Thoughts from the Killing Fields of Cambodia

The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God

"The streets don't give a damn, filled with so much pollution. Trapped inside the matrix, forced to play our hand, we're filled with so much hatred, the kids don't stand a chance."

I'm from America. Middle class America. I've grown up in a loving home, have been blessed with people who cared for and protected me, and have always had my needs met. Sure I have experienced pain and hurt, just as we all have had our trials and tribulations to endure. But I have never had to endure excruciating pain, abuse, or oppression. My psyche has never had to encounter the blistering assault of sheer torment or tragedy. Besides that, I'm pretty secure in knowing that God loves my children, my family, and me. My framework of theology is sturdy in the understanding that God not only loves my family, and me but He loves the whole world. He loves all people. Go into the average church in America and this is a common understanding. God is love. In fact, we are overtly sentimental in our understanding of God's love. We sing about how much he loves us. In many of our songs, if the name God or Jesus wasn't mentioned, the songs could easily pass as ballads between romantic lovers. My point is that the love of God is an easy doctrine for us. So you can understand why it was shock to my system when I walked the concentration prison of Cambodia and the killing fields where mass genocides took place in the 1970s. First, a little background. In the 1970, a dictator named Pol Pot took over Cambodia. During his time in power he imposed agrarian socialism, forcing urban dwellers to relocate to the countryside to work in collective farms and forced labor projects. The combined effects of forced labor, malnutrition, poor medical care, and executions resulted in the deaths of approximately 21 percent of the Cambodian population. One of the more grim mass executions took place on what it now the genocide museum, or “Killing Fields of Cambodia.”

As I began to walk around the filling fields, at first there was a sense of normalcy. There was lush green grass, tall flourishing mangos trees, and a worn path surrounded by singing birds. How could this be a place where thousand of people, men women and children were brutally murdered? It had the appeal of a place where one could ride a bike along the worn path or take a restful walk. Nothing seemed to show the evidence of one of the worst genocides in the history of mankind.  But as I walked further, the evidence began to emerge. It soon became clear that I was beholding a massive crime scene. Along the land, buttressed by a small lake, were massive crevices in the ground. Every twelve feet or so the land had one crater after another. These crevices were mass gravesites, locations where hundreds of people were executed and buried. As I continued to walk the land, a light rain began to fall. The ground became more and more moist. And that’s when I know longer needed to imagine what happened in those fields. Human bones began to surface above ground. Shreds of clothes could be seen potruding from the mass graves. Thirty years later, harrowing signs of sheer evil and what men are culpable of doing when severed from the Creator.  

A couple of days earlier, our missions team had the opportunity to talk with a Buddhist monk, the leader of the monks on the grounds of an exuberant Buddhist temple. During our conversation with him, I objected to his belief that God cannot be known. I began to point to both the transcendence and immanence of God. I was thinking of every shred of theology I had ever studied in order to counter his objections. And that's when he asked me, "Where is this God? Where is He? Where can I find him?" At the time, I gave him what I believed to be a sufficient, logical, and biblical answer. But as I now walked his land, the land of his fathers, the land where his people were massacred, his question bore heavy on my heart. As I saw the human bones protruding out of the ground and viewed what appeared to be a little girls dress, shredded and lying above the mass grave, I knew that the Buddhist monk's question was legitimate. Not justified, but legitimate. "Where is this God? Where is He?" More specifically, "Where was this God during the genocide in Cambodia?"

And that's what brings me to the doctrine of the love of God. It is a hard doctrine.  DA Carson rightly asks, “Is the love of God such an obvious doctrine?” Surely, I am not questioning the reality of the love of God. I am, however, offering that our sentimentalized view of the love of God will not be sufficient to answer the question, “Where is this God?”  In the midst of unspeakable tragedies and evil, a sentimental understanding of the love of God is dreadfully insufficient. We must move beyond a sentimental view of the love of God and think through the hard questions. The good news is that even after we think through some fundamental questions in the midst of some complex scriptures, we will come back to the simplicity of the love of God as portrayed by John 3:16. “For God so loved the world that he gave His Son…….” Oh the beauty of that simple text! It’s not that God so loved the world in its “bigness” but He so loved the world in its “badness.” Whenever John talks about the “world” he’s not talking about the bigness of the world but the badness of the world. The world is “the moral order in which men have rebelled against God.” God looks at this rebellion and still loves the rebel! So he sends his Son to the “badness of the world.” His love is seen in that He send His son---not to so many people----but to such wicked people.

