The text for today’s lesson is from Romans, the 8th chapter. I’d like to take just a few moments to read from Romans, the 8th chapter, beginning with verse 28, and reading through verse 37:
[ROMANS 8:28] And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. [29] For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brothers. [30] And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified.
[ROMANS 8:31] What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? [32] He Who did not spare His Own Son, but gave Him up for us all—how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things? [33] Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God Who justifies. [34] Who is He that condemns? Christ Jesus, Who died—more than that, Who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. [35] Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? [36] As it is written:
“For Your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
[ROMANS 8:37] No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him Who loved us.
In the text that we’ve just read, in verse 35, Paul asks a number of questions as we read through there, if you noticed. And particularly in verse 35, he asks a two-part question. First, he asks, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” And then in the second part of the question, he asks, “Shall trouble or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?”
Then in the very next verse, verse 36, Paul comments, sort of parenthetically, on the question, particularly the second part of that question that was asked in verse 35. And in so doing, he quotes from Psalm 44, and verse 22: “For Your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” Now, this is not just “empty rhetoric” that Paul is “spouting” here. And this was not just “empty rhetoric” for his readers on that occasion. You see, the “persecution,” the “danger,” the “sword” and so on were real indeed for Christians in Rome, as Paul well knew.
But then, in verse 37, Paul answers the question which he raised there in verse 35 when he says, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him Who loved us.” In spite of the trouble, in spite of the hardship, in spite of the persecution and the danger, you can be more than conquerors, Paul is saying. But NOT through your own strength, NOT through your own goodness or your ability, or your “worthiness,” but rather, you can be more than conquerors THROUGH Jesus Christ!
Bible scholars generally agree when they say that the book of Romans is perhaps one of the most profound books in all of the New Testament. It was written to an established church of Christ that was made up of both converts from Judaism [the Jewish, or Hebrew, religion], and from Gentiles [all nations and people who were not Jews/Hebrews/Israelites] living in the ancient city of Rome. The theme for the entire book of Romans is “The Gospel,” “The Good News,” “God’s power to save both Jew and Gentile.”
And Paul makes this great affirmation in the very beginning of this book, Romans, chapter 1, and verse 16, when he says, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation: for the Jew first, and then for the Gentile.”
The book of Romans contrasts the “righteousness by works” of the Old Law with the requirements of the New Law. And it makes the comparison—this contrast—between this old way—“righteousness by works”—and “righteousness by faith,” which is the way under the New Covenant. And the book of Romans makes it abundantly clear that righteousness by faith indeed is the Gospel plan.
Now, when Paul wrote the book, or letter, of Romans, it was about the year AD 60. And we know from history that the infamous Nero was on the throne. He was the “Caesar,” the Emperor of the entire Roman Empire at that time. History tells us also that Nero was a depraved and wretched man! No other man as sinister and as foul a monster as Nero has probably ever been thrust upon, or imposed upon, a civilized people in all of history!
Tradition says that Nero ordered the burning of the city of Rome to give him inspiration for an ode which he wished to write. And to divert suspicion from himself, he accused certain Christians of burning the city of Rome. And thus began a persecution which has yet to be equaled in all of history. It is also believed by many people that it was Nero who ordered the execution of Paul.
Now, Nero had no morals. He had no conscience. But he did have a huge ego!! And he loved to have his ego fed He considered himself to be the “greatest of men,” and therefore, he had constructed, there in city of Rome, a statue of himself. And on the base of the statue was the inscription, “THE CONQUEROR OF THE WORLD.”
One must wonder if this is perhaps what Paul had in mind as he penned those words that we read there in verse 37 of our text. Now, Paul had not yet been to Rome. However, the character of Emperor Nero was widely known throughout the entire Roman Empire.
With this thought in mind, permit me to paraphrase Paul’s thought. Paul may be saying here, “Let Nero boast about his conquests by the prowess of other people; but the humblest Christian in the Roman Empire is MORE than a conqueror.” What an inspiration and encouragement this must have been to those Christians who were just now beginning to feel the press and the sting of persecution—those people who lived under the tyrannical “thumb” of this evil man, Nero! And certainly, as trouble and persecution increased, this thought would have been of even more encouragement, and would have given strength to them.
