Ask Pastor John

When we are saved, we’re united to Christ by the Spirit. Our old self — our unbelieving, rebellious, sin-loving self — dies, and we live by the Spirit.

Jesus said, “Sell your possessions, and give to the needy.” Are we disobeying Jesus if we don’t literally give away all that we have?

How can we forgive others who have hurt us deeply? Pastor John gives three practical suggestions for pursuing forgiveness.

The fall has made childbirth painful and dangerous. But in Christ, the deepest dangers of the curse have been removed.

God keeps his children through midlife crises by empowering them to keep fighting to be kept.

What role does God play in the redemption and damnation of sinners? Is he just as sovereign over both?

A godly father will want to show God the Father to his children. He will want to model for them the heart of Jesus.

If God created the world to display the fullness of his attributes, would he have been less glorious without creation?

We go from a rebel against the King to a child of the King. God’s attitude toward us completely changes. But does he still get angry at us when we sin?

Both Calvinists and Arminians see grace as powerful and necessary, but not in the same way. Pastor John gets at the heart of the theological divide.

If you are a Christian, then you have the Holy Spirit. But is this the same as being baptized in the Holy Spirit? Pastor John explains the difference.

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.