Ask Pastor John

Bacon, ground beef, sausage — God allows us to eat meat. But he didn’t always allow it. Is it wise to return to a pre-fall diet?

Don’t let the truth of God’s electing love prevent you from declaring that Christ died for all. Whoever believes in him will have eternal life.

Instagram selfies, Facebook updates, and endless Snaps feed off our self-focus and self-exaltation. But the sins behind the technology are not new.

If you pluck out your right eye to fight lust, your left eye will pick up the slack. We need more than self-mutilation to fight this enemy.

The New Testament teaches that Christians should confess their sins regularly — not only to God, but also to each other.

If you have a mustard seed of faith and mountains aren’t moving, you may have the wrong kind of faith — or God may have a better plan.

Grading on a curve, competing for a job against others, sports-team tryouts — how do we seek the good of others when they are our rivals?

God calls us to not only resist lustful thoughts, but to fill our minds with the beauties of Christ so that our desires gradually conform to his.

We don’t get to negotiate the cost of following Christ. But there is no cost you can pay that won’t be made up a thousandfold in the resurrection.

Jesus commands us to do our good deeds in secret, but he also commands us to let our good deeds shine before others. How can we do both?

God would be just to condemn us even if we only sinned for five seconds. The time it takes us to sin does not measure the gravity of the offense.

Seminary professors need to be more than competent exegetes, linguists, or theologians. They need to embody the pastoral office.

When one sinner repents, God and his angels rejoice in heaven. Does that mean that God’s happiness depends on ours?

All Scripture is profitable — not just the pages of the New Testament. But how should Christians read the Old Testament in light of Christ’s coming?

God has a special love for his adopted children, but that does not mean he has no love for those who reject him.

Can a non-Christian ever please God? If not, how should we understand the account of Cornelius in Acts 10?

When billboards, TV commercials, and even dolls tell women that beauty comes from tight, trim-cut clothing, how can we cultivate beauty in the heart?

What should a pastor do if he feels discouraged, defeated, and almost ready to quit? Pastor John gives a series of diagnostic questions.

Staying married is not first about staying in love. It’s about keeping a covenant that reflects Jesus’s own commitment to his bride — the church.

Deep study of Scripture yields deep payoffs, but many of us can’t engage in rigorous study every day. So how do we strike a proper balance?

We need to read large sections of Scripture and stop to meditate on short passages. Pastor John recommends a reading plan that allows you to do both.

Retirees, what a glorious exchange it would be to give up our golf game and bridge club for the mission field. But where should we start?

We can say with confidence God does not dwell in a geographic place we could go to in a spaceship. So what can we say about the location of heaven?

Why does Hebrews tell us that Jesus needed to “learn obedience” and “be made perfect” if the Bible also says he never sinned?

Christmas may fall short now, but one day our delight will be full — and it will go on increasing for all eternity. This is what Christmas is all about.

Every good gift we receive comes through the death of Christ. So every gift from God is an opportunity to enjoy God himself.

Jesus is one hundred percent God, one hundred percent man. This union of divinity and humanity may be mysterious, but it’s the only hope for sinners.

Let’s stay close to the heart of Christmas: God took on flesh that he might die to destroy our enemies, deliver us from sin, and give us eternal life.

The key to magnifying Christ in life and in death is to find him more precious and more satisfying than everything we lose in death.

The only kind of sin that does not lead to death is the sin that we confess, repent of, and resolve to fight by God’s grace.

In many cultures, married couples live with the husband’s family. But does “leaving and cleaving” mean they should move out and get their own place?

George Ladd has done more to shape our view of the end times than almost any other theologian. Pastor John explains the man and his influence.

“Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required.” Did Jesus intend this warning for believers or nonbelievers?

By default, Christians should submit to public officials. But how should Christians respond to rampant injustice in government?

If Christ died to pay our debt, whom did he pay? Did he pay Satan in order to free us from captivity, or did he pay God to free us from our penalty?

The Bible’s view of human sexuality is a beautiful truth that we should set on a pedestal — even if that means others hate us for it.

We don’t ever outgrow the gospel. So why does Hebrews call us to “leave behind the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity”?

On any given day, innumerable needs surround us that all call for prayer. So how do we navigate these endless needs and decide what to pray for?

If nothing happens outside of God’s control, then why is this world filled with events that clearly oppose God’s revealed will?

Most of us spend at least forty hours a week at work. So how do we leverage our time there to bring honor and praise to God?

Aim to be humble rather than defensive when it comes to criticism. Only then will we be able to listen to their words and change if we’re wrong.

Spreading damaging reports about others feels so good and comes so naturally. But why is this impulse so natural? And how do we fight it?

Under the threat of nuclear war, we could easily start preparing for the worst by stocking up on food and building a bomb shelter. But should we?

Why do some hear of God’s sovereignty and run into the mission field with confidence, while others passively say, “What will be will be”?

What should we do if the thrills of TV, movies, video games, and sports feel more interesting than spending time with God?

Dementia may turn God’s people into frail shadows of their former self, but these saints are sitting on the brink of a glory and power we can’t imagine.

The stakes are high when pastors do not root their points plainly from the text in front of them. Here are six consequences.

The Bible calls husbands to lead their wives. But where should you go for help if you’ve never seen anyone model Christlike leadership in the home?

Even the best churches and friendships can leave us feeling relationally jaded. So how can we persevere in love when others disappoint us so much?

God seeks our worship, not because it meets his need, but because it meets ours. God is the only one beautiful enough to satisfy us forever.