Well, let’s consider for a moment, what does it mean to be “more than a conqueror?”
First, let’s notice that there are two realms implied here. There is the “material realm” and the “spiritual realm.” He who wins victories in the “material realm” is a conqueror. But he who wins victories in the “spiritual realm” is MORE than a conqueror!
There are those people who stand on the pinnacle of fame and success in the areas of politics and economics. There are those people who excel in the fields of entertainment and learning. And there are those who excel on the fields of athletics. But, so many times these individuals are unable to “conquer,” or control their own spirit. There have been many powerful and influential men and women who have been decimated by passion, greed, lust, strong drink, drugs, or other types of vice and corruption.
The man or woman who is “MORE than a conqueror” wins his or her victories in the realm of the SPIRIT, rather than in the realm of the secular. Can there be any doubt as to which realm is greater? In Proverbs 16, verse 32, the wise man Solomon write (and I like the way the King James Version translates this): “He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit [is better] than he who taketh a city.”
Well, let me ask: What victories must a person win in order to become “MORE than a conqueror?” Well, no doubt there are many things, but let me suggest three things this morning.
The first area which must be conquered is SIN. Paul urged, in Romans 6, and verse 12, “Therefore DO NOT let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.” In Genesis, the book of “beginnings,” we are first introduced to sin, and to the instigator of sin; that is, Satan himself. Sin entered the world when one man ceased to HONOR GOD’S WORD, and chose, rather, to hear, believe and obey a lie rather than the TRUTH.
What IS sin? God’s Word describes it in a number of ways. Sin is lawlessness according to 1 John 3, and verse 4. [“Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.”] Sin is wickedness according to Genesis 39, verse 9. [“…How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?”] Sin constitutes acts which do not come from faith, Romans 14, verse 23. [“…and everything that does not come from faith is sin.”] And sin is an omission of duty, according to James in the book of James, chapter 4, and verse 17. [“Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.”]
Well, what are the effects of sin? There is nothing that is more sinister and deadly to man than sin! Because, as the prophet Isaiah said in Isaiah 59, verse 2, sin SEPARATES us from God. [“ But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.”] According to the Hebrew writer, in [the book of] Hebrews 3, and verse 13, sin HARDENS our hearts. [“But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.”] Again, Romans 6, verse 23, says that sin brings us ETERNAL DEATH. [“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”] And in Romans 6, verse 16, sin ENSLAVES us. [“Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?”]
Who is affected by sin? Well, Paul tells us in Romans 3:23 that “…ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…,” BUT, the Scriptures give the remedy for sin, that is, the means by which mankind can gain victory over sin. It is by the blessed Gospel of Jesus Christ! Again, Romans 1, verse 16, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel because it is the POWER of GOD unto salvation…”
Secondly, to be MORE than conquerors, we must win the victory over “self.” “Self” is often at the root of our problems. There are probably more of our problems that are caused by selfishness and self-centeredness than any other one thing. And putting our “self” ahead of God is the very ROOT of sin.
I imagine we’re all familiar with the parable, which Jesus told, and which is recorded for us in Luke, the 12th chapter. It is referred to as “The Parable of the Rich Fool.” Jesus tells the story there of a man who was so self absorbed and preoccupied with SELF that he had no time for others! He had no consideration for others! And he had no time or consideration even for God! The man had the worst kind of “I” problem; not eye, E-Y-E, but “I,” as in the pronoun “I”.
As Jesus tells this very brief but poignant story about this man, you can see that this selfish man uses the pronouns “I,” “my” and “mine” numerous times. And so God calls this man a “FOOL.”
[The Parable of the Rich Fool, Luke 12:16-21, New International Version of the Bible:
“And He (Jesus) told them this parable: ‘The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, “What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.”
“‘Then he said, “This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I’ll say to myself, ‘You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.’”
“‘But God said to him, “You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?”
“‘This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.’”]
We need to have the wisdom to perceive the implications of this parable, and NOT allow SELF to stand in the way of achieving life’s greatest victory. Instead of blaming others for the way we are, let us be big enough to see that it is SELF that keeping us from being what the Lord would have us to be.
Finally, to be MORE than conquerors, we must also win the victory over disappointment, heartache, suffering and, ultimately, over physical death. In this life, family problems are going to come our way. Heartaches and disappointments will be ours to bear. Suffering has to be endured, and personal tragedies are going to occur. And death will ultimately come to us all.
Not everyone has found the spiritual and emotional resources, to cope—to cope with these things, and to conquer these things. Sometimes we see individuals who appear to be strong, who appear to be faithful. But they grow bitter, and they renounce God when these things happen to them.
The story is told that years ago a widowed mother, who had lost her son in the Civil War, asked Brother J. W. MacGarvey [I am not sure the spelling is correct], with tears and bitterness in her voice, “Where was God when my son was killed?” And the story goes that Brother MacGarvey’s reply was that he didn’t know, unless God was in the same place where He had been when His Own Son was killed!!
Yes, we all have disappointments to face, and crushing blows to endure, in this life. How will we face them? Where is the strength? Well, let’s return to Paul’s bold affirmation in verse 37 of our text once again. “…in all these things we are MORE than conquerors through HIM Who loved us.”
Self reliance is a wonderful thing, but it is insufficient in living the Christian life. Dependence on self is nothing but a “broken reed” [this phrase means to be weak and damaged; to depend on SELF is to be weak, broken, damaged, not at full strength, not complete]. Jesus frankly pointed out to His disciples on one occasion, “Without ME you can do NOTHING!” John 15, verse 5.
If victory is to be ours, if we are to be MORE than conquerors, it will NOT be by our own might or our own strength or power, but it will be through the SPIRIT of CHRIST. In the words, once again, of Paul, “I can do all things THROUGH CHRIST Which strengtheneth me,” Philippians 4, verse 13 [King James Version of the Bible]. [Philippians 4:13, New International Version of the Bible: “I can do everything through Him Who gives me strength.”]
It is OUR battle to fight, but it is HIS resources to use. Alone, we are helpless. We cannot achieve victory. But IN Christ, THROUGH Christ, and BY Christ, there is victory—victory over sin, victory over self, victory over all of the hardships of life, including physical death. This calls forth the “shout” from Paul when he says in 1 Corinthians 15, verse 37, “But THANKS BE TO GOD! He gives us VICTORY THROUGH the Lord Jesus Christ.”
The victory we have been talking about is indeed over and above measure. To make the point, someone suggested that this phrase, or this term, “more than conquerors,” should be translated from the original Greek language as “SUPER CONQUERORS.” I like that, don’t you?
Lord Nelson [an English Viscount and Admiral of the British Navy, living from 1758 to 1805] was once engaged in a very famous battle. He met the French fleet [ships of the French navy], and gloriously and soundly defeated it. In his report to the British Admiralty [the executive department or officers having general authority over naval activities] he said, “The word ‘victory’ is not a large enough word to describe what has happened here today.” This is exactly how Paul may have felt about it when he says that we, as Christians, are “SUPER conquerors.”
However, there is just one final thing that I would like for us to consider before we bring this lesson to a close. We love to win, don’t we? We are impressed with winners, victors, conquerors. We like the sound of words like “victory” and “conquer.” But all of this terminology we’ve been using—“conquerors,” “victory” and “winning”—have a military overtone. In fact, the dictionary definition of “conquer” is: “To acquire by force; to win in a war; to overcome by force; to subdue; to gain or obtain by effort.” What does this suggest to you and I? Well, I’m impressed with these words, that they are NOT passive, or non-aggressive, terms. These terms suggest action, involvement, participation, sacrifice and even suffering. Simply stated, “conquering,” “victory,” “winning,” ALL come at a COST. And they don’t come unless a battle has been waged, a war has been fought. As someone said, “Don’t pray for victory unless you are ready to fight a battle.”
In closing, whatever the battle, our success depends on the Savior. The simple KEY to spiritual VICTORY is: SURRENDER TO CHRIST. Surrender to the One Who loved us and died for us. And herein lies another one of those “spiritual paradoxes” that sometimes we find so perplexing. To live, we must die. To become rich, we must first become poor. To be victorious, we must first surrender. Those who DO these things CAN become MORE than conquerors.