to the council missing an eye, which Constantine famously kissed.

After Constantine, though, the persecution of Christians by the emperors ended (with some exceptions during the reign of Julian the Apostate (361-363), and the public came in.

This is a worse problem than we might think. Paul distinguishes between Christians, who are new creatures created in Christ Jesus for good works (Eph. 2:10) and “the sons of disobedience” (Eph. 2:1-3; 5:5-7). The apostle John goes further and says there is an “manifest” difference between the righteous children of God the unrighteous and unloving children of the devil (1 Jn. 3:10).

The entrance of Constantine’s flock, former pagans who honored the gods of Rome, into the churches has never been corrected. In fact, it got worse before it got better. Throughout the Roman Empire and even through Europe in the Middle Ages, the public was baptized into the Church and the Christians were the public, regenerated by God through Christ or not.

I read a Barna poll some years ago that said most evangelical pastors were willing to admit that no more than 40-60% of their church members were born again. Just four years ago, an assistant pastor scoffed under his breath when I suggested that it was possible 80% of people who pray the sinner’s prayer fall away. He thought that number was too small.

How can the saints possibly build one another up in their most holy faith if more than 50% are actually children of the devil? We greatly underestimate the influence of spirits in human lives. Hebrews 3:13 tells us that we are to [encourage, console, help, admonish] one another so that sin does not deceive and harden us. Yet many of those with whom we fellowship are now being moved by “the spirit that is at work in the sons of disobedience” (Eph. 2:1-3).

Hebrews 10:24-25 tells us that our assemblies should consist of us exhorting one another and stirring one another up to love and good works.

I don’t want our Sunday morning outreach services to end. My application would be to continue to use Sunday morning services as a way to evangelize, but we must also give opportunity for the saints to meet with just saints and speak to one another. Some churches do that now, which is wonderful, but if there is no stirring one another up to love and good works (see 1 Thess. 5:12-14 as well as Heb. 10:24-25), we’ll have to keep telling seekers that we don’t live much differently than the world does.

May God grant our apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers wisdom and revelation to train the saints in the work of service so that every part can do its share and we can speak the truth in love to one another in order overthrow the deception of sin, of riches, and of crafty, self-seeking men (Eph. 4:11-16).

Finally, to answer one objection to what I have written here, yes, we are not to separate the tares from the wheat. That is because it is very hard to tell the difference between tares and wheat until the harvest is near. Paul nonetheless commands us to get the leaven out of the loaf and the wicked out from among us (1 Cor. 5). The fruit since we stopped doing that looks a lot like great apostasy.

 

 

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Created for Companionship: The God Who Walks With His People

Posted on 11/23/2025 by Paul Pavao

When the Philistines seized David in Gath, he wrote:

You count my wanderings.
You put my tears into your container.
Aren’t they in your book?
Then my enemies shall turn back in the day that I call.
I know this: that God is for me.
In God, I will praise his word.
In Yahweh, I will praise his word.
I have put my trust in God.
I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?

I was reminded of a morning in the hospital, getting chemo for leukemia. God had done something amazing for me, which happened a lot during my leukemia trek, and I was giving him thanks, marveling at the attention he showed me. I felt the Lord speak, in seeming frustration, “What will it take for you to believe I am for you?”

I told my wife about this, and she told me about a story she read in a book. A man was praying one morning, and he felt God wanted him to go out to his hot tub. Despite not being sure this was really the Lord’s leading, he went. As he sat in the hot tub, wondering why he was there, God asked him why he bought the hot tub.

I’m guessing that he was wondering whether God wanted him to get rid of it. He had bought it partly for health reasons and partly for the sheer enjoyment of it. God said, “How you feel in this hot tub is how I want to be with you. I want to enjoy you and spend time with you.”

We need to be reminded that God made Adam and Eve in the garden so that he could walk with them and enjoy the cool of the day with them. That goal has never changed.

We consider Enoch blessed because he was caught up to heaven (Gen. 5:24). Only one thing was said about Enoch, that he walked with God. If one of the notably blessed humans was blessed for walking with God, then it must be that God wants to walk with us … with you … with me.

