Gospel Bootcamp
How God Practically Shapes and Supports the Lives of Believers Through the Good News: Highlights from Paul’s Letter to the Romans
by
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Chapter 4
What Does God See?
Examples of the Gospel’s Process Working:
What God concludes when He sees Faith
“…Abraham believed God, and it was ‘credited’
to him as righteousness…”
–Romans 4:3
HEROES WITH SOME “HISTORY,” PATRIARCHS WITH A “PAST”
David: Have you ever wondered how God could look at David, a murderer and adulterer, and conclude:
“he is a man after My own heart. I think I’ll have him write the ultimate book on worshipping Me, the Psalms”?
Paul: Here’s another “exemplary” hero of the faith. He was the ring-leader who orchestrated a mob execution of the first Christian martyr. He was also one of the most strictly religious keepers of the Jewish law—one who despised non-Jews. God looked at him and said:
“Oh, this is the perfect missionary apostle to the Gentiles. I think I’ll have him write most of the New Testament and be the one to explain in detail the gospel of grace apart from the law—how Jesus died for everyone—to the Non-Jewish world”.
Peter: Impulsive, can’t keep his mouth shut, yet cowardly. He denied Christ three times in His hour of greatest need. He was even intimidated by a servant girl. But God saw that there was much more potential in Peter. God saw a rock. He saw the man who would be a key leader of the early church. God says of him:
“This one! This is the perfect person for me to count on to stand up in front of the Jewish community that just crucified My Son and tell them: ‘You fools just killed the Messiah! And you’re in a heap of trouble if you don’t get right with Him (Acts 2)’.”
Peter had the perfect qualifications, right?
Gideon: He was cowardly—hiding from the enemies of God’s people. God addressed him as “mighty man of valor.” And He wasn’t mocking him; God saw the warrior inside. Gideon eventually led God’s people to freedom through victory in a battle where he was insanely outnumbered—most likely outmanned more than 100 to 1. How did God know where cowardly Gideon would end up?
…
Solomon: 700 wives and 300 concubines. Can you imagine the absurd mess that he got himself into in his home?!? God says:
“Here’s my guy! This is the one who will write the book on wisdom for simplifying your life and avoiding foolishness (Proverbs). I think I’ll have him write the book on romance and passionate devotion to your spouse in marriage too (Song of Solomon).”
I don’t know about you, but if I owned a big company, I would not hire God as the recruiting manager. He seems to be oblivious to resumes and character assessment!
The entire Bible is full of stories of people being corrupted by the enemy’s deception, but then many of them end up profoundly transformed after encountering God. How did He know that these people with such catastrophic failures in their past had such incredible potential for the future? How does He do His evaluation process? How could He tell that their temporary character flaws would not define their eternal destiny? It’s actually surprisingly simple:
God does not define any of us by our past actions or our current soul condition; He looks at the heart . And He knows that if there is a true faith perspective of Himself deep within us, then everything else will be transformed from the inside out.
GOD THE FATHER’S ASSESSMENT OF “THE” FATHER OF FAITH
Paul references Abraham’s story in Romans 4, as he explains the relationship between our faith, our works, and God’s work through the gospel to transform us:
“…Abraham believed God, and it was ‘credited to’ him as righteousness…” (verse 3)
…
The quote Paul uses comes from Genesis 15. Take a few minutes to read that chapter too. God appears to Abraham with a promise of great encouragement. But Abraham’s faith is still growing. The man who would become a hero of the faith—even the father of faith—is here whining about his circumstances, wondering how things will work out, and very impatient as he waits for God.
In the same way that the gospel helps us believe, God helped Abraham believe by revealing Himself and His plan for Abraham through a promise in Genesis 15. It was when Abraham realized that God had planned (and was determined) to bless him, despite his circumstances, that his whole perspective changed. It finally clicked within Abraham that the outcome he desired depended much more on God than anything else—including himself or his wife. Because of faith Abraham became a new man, and God confirmed it by concluding that he was now righteous.
The Greek word translated “credited” or “reckon” in Romans 4:3 is critically important to the message of Paul’s chapter...Logitzomai sounds like “log-its-o-my”, and reminds me of making a “log” to keep track of something. It literally means to take account of something and come to a conclusion about it—to analyze and based on the analysis to think a certain way. So what we have in Romans 4 is a clear explanation of how God thinks about us—how He takes account of us and comes to His conclusion about us.
This paraphrase of Romans 4:3, with the meaning of logitzomai spelled out, can help us grasp Paul’s point:
…Abraham believed God, and God noticed; God was carefully assessing his heart. When He saw True faith He concluded that Abraham was righteous...
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About the Book
How does the story of a man who died two thousand years ago practically help people today? How can one man’s sacrifice be the difference between life and death for the entire world? If the gospel has the power to transform the hearts and lives of people—both for eternity and in our day-to-day lives—how does it actually work?
The answers are in Paul’s letter to the Romans, and Gospel Bootcamp provides a summary of Paul’s highlight verses. Gospel Bootcamp challenges readers to think deeply about their faith by encouraging genuine questions. Those who accept this challenge will learn:
—how the truth revealed in the gospel is the perfect solution to humanity’s greatest problems,
—practical skills from years of experience “in the trenches” of the good fight of faith, and
—a new perspective of God that transforms life as a follower of Christ from drudgery to delight.
Will you answer the call to serve and invest the time to sharpen your skills in the faith?
About the Author
Jeremy is a husband, father, and devoted follower of Jesus Christ. He finds his greatest delight in sharing the encouragement God gives him personally. He studies carefully, asks hard questions, and thinks deeply about his faith; but he isn’t so serious that he loses the joy of seeking God and serving others.
Do you remember that moment in school when the teacher was wrapping up the lesson early? A hush came over the class, and everyone was thinking: “shhh, don’t say anything!” But there was that one annoying kid who asked another question. Everyone ended up stuck in class for another 20 minutes! That kid grew up; and his name is Jeremy. Fortunately, those years of asking irritating questions have paid off because he’s found some amazing answers to life’s great questions.