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.

How the Church Was One: The Only True Source of Unity

The early churches were united as God’s family. Jesus was Lord and the Father was, well, the Father of the family. The one thing to do in that family was to love and obey the Father through the Lordship of … Continue reading

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The Judgment by Works: The Most Important Doctrine to Learn from the Early Church Fathers

I wrote the following in a comment on Patristics for Protestants about what is the most important thing to learn from the early church fathers. There are several quotes from the earliest fathers in my comment, but I give you … Continue reading

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God’s Plan of Salvation Is Not What You Think It Is

This is the way things are: Romans 2:6-7: “God will render to everyone according to their deeds. To those who, by patiently continuing to do good seek for glory, honor, and immortality, he will repay eternal life.” This is the … Continue reading

Posted in Evangelicals, Gospel, Modern Doctrines, Verses Evangelicals Ignore | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Ravi Zacharias, the Judgment, and the Weakness of Man: A WARNING!

A FB friend commented on new allegations against Ravi Zacharias. I can hardly take it. My stomach is roiling. I knew nothing about this. I can’t even get myself to post the link to the report. Folks, we are going … Continue reading

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Substitutionary Atonement: Jesus Died to Change Us, not God

This is something I wrote in a Facebook comment. I would like to hold on to it, and I hope it helps you understand Romans and the whole New Testament. There is a clear origin in St. Anselm for the … Continue reading

Posted in Dealing with Scripture Honestly, Evangelicals | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Wisdom in Proverbs, Daniel’s Son of Man, the Trinity, and Jesus the Messiah and Son of God

This article argues for the early Christian/Nicene concept of the Trinity (still held among the Eastern Orthodox), that Wisdom in Proverbs should be understood throughout as referring to the Son of God, who is also called the Word, and provides … Continue reading

Posted in Bible, Dealing with Scripture Honestly, Early Christianity, Modern Doctrines, Roman Catholic & Orthodox, Teachings that must not be lost | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Difficult Verses and Bible Interpretation

Perhaps the best Bible interpretation advice I can give has to do with difficult verses. There are verses that are actually difficult. For example, no one knows who Paul is talking about in 1 Corinthians 15:29. Who was “baptizing for … Continue reading

Posted in Bible, Dealing with Scripture Honestly, Modern Doctrines | Tagged , , , , | 10 Comments

God Has Always Been Merciful (Rebuilding the Foundations)

I haven’t posted in over a month. I have been trying to listen to God’s guidance for the rest of my life. A lot of things have changed that have given us more free time and less responsibilities. I have … Continue reading

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Romans 8:13: Putting the deeds of the body to death by the Spirit

I got an email asking how we put the deeds of the body to death by the Spirit. My answer got a lot of positive response on Facebook, so I am sharing it here too: In my experience, drawing strength … Continue reading

Posted in Holiness | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

“Biblically Sound” Denominations in Light of the Judgment

Someone asked me which denominations are biblically sound. I wrote this answer. I don’t think a “denomination” is biblically sound. I believe that, biblically, the church is all the Christians in my town. It would be awesome if we had … Continue reading

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