“We love him because he first loved us.”–1 John 4:19

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The Salvation Evangelicals Forgot: Paul’s Missing Category.

Posted on 11/21/2025 by Paul Pavao

One of the biggest problems with evangelical (Reformation-based) theology is that no one considers whether “saved” or “salvation” can mean more than one thing. This despite the fact that the apostle Paul wrote:

Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we will be saved from God’s wrath through him. For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we will be saved by his life. (Rom. 5:9-10)

“We were reconciled,” but “we will be saved from God’s wrath.” Being reconciled to God is what we evangelicals generally call “being saved.” Yet Paul says “much more then,” if we are justified and reconciled, we will be saved from wrath through Jesus and “his life.”

What is this second salvation?

The people I meet in churches and Bible studies diligently guard themselves against assigning too much importance to the judgment by works mentioned in 2 Corinthians 5:10. It’s not central to their thoughts because, obviously, works have nothing to do with salvation … and by salvation they mean both the reconciliation to God we have already received and the salvation from wrath that Paul says is in the future. The past-tense, future-tense distinction in Romans 5:9-10 is not important to them because “works have nothing to do with any salvation.”

The problem is that someone forgot to train Jesus, Paul, and–of course–James in evangelical theology concerning the future salvation Paul mentioned in Romans 5:9-10, salvation from wrath:

Know this for sure, that no sexually immoral person, nor unclean person, nor covetous man (who is an idolater), has any inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes on the children of disobedience. Therefore don’t be partakers with them. (Eph. 5:5-7)

I highlighted the words that express the importance of what Paul is saying here. If you did not process the actual important message, though, go back and read the words in normal type. Doesn’t it sound like works may have something to do with that future salvation?

In case it helps, I am going to point out that many of the pastors I listen to, and even some of my friends, like to say, “We will only be judged by the good works we have done, and only for rewards.” Paul said though,”… according to what he has done, whether good or bad” in 2 Corinthians 5:10.

I’m going to leave you with two last things here: 1. Peter’s response to the judgment; and 2. the caveat on God’s mercy I now put in all my posts like this.

Peter’s Response to the Coming Salvation from Wrath

1 Peter 1:17 says:

If you call on him as Father, who without respect of persons judges according to each man’s work, pass the time of your living as foreigners here in reverent fear.

Let’s talk about the phrase “reverent fear” in the translation I use, the World English Bible. The Greek word there just means “fear.” “Reverent” is added by the translator. It is true that fear can be crippling, and there is no good to be had in cowering from God. All true fear should drive you toward God, not away from him. John Bevere has an excellent video on the true fear of God. All of us who have experienced it the way Bevere describes know this is the true fear of God.

Nonetheless, I would be doing what so many others do, leaving truth out they don’t think you can handle, if I did not tell you that “fear” in the New Testament involves not only being scared enough to do something, but even trembling. Paul says we are to work out our salvation with “fear and trembling” in Philippians 2:12. I am certain he means the same thing Peter does in 1 Peter 1:17.

More generally, the Holy Spirit says through Isaiah, “I will look to this man, even to him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at my word” (Isa. 66:2). 

Caveat: God’s Mercy

To put it simply God is merciful deep down in his very nature. He announces to Moses that he is …

a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth, 7 keeping loving kindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and disobedience and sin … (Ex. 34:6-7)

It is true that the next line says that he will by no means clear the guilty, but by “guilty” he means those who do not fear him, do not hate evil, and who just continue in their wickedness. Even then he is always hoping the wicked will repent and become righteous (Ez. 18:20-24; 2 Pet. 3:9). He does not want the wicked to die (same verses).

