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.

Faith and Works: A Brief Summary

This was an email response: I suppose that “faith alone then after than you’ll need works” is a good summation of what I believe. On the other hand, you have to know something else about what I believe to really … Continue reading

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Rebuilding the (Penal?) Substitutionary Atonement

This is an email I sent to someone who wrote to me (from the Netherlands!). I have edited it to make it clearer, so you are getting a better version than he did. I would love to discuss the atonement! … Continue reading

Posted in Modern Doctrines, Rebuilding the Foundations | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Pseudo-History in My Daughter’s College Class

I was horrified and appalled when my daughter told me today about the book she is reading in her college history class. The history is loaded with both falsehoods and sloppy scholarship. It is unacceptable that such a book would … Continue reading

Posted in Christian History News in Focus, Early Christianity, History, Holiness | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

But you …

Late in his life, Paul wrote letters to Timothy and Titus. These are probably some of the last instructions Paul would give. What did he focus on with Timothy and Titus? One way to see his focus is to read … Continue reading

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Access to Grace: Romans 5:1-2

There is a lot you can get from God by faith. If you have the right kind of faith, you could tell a tree to get up and replant itself somewhere else (Luke 17:6). The greatest thing you can get … Continue reading

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“Global” Passages of Scripture

My wife reminded me about passages I call “global passages.” They cover the entire Christian life from conversion to the final judgment in just a few verses. I only have two right now. Romans 7:24 to 8:13 This passage is … Continue reading

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My Favorite Early Christian Passage: Commandment 12 of the Shepherd of Hermas

The Ante-Nicene Fathers Series refers to this section of The Shepherd of Hermas as “Commandment XII.” The Lightfoot translation that I am quoting from and linking to calls it Mandate 12. Search “Mandate 12” (or phrases in the quote) at … Continue reading

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Catching Up: Exciting Things

I haven’t written here in four months, but I have not been inactive. I have completed the rough draft of “Taking Aim at Rome’s Audacious Claim.” The rough draft is 256 pages. I suspect I will lose at least 20 … Continue reading

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Good Works, Immortality, and So Much More!

In the last post we saw that Jesus came to make it possible to do good works and thus inherit eternal life. This is not all Jesus came to do. God’s plan turns out to be much, much greater than … Continue reading

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How We Can Do Good Works and Obtain Eternal Life

Ai, ai, ai! Six days since the last post. That is too long. This is why I am careful not to say “tomorrow,” but “in the next post.” Okay, let’s get to the point of the Bible’s emphasis on good … Continue reading

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