In my finite mind I will never be able to give an adequate explanation for the killing fields of Cambodia or any other genocide committed throughout history. I can struggle through these questions by considering the love of God in the context of His sovereignty, his domain over evil, His ultimate justice, and the fallen nature of man. Nevertheless, I can conclude that God looks at this fallen, tragic world and He loves the people in it. Wicked people. Sinful people. People who are hurting one another. Such a remarkable, gracious truth! But still difficult to understand. 

More Thoughts from Cambodia..........

A LESSON IN TRUE JOY AND CONTENTMENT

It was difficult to choose which picture to use for this lesson because we have so many pictures of the people in the remote villages of Cambodia smiling and laughing. Don't misunderstand----the needs in those villages are immense and overwhelming. There is much pain in the people---both physical and emotional---because of the debilitating consequences of poverty. The average Cambodian worker in these villages makes about two dollars per day of work. While we were there, many of the families were suffering from a shortage of rain and thus a failed rice harvest. I noticed that when we fed each village a feast by their standards of chicken, beef, and rice, silence enveloped the tables. Few people spoke because everyone was busy eating. Someone whispered to me, "We are not used to eating this good." So these humble people have great needs. And yet, there was a consistent theme of joyfulness among them. Even in the midst of great pain and lack, they were genuinely happy people. Their smiles were sincere and their laughter was contagious. How is that possible? How is it possible to be in need but be joyful at the same time? How is it possible to be in tribulation and still dance? Yes, I know the answers to these questions are found in the Scriptures. I've read them many times and preached them to others. I intellectually have assented to the biblical fact that a Christian doesn't always need to be jocular and jovial in order to have true joy. And yet, I had to travel to the jungles of Cambodia to find this kind of deep seated joy expressed in such a dramatic way. Their joy convicted and challenged both my propensity to allow circumstances to dictate my level of joy and my bent to act as if everything is alright even when it is not. There is something lovely and pure about an authentic joy that is independent of both worldly attachments and pretension. This is the joy we found in the villages of Cambodia.

Thoughts from Cambodia...........

A LESSON IN FADING TO THE BACKGROUND

Pastor Choon has worked his whole adult life as a pastor in the remote villages of Svay Rieng, Cambodia. In my time observing Pastor Choon, it became very evident that humility and servanthood were the dominating traits of this meek man. Whether it was making sure that everyone else was served before he sat down to eat or whether it was his gentle way in which he ministered to others, Pastor Choon taught me a lesson without ever giving a sermon. The lesson is simple, but often overlooked: a true leader knows when to fade into the background. Now, in a way, that lesson seems like an oxymoron. Doesn't a true leader rise to he top, take the lead, and shine for the glory of God? Surely these, too, are some of the characteristics of a leader. But these are not the dominate traits of a Christian leader. In order for Christ to be seen in our lives, we must know when to fade to the background. We must know how to serve instead of merely being served. Humility is the dominate trait of the Christian leader. We must decrease so that Christ can be seen in all his increase. In many ways, Pastor Choon is the antithesis of the American success story. He doesn't pastor a big church. He doesn't cling to possessions or goods. I would have never known who he was if not for traveling across the earth to a remote village along the Vietnam border. After a long day of ministry in that land, we went to Pastor Choon's house. We were startled to find that this man and his family lived in the back of a storefront. We had to literally step over the items of the store in order to get to his house. Even where he made his abode was in the background. But maybe thats where each one of us should make our abode---in the background. Like David, we can say "I will abide in the shadow of the Almighty." A good leader knows when to stand out, but he also knows when to make his retreat to the shadows.   

The Race to Righteousness

“The Race to Righteousness”- Romans 9:6-8, 9:30-33, and 10:1-5

Have you ever heard the term “grandfather clause?”  I was recently at a store asking about certain services I had, as part of my plan, there was a grandfather clause on it that stipulated that certain fees did not apply to my account because I came in before the fees went into effect.  I was saved of the fees because I was in before the company started charging for certain services.  When it comes to our eternal salvation, we find no grandfather clause; our heritage, parentage, culture, race, deeds, or anything human will not bring us into salvation.  We cannot depend on our merit, instead we must ask Christ to take over as our Lord and savior, only then are we grafted into the body of Christ. 

