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.

James 1:5-7: Faith and Doubt

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is … Continue reading

Posted in prayer, Through the Bible | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Obedience and Salvation: A Question for Evangelicals

“Though he was a Son, yet he learned obedience through the things which he suffered. And being made perfect, [Jesus] became the author of eternal salvation to those who obey him” (Heb. 5:8-9). “We [apostles] are his witnesses of these … Continue reading

Posted in Bible, Evangelicals, Protestants | Tagged , , , , , , | 10 Comments

The Promise by Megan Cupit

Last year I ran across a blog by a young lady that I was very impressed by. The blog said she was 15, but her maturity level and commitment to … no, contentment with … our King seemed far older … Continue reading

Posted in Miscellaneous | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Captain America Christianity

I was talking with my son the other day about some terrible deed done by some person or some character in a movie. I don’t remember which. My son told me, “Only someone completely evil or possessed by a demon … Continue reading

Posted in Holiness, Miscellaneous | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Honesty

So today (yesterday by the time you read this) I got stung by believing something that was false. I jumped on a guy who downplayed my complaint about the Roman Catholic practice of enforcing celibacy on their clergy, when Scripture … Continue reading

Posted in Evolution | Tagged , | 41 Comments

My Thoughts on Roman Catholicism

I got a question from a woman who was struggling with the claims of Catholicism. She wrote, “What are your thoughts?” Here’s my thoughts. Are there Christians in Catholicism? Definitely. Some have done so well in obeying our King throughout … Continue reading

Posted in Roman Catholic & Orthodox | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 120 Comments

The Kingdom Gospel and Its Influence

For many years I looked for something I dared call “the church”; something I was confident would be the recipient of the promises of God that are made only to “the church.” Perhaps the greatest of the promises I hoped … Continue reading

Posted in Gospel | Tagged , | 8 Comments

Athanasian Creed: A Review

Who am I to “review” the Athanasian Creed? I do not review it on my own authority. I review it on the authority of the teachings of Jesus, the apostles, and of the Christians, churches, and councils that preceded the … Continue reading

Posted in Early Christianity, Modern Doctrines | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Monkery Business: Martin Luther Faith vs. Works Debate

Anyone want to help me think this through? I have friends so hostile to Martin Luther it might be impossible. I have read a lot about Martin Luther, but I’ve only read a little by Martin Luther. Almost everything I’ve … Continue reading

Posted in Miscellaneous, Modern Doctrines, Protestants | Tagged , , , | 21 Comments

Eternally Begotten of the Father

Maybe over the last three days, I’ve complicated things too much. Maybe the simplest way to get modern Trinitarians to understand the early churches’ definition of the Trinity is get them to acknowledge that the Son was begotten, not just … Continue reading

Posted in Modern Doctrines | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments