Category Archives: Protestants

How I Finally Reconciled “Faith Alone” and “Works” in the Bible.

Posted on 10/28/2025 by Paul Pavao

I was taught, like most Protestants, “salvation by faith alone.” The problem with this is that I was taught that “salvation” meant “going to heaven.” The two, however, are not equivalent. This is the story of how I found out … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Dealing with Scripture Honestly, Early Christianity, Evangelicals, Gospel, Modern Doctrines, Protestants, Verses Evangelicals Ignore | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Interpreting Paul’s Letter to the Romans by Believing What It Says: Chapter 1, Part 2 (the apostles’ preaching)

Posted on 03/25/2025 by Paul Pavao

Part 1 was the introduction. Part 3 uses Romans 1:8 to address the history of the Roman church. Today, we will look at Romans 1:-4-5. I am going to put off Romans 1:8 till the next post. It will be … Continue reading →

Posted in atonement, Bible, Dealing with Scripture Honestly, Gospel, Modern Doctrines, Protestants, Rebuilding the Foundations | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Which Denomination Gets It Right?

Posted on 12/09/2024 by Paul Pavao

I was asked  about which major denomination* (Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant) gets it right (in my opinion). I want to share my answers in a post. My first answer: The persons or churches that devote themselves to love and good works … Continue reading →

Posted in Church, Early Christianity, Protestants, Rebuilding the Foundations, Roman Catholic & Orthodox | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The elementary principles of Christ

Posted on 12/03/2024 by Paul Pavao

I am slowly–very slowly–building a curriculum for discipleship. I wrote a post about 3 weeks ago on the skeleton of that curriculum: 1. Becoming a Christian; 2. Living like a Christian; and 3. Staying a Christian. It is certain that … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Dealing with Scripture Honestly, Evangelicals, Gospel, Modern Doctrines, Protestants, Rebuilding the Foundations, Teachings that must not be lost, Verses Evangelicals Ignore | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Contrasting John with the Rest of the New Testament

Posted on 11/29/2024 by Paul Pavao

I wrote about this subject back in 2020. I did not provide a lot of Scripture, though; I just pointed out the kind of differences there were. In this post, I want to list some of the Scriptures that show … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Dealing with Scripture Honestly, Evangelicals, Gospel, Modern Doctrines, Protestants, Rebuilding the Foundations, Teachings that must not be lost, Through the Bible | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

How to Read the Bible: First, Don’t Misinterpret Paul and Matthew based on John

Posted on 11/25/2024 by Paul Pavao

This was a response in a comment to a reader who asked me about where to start to read the Bible: I tell people to read Mark first because it was the first of the Gospels. Matthew and Luke had … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Dealing with Scripture Honestly, Evangelicals, Gospel, Modern Doctrines, Protestants, Rebuilding the Foundations, Teachings that must not be lost, Through the Bible | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Part 3 of Rebooting Redemption: Ezekiel 18, the Final Judgment, and Repentance

Posted on 09/18/2024 by Paul Pavao

A lot of things have happened since August 28, but I am trying to get back on track today. You can read Part 1 and Part 2 if you haven’t. I am going to keep these shorter. Today I just … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Dealing with Scripture Honestly, Early Christianity, Evangelicals, Gospel, Holiness, Modern Doctrines, Protestants, Rebuilding the Foundations, Teachings that must not be lost | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Part 2 of Rebooting Redemption: An Ancient Perspective on Jesus’ Atonement

Posted on 08/28/2024 by Paul Pavao

Yesterday, I said I would cover the other Greek words for “redeem” or “redemption” in the New Testament, but yesterday was a really long post. I can’t do that again today, so I am just going to provide something to … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Dealing with Scripture Honestly, Evangelicals, Gospel, Holiness, Modern Doctrines, Protestants, Rebuilding the Foundations, Teachings that must not be lost, Verses Evangelicals Ignore | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Danger of False Assurance: Can a Saved Person Go to Hell?

Posted on 08/16/2024 by Paul Pavao

Assurance We like to assure a new convert that they have eternal life. We point them to verses like John 6:47 and 1 John 5:13 Most certainly, I tell you, he who believes in me has eternal life. (John 6:47) … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Dealing with Scripture Honestly, Evangelicals, Gospel, Holiness, Modern Doctrines, Protestants, Rebuilding the Foundations, Teachings that must not be lost | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Does Even the Slightest Sin Deserve Eternal Damnation?

Posted on 04/25/2024 by Paul Pavao

Calvinists like to quote James 2:10 to teach that even the slightest sin requires eternal damnation. Here’s my response from my book, Rebuilding the Foundations: The passage is in James 2 and talks about showing favoritism to one another, yet … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Evangelicals, Gospel, Modern Doctrines, Protestants | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments