Sermon
delivered on January 22nd, 2017
Morning Service
By: Pastor Greg Hocson
Scripture Text: Romans 8:28-39
Introