Ask Pastor John

Colossians 1:23 says the gospel “has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven.” Does that mean the gospel has already reached the entire world?

If our final salvation rests on the condition that we persevere in faith, how can we know that we really will make it to heaven?

Unless we become mature in our thinking, we will regularly be blown about by the winds of subtle, clever, politically correct language.

In creation, God made Adam and all the animals from the ground. So why, when God made Eve, did he take a rib from Adam’s side?

All good gifts are from God, through God, and to God. But in his providence, those gifts often come to us through others, who rightly deserve our thanks.

Pastor John commends Tony Reinke’s new book — a panoramic, penetrating theology of technology, tethered to God’s infallible Scriptures.

How can Christians live faithfully in the day of Big Tech? In ‘God, Technology, and the Christian Life,’ Tony Reinke explores God’s relationship to the innovations of our age.

Does the story of David and Bathsheba suggest that Bathsheba was a willing partner in his adultery, or that David took her against her will?

God made some Christians to enjoy spending a lot of time alone. But what makes the difference between a Christian loner and a self-centered loner?

The God of the universe cares about every problem you have, no matter how small. And he wants to draw you up into purposes far greater than your problems.

Pull-tabs and scratch games incentivize risky, destructive behaviors, especially among those who can least afford to play.

What might it look like for a Christian with significant disabilities to live a productive, spiritually fruitful, God-glorifying life?

Should I become a preacher? Pastor John’s own road to the pastorate shows that God often makes preachers in unexpected ways.

If Scripture doesn’t obligate parents to leave a financial inheritance to their children, how might Christians decide what to do with their money?

God will never leave or forsake his children. But for our lasting good, he may sometimes hide his face and allow us to walk through seasons of darkness.

When we memorize and meditate on God’s word, we create a deep, transforming connection between the Bible, our minds, and our hearts.

The Bible describes idols as actual objects people worship, but today many use the language of “idolatry” more broadly. So what is an idol?

In our pursuit to be holy as God is holy, how do we move past our failures to obey without feeling condemned in the process?

The ministry of Desiring God is fueled by the prayers and financial gifts of God’s people. If you have been blessed by our resources in 2021, would you consider becoming a monthly partner? https://give.desiringgod.org/#monthly

God may use medicine to lengthen our lives, but he will always use habits of grace, like prayer and Bible reading, to sustain our faith in suffering.

We miss the miracle of what Christmas is if we forget why Christmas happened: God the Son became man — to die in our place.

Christmas is not just another bend in the river of redemptive history. Christmas marks the end of the river and the arrival of the ocean.

The Bible teaches both the absolute sovereignty of God and the genuine accountability of man. And nowhere are they considered contradictory.

No Christian consistently longs for God, which is one reason God gives us prayers like Psalm 86:11: “Unite my heart to fear your name.”

Those who live for joy in God now will possess joy in God forever. And until then, God pledges his protection over body and soul, through life and death.

Christians sometimes talk about giving God “some” glory, “more” glory, or “most” glory, but are those really biblical categories?

None of us has an infallible understanding of the Bible, but at what point does open contradiction of Scripture call into question someone’s profession of faith?

God, in his grace, does not keep us from trouble and pain. But he does order and measure our trouble and pain — and then uphold us through it all.

A love for excellence can easily grow into a hypercritical spirit. How can we resist the tendency to focus mostly on the failures of others?

John Piper’s ministry has been marked by rigorous attention to God’s word paired with deep delight in God’s word — a double emphasis captured in Psalm 119:97.

The story of Elijah on Mount Carmel shows that God rules over fire and rain, bulls and rocks — and even over every human heart.

If we allow anger to come quickly and stay long, it will eventually consume love, consume gratitude, consume mercy, and consume true perceptions of reality.

God has reasons for everything he does — and an ultimate purpose driving it all. Personal mission statements help us align all of life with that great purpose.

Gratitude is a duty — we ought to thank God for the grace he has given. But genuine Christian gratitude is far more than mere duty.

Jesus healed people with deep, lifelong disabilities. So should we pray that he would heal loved ones with disabilities like Down syndrome or cerebral palsy?

When we don’t understand God and his ways, we can still rest here: God is always totally sovereign, and God is always infinitely good.

Jesus never lied, stole, coveted, grumbled, lusted, or sinned in any other way. And that means Jesus alone knows the full force of temptation.

When suffering overshadows the life of a family, how can parents help their children embrace God’s all-good, all-wise, all-governing providence?

Are God’s callings for men and women merely functional and practical, or do they flow from something deeper in his design?

We live in the day of salvation, the day of patience, the day of tolerance. But when Jesus returns, that day will end forever.

Despite the warnings, cigarette smoking and other forms of nicotine use persist. How concerned should parents be about whether their teens smoke, chew, or vape?

Pleasure in God is not complete unless it overflows in praise to God. And praise to God is not sincere unless it overflows from pleasure in God.

Joy in God was never meant to be a solitary pursuit. Joy sends us out to serve — and serving fills us up with joy.

Few of us feel as attractive as we would like, and some of us feel downright ugly. Why does God allow such unattractiveness in a world that prizes physical beauty?

Fifteen states have now legalized the recreational use of marijuana. What message might God be sending to the church in an age of legal pot?

The boldest people in the world are those who can look into the face of God, in all of his holiness and power, and know that he is for them in Christ.

Whether Old Testament or New Testament, stories fill the pages of Scripture. How can we begin to discover God’s meaning in the Bible’s narratives?

Life’s pressures have a way of exposing hidden sins and introducing new temptations. So how do we know if pressure is making us more holy or more sinful?

Many wish they could have seen Jesus in person as he walked on the earth. But to have the four Gospels is even better than being there.

Until we begin to grasp the infinite worth of God, and the horrific evil of sin, much of the Bible will make no sense — including a book like Job.