Psalm 136 tells us 26 times that God’s lovingkindness endures forever. When Jehoshaphat put singers in front of his army on the way to battle, they sang, “God’s lovingkindness endures forever.” In the middle of Jeremiah’s great lament over the destruction of Jerusalem and the Jews’ captivity in Babylon, he wrote:

This I recall to my mind; therefore I have hope. It is because of Yahweh’s loving kindnesses that we are not consumed, because his mercies don’t fail. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness. “Yahweh is my portion,” says my soul. “Therefore I will hope in him.” Yahweh is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that a man should hope and quietly wait for the salvation of Yahweh. It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. (Lam. 3:21-27)

Yes, God is just and, yes, God is holy, but his justice and holiness do not get in the way of his mercy. As Hosea, and Jesus, said, “Mercy triumphs over judgment.” Some, as evidenced by D. James Kennedy’s Evangelism Explosion and the Southern Baptists’ “Continuing Witness Training,” wrongly think that God’s justice triumphs over his mercy. It does not. If you are living wickedly …

Seek Yahweh [through Jesus] while he may be found.Call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return to Yahweh, and he will have mercy on him, to our God, for he will freely pardon. (Isa. 55:7)

Jesus did not die to change God. God was already overflowing with and longing for mercy toward the repentant. He died for you so that you would have the power to repent and live in the fear of God and be able to expect the abundant mercy of God when you stumble like a human (Heb. 4:16). The righteous stumble seven times and rise up again (Prov. 24:16).

James, the Lord’s brother, known to Jews and Christians alike as “James the Just,” possible the most righteous man who ever lived, wrote: For we all stumble in many things (Jas. 3:2). Rise up and patiently continue to do good by the Holy Spirit, for you will reap in due season, if you do not faint (Rom. 2:6-7; Gal. 6:9).

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Only the Unruly Need Be Warned & the Faith Once For All Delivered to the Saints

Posted on 11/05/2025 by Paul Pavao

Only the Unruly Need Be Warned

I write a lot of things on good works and the warnings that we must continue in the faith if we expect to receive the reward on the last day. We learned during the years at Rose Creek Village, however, that the ones who don’t need the exhortation are the first to receive it, while those who need it tend to think they’re doing fine.

1 Thessalonians 5:14: We exhort you, brothers: Admonish the disorderly; encourage the faint-hearted; support the weak; be patient toward all.

This is to say that many of my friends don’t need to be warned about the upcoming judgment. You already live in fear of God. The fear of God is to hate evil, and you are already warring against the evil in your life, giving yourself to the service of God and others. You just need a pat on your back and to be told, “Those who serve everyone in humility the way you do will be the greatest in God’s kingdom” (Matt. 20:26-28).

*Everyone should know this song (many already do), to remind ourselves of that great truth.

The Faith Once for All Delivered to the Saints

I hope, though, that everyone wants to know what the Bible says, and there is a paradigm (a model or worldview, maybe) of Christianity that prevails in the United States and which contradicts the faith once for all delivered to the saints.

The faith was once delivered by the apostles. It was delivered to the next generation of saints. We have lots of writings from them, and they tell us what was delivered to them. It was not Calvinism, not going to heaven by faith alone, not a taboo against the word “works,” but it was a warring together against evil deeds in our midst and a profound horror at division.

From AD 185:

The Church, though dispersed through our the whole world, even to the ends of the earth, has received from the apostles and their disciples this faith: [She believes] in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are in them; and in one Christ Jesus, the Son of God, who became incarnate for our salvation; and in the Holy Spirit, who proclaimed through the prophets the dispensations of God, and the advents, and the birth from a virgin, and the passion, and the resurrection from the dead, and the ascension into heaven in the flesh of the beloved Christ Jesus, our Lord, and His manifestation from heaven in the glory of the Father “to gather all things in one” [Eph. 1:10] and to raise up anew all flesh of the whole human race, in order that to Christ Jesus, our Lord, and God, and Savior, and King, according to the will of the invisible Father, every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess to Him [Php. 2:10-11], and that He should execute just judgment towards all; that He may send spiritual wickednesses, and the angels who transgressed and became apostates, together with the ungodly, and unrighteous, and wicked, and profane among men, into everlasting fire; but may, in the exercise of His grace, confer immortality on the righteous, and holy, and those who have kept His commandments, and have persevered in His love, some from the beginning [of their Christian course], and others from [the date of] their repentance, and may surround them with everlasting glory.

