Rom 8-More than Conquerors
| More than Conquerors! Romans 8:28-39
July 15, 2007(English Standard Version) 28And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. 31What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.PRAY Scripture Memory: Nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Intro: How many of us, here this morning, are either currently going through a very difficult and painful time or have done so within the last year? How often have you just felt like giving up? When we feel that way, the love of Christ is often very difficult to embrace.Question: (v. 35) Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?Response: In trouble, hardship, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger or sword, we are more than conquerors through Him Who loved us. More than Conquerors:☞ In hard times☞ Under persecution☞ When hungry or cold☞ When facing death More than Conquerors: ὑπερνικάω (hypernikaō): have complete triumph, have an overwhelming victory, conquer overwhelmingly - StrongsThe term conqueror reminds us that we are in the midst of a spiritual war, both within and without.E.M. Bounds – It cannot be stated too frequently that the life of a Christian is a warfare, an intense conflict, a lifelong contest. It is a battle, moreover, waged against invisible foes, who are ever alert, and ever seeking to entrap, deceive, and ruin the souls of men. The life to which Holy Scripture calls men is no picnic, or holiday junketing. It is no pastime, no pleasure jaunt. It entails effort, wrestling, struggling; it demands the putting forth of the full energy of the spirit in order to frustrate the foe and to come off, at the last, more than conqueror. It is no primrose path, no rose-scented dalliance. From start to finish, it is war. From the hour in which he first draws sword, to that in which he doffs his harness, the Christian warrior is compelled to “endure hardness like a good soldier.” 1. We are More than Conquerors:☞ In hard timesQ: When we are going through painful and difficult times, does that mean that God has abandoned us, or that He does not love us? NO! In hard times we are more than conquerors through Christ.We do not merely hold our own in the face of testing, but through suffering we are drawn closer to Christ and become more conformed to His image. Notice, however, the means by which we are superconquerors, through him that loved us.Ø We conquer both in the present and with a view towards the future.Both in the immediate trial as well as in the fruit of that trial over the long haul.There are always at least two reasons why you are where you are in life: To be Christ’s ambassador to those around you in the present, and To prepare you for the future.To honor God in your immediate circumstances and To be conformed more & more to image of His Son. Ø Trials are the norm, not the exception for the true child of God.Hebrews 12:6-8; Phil 1:29; et. al. Ø The same trial that might drive an unbeliever to despair is intended for the good of God’s children.1 Peter 1:4-7 (NLT) – God has reserved a priceless inheritance for his children. It is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. 5 And God, in his mighty power, will protect you until you receive this salvation, because you are trusting him. It will be revealed on the last day for all to see. 6 So be truly glad! There is wonderful joy ahead, even though it is necessary for you to endure many trials for a while.7 These trials are only to test your faith, to show that it is strong and pure. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—and your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold. So if your faith remains strong after being tried by fiery trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.The surf that distresses the ordinary swimmer produces in the surfer the super joy of riding it. Apply that to our own circumstances, these very things—tribulation, distress, persecution, produce in us the super joy; they are not things to fight. We are more than conquerors through Him in all these things, not in spite of them, but in the midst of them. (Oswald Chambers) 2. We are More than Conquerors:☞ Under persecutionQ: When we are being mistreated, treated unfairly or unjustly, when those in authority over us are wronging us, does that mean that God doesn’t love us? NO! In hardship, persecution or danger, we are more than conquerors through Christ.Life is quite often difficult for the active Christian. If you truly and fully follow Christ, you will open yourself to a diversity of troubles scarcely known by the self-serving nonbeliever, or even by the complacent, sleepy, disobedient Christian.The sad reality is, many of us are too soft! We think, “This cannot be God’s will—it is too hard! I know it is not God’s will, we think, —it hurts!” The reality is that when accusations are brought against us, we have no need to fear, for the charges are silenced by the upraised, pierced hands of our Intercessor. If we are to be condemned, it will have to be over Christ’s dead and now resurrected body, which actually is the basis of our salvation! How is that for confidence? (R. Kent Hughes) | | Are you struggling with a boss that treats you unfairly? Kids do you struggle with teachers, or even your parents being fair with you?Do you, at times feel singled out and mistreated, perhaps because of your faith, or perhaps just because it seems like someone has it out for you? Do you feel used and abused?God wants you to come out on top. He wants you to be a conqueror, MORE than a conqueror!We need to constantly ask the question: “Where is God in the mix?” Are we willing, by faith, to acknowledge His sovereign loving hand in these difficult circumstances, like Joseph in his attitude towards his brothers? Or do we, in unbelief, vilify those human agents who are mistreating us? 3. We are More than Conquerors:☞ When hungry or cold (when forced to do without)Q: When we do not have enough to eat, when we don’t know how we are going to pay our bills and we cannot afford decent clothes, does that mean that God doesn’t love us? – NO! In famine, nakedness and danger, we are more than conquerors through Christ.We don’t have any reason to question God’s love when we are forced to do without…For He didn’t even spare His own SON!