God shows tremendous grace, beginning with the biggest example of grace: Jesus Christ.  He loves us so much that He sent his son to die for us that we may be with the Father for all eternity if we choose to call Him savior, but even within this grace, we find that there are some distinctions to be made between what we believe we know in our human minds and those of the Lord’s.  One of those distinctions we need to make as believers, can be found between zeal and knowledge.  Paul speaks of this in Romans 10:2 when he says, “for I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.”  He is saying we should have both passion AND knowledge because we find ourselves short if we chose one over the other; one cannot have knowledge without passion, and passion cannot stand without increasing knowledge.  In essence, our zeal for God must be based upon our knowledge of the Gospel.

One other big distinction that we must keep in mind is that found between God’s view of righteousness and that of man’s view of righteousness.  Paul says in Romans 10:3-4 that, “for, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.  For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”  Man believes that it is by his own hand that justification can be attained, but our justification is free and NOT based on our own actions.  When Christ came, He upended what was believed to be righteous.  We, believers, are not the people we once were, and when we take Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, He begins to show us what His righteousness looks like, so you need only open your heart and ears to hear what He says, and your life will begin to see everything through the Cross of Christ because it is in Him that we find righteousness!

Is God Truly Faithful and Reliable?

“Is God Truly Faithful and Reliable?”- Romans 9:1-24

How could God have mercy on me? I have a hard and angry heart. How could God love me? I have lived such a sinful life. How could God be gracious towards me? I have always done things on my own.

These and many other questions are posed by both the unbeliever and believer at many times in our lives. Paul addresses all these questions and concerns in Romans 9, and even though he was speaking to the nation of Israel, we can see ourselves reflected in this passage and in the words he has written. He speaks to the Jewish people telling them that he needs to tell them some things, but to not believe that he (or God) are anti-Jewish because God loves everyone; Paul also reminds them that were is not for the Jewish people, Jesus Christ, the Redeemer, would not have come to be. Many times we think that because of our background or because of our culture that we are not worthy of the saving grace and mercy of God, but Paul shows us that God loves EVERYONE, not just the gentile or just the Jewish person. God may have to change some things in us when we become believers, things that have come to be a part of us as a result of our society, culture, upbringing, or other circumstances, but none of that keeps us from being loved and embraced by the Father.


Many times our logic and society try to tell us that God’s word must have failed; they also say we do not need to be faithful to this God because we have come this far on “our own.” The fact of the matter is that we are never outside of the hand and will of God! God’s sovereignty is absolute, and we must realize that the faithfulness and reliability of God is not hindered by man’s unfaithfulness. One prime example is that of Pharaoh not letting Moses and his people leave Egypt. We are told that Pharaoh’s heart is hardened, but regardless of how hard his heart was, Moses and his people were released in the end. God was completely, unquestionably, in control. He knew what Pharaoh would say, but He also knew they would leave!


It is an awesome thing to see the sovereignty of God, but we must not become so arrogant to believe that we must not stay humble before the will of God. Paul speaks of not questioning the Lord and His plan, but also knowing that we have a personal responsibility to walk out the Lord’s plan for our lives. Paul speaks saying in Romans 9:20, “But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why have you made me like this?’” God is completely in control, knowing exactly for what intent and purpose we have been created, but even if we try to walk outside of His will, His plans will still be accomplished regardless of what we may say or do. Even though this is all true, we must still remember that God’s sovereignty NEVER negates man’s responsibility. To look at it from a different angle, we should feel great allegiance and responsibility toward the will and plans of God when we would not be here were it not for Him! His mercy, grace, and love is the reason we are here, and as believers, we should not take God’s faithfulness and reliability for granted.

The God of History and the Future

“The God of History and the Future”- Romans 9:1-9, 23-29

Do you ever think to yourself, “What in the world is God doing,” “What in the world is God doing with me,” or the epic question “How is it all going to end?” These are different questions that people who are lost in the world will ask, but many of us, as believers, find ourselves asking these very questions but we are able to see it all from a different view of time. Our society’s view of time is pictured negatively because there is a belief that life is nothing and one becomes nothing; we, as believers, have a biblical view of time, which includes the following: God is at the beginning and has taken charge of it, Jesus Christ is at the center of history, and Jesus Christ will bring about a triumphant conclusion- total restoration! There is HOPE!