As I have already observed, the Church, having received this preaching and this faith, although scattered throughout the whole world, yet, as if occupying but one house, carefully preserves it. She also believes these points [of doctrine] just as if she had but one soul, and one and the same heart, and she proclaims them, and teaches them, and hands them down, with perfect harmony, as if she possessed only one mouth. (Irenaeus, Against Heresies, Bk. I, ch. 10, par. 1-2)

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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 that “saved” does not always mean “going to heaven,” and that if you don’t understand the difference, you will continually misinterpret the apostle Paul and his letters.

I wrote this in response to someone who argued that we should not launch off on our own, but make sure we have good counsel before we start delving into questionable or controversial ideas.

Like most Protestants I was taught–in my case by the Assemblies of God–that salvation is by faith alone. As I pointed out above, we all thought this meant “going to heaven” by faith alone. So, the first time I ran across Romans 2:6, which says we will be judged by our works, I wrote it on the last blank page of my Bible. It only took a year or two to fill the back page and then the inside of the back cover with Scripture references, dozens of them. At the top of the list was the only occurrence of the words “faith alone” or “faith only” in the Bible, James 2:24, which says “not by faith only.”

Of course I know that “faith apart from works” is the equivalent of “faith only,” but it is nonetheless intriguing that the actual phrase in found in a verso that says “not by faith only.”

Nonetheless, I just could not figure out how to reconcile “not by works so no man can boast” with “know this for sure, that no unclean, immoral, or covetous man has any inheritance in the kingdom of God and Christ,” both written by Paul and both in the same letter, Ephesians (2:8-9 & 5:5).

When I married I was still writing all those references and struggling to reconcile them. After a year or so of controversy with the pastor of the Baptist church we were attending, Lorie asked me, “How can you be the only one who is right?”

As an aside, to help you understand her question, I was beginning to question whether baptism was really a symbolic public testimony in Scripture. The apostles baptized immediately and there is no record in Acts that they ever prayed a sinner’s prayer with anyone. Most pointedly, when Ananias baptized Paul, he told him, “Arise and be baptized, washing away your sins and calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16). I was teaching Sunday school at the time, but I chose to talk to the pastor rather than teach the things I was seeing. It did not go well. He first said greater minds than ours have discussed these things, then that I needed to go to a different church.

I told her, “I can’t. If I’m the only one seeing these things, then I have to be wrong. But the Baptist church we’re going to can’t be right either because they don’t even care what these verses say.”

Finally, a friend brought me David Bercot’s Will the Real Heretics Please Stand Up right after it was published in 1989. I read it, brought it to my wife, and said, “I’m not wrong; I was just born in the wrong century.”

Still, Bercot’s book did not resolve the conflict between Ephesians 2 & 5 because he just said, “It’s faith and works.” Later, reading the fathers themselves, I found the same contradiction in Polycarp’s letter to the Philippians. Chapter 1 says we’re saved by faith apart from works, quoting Ephesians 2. Chapter 2 says God will only raise us up if we keep his commandments, don’t return evil for evil, etc.

Polycarp didn’t resolve the conflict for me, but he must have known how someone could believe we are saved by faith apart from works but also believe that we can only enter the kingdom of God if we patiently continue to do good (Rom. 2:6-7). I began anxiously expecting to find the secret.

In 1992, reading the Letter to Diognetus (ch. 9), I finally found what should have been obvious to me. The letter points out that what we received by faith is the power to enter the kingdom or, in other words, the power to do good works (cf. Eph. 2:10; Tit. 2:11-14). Entering the kingdom, though, requires us to do the good works we are created in Christ Jesus to do (cf. Gal. 5:19-21 & 6:7-9; Eph. 5:3-7; 1 Cor. 6:9-11).