Ø The problem of needs vs. wants:He has promised to meet our every need. Our problem is that we have a hard time discerning between “needs” and “wants.” – Like children who feel like they just HAVE to have what “everyone else has.”Ø The problem of idols: (Anything we add to God…)Are you secure in your job? – Is that your security?!?Are you at peace that you can pay all your bills? – Is that what gives you your peace?!?Are you content with your position at work? – Is that what brings you contentment? 4. We are More than Conquerors:☞ When facing death Q: When we are faced with terminal illness, or are otherwise threatened with death, when we despair of life, does that mean that God doesn’t love us? – NO! In danger, or even when threatened with death, we are more than conquerors through Christ.When Chrysostom was brought before the Roman Emperor, the Emperor threatened him with banishment if he remained a Christian. Chrysostom replied,“You can not banish me for this world is my father’s house.” “But I will slay you,” said the Emperor. “No, you cannot,” said the noble champion of the faith, “for my life is hid with Christ in God.” “I will take away your treasures.” “No, but you cannot for my treasure is in heaven and my heart is there.” “But I will drive you away from man and you will have no friend left.” “No, you cannot, for I have a friend in heaven from whom you cannot separate me. I defy you; for there is nothing that you can do to hurt me.”For the Christian to live is Christ, but to die is gain (Phil. 1:21).It is natural for us to cling to this life – like the trauma of the newborn coming out of the womb, or the butterfly coming out of the cocoon… As believers we do not have a death wish, but neither should we fear death. Death is graduation… Question: (v. 35) Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?Response: In trouble, hardship, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger or sword, we are more than conquerors through Him Who loved us.The natural man neither fears nor loves God; one under the law, fears, — one under grace, loves him. The first has no light in the things of God, but walks in utter darkness; the second sees the painful light of hell; the third, the joyous light of heaven. He that sleeps in death, has a false peace; he that is awakened, has no peace at all; he that believes, has true peace, — the peace of God filling and ruling his heart. (John Wesley)Since then Christ is praying for us, whom should we fear? And since he has promised to make us more than conquerors, of whom should we be afraid? No, though a host of devils are set in array against us, let us not be afraid; though there should rise up the hottest persecution against us, yet let us put our trust in God. What though Satan, & the rest of his apostate spirits, are powerful, when compared with us; yet, if put in competition with the Almighty, they are as weak as the meanest worms. (George Whitefield) My friends, we don’t have to fail! Circumstances may discourage us, and people may oppose us and misunderstand us; but we have in Christ the spiritual resources to win the battle: a clear conscience, a compassionate heart, and a conquering faith.My dear brothers and sisters, we are weak; but we are not weaker than the first disciples of Christ. They were not educated or wealthy. Most of them were common fishermen. They were certainly NOT the people this world would have chosen to begin a new movement.From them we need to understand that our weakness shall be our strength, for God shall make it to be the platform upon which the omnipotence of his grace shall be displayed. (Spurgeon) We do not have to face the life and death struggles of the early Christians. Martyrdom was a daily reality for several centuries, and is today in some parts of the world.Our struggles, today, are more like the ridicule of those who do not understand our faith, or the subtle lure of comfort and materialism, of pride and self-consumption. The devil cares little whether we are torn in pieces by the roaring lion or hugged to death by the bear, so long as he destroys our love to Christ, and our confidence in him. M. Henry: I fear that the Christian church is far more likely to lose her integrity in these soft and silken days than in those rougher times. We must be awake now, for we traverse the enchanted ground, and are most likely to fall asleep to our own undoing, unless our faith in Jesus be a reality, and our love to Jesus a vehement flame.Is your faith in Jesus a reality? Is your love for Him a vehement flame?We must prepare for fresh conflicts and enemies. We must make no peace or truce with the powers of darkness, nor even treat with them; nor should we expect any pause in our contest. But, trusting in God, and obeying his commands, we shall be more than conquerors over every enemy. (M. Henry)Conflicts should be expected for the believer. The question is do we prefer to compromise with the devil to avoid them rather than trusting in God and obeying His commands?The Christian’s fight is a war in which there are tremendous struggles, agonizing conflicts, wounds, bruises, and fatigue. But still every believer, without exception, is “more than conqueror through Him that loved [him] ” (Rom. 8:37). No soldiers of Christ are ever lost, missing or left dead on the battlefield. (John 18:9) (Ryle, J )We see our own many sins, our weak heart, a tempting world, a busy devil; and if we looked only at them, we might well despair. But we see also a mighty Savior, an interceding Savior, a sympathizing Savior—His blood, His righteousness, His everlasting priesthood—and we believe that all this is his own. We see Jesus and cast our whole weight on Him. Seeing Him, we cheerfully fight on, with a full confidence that we will prove more than conquerors through Him who loved us. (Ryle, J )It is not by our own loyalty and resolution, but through Him that loved us, that we are more than conquerors. (Haldane)He is our is our rock, our shield, our fortress, our refuge. We must not presume on our own strength, but rather keep our eyes fixed on Him. A Truth to Remember: There is NOTHING that comes in our lives that we cannot conquer through Christ who loved us. A Challenge to Consider:Are you willing to turn from the things of this world for your peace, for your security, and for your contentment to Christ and give Him all the glory when things are tough? |