MORE THAN CONQUERORS

Transcription

1 MORE THAN CONQUERORS Romans 8:31-39 Steve Higginbotham Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. (Rom. 8:37) [All Scripture references are from the NKJV unless otherwise noted.] These words are among the most encouraging words in the book of Romans. They give us a glimpse into the future, calm our insecurities, and give us hope. It is verses such as these we ought to be memorizing and putting into our hearts. Remember what the psalmist said: Your word have I hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You (119:11). It is not enough to have God s Word in a scroll, a book, or a smartphone. We need to have His Word in our hearts. But are we memorizing Scripture today like we should, or like we did in years past? As I travel and preach at various places, I frequently ask the congregation to tell me some of their most comforting Bible verses. The answers I have received have shocked me. I typically received answers like not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching (Heb. 10:25), or You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only (James 2:24), and Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight (Acts 20:7). Friends, are these really the passages that give us the most comfort? Are these the passages we turn to when we are discouraged or brokenhearted? Are these the passages that reassure us when our faith wavers? Or are they the only passages we have taken the time to memorize? Do not misunderstand me. I am a believer in memorization. Furthermore, I am a strong believer in memorizing verses that uphold contested Bible doctrines and that answer denominational errors, but I am also convinced we need balance. In addition to memorizing verses that expose denominational doctrine or affirm truth on challenged doctrines, we need also to commit to memory those verses that sustain us, comfort us, and give us hope when life s circumstances become difficult to bear. The section of Scripture we will be discussing does just that. Read the following passage and soak up the assurance and hope it provides: What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 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. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (vv ) While these words are powerful and help to sustain our faith, they are sometimes misunderstood, and some implications contained therein are overlooked. It is the purpose of this

2 study to examine a few lessons from this section of Scripture and provide reasons for the assurance of our victory. Clarification of the Text Being a Conqueror Implies a Conflict Many fail to consider this implication. They get so caught up in the conqueror part that they fail to consider that this word implies a conflict, an opposition, and an opponent. As the Apostle Paul begins this section, he asks the rhetorical question, If God is for us, who can be against us? (v. 31). The answer is an obvious No one. However, that is not to be understood as though we have no opponents at all; but rather, we have no opponents who can prevail against us. When Paul wrote this, he certainly had his share of opponents: the Judaizing teachers, Roman authorities, and even jealous brethren. Likewise, Christians living today have opponents with whom we must do battle: secularists, radical feminists, denominationalists, atheists, and even some of our own brethren. While we may be conquerors, it does not mean our life will not be plagued by conflict. In fact, that is exactly what it does mean. We will experience conflict for we have an enemy with whom we are engaged in a life-or-death battle. Peter warns us about this opponent by saying, Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). Christianity is not an easy life. It is a life in which we must put on spiritual armor (Eph. 6:10-18) and fight until the day we die. Being a conqueror is not merely a title conferred upon us; rather, it is a description of our victory over our enemy. On numerous occasions, I have had people visit me in my office and tell me they wanted to become Christians. While I was happy for their expressed desire, I was very concerned regarding the motive of their desire for they would say something like this: I need to get baptized because my life is a wreck. I lost my job, my wife has left me and taken the children with her, my car won t run, and I m behind two months on my house payment. Whatever gave us the idea that becoming a Christian will remove such circumstances from us? Do we really think that if a man obeys the Gospel, he will get a job, his wife will come back home with the children, his car will suddenly begin to run, and his delinquent bills will vanish? God never promised such! This is a false health and wealth gospel. Where did Jesus ever teach anything other than Christianity being a daily life of self-denial that involves bearing a cross (Matt. 16:24)? It is because of this misconception that people get disillusioned with God because He does not keep a promise He never made in the first place! Being more than a conqueror (v. 37) does not mean life will get easy; in fact, it may mean it gets much more difficult. It may mean a pit is in your future, like it was in Joseph s (Gen. 37:24). It may mean a fiery furnace is in your future like it was in Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego s (Dan. 3:21). It may mean a lion s den is in your future like it was for Daniel (6:10-24). And it may mean a whip or prison is in your future like it was for Paul (Acts 16:16-24). Have we treated this passage in Romans like we have treated Hebrews 11? We have dubbed that chapter the Hall of Fame of Faith, and rightly so. Therein is contained a victory after victory, but do not stop reading: Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with

