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.

Gospel Contradictions vs. the Power of the Gospel

I recommend to anyone that you go find those Gospel contradictions. You can find them better with a harmony of the Gospels, but if you want to keep your life, enjoy the world, and perish, you might want to find other reading. The Gospels will take your life, put you on a course against the pleasures of your body, and grant you a down payment, an escrow, on eternal life, the gift of the Holy Spirit. Continue reading

Posted in Bible, Testimonies | Tagged , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Christian Cowardice

Cowardice leads to wickedness. It is as much, or more, to be overthrown as any other sin in our life. As with any other sin, the answer is to get closer to God and begin ferociously obeying, strengthening yourself after every failure with repentance, tears, and a renewed commitment in the Holy Spirit. All cowards have their place in the lake of fire, the second death (Rev. 21:8). Continue reading

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

Divorce and Remarriage: Taking a Stance Against the Anabaptists

DISCLAIMER: A commenter accurately pointed out that this is too broad a sweep. It may be too harsh, too, but not for the people I am speaking of. My experience with the anti-remarriage crowd may only be the most outspoken … Continue reading

Posted in Bible, Early Christianity, Gospel, Modern Doctrines, Unity | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Adding Apostles-vs-Calvinism.org

Thank you to all of you for following me, some of you for many years. From now on, I will also be blogging at https://apostles-vs-calvinism.org/. The new blog will primarily be focused on issues related to my new book (not … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | 13 Comments

Why Is Jesus Knocking at the Door?

I have been seeing this meme around Facebook: Christians have three false ideas that cause unbelievers to slander Jesus like this: Works have nothing to do with salvation. It is not about good and evil, but accepting Jesus. It is … Continue reading

Posted in Evangelicals, Gospel, Modern Doctrines | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Gems in 1 Chronicles: Leaders in the Kingdom of God

Spectators get no training, and nothing they say is put to the test. The skill of the players and the wisdom of the coaches is put to the test everyday. The results are out there for everyone to see. Continue reading

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The Twelve Apostles and “Apostolic Men”

I wrote this in an answer on Quora, but I think most of my friends would enjoy knowing the following: (The question was whether Barnabas, companion of Paul, was one of the 12 apostles.) Paul himself was not one of … Continue reading

Posted in Early Christianity, History | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Sabbath: Our Story Pt. 2

Originally posted on Chip Lutyk:
Around the year 105AD, somewhere in Asia Minor (modern day Turkey) Ignatius of Antioch (a student of the apostle John) was traveling to Rome where he would be martyred for his Christian faith. He wrote…

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

1 Timothy 3:15: The Church That Is the Pillar and Support of the Truth

Please hear this in the spirit it is intended. I am not condemning Orthodox or Catholic or Protestant believers. I am, however, pointing out the way these organizations get in the way of unity; all of them, including the ones, … Continue reading

Posted in Church, History, Roman Catholic & Orthodox, Unity | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The “Broader Framework” of Salvation at the Heart of the Apostle Paul’s Teaching

Today I wrote on Facebook that I would pay my entire retirement account if by doing so I could magically impart an understanding of the preface of Matthew J. Thomas’ new edition of Paul’s “Works of the Law” in the … Continue reading

Posted in Bible, Early Christianity, Evangelicals, Gospel, Holiness, Modern Doctrines, Rebuilding the Foundations | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 23 Comments