More Than Conquerors 8-7-25 AM
I. The problems we face (Rom. 8:35-36).
a. In Paul’s day, and especially in the years to come, the gladiator games were extremely popular in the Roman Empire.
i. Imagine a gladiator standing in the arena and one of the doors opens.
ii. At first, he does not know if he will face another gladiator or angry beasts.
iii. He is ready for whatever but could still be surprised.
b. One of my favorite movies of all time is “Gladiator.”
i. There is a scene where the main character Maximus is in the arena fighting another gladiator.
ii. Unbeknownst to Maximus, tigers had been held in covered pits and then the coverings were removed while he battled the other gladiator.
iii. He had no idea they were going to be there and he had to deal with them as well as the other gladiator.
c. I mention these things because that is somewhat the picture Paul is painting here.
d. As Christians, we are in the battle for our lives against a foe who will unleash all he has against us.
e. The first thing Paul mentions is tribulations.
i. This word carries the idea of pressing together or great pressure.
ii. In life, we are pressed upon by its burdens.
iii. Some are self-imposed by choices we have made.
iv. Some are unavoidable because of life itself.
v. Remember the words of Jesus (John 16:33).
vi. We have to remember that passing through the periods of distress we grow stronger (Jam. 1:2-3).
f. Paul then was inspired to mention distress.
i. Thayer said the word literally means narrowness of place but is used metaphorically to mean extreme affliction.
ii. One writer mentioned that this word is most often used to describe mental grief over something more than anything physical.
iii. Have you ever been in such a difficult place in life that you didn’t think you could breathe?
iv. It may be such a difficult situation that you have no idea how you will get out of it.
v. That is generally our first idea when these situations arise.
vi. After being able to gather ourselves mentally and spiritually, we realize who we have on our side.
vii. We remember that He has told us to cast all our cares on Him because He cares for us.
g. Paul moved then to the word persecution.
i. This word has the idea of being pursued by enemies.
ii. Have you ever had someone make false claims about you?
iii. That is nothing new to Christians.
iv. Our early brethren were called cannibals, had it said that they were trying to overthrow Roman rule, and also called atheists.
v. There are people who will slander us and falsely charge us with things because we are Christians.
vi. We must remember that we aren’t the first nor the last that will have to endure this.
vii. We must look to Jesus during times like that (1 Pe. 2:21-23).
h. Paul then moved on to famine.
i. In that time, if Rome was against you they could move you like they did the apostle John on the Isle of Patmos.
ii. You may not be able to find work to provide for yourself or family.
iii. Early Christians who would not worship the emperor were not allowed to work in their trade guild.
iv. When this happened, food was scarce.
v. The temptation would be to give in to the order to worship the emperor in order to provide for yourself or family.
i. Paul mentioned another problem that could come with forced poverty – nakedness.
i. If you can’t provide for yourself, your clothes will be all you have and they didn’t have closets full of robes back then.
ii. The clothing would turn to rags after awhile.
iii. As people who strive to be modest to follow the command of God, this would be a terrible indignity.
j. Paul then spoke of perils.
i. This word means danger, risk or hazard.
ii. It carried the idea of constant threat of life.
iii. This was the lot of Christians in that day.
iv. They did not know when an emperor or some leader would decide to punish Christians.
v. 1 Cor. 15:31.
vi. Paul mentioned this idea in his listing all the things he endured as an apostle (2 Cor. 11:26).
k. The last thing Paul mentions is sword.
i. It is as if Paul summed up all these things with this one cruel form of punishment.
ii. It was often with sword that the will of the emperor was performed.
l. Paul then summed it all up with a quotation from Psalm 44:22.
m. As Christians, we should be willing to give our lives for the cause of Christ.
n. But, being totally honest, not many of us are facing these seven things.
i. At least not to the extent Paul and the brethren back then were facing them.
ii. It was constant with them but we might get some mean things said to us at times or a door slammed in our face.
o. The danger we face is far more enticing.
i. We have too much stuff calling for us.
ii. We have pride in the way.
iii. Spurgeon wrote long ago: I fear me that the Christian church is far more likely to lose her integrity in these soft and silken days than when she was in those rough times.
p. We must be on guard more against ease than against punishment.
II. The promise made (Rom. 8:37a).
a. In all these things we are more than conquerors.
b. How can we be more than a conqueror?
i. A conqueror is a winner.
ii. A conqueror has overcome the obstacle that was in his way.
c. One way I see that we are more than is look at those who conquered in the past.
i. Every nation that has been victorious has suffered defeat.
ii. As great as Egypt was, Egypt was conquered.
iii. As great as Assyria was, Assyria was conquered.
iv. As great as Babylon was, Babylon was conquered.
v. As great as Rome was, Rome was conquered.
vi. As great as America has been, we’ve been defeated.
d. When we depend on physical things, we will be conquered, not matter how strong or mighty we may be.
e. Our battle is a spiritual battle with God on our side (Rom. 8:31).
f. The phrase “more than conquerors” is one word in the Greek and Thayer’s says it means to gain a surpassing victory.
g. In Christ, we have won already, which is the point of the book of Revelation.
i. We serve a God that cannot be conquered.
ii. We are on the winning side.
h. We are more than conquerors because God takes our weaknesses and makes them strengths.
i. Paul had weaknesses and was used greatly by God.
ii. 2 Cor. 12:7-9.
i. God doesn’t need our wisdom, strength, charm, charisma or anything from us but our lives and effort for him.
j. When we give Him that, we win.
k. We are more than conquerors also because of our motive for fighting.
i. We are fighting for the souls of others.
ii. We are fighting to glorify God.
l. We are more than conquerors because we lose nothing in the fight itself.
i. No matter how righteous a cause is, the one who fights loses something in this life.
ii. I respect our veterans so much, but they lose something of themselves at war.
iii. The Christian is made stronger when tried in the heat of spiritual battle.
iv. Even if physical life is lost, we get to go be with God.
m. In every aspect, when we fight this war, we are more than conquerors.
III. The power with us (Rom. 8:37b).
a. Through Him that loved us.
b. The word through can also be translated by.
c. We are more than conquerors by Him that loved us, which goes back to verse 35 (Rom. 8:35).
d. The power to be more than conquerors is from God who loves us so much.
i. We can’t comprehend the height, nor depth, nor width of God’s love.
ii. If God loves us so much that He will not spare His Son, we can conquer anything while in that love.
e. Paul closes the section saying there is nothing that will separate us from the love of God.
f. He lets us know where that love is located: which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
g. In Christ is the place to find and hold onto God’s love.
i. As long as we remain in Christ, we remain in God’s love.
ii. God does love all men, but there is a special love for those in His Son.
h. To be in His Son is to be in His church (Eph. 1:22-23).
i. This power is not going anywhere.
i. We can leave it, but it won’t leave us.
ii. Christ has conquered all things and we are conquerors in Him.