Author Archives: Paul Pavao

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About Paul Pavao

I am married, the father of six, and currently the grandfather of five. I teach, and I am always trying to learn to disciple others better than I have before. I believe God has gifted me to restore proper theological foundations to the Christian faith. In order to ensure that I do not become a heretic, I read the early church fathers from the second and third centuries. They were around when all the churches founded by the apostles were in unity. My philosophy for Bible reading is to understand each verse for exactly what it says in its local context. Only after accepting the verse for what it says do I compare it with other verses to develop my theology. If other verses seem to contradict a verse I just read, I will wait to say anything about those verses until I have an explanation that allows me to accept all the verses for what they say. This takes time, sometimes years, but eventually I have always been able to find something that does not require explaining verses away. The early church fathers have helped a lot with this. I argue and discuss these foundational doctrines with others to make sure my teaching really lines up with Scripture. I am encouraged by the fact that the several missionaries and pastors that I know well and admire as holy men love the things I teach. I hope you will be encouraged too. I am indeed tearing up old foundations created by tradition in order to re-establish the foundations found in Scripture and lived on by the churches during their 300 years of unity.

Aphiemi: Release or Forgive?

It is hard to forgive someone who did not repent. It is hard to understand even why we should. In fact, some who have wronged us are happy to have wronged us and are not looking to be forgiven. We … Continue reading

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The Sufferings of Christ

I already published a quick post this morning, but I have to add this as well. Last night and this morning both, I told God that while I understand the cross mentally and theologically, I do not feel it like … Continue reading

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Luke 17: Faith and the Kingdom of God

Today, in Luke 17:6, I read, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you would tell the sycamore tree, ‘Be uprooted, and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.” As I have been reading … Continue reading

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Why It Matters That You Can Lose Your Salvation

Sometimes my blogs put me in awkward position. I almost don’t want to write this post because I am tacking on to the sermon of a friend. His sermon was great, his exhortation timely, and his delivery of the sermon … Continue reading

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Luke 11 Mini-Commentary

I have been following the daily Bible reading plan from “Our Daily Bread” (odb.org) the last couple weeks. Today one of the chapters was Luke 11. These are the verses I highlighted and why. Luke 11:9-10 “I tell you, keep … Continue reading

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LOVE and Good Works: COVID-19 Is a Launch Pad for the Church

I get Facebook friend requests from Christians in Africa and India on a regular basis. I have no idea how many of those actually read my posts. If any of them do, then I want to announce to them that … Continue reading

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Are You Really Saved? What To Do If You Doubt It?

I much prefer practical discussions about following Jesus to theoretical, theological discussions about Christianity, though sometimes the theoretical must be addressed because it affects the practical. Never Saved or Falling Away? I have a conflict with most evangelical pastors over … Continue reading

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Romans 2:5-8: The Judgment by Works

I struggled for six years with Romans 2:5-8. But according to your hardness and unrepentant heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath, revelation, and of the righteous judgment of God; who “will pay back … Continue reading

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Hebrews 6:1-2: What Are The Basics of the Christian Faith?

I spent a lot of my Christian life confused about the elementary principles of the faith as taught in Hebrews 6:1-2. Obviously, these “principles of the doctrine of Christ” are supposed to be simple. The writer of Hebrews wants us … Continue reading

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Jesus Died for Aphesis: A Reminder

The worst mistranslation in our English Bibles is the translation from the Greek aphesis to the English “forgiveness.” “Remission” is better, but very few have any useful working definition of the word “remission.” I want to remind everyone, all the … Continue reading

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