3 the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. (11:35-38) As you read this great passage, keep in mind that though we are conquerors, we do not receive our crown without a cross; our victory without a war; and our triumph without a struggle. Maintain God s Point of View I know what words like conquer, victory, and triumph look like to humans, but if we are to understand this passage, we need to make sure we understand what these words look like to God. Consider God s faithful king Josiah. He came to the throne at the age of eight (2 Chron. 34:1). By the age of twenty, he had torn down all the altars and high places for pagan worship and restored true worship. Because of his faithfulness and tender, humble heart, God promised Josiah a gift. Wow! Can you imagine the God of this universe telling you He has a gift that He has arranged just for you because of your faithfulness? What could it be? The text gives us the answer. God promised him that he would go to his grave in peace; and... not see all the calamity that God would bring upon the nation (2 Chron. 34:28). Of course, God keeps His word, and after reigning thirty-one years, and at the young age of thirty-nine, Josiah was mortally wounded in battle by an archer s arrow. A violent death at a young age is a gift from God? It is from God s point of view. Or consider those saints in the book of Revelation who had been murdered by the Roman Empire because of their unwavering faith in Jesus. In chapter 6, their souls are crying out for vengeance, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, until you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth? (6:10). From man s point of view, they looked defeated. They had been killed, their bodies buried, and were no longer a nuisance to Rome. Yet from God s perspective, they were alive and well, reigning with Jesus (20:4). My point is, God is not nearly as concerned with the longevity of our physical existence as He is with our eternal existence. No one is getting out of this life without dying (apart from those who are alive at the time of Jesus return). So being a conqueror has nothing to do with health and longevity of life. Do Not Miss the Implicit Humility We Must Possess With most conquerors, there is a tendency toward pride. However, those who conquer through Christ have no right to pride, and God made sure we understood that. During the time of the judges, God raised up Gideon and his army to deliver his people from oppression inflicted upon them by the Midianites. However, God wanted to make sure that everyone knew that it was He who delivered them and that it was not by the people s might, lest they boast. Eventually God culled down the number of men to just three hundred. These three hundred men went out to battle against an army that was described as numerous as locusts (Judg. 7:12). Surely, no one among Israel could have claimed glory in the victory. God saw to it that while His people would be victorious, the glory would belong to Him. The same is true with our victory over sin today. There is no room for glory, other than in God, and here is how He assured it. Have you ever noticed the imagery Paul employed in this passage in which he calls us conquerors? Paul said, We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter... (v. 36). Paul describes himself and others as sheep. But whoever heard of conquering sheep? Sheep do not conquer. But we, as sheep, have conquered but we cannot boast in this victory. The credit goes to Christ!

