Posts by Mark Jones

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A Real Balanced Man

Mark Jones
Jul 28, 2014
I am I am, I am I am I think I am, I think I am I'm glad I am I'm proud I am A real [balanced] man Who is this person in the middle who carefully avoids extremes in his theologizing? It is all of us, or so we think. If you are a Pastor or theologian, you are likely a man of "balance". In fact, if...

Was Jonathan Edwards a Puritan?

Mark Jones
Jul 20, 2014
Just who were the Puritans? Was Jonathan Edwards a Puritan? Was Matthew Henry a Puritan? Is Nacho Libre a Puritan? The answers to these questions are not uniform, but I think that once we answer the first question the following questions answer themselves. Around 1564 the term "Puritan" emerged,...

Call Me Maybe

Mark Jones
Jul 14, 2014
How do we deal with the tricky matter of pastors moving from one congregation to another? Some time ago I was in a session meeting with my elders, discussing my salary, and the phone rang (a long distance call). Within a minute of the phone conversation, I was asked about becoming the pastor at...

So you want to be a Doctor?

Mark Jones
Jul 8, 2014
"...nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all" (Eccl. 9:11). PhD's are becoming more and more common, particularly in the church. For those in the church wishing to pursue postgraduate studies, here are a few questions for you to wrestle with: Have your seminary...

North Texas Conference on Assurance

Mark Jones
Jul 7, 2014
If I died today I would be with the Lord. I know that infallibly. But I'm certainly not the greatest believer who ever lived - not even close. My confidence arises from the fact that I know and trust the greatest believer who ever lived. The highest and best instance of believing belongs to Jesus...

Daddy, am I really forgiven?

Mark Jones
Jun 24, 2014
If you are a Christian parent with young children, do you consider your children to be Christians? There were some lively debates at the Westminster Assembly. One took place over the precise meaning of 1 Corinthians 7:14, where children are described as "holy" (see Chad van Dixhoorn's work , volume...

FIFA World Cup

Mark Jones
Jun 17, 2014
Thankfully God deals with our idols, because left to ourselves we certainly would not. Four years ago I had a paid flight to South Africa, tickets to many games, and passes into some of the various television studios (Al Jazeera, FOX, etc.). But my wife was pregnant with twins - her fault, by the...

Christ is Most Satisfied When We Most Glorify

Mark Jones
Jun 16, 2014
As part of my series on practical Christology, I have asked: "How may I know Christ loves me?" and "Why is Heaven eternal? " The answers to these questions do not belong only to theologians and pastors, but especially also to God's people. In preparation for a forthcoming book, titled "Knowing...

Why is Heaven Forever?

Mark Jones
Jun 10, 2014
In a previous post I asked, How do you know that Christ loves you? Pastors and Christians need to do better than just assume this truth. I gave a trinitarian grounding for why Christ must love his people. But what about the question, Why is Heaven forever? God the Father First, the Scriptures...

A New Confession?

Mark Jones
Jun 9, 2014
What do you think about writing new confessions? John Owen was a big fan of writing new confessions. Ryan Kelly has an excellent chapter on this topic in the The Ashgate Research Companion to John Owen's Theology , with conclusions that may surprise some Presbyterians! A number of confessions were...

An Apologie

Mark Jones
Jun 2, 2014
Thanks to Carl (sort of) for the Introduction. But the man he speaks about is not me, I promise. I have lots of friends on Facebook, but do plan to purge some of the less trustworthy ones. I hope to alleviate the concerns of Rick Phillips , which mainly seems to be over one word in particular. But...