Posts by Mark Johnston

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Scripture: God-breathed and God-breathing

Mark Johnston
Mar 28, 2017
A much loved and highly trusted friend spoke to me recently about ‘preacher’s tunnel vision’. He mentioned it in the context of a major preacher’s faux pas I had made in the pulpit the previous Sunday. I completely overlooked a significant detail in the text that was right there in the passage, but...

Ethics for the Common Man

Mark Johnston
Feb 21, 2017
We may well complain that our generation ranks among the most immoral generations of history and that could well be true. But the more sinister issue is the reason that lies behind this tragedy. It is the fact that ours is probably the most amoral generation of history. It simply does not possess...

Windows on the Crucifixion

Mark Johnston
Feb 14, 2017
I love photography and, although I’m not a great photographer, I have learned some of the secrets of capturing a scene or portrait effectively: the most important being to choose angles that allow the details to stand out clearly. When it comes to understanding the cross of Christ, the Gospel...

Gethsemane and the Mystery of the Gospel

Mark Johnston
Jan 31, 2017
It is an integral part of the passion narrative, but it too easily becomes incidental to the message of the gospel. All three synoptic Gospels include an account of Christ in Gethsemane in some detail, each one from a slightly different perspective. But it is easy to lose sight of the significance...

A Living and Legally-Binding Relationship

Mark Johnston
Jan 3, 2017
There are many dimensions bound up with what it means to be a Christian. Its roots stretch back into eternity past, its experience is bound up with our existential present and its horizons take us into eternity future. It changes what we are in ourselves as we are united to Christ and, because of...

Sinner Theologians

Mark Johnston
Dec 27, 2016
It has been on my mind for quite a while to post an article on ‘sinner theologians’, but I hesitated because of its potential for being misconstrued. However, having just received the latest issue of the Westminster Theological Journal and having read a review article by Professor Donald Macleod, I...

Ministerial Godliness: Its Value

Mark Johnston
Dec 20, 2016
What matters most to us in life? There is a ‘right’ answer to that question, but then again there are many ‘real’ answers that lurk beneath the surface. No serious-minded Christian would argue with the truth of the Shorter Catechism’s assertion that ‘the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy...

Ministerial Godliness: Faith and Life

Mark Johnston
Dec 13, 2016
This little trilogy of posts relates to godliness and the Christian ministry. It arises out of Paul’s counsel to his young ministerial protégé, Timothy, the then pastor of the church in Ephesus. As with many a young pastor, Timothy was discovering the downs as well as ups of the work of the...

Ministerial Godliness: Rooted in Christ

Mark Johnston
Dec 6, 2016
During my years at seminary, in what now seems like a different lifetime, a little group of us first encountered Robert Murray McCheyne in the Banner of Truth reprint of his Memoir and Remains by Andrew Bonar. The story of his life immediately struck a chord with us. He was young and so were we. He...

No Theology without Doxology

Mark Johnston
Nov 29, 2016
How do you know if you are doing theology as it should be done? In one sense it could be by asking the obvious question as to whether or not it is orthodox. Is it in step with the historic creeds and confessions of the faith? That indeed must be requisite to all attempts to faithfully articulate...

Brexit, Presidents and the English Reformation

Mark Johnston
Oct 25, 2016
The idea of the United Kingdom’s pre-Summer vote to leave the European Union, the upcoming vote in the United States to elect the next President and the English Reformation being lumped together in the same sentence may seem ludicrous in the extreme, but it is not without reason. Those who have...

Why Do We Exist?

Mark Johnston
Sep 26, 2016
For all is quaintness, the opening question and answer to the Westminster Shorter Catechism is iconic. Despite the best attempts by its updaters to give it a more contemporary feel, none seem to resonate in the way the original wording still does. (‘What is our main purpose in life?’ just does not...