4 I am reminded of the flea who was sitting on the trunk of an elephant as they crossed a bridge. With each step the elephant took, the bridge would creak and shake under the great strain. Upon exiting the far side of the bridge, the flea said to the elephant, We sure did shake that bridge, didn t we? If we can understand this illustration, we can see the folly of trying to take credit for being a conqueror. Our victory is secured not because of our own might, but because of our relationship with Jesus, the Christ. The Basis for Our Victory The text that has been assigned, Romans 8:31-39, outlines for us five reasons why the child of God will be victorious and a conqueror. God Is for Us What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? (v. 31) The answer to this question Paul raises is obvious. Who can stand in opposition to the God of this universe? Consider His wisdom and power. The future of those who partner themselves with God is secure! I have a friend who has been told by his doctors that he does not need to get stressed, due to his heart condition. This friend, however, loves Kentucky basketball. But as good as Kentucky is at playing basketball, the outcome of many of their games is uncertain. That uncertainty causes his blood pressure to rise so he devised a plan. During game time, he records the game and busies himself with other matters. When it is time for the game to have finished, he checks the final score. Then, knowing the outcome of the game, he can watch some of the most nerve-racking games without stressing a bit. The reason is, of course, he already knows the outcome. It does not matter if Kentucky is down by twenty points because he knows they will come back. Switching from basketball to football, can you imagine if you were invited to dress out and be a Pittsburgh Steeler for a day? Suppose you and your fellow Steelers teammates had a game scheduled against the best middle school football team in the country. Would you have any worries about the outcome of that game? Of course not. You would know the end from the beginning. It does not matter how good that middle school team may be, they are not going to be able to compete against the Steelers. Likewise, the conflict between God and the forces of evil has already been decided. The outcome is certain. God wins, and those who partner with him will win too. If God is for us, who can be against us? (v. 31). Jesus Died for Us He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? (v. 32) If God loves us enough that He would deliver up His own Son to die on the cross on our behalf, do you think He would abandon us in the conflict? God has demonstrated just how much He loves us by giving us His best His Son! If He is willing to give His best for us, then what would He not do to secure our salvation and our victory over sin? It was not as though God had no choice in the matter. Jesus was not taken, He was delivered up. But who delivered Him up? It was not Judas, for money. It was not Pilate, for fear of the people. It was not the Scribes and Pharisees, for envy. It was the Father, for love s sake! Consider the

5 weight of these words: God did not spare His own Son... (v. 32). There may be many uncertainties in life, but one of them should never be, Does God really care about me? God Justifies Us Who shall bring a charge against God s elect? It is God who justifies. (v. 33) I am not sure I fully understand why it required the death of Jesus to atone for our sins, but I am fully convinced it did. God is a just God (Isa. 61:8), but how can a just God allow unjust people to dwell with Him and fellowship with Him throughout eternity? The answer is the substitutionary atonement of Jesus. Because of Jesus death on the cross, God can remain just and also become the justifier of men (Rom. 3:26). After making the unimaginable decision to allow His Son to die for mankind, who can bring a successful charge against God s elect? Would not God step in and say, Wait a minute! That charge won t stick. This one has been justified. I ve paid for him! God would not pay so much, only to allow another to claim us. Jesus Intercedes for Us 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. (v. 34) Assurance after assurance is set forth in this section of Scripture. Not only did Jesus die for us, but also He rose, and as a risen Savior, He makes intercession on our behalf. Not only is a just God going to defend you because you have been justified, but also, as if that were not enough, Jesus is by the side of God, making intercession for us, pleading our case before God. What assurance! Jesus Loves Us Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? (v. 35) Jesus is fully invested in us. He left the riches and glory of heaven to come to earth for the purpose of dying for us. He was not obligated to do this, but He was compelled by love. Does anyone think that such love can be turned off? Will our actions, even selfish, sinful actions cause Jesus to stop loving us? Of course not. We were selfish and sinful when He died for us in the first place (Rom. 5:8). As I survey this section of Scripture, I am given strength, hope, and assurance. My salvation is secure in Christ. No one or nothing can cause God to stop loving me. So, the decision is mine. If I want to be a conqueror, I will be. Nothing can stop me. If I choose to partner with Jesus, the battle is already won and the victory already secured. May God open our eyes to this reality so that we can live in assurance of eternal victory! Biographical Sketch Steve Higginbotham is a native of Chester, West Virginia. He and his wife, Kim, have four children. He has been preaching the Gospel since The last eight years, he has been the preaching minister for the Karns church of Christ in Knoxville, Tennessee, and he serves as an adjunct instructor at the Southeast Institute of Biblical Studies.