I felt dumb. How did I not see for SIX YEARS that all the “faith only” verses are in the past tense! All the verses requiring works are in the future tense. During those 6 years, I’m sure I read Romans at least 6 times, but never caught “we were reconciled by his blood” and “we shall be saved from wrath by his life” both in Romans 5:9-10. Saved from wrath is future. Saved from being dead in sin and enslaved to sin is in the past tense. Slaves to sin can’t save themselves by not sinning. Once Jesus saves us, though, reconciles us to God and makes us new creatures, we have to stop sinning because sin has always been what separates us from God (Isa. 59:2). To stop sinning has always been what God wants from us, not sacrifices but obedience (Isa. 1:1-20; 1 Sam. 15:22).

Thus, the central purpose of Jesus’ death was not the forgiveness of sins. God offered forgiveness of sins for repentance in pretty much every book of the Old Testament (e.g., Isaiah 1:1-20; Jer. 7:21-23; Ezek. 18:20-30; Micah 6:6-8; etc.). The primary purpose of Jesus’ death was ransoming us out of slavery to sin just as he ransomed Israel from Egypt.

All of this happened not quite on my own, but it would never have happened if I had listened to the counsel of the Assemblies of God and the Baptists. If you dig deep and find something that absolutely contradicts your teaching then, apparently, you need to go to another church because your church sure isn’t going to change just because of the Bible. At least, that was my experience.

Worse, if you convince some of their sheep of the truth of Scripture and the faith once for all delivered to the saints, you’ll be branded a sheep stealer and a divisive man.

It is, and was for me, a tough row to hoe. God saves people who don’t have their theology right. Those saved people know they have to do good works, but they cannot admit that the Bible says so no matter how many verses are presented to them. I admit they’re really saved, but if I try to teach them the Bible, which tells me to “contend earnestly” for the faith once for all delivered to the saints, they run me off.

I’m older now, so I let God do the teaching bit by bit, except online and in books where people can read and consider without the pressure of toeing the party line. In person I content myself with trying to obey the things I teach by loving and serving, making every effort to live out my own teachings. I’m trying not to be a hypocrite and thus be disqualified even while preaching to others (1 Cor. 9:24-27).

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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 crushed and repenting for some grave sin. It might not be, though, because the story in 2 Samuel 11 & 12 says nothing about David losing his health. Psalm 38, though, has him so sick that his “wounds stink and fester” (v. 5, ESV). This is “because of my foolishness” (also v.5).

It seems odd, then, very odd, that David would close the Psalm with:

They who render evil for good are also adversaries to me,
because I follow what is good.
Don’t forsake me, Yahweh.
My God, don’t be far from me.
Hurry to help me,
Lord, my salvation. (Ps. 38:20-22)

Whaaat?? He follows after good? I don’t think so. He did something so bad that “my iniquities have gone over my head. As a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me” (v. 4). How can he possibly say he follows after good?

I confess to complaining often that we ignore warning verses in the New Testament that are preceded by “don’t you know?” and “don’t be decieved” (1 Cor. 6:9-11), “I forewarn you even as I also forewarned you” (Gal. 5:19-21),  and “let no one lead you astray” (1 Jn. 3:7).

I can write about the requirement for righteousness and good works if you want eternal life (Rom. 2:6-7; 6:22; Gal. 6:7-9) because I know what the Scriptures say about righteousness and the mercy of God. Jude, our Lord’s human brother, warns us not to turn the favor (grace) of God into a license for sin (Jude 1:4), but let’s talk about the difference between turning the favor of God into indecency and turning the mercy of God into indecency.

Jude uses “favor” (grace) in his warning, not mercy. Here’s why:

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to the intent that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we would live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age; looking for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people for his own possession, zealous for good works. (Tit. 2:11-14)

God’s grace, better translated his favor, is all about releasing us from sin. Romans 6:14 says that sin won’t have dominion over us because we are under favor rather than law. God’s favor triumphantly makes us, who were but are no longer dead in our sins, alive in Christ (Eph. 2:5). It stays with us, empowering us to take our stand as servants of Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:1-2). It teaches us, which means we are continually being taught by his favor, how to live righteously (quote above).

Don’t falsely teach his favor as though it were merely mercy. Don’t tell people, “Oh, don’t worry, God’s favor means he won’t attribute sin to you (Rom. 4:8).” That would be turning favor into a license for sin.

On the other hand, mercy is an allowance for sin. The same God our Father, the same Lord Jesus, that teaches you by favor and calls you to deny yourself and take up your cross, knows “we all stumble in many ways” (Jas. 3:2). The same God who said, “your iniquities have separated you and your God and your sins have hidden his face from you” (Isa. 59:2), also said:

Let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts.
Let him return to Yahweh, and he will have mercy on him,
to our God, for he will freely pardon. (Isa. 55:7)

The apostle John understood these things, saying that those who claim to be without sin are deceiving themselves and are liars (1 Jn. 1:8 & 10). In the next verse, he tells us he is writing his letter so that we don’t sin, but “if we do sin, we have a Helper with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”

Don’t let anyone tell you that the Greek word parakletos means “defense lawyer” in that verse. We don’t need a defense lawyer with God. He is not waiting to kill you for every sin you commit, only prevented from doing so because he sees that he already killed his Son, relieving his blood-wrath against you. That’s an insult to God and a lie from the devil. Here is what God is like when we sin:

Yahweh passed by before [Moses], and proclaimed, “Yahweh! Yahweh, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth, keeping lovingkindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and disobedience and sin; and who will by no means clear the guilty …” (Ex. 34:6-7)

God our Father and Jesus our Lord have the same will and the same heart. Isn’t that what the doctrine of the Trinity is all about? It’s crazy to think that the Father wants to kill us, but the Son wants to have mercy on us. It’s God the Father who so loved the world that he send his only Son to save us. The Son loves us just like the Father, not differently, laying down his life for us while we were yet sinners (Rom. 5:8). That verse points out, too, that when Jesus laid his life down for us, it was “God commend[ing] his own love toward us.”

In 1 John 2:1, the word I translated “Helper,” and that most Bible translations translate as “Advocate” or “Counselor,” is the same word that Jesus uses to describe the Holy Spirit 4 times in John, chs. 14-16. There translators use “Helper” or “Comforter” almost exclusively.

When we sin and have to go to the Father, here is what the Bible says is happening:

Let’s therefore draw near with boldness to the Throne of Favor, that we may receive mercy AND may find favor for help in time of need. (Heb. 4:16)

Let’s try to “see” the picture of Jesus helping us when we sin. We are  running to the Throne “boldly,” because Jesus has cleansed the throne room, the Holy of Holies, with his blood. Hebrews compares this to the priest cleansing the Ark of the Covenant, and especially its cover, where God dwelt between the cherubim, with the blood of animals on the Day of Atonement (Heb. 9:7-12). The high priest had to do that every year under the Old Covenant. Jesus, however, has purified the heavenly Holy of Holies of our sins forever and ever with just one offering that never needs repeating.

Righteousness in the New Testament is not pretend righteousness, where God pretends you are as righteous as Jesus is. The righteousness of Jesus for those who are actually doing righteousness (1 Jn. 3:7 … “let no one lead you astray”). But it is the commonly pushed misunderstanding of doing that I am warring against today.

Note: I don’t want to lose anyone. I am arguing that you are probably already doing righteousness if you are following Jesus. People tell you that you can’t be worthy, can’t do good works–or at least not enough good works, and that you can’t be righteous. Don’t believe them. If you’re trying at all to follow Jesus, then God is creating you in him to do good works. Don’t deny that he is being successful in his work; give thanks for it! David did!

Okay, back to the throne room. According to Ephesians 3:12 as well as Hebrews 4:16 we are coming to the Throne of Favor in confidence. There, we are obtaining mercy from our merciful Father, who sits on a Throne of Favor because favors us! Another acceptable translation would be that he sits on a Throne of Grace because he is gracious to us all the time.

At the Throne of Favor, the Son is sitting at God’s right hand, ready with his Father, to bestow mercy and forgive your sins. The reason he is called parakletos (1 Jn. 2:2) at that Throne is because he is the one who helps us. We are not only receiving mercy, but also favor to help in time of need.