‘On these hang the Law and the Prophets’

Mark Johnston
Sep 13, 2016
Some of Jesus’ statements in the Gospels stand out vividly, but their full force is somewhat vitiated because they are often only quoted partially. His statement in response to the Pharisees’ question, ‘Which is the greatest commandment?’ (Mt 22.36) is a significant case in point. Christ’s answer...

Saving Ourselves and Others

Mark Johnston
Sep 6, 2016
Those who take the Bible seriously believe that its message is coherent and consistent. It does not contradict itself. Although it is presented through the multiple voices of its human authors, those voices ultimately speak with one voice: that of God himself. So, when we come across statements in...

The Enigma of Job

Mark Johnston
Aug 30, 2016
The book of Job is full of enigmas. The man who gives the book his name is an enigma. The book’s style is enigmatic. Its entire structure and drama raises all kinds of questions. And, of course, its central theme is the greatest enigma of all: theodicy – how do we relate a good and sovereign God to...

The Psalms in Worship

Mark Johnston
Jul 26, 2016
Too many churches never sing the psalms in public worship. Despite the fact the two direct injunctions that relate to singing in the New Testament place psalms at the head of the list of what Christians ought to sing as they ‘make music in [their] heart to the Lord’ (Eph 5.19; Col 3.16), these...

Theology and Identity

Mark Johnston
Jul 19, 2016
The task of theology is multi-layered and multifaceted. Behind its obvious component of exploring the Bible’s teaching on the major doctrinal loci there are many other factors that influence the task and its outcome. At the most basic level there is the issue of our presuppositions about Scripture...

Extraordinary Means of Grace

Mark Johnston
Jul 5, 2016
The idea of ‘the means of grace’ has undergone an encouraging rehabilitation in the life and ministry of many Reformed churches in recent years. This has come as a healthy corrective to pressure from the wider church to embrace ideas and practices that seem more effective vehicles for church growth...

An Overview of Grace

Mark Johnston
Jun 28, 2016
‘Grace’ could easily be seen as one of those doctrines every child from a Christian home ought to know from Kindergarten. Whether it be through the acronym God’s Riches at Christ’s Expense , or just the plain and often repeated ‘God’s unmerited favour’, it would be easy to check it off as ‘learnt’...

The Christ-Shaped Pastor

Mark Johnston
Jun 14, 2016
There is no shortage of handbooks on what it means to be an effective pastor; but none can begin to compare with actually meeting someone who is just that. To have such a man as your pastor, or to cultivate a friendship with someone who embodies the qualities needed for the task, is guaranteed to...

The Grace of Giving

Mark Johnston
May 24, 2016
Out of all the things routinely misperceived about church, giving is among the most common. It is seen too often as an ecclesiastical stealth tax. Like an organisation that offers ‘free’ membership, but finds clever ways to raise revenue from those who join. But as we explore the Bible’s teaching...

Will the Church Survive?

Mark Johnston
May 10, 2016
Christians in the US and Europe are living in unusual times. Before our eyes we see laws enacted that directly oppose or subtly undermine the truths, values and principles the church has upheld for centuries. Despite their benefit to Western democracies, those democracies are destroying the very...

She is His New Creation

Mark Johnston
May 3, 2016
There is a popular notion that the church originated from a decision by a handful of followers of Jesus of Nazareth to start a movement. In the same way as other world religions started and grew through human determination and effort, it is often assumed that the Christian church is just a hugely...

Jesus and the Dynamic of the Gospel

Mark Johnston
Apr 12, 2016
For those who can remember as far back as the 1960’s and 70’s, there are two books that may well stand out in your memory. One is J.I. Packer’s Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God and the other, R.B. Kuiper’s God-Centred Evangelism . Both provide a theology of evangelism – especially in terms of...

Invisible Pastors

Mark Johnston
Apr 5, 2016
Any church that includes questions to ministers-elect in their ordination or installation to service will, in some shape or form, ask a question about the candidate’s commitment to the pastoral care of his people. This is very much in keeping with the practice of caring for the needs of God’s...

mission Impossible?