When we take the time to look at the three distinct points of a biblical view of time, we come to realize that having faith in God is NOT a leap into the dark. As new believers, (and sometimes as old believers), we find ourselves wondering why it is that we do not understand a particular aspect of our walk with God, such as not understanding why God would allow something to happen in our lives at a particular time, but what we must realize is that as believers we have faith seeking understanding. We will not automatically understand all of God or make sense of certain things right away, but we begin to understand as we move along trusting God and His word.


It may seem as if we must do something to bring ourselves to a place in which we are worthy of acquiring this understanding, but God is the one who initiates a relationship! Let us consider the life and story of Abraham. Abraham (who was called Abram at the time when God calls him) is living in a land of pagans and idol worship; God comes down and initiates a relationship regardless of who Abram was, the life he was living, and what he may have done! God actually, in His great love, calls this man, Abram, changes his name, and speaks over him saying that He will bless ALL the nations of the earth through him. Imagine what He is calling each and every one of us to do and be. God is the pursuer because He loves us even though there is absolutely no merit in us!


God calls Abram, now Abraham, and speaks that amazing prophecy over him and his seed, but sadly Israel forgets time and time again about Jesus Christ who will come through Israel. How many times have we heard God speak over our lives, tell us the great plans He has for our lives, and we negate them because we believe there is no way it can be accomplished; maybe it is that we do not feel He has told us anything about our future. Why would we stop so short when we, as believers, serve the God who knows the beginning, middle, and end?!? We have a place in the will of God; He has a plan for each and every one who comes into His family. Our place in the world is in Christ, and we have become a part of His story… what greater place to be and to do as we are told!


In the end, God is going to wrap up the story and then there will be judgment, but running parallel to this judgment is His faithfulness to His people. We should have hope in being His people and doing and being in His will. This should also lead us to a sense of soberness, to ask ourselves whether we are doing all we have been asked to do as per the Lord’s calling on our lives. He has called us to reach outward, and we must make sure that we are accomplishing His will and purposes, not only in our lives, but also in helping those in the world. He knows all that was, is, and will be, and He has a plan for each and every one of His children! Embrace your plan and place in His will!

Is God in Control of Everything?

“Is God in Control of Everything?”- Romans 8:28-39

In Romans 8, Paul begins by speaking about there being no condemnation, he ends with there being no separation, and throughout the middle he writes about the person who is in Christ there is no defeat.  All can be summed up in one word- Assurance.  In this particular chapter, Paul shows us how Christ does change our lives, and he gives us an assurance that we are His; as believers, we are the children of the Most High King.  Some of us may wonder how it can be that we, believers, could be children of God; how can we be certain He loves us as His own when we are more wicked than we could have ever imagined.  Our assurance can be found in that even though we are more terrible than we could imagine, we are in fact more loved than we can conceive, loved because He loves us.  Such a simple answer, and yet so difficult for many of us to truly imbed these words into our hearts, to trust and have faith that God could love us because He loves us!

Towards the end of Romans 8, Paul addresses what many of us question: what happens when we sin or fail and others point fingers?  In verses 33-34 Paul says the following, “Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect?  It is God who justifies.  Who is he who condemns?  It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.”  God does not turn His back the second we sin; instead, Jesus, Himself, stands as our intercessor because we, believers, cannot be brought into condemnation because the price has been paid by Jesus Christ, Himself.  Paul goes on to say in verse 35, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?”  Nothing can impede what God has done for us and the love He has for us!

Things may seem beyond understanding, with us standing in our situations trying to come to a semblance of understanding at what is happening or even why it is happening, but God sees it ALL.  Think of a tapestry.  When one looks at it from the backside, it is difficult to make out what the design could possibly be on the other side, but all the time we spend looking at the backside because that is where we find ourselves, God sees the other side, and He knows exactly what He is designing.  We must not look directly at our situation, instead, we must keep our eyes fixed on the One who is in control of the design, who knows exactly what design we were created to make. 

