Ask Pastor John

We know God will accomplish his purposes for good, but he doesn’t promise our children’s eternal good. How can we be satisfied in God with this unknown?

When we think God has hardened someone’s heart, we should not assume that the hardening is permanent. God can and does break in and save.

“Better to live in a desert than with a quarrelsome and nagging wife.” What are readers of Scripture supposed to learn from a proverb like this?

Is it wise for a girlfriend and boyfriend to travel together and stay in the same hotel? Should they? Pastor John gives three reasons why they shouldn’t.

At any moment, God can put a complete stop to the plans of man. Rebellious human plans never threaten a sovereign God.

Job is a profound book on human suffering, worthy of a lifetime of study. But was Job himself a real, historical character? And does it matter?

Why would God take some of his children home as a means of discipline when he could have prevented their sin another way?

Faith kills pride by forcing us to look away from ourselves to God to receive the gift of salvation that we could never earn on our own.

Jesus said we should love our neighbors as ourselves. How is this kind of self-love different from the mantra we hear in advertising and social media?

All Satan’s power is by permission. He has no authority to do anything God does not permit for infinitely wise purposes.

Are Christians righteous or unrighteous? Pastor John explains two forms of righteousness in Scripture that get to the core of the gospel.

Deciding when to start a family can be complex. Pastor John shares how he and Noël decided, and what biblical truths should inform the process.

It’s better for us that Jesus is gone. He said so when he left. But why is Christ’s physical absence from us better for us than his physical presence?

Sex in marriage, just like other physical gifts from God, is not an absolute cure for lust, but it can be a great help in the battle.

Letting the truth of election deter evangelism isn’t only illogical, but unbiblical. Pastor John shows how election moves us to action, not inaction.

The union of two men or women is not “gay marriage.” It’s no marriage. When they come to Christ, that former relationship has no binding authority.

Pain surrounds us in this world, and for those in Christ, the exact opposite awaits us after we die. Is it sinful to want to die and be with Jesus?

Scripture tells us that the last days will bring an upsurge of evil in the world. Does that mean we should stop expecting revivals to take place?

The Bible has a lot to say about the issue of self-hate. Where should we begin if we’re talking to a non-Christian who struggles in this area?

Jesus is our substitute, the one who became sin so we might be saved. So does his righteousness also cover our joylessness?

God’s sovereign control is complete, not partial. He governs every aspect of nature, every aspect of history, and every aspect of personal life.

Over ninety times, Paul speaks of “the flesh.” So what does this word mean to the apostle? Pastor John forms a definition from two key passages.

We testify to the hope of resurrection when we choose burial over cremation. But if we first donate our body to science, is cremation okay then?

When it comes to food, many of us are in greater danger of judging people where we shouldn’t than of eating what we shouldn’t.

Our satisfaction in God will be in measure, not in fullness, until the day we see him face-to-face.

God promises lasting joy. But what should we do when we feel full on Sunday but empty by Monday?

Matthew, Mark, and Luke all tell us that Simon of Cyrene helped carry Jesus’s cross. What’s the significance of this story?

At the cross, the triune God was at work, securing our redemption. But what role did the Holy Spirit play in Jesus’s crucifixion?

Fear does not govern the Christian life. But we have a skewed view of the Christian life if we exclude fear.

Many of today’s skeptics ask questions that God himself has already addressed. Sometimes, we just need to hear how God responds to his critics.

“Woe to you who are rich. Woe to you who are full now. Woe to you who laugh.” What do Jesus’s woes mean for middle-class Americans?

God’s sovereignty over all creation is one of the grandest themes in the Bible. Pastor John overviews some of the basics.

Every child is an eternal being, someone who will live forever. So if our children may end up in hell, would we be better off not having kids?

With so many urgent spiritual needs in the world, is it wise to spend years of life in a seminary classroom? If someone is eager for ministry, why wait?

If Jesus is God, why does the Bible say that he “became” superior to angels? Hasn’t he always been superior to angels?

Christians can learn many important facts from non-Christian teachers. But they cannot learn the most important facts — or how to love them.

Chris Watts murdered his pregnant wife and two daughters. A few months into his prison sentence, he said he found God. Can he really be forgiven?

In the Old Testament, the disabled were excluded from the holy place. In the New Testament, Jesus touched and healed the disabled. Why the difference?

God could have chosen all to inherit eternal life, but he didn’t. So why would God choose some and not choose others?

Dozens of countries are experiencing a resurgence of biblical Christianity. Pastor John shares several stories from his recent trip to Brazil and Argentina.

Your smartphone is changing you, whether you realize it or not. Tony Reinke explains the costs of smartphone overuse, and how we can resist.

Making a decision with a coin flip glorifies chance. But making a decision from a renewed mind glorifies God.

“My girlfriend affirms homosexual love — is this a deal-breaker?” Yes. Pastor John gives five reasons why.

When Jesus says, “I never knew you,” he means, “I don’t recognize you as my disciple, as my follower. You are a spiritual stranger to me.”

God may use you to change your spouse. But if you press in to him, no matter how disappointed you are in marriage, he will certainly change you.

As God’s child, you are not enslaved to entertainment or anything else. Christ has purchased a way out for you.

Watching a movie, playing a board game, reading a novel — is God disappointed if we use free time for these instead of reading Scripture and praying?

In Jesus, God has given us what we need to rest — even while we work. To every anxious soul, Jesus says, “Come to me, and I will give you rest.”

Seeing and loving art and seeing and loving divine glory are not the same. They require different ways of seeing. So how can we see the beauty of God?

God has not given us a formula for when to share the gospel quickly and when to share over time in the context of a relationship. Both are needed.