Ask Pastor John

Should Christians make a habit of visiting loved ones’ graves? And if we do visit, how can we honor Christ in the cemetery?

Many wonder how a good God could govern a world filled with pain. But sometimes, pain becomes the very means God uses to awaken us to his goodness.

The Gospel of John speaks of a “disciple whom Jesus loved” five times. Who was this beloved disciple, and why does he single himself out like this?

After a year unlike any other, Pastor John looks ahead to new books and renewed ambitions to spread Christian Hedonism farther across the globe.

How can Christians challenge and correct one another in a way that honors Christ and acknowledges our common neediness before him?

God expects faithfulness of all his people. But faithfulness for one Christian may look far different than faithfulness for another Christian.

Paul tells us that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood. But Paul himself had many human enemies. So, are our enemies spiritual, human, or both?

The essence of God’s love is not that he makes much of us, but that he frees us, at great cost to himself, to enjoy making much of him forever.

Many medical professionals regularly find themselves around people only hours or minutes from hell. How would love call us to act in those moments?

Christians display the character of God through both mercy and justice. But how do we know when to show mercy and when to give justice?

Almost everyone wants to be loved by God. But our reasons for wanting God’s love may reveal whether we truly know him or not.

When God restored Job’s fortunes, he also doubled his wealth. Should Christians pray for God to do the same for us today?

Serial dating, if left unconquered, often turns into serial marriage. So, what hope does Jesus offer to those addicted to the pleasures of a new relationship?

God commands us both to fear him and to flee to him for refuge. How can we possibly do one without contradicting the other?

The book of Ecclesiastes tells us that “all is vanity.” But if God providentially guides all things, then doesn’t he give meaning to everything in this world?

As with other Protestants, many Baptists trace their lineage to the Reformation. But what makes Baptists unique among the heirs of the Reformation?

Strategies are important in our battle against lust. But nothing arrests our souls with the urgency of purity like the supremacy of Jesus Christ.

What is purgatory, and why have thoughtful Christians like C.S. Lewis believed in it? Does this belief in afterlife cleansing find support in Scripture?

Jesus commands us to love our neighbors. But how can we love them if they don’t want our help, or if they even actively ignore us?

Christians are new creations in Christ — yet we still feel the familiar pull of the old self. How do we reckon with the persistence of indwelling sin?

Some parts of the world seem to endure far more sorrow than other parts. Does God favor some places and peoples more than others?

Some of us find ourselves confessing the same sins over and over. How do we know our repentance is real if we repeatedly lose the same battles?

If we try to make much of the love of God by downplaying the wrath of God, we destroy the love of God.

The primary responsibility for a child’s education belongs to parents, not to the state. So, what can parents do when the state tries to take control?

The book of Genesis records life spans in the hundreds of years. Why did the first humans live for so long — and why are our life spans today so short?

How might Christians process the failures of once-beloved figures like Ravi Zacharias? Pastor John draws out lessons from the ministries of fallen leaders.

Some wait to come to Christ because they feel powerless to live the Christian life. But that power becomes ours only by coming to Christ.

Angels appear all over Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation. But why did God create angels in the first place — and what are they doing today?

Conspiracy theories — Christian or otherwise — are nothing new. But how can we talk to friends who find themselves gripped by them?

“No condemnation” means that you are finally free: free to love, free to serve, free to forgive, and even free to die for the good of others.

Paul looks back to Abraham and celebrates his unwavering faith. But is Abraham’s laughter at God’s promise in Genesis 17 really a faithful response?

The differences between male and female are not obstacles to overcome or facts to ignore. They are distinct glories that God calls “very good.”

If we want to follow Jesus, we will need to give up more than just sins. We will also need to give up everything that dulls our hearts for him.

How can children who come from dysfunctional or abusive families begin to embrace the perfect fatherhood of God?

Why might God allow his children to endure years, or even decades, of unremitting suffering? How does such chronic pain bring him glory?

The deepest cure for lust never comes from strategies or accountability. The deepest cure comes from seeing the soul-staggering grandeur of God.

Joy isn’t just a nice byproduct of the Christian life, but an essential part of it. From propitiation to glorification, joy animates our life in Christ.

Christ’s resurrection secures our future hope that we too will rise one day. In the meantime, it also grants us spiritual power for everyday life.

Everything good in the Christian life grows in the soil of rich, deep, and happy humility.

The cross of Christ accomplished everything we need to glorify God by being eternally happy in him. But is there anything the cross didn’t accomplish?

When you have the privilege of caring for dying people, how can you minister to their souls in addition to meeting their physical needs?

Forgiveness, justification, adoption, and eternal life are all a means to something even greater: enjoying God himself.

Christians rest on Jesus not only for justification, but also for sanctification. Both are blood bought. Both are certain.

If I feel called to missions, should I be open to dating a Christian who doesn’t share the same calling?

God determines the direction of history down to the smallest detail. But what is his ultimate goal in all his providence?

God is the most important and most valuable reality in the entire universe. Who has he revealed himself to be?

Before we can ask who God is, we need to know where to find the answer. Where can we go to learn the truth about who God reveals himself to be?

God’s providence isn’t an obstacle to evangelism and missions. It is, instead, our only hope to see the good news of the gospel reach all nations.

We dishonor God when we love the gifts more than the Giver. But we also dishonor him when we forget all the gifts he has given.

John Piper’s newest book, ‘Providence,’ celebrates the all-embracing, all-pervasive, invincible providence of God.