Some of us may then ask why we cannot just sit back and relax because God is in control, but the fact of the matter is that God says He will carry it all but we must take the steps.  David says in Psalm 37:23, “the steps of a righteous man are ordered by the Lord.”  In this, we can understand that we must take the steps, but as believers, when we seek the Lord, our steps are ordered by the Lord; we need only walk them out.  God is completely in control because He is a sovereign God, but our choices do matter.  It can put much pressure on us as individuals in this world, but as children of Christ we must have faith the He loves us because He loves us, and there is no greater assurance than that.  No matter what bad stuff is going on in us or around us, we cannot be separated from God’s love.  As believers, we are ASSURED!

Why a Good Pastor is Theological

Why a Good Pastor is Theological

In our last post we noted that one prominent preacher was lauded for not being “preachy or theological.” In the opinion of the admirer of this preacher, this was the reason why he had such a large following and success in ministry. While it is not my intent to disparage this pastor as an individual or discredit his ministry, the idea of a good pastor not being preachy or theological caught my attention. There are many young pastors and even older pastors who desire to make an impact for the kingdom of God who may be swayed to believe that being “preachy and theological” is a negative thing. We will be tempted to think that if we what to make an impact in our postmodern culture we must resort to some techniques that go beyond the basics of “mere” Bible preaching and study. Such things are too antiquated to reach this generation. This, however, is wrong. On the contrary, a quick glance at Scripture and the history of the church will show that faithful pastors have always been strong in both expository preaching and theological study. In this blog, we ask the question, “Should a good pastor be theological?”

Much like the word “preach” the word “theology” carries a negative connotation in society. Even people within the church shrink back from the word “theology” as if it carries a virus. Specifically in our more charismatic Christian churches, you will often hear people say that being too theological will hinder the “move of the Spirit.” There is this unfound belief that if we are too intellectual concerning the things of God, we will in some way “quench the spirit.” This fear can be justified if we are leaning upon our own knowledge as functional justification and esteeming our intellect as higher than the Word of God. However, more times than not the fear of Christians being so intellectual that they will hinder God’s will is unwarranted. On the contrary to being too intellectual, most of the Christian church has embraced anti-intellectualism. I Corinthians 8:1 is often used to justify this anti-intellectualism in the church, which says, “Knowledge puffs up.” Put in it’s proper context, however, this statement is meant to show that knowledge misused by arrogance is what is dangerous, not knowledge itself. If we wrongly believe that knowledge will automatically make us arrogant and not humble, we will subconsciously flee from knowledge. Unfortunately, this is what has happened in many of our churches. Young people grow up in the church ignorant of even the basics of Biblical knowledge. When our sermons and services are heavy on feelings and emotions while shallow on doctrine and theology, the results in the long run are less than desirable. This is not an attack against feelings, per se. Anyone who can delve into the Scriptures and discover the truths of the Gospel without exuding passion or emotion should be checked to see of they have a heartbeat! It should be impossible to behold the glory of God and stand in his presence without showing some kind of emotion. The emotive nature of people is not what is being challenged, however; it is our lack of depth and knowledge of the Word of God. We have forgotten how to think things through to the bottom, becoming more content with accepting what appears on the surface. Is not this the cause of our fascination with flare, popularity, and the hype of celebrity-type personalities?

Every pastor should be theological, though not every pastor will be a theologian. It is the pastor’s high calling to lead the people into the depths of Scripture. The word theology simply means the “study of God.” It is recognized that there are different types of modes of preaching. Some preaching will lean on the side of being more illustrative or inspirational. Other times the preaching will be more logical. But always should the preaching be "theology on fire". The great pastor of the Westminster Chapel, Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones, said, “There is no type of preaching that should be non-theological……….in many ways evangelistic preaching should be more, rather than less theological. Why is it that you call people to repent? Why do you call them to believe the Gospel? You cannot deal properly with repentance without dealing with the doctrine of man, the doctrine of the Fall, the doctrine of sin and the wrath of God against sin………..In other words it is all highly theological.”

When a pastor preaches the Scriptures, he appeals to the heart of man, but he also appeals to the mind of man. Jesus said we are to “love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind” (Matthew 22:37). Our worship of God cannot go beyond our knowledge of God. When we use our minds to search and drink from the well of the Scriptures, we are worshipping and loving God. Every good pastor will endeavor to prompt God’s people to this place of worship by drawing from a deep well of theology.