Jesus is our Helper in exactly the same way the Holy Spirit helps us. Normally, we have to go to John 14-16 and explain that Jesus is saying that the Holy Spirit he will send is exactly like him, like Jesus. In this post, though, I have to refute the false idea that Jesus is a defense attorney and tell you that Jesus is just like the Holy Spirit. He is providing favor so that you can be helped through your time of need, a need that probably had a lot to do with the sin you are, hopefully boldly, confessing at the Throne, which you came to on a path made for you by the blood of Jesus.

As a side note, you don’t need to ask for the blood of Jesus at the Throne. It was applied to the Throne itself and made a path for you a long time ago.

Back to righteousness. David’s claim that he  follows what is good (Ps. 38:20) was true, despite the fact that he was temporarily under severe physical chastisement for severe sin that he had done against God. The sin was the exception; the fierce loyalty to God that David was famous for was his norm. Thus, he was a righteous before God.

Just keeping us on track, God is looking for a pattern of righteousness, not sinless perfection. It is the sacrifice, the animal, that had to be perfect, not the one offering. Jesus had to perfect and without sin, and so he was, but we who follow Jesus are called to patiently continue to do good (Rom. 2:7) without growing weary of doing so (Gal. 6:9), not to sinless perfection.

We can see this in many of David’s psalms. In Psalm 25, David sings, “Pardon my iniquity, for it is great” (Ps. 25:11), yet he begins Psalm 26 with “Judge me, Yahweh, for I have walked in my integrity. I have trusted also in Yahweh without wavering.”

Both these things are true! The righteous are rewarded for a habit of putting God first; they are not rendered unrighteous because “we all stumble in many ways” (James 3:2). We have been taught that God requires sinless perfection of us, but it is actually only the lamb of the offering that has to be spotless, in our case, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

I thought of an objection here. Colossians 1:22 says God will present us “holy and without defect and blameless.” But how do we obtain this blamelessness: simply by continuing in the faith, grounded and settled therein, not moved away from the hope of the Gospel (Col. 1:23). We must  remember that although we are not to be deceived about the fact that only those who do righteousness are righteousness as Jesus is righteous, those who faithfully and patiently do good are righteous like Jesus. Imparted righteousness is real for those who continue to do good, which will happen for all who remain grounded and settled in the faith, all who are being created in Christ to do the good deeds our merciful and loving Father has prepared for us to do.

People freak out when I tell them that God rewards those who patiently do good with eternal life, but it is exactly what Paul said in Romans 2:7. People don’t believe Romans 2:6-7 because they don’t understand what it means to be a doer of righteousness and a doer of good works. To be a doer of righteousness and of good works is to be like David, Daniel, Job, and Noah, imperfect but wholly devoted to the Lord.

I have good friend who told me he could not listen to the things I was saying because if going to heaven had anything to do with works, he was doomed. Nonsense! He is one of the most righteous men I know. In fact, he is a lot like Job. He never lets a morning pass that he does not cry out for his children to know the Lord.

He sees his sins. I am sure he cries out with David, “Pardon my iniquities, for they are great.”

God, though, says that if a wicked man will  repent and do good, he will forget all the wickedness that man has ever done (Ezek. 18:21-23). He’s not waiting to kill because someone sinned. He’s not looking at the blood of his Son, reminding himself that he slaughtered his Son so he could feel better. No, he’s waiting for you to come boldly to the Throne of Favor. He’s waiting for you to come reason together with him so that your sins of scarlet can become white as snow (Isa. 1:16-20).

Yes, God will by no means clear the guilty (Ex. 34:7), but let’s not be foolish about who the guilty are. The guilty are those who refuse to repent. It’s as simple as that because God says he is delaying Jesus’ return waiting for every last one who will repent to repent because he doesn’t want anyone to perish (2 Pet. 3:9).

God save us from the false Calvinist idea that you are a bloodthirsty God who will not forgive without killing! We repent and humble ourselves for insulting you with such talk when you created us out of your delight in us (Prov. 8:22-31), and loved us so much that you sent your Son to save us from our slavery to temptations of the world, the lusts of our body, and captivity to wicked spirits.

 

 

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