Ask Pastor John

God commands us not merely to flee evil, but to hate evil — not merely to do mercy, but to love mercy.

Christ’s righteousness is the sole ground of our acceptance into God’s favor, but our new life of holiness is necessary to demonstrate that we are truly in him.

Pursuing physical fitness becomes sinful self-glorification when we no longer do so to overcome our own sin, serve others, and glorify Christ.

Tell stories of Christians to inspire others to love Jesus, give them insight into perplexing difficulties, and motivate them to follow him no matter what.

Foolishness in the Bible is always sinful. To act foolishly is sin, and to sin is to act foolishly.

Renounce revenge, trust your cause to God, and return good for evil. You can do that whether your adversary admits wrong or not.

The blood of Christ is sufficient to wash away every sin and remove all judgment and bring us to everlasting healing and joy.

To come to true saving faith, you have to experience the miracle of spiritual sight of the supremely valuable glory of Christ, the image of God.

God intends for our real and wise fear of hell to be a means of clarifying and establishing his glory and truth in our hearts.

Teachers need to be vigilant over what they teach, and all Christians need to be vigilant over what they do with what they are taught.

The promise of future joy penetrates back into the present and sustains us with joy now in the midst of sorrow.

Our tragic loss of wonder and amazement is epidemic, especially in our age of ever-present distraction by superficial input from every manner of media.

Thinking that God owes us naturally leads to arrogant abuse. But knowing that we deserve nothing good from God naturally leads to brokenhearted love.

Don’t open your mouth to alcohol to numb your pain. Open your mouth to speak right things that would deliver you from misjudgment.

There will always be complementarians willing to die for the truth who will give their lives rather than conform to an unbiblical culture.

The key to persevering in a discouraging marriage is hope and faith from God’s word that he can overcome the divide.

Christ was a just and merciful substitute for sinners. When he died for his elect, he bore their punishment. They experience no condemnation.

Studying the historical and physical realities of crucifixion shows how deplorable and inhumane that form of human extermination is.

Jesus, God’s Son, died in the place of sinners and rose so that all who love him supremely might be forgiven all and have eternal joy in God.

When parachurch campus ministries are an extension of the local church, they can strategically reach and disciple the lost together.

God does not require finite man to love him infinitely. But he does require total and supreme love.

Because John Calvin loved the glory of God and our pursuit of happiness in him, John Piper believes he would have been a Christian Hedonist.

It is a terrible sign of spiritual obliviousness to visit religious shrines and not feel heartbreak and caution for demonic powers of deception.

If your parents think pursuing missions is a waste, win them to your vision and show them that Christ is sufficient to satisfy your soul.

Christ is our reward — as is everything else that more fully reveals him and more fully enables us to enjoy him.

Baptism demonstrates and symbolically reenacts our spiritual death, burial, and resurrection in Christ. But it does not save anyone.

Pray to God at all times, but don’t think you can twist God’s arm by repeating your requests. He seeks heartfelt, authentic fellowship.

A faithful, covenant-keeping spouse can display the truth of Christ’s covenant with us — even after a failed marriage.

Qualified leaders should help God’s people come together to express his infinite value by lifting their voices and hearts in song.

While satire, irony, sarcasm, and ridicule all have their place in exposing evil and harm, Christians should patiently seek to win others in love.

Sometimes biblical authors drew in material from outside the Bible in order to strengthen their points for their audience.

Revival is a concentrated work of God where Christians in various churches earnestly desire more of Christ, boldness in witness, and commitment to missions.

Christians are called to be different from the world, but engaged with the world. That’s not comfortable, but it is essentially Christian.

First, be a Bible-guided Christian. Second, embrace the Bible-rooted doctrines of grace. Third, come to your convictions on baptism.

If you have a prodigal, immerse yourself in the Bible and pray with your spouse for wisdom, love, boldness, and joy.

God is never ignorant about the future or about anything. He is never uncertain about what is coming. He is God.

Christianity and nihilism are exclusive, because God himself is the meaning and purpose and value of human existence.

Receive Christ, the one who did all the doing that had to be done as the foundation of our acceptance with God.

God determines when everybody dies. He decided so before the world existed.

If Christ’s millennial reign comes after his second coming, Jesus could come very, very quickly.

There are some senses in which God’s people can see him, and other senses in which they cannot.

Not all Israelites will be saved, and no Jews who are waiting for a Messiah but rejecting Jesus while they wait will be saved.

Use multiple Bible translations for increased general understanding, and use one main translation for meditation and memorization.

The purpose and design of God’s justice in punishment is infinitely different than his purifying discipline in pain.

While pets, like other good things, can distract us from the glory of God, they can also provide God-saturated fascination and joy.

Nudity belongs in marriage, and nowhere else — not in dating, not in engagement, and certainly not on your phone. Pastor John gives seven reasons why.

Praying the Bible keeps us from focusing on our immediate private concerns to the exclusion of God’s larger purposes.

Jesus lived to glorify his Father by enjoying him as the sustaining power for all his life, including his greatest suffering.

Imitate Christ and ask yourself, “How can I serve somebody today?” not, “How can I get somebody to like me today?”

The greatness of our rewards in the age to come correspond with the life of obedience that we have lived here.