Mark Johnston
Mar 22, 2016
If we are to believe many of the proponents and purveyors of mission and evangelism in today’s church, we simply have to get the ‘right’ message, packaged in the right way and conveyed to the right demographic to see people rushing through our doors, seeking salvation. To them, it is something...

Fellowship Revisited

Mark Johnston
Mar 15, 2016
Of all the Bible words that fall into the ‘used and abused’ category one ranks high among the most frequent casualties of them all. It is ‘fellowship’. The most glaring evidence of this is in the way churches – even the best ones – choose to identify the different rooms and halls in their premises...

A Theology of Attitude

Mark Johnston
Mar 8, 2016
It is tempting to think theology is about articulating Bible truths accurately. But, while this is very much at the heart of the theologian’s task, it cannot be divorced from the attitude with which God’s truth is presented. There is, I believe, good reason for raising this detail – especially in...

Safeguarding a Faithful Ministry

Mark Johnston
Feb 23, 2016
The animal kingdom is full of ‘protected species’. From the Great Crested Newt to the Giant Panda, the White Rhino to the Western Lowland Gorilla, it is a criminal offence to interfere with them or kill them. Sadly there is no such protective status for the species minister gospelensis – minister...

Keeping Churches Safe and Sound

Mark Johnston
Feb 2, 2016
Churches (as communities of professing Christians) are meant to be safe places. But all too often this has not been the case. Revelations of widespread abuse in many churches has seriously damaged the reputation and trustworthiness of the church as a whole before the watching world. It could be...

Never Losing Sight of Heaven

Mark Johnston
Jan 26, 2016
Heaven has been splashed all over the headlines of the secular press this past week. It was, of course, because of the unexpected death of David Bowie and the way he choreographed his own departure from this world. The news of Bowie’s death came as a shock, not least because no-one apart from a...

A Brief Theology of Time

Mark Johnston
Dec 31, 2015
Another year is almost over, a new one about to begin. All over the world party-goers and New Year revellers will mark the moment from the Sydney Opera House to the Paris Champs Elysees, from Trafalgar Square to Times Square. But how much thought will they give to the significance of ‘time’ itself...

The Holy Spirit of Christmas

Mark Johnston
Dec 22, 2015
In the midst of all the sermon and service preparations associated with the Christmas season we often fail to appreciate the role of the Holy Spirit in the events celebrated. While we are right to focus on the wonder of the eternal Son taking human flesh and entering our world, we can overlook the...

Proof of Life

Mark Johnston
Nov 30, 2015
The first Letter of John, filed among the ‘General Letters’ section near the end of the New Testament is an enigmatic, but hugely significant part of the Bible. At first glance its message seems very straightforward; but on closer inspection (as I discovered recently to my chagrin when I started...

The Self Defending Bible

Mark Johnston
Nov 24, 2015
Yesterday I was with some fellow-ministers for our monthly fraternal. Our current focus for discussion is Tim Keller’s book on preaching [1] and we were looking at his chapter on ‘Preaching the Word’. Its key thought is our need as preachers to grasp that the power and authority of God himself are...

Facing Up To Death

Mark Johnston
Nov 16, 2015
It is the unavoidable certainty in life; but also the great taboo. In the midst of life it is never far away; but many are afraid to contemplate it. Yet we find it in Scripture: a dark thread running all the way through its message. From the first warning about it in Eden (Ge 2.17) to the final...

Back to the Future

Mark Johnston
Nov 2, 2015
Thursday, October 21st was apparently ‘Back to the Future’ day – the day to which the characters played by Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd were propelled forward in time in Back to the Future II exactly 30 years ago. The occasion was marked in the UK with their legendary De Lorean sports car...

The Indispensible Mark of the Church

Mark Johnston
Oct 20, 2015
‘What are the marks of a true church?’ is a question that has quite rightly occupied the minds of theologians through the centuries, because the history of the church is littered with many bodies that have claimed to be churches, but have so drifted from their moorings in Scripture that they are no...

If I Have Not Love...I am Nothing

Mark Johnston
Oct 7, 2015
There are passages in Scripture we know only too well, but which we understand alarmingly badly. Paul’s words about love to the church in Corinth rank high among them. Far from being designed with wedding services and marriage enrichment weekends in mind, they were first spoken with a sting in the...

Theology in the Pulpit for the Pew

Mark Johnston
Oct 4, 2015
The steady flow of articles on theology posted on this website in recent months has been enormously helpful. As I have found myself encouraged and challenged by much of what has been said, I thought I might be able to add one further reflection to the mix of what has already been written. It has to...

Migrants and Mercy

Mark Johnston
Oct 1, 2015
Europe is in the grip of the most serious displaced persons crisis since the Second World War. Pope Francis, on his recent visit to the US, has raised the issue with the President as well as in his address to Congress. But what should we as Christians make of it in light of the Bible’s teaching? I...

That they May be One

Mark Johnston
Sep 13, 2015
If we were to ask the question, ‘Which is the most significant prayer found in the Bible?’ the answer would almost certainly be, ‘the Lord’s Prayer’ and understandably so. This was the prayer Jesus taught his disciples in response to their request, ‘Lord, teach us to pray’ and it has become the...

When Preachers sing the Blues

Mark Johnston
Sep 10, 2015
There is a subterranean dimension to being a preacher that those who are not preachers often do not see and those who are often try to keep buried. It’s the fact there is a dark side to ministering God’s word and it has a profound impact on those whose calling it is to do so. A preacher friend of...

Reformed Snobbery

Mark Johnston
Aug 26, 2015
According to its introductory statement, Place for Truth is a forum for reflections on theology in its entire spectrum from biblical through to its practical expressions. In light of these parameters, I did wonder whether or not this particular reflection belongs here, or perhaps somewhere else...

When Tradition becomes an 'ism'

Mark Johnston
Aug 5, 2015
Too often ‘tradition’ has become a red flag word to the ears of evangelical Protestants. Especially when it is used in relation to ‘Scripture’ in the same sentence. The reason for this, of course, is the way in which the Roman Catholic Church throughout its history has subordinated the authority of...

The Missing Link of Preaching

Mark Johnston
Jul 26, 2015
There is more to being a preacher than preachers often realise. Biblically speaking it is the primary means by which God’s truth revealed in Scripture is to be propagated, not just to the church, but also throughout the world; but for it to be effective, we need to appreciate its twofold dynamic...

The 'Vulgar Language' Principle

Mark Johnston
Jun 30, 2015
Almost from the very first time I read the Westminster Confession of Faith I remember being struck by its choice of words to describe the character of Bible translations. It says they should be in ‘the vulgar language of every nation unto which they come’ (WCF 1.8). Clearly the primary focus of...

The Fear of the Lord

Mark Johnston
Jun 29, 2015
Given the frequency with which ‘the fear of the LORD’, or one of its variants, is mentioned in the Bible, it is more than a little unusual that so little seems to be said about it in the church today. In all too many cases a focus on the immanence and intimacy of God as revealed in Scripture has...

Serve the King of Babylon and Live

Mark Johnston
Jun 22, 2015
Democracy is a wonderful thing; but it has a major Achilles’ Heel: the voters of which it is comprised. When the majority of the Demos wants something that is inherently wrong, nothing can stop them getting what it desires. Plato, writing in the cradle of democracy knew this – warning that ordinary...

Faith and New Perspective

Mark Johnston
Jun 1, 2015
‘New Perspective’ has become something of a red flag in many Christian circles because of its associations with the so-called ‘New Perspective on Paul’. But if we allow one dubious doctrine linked to contaminate a phrase – however bad the guilt by association may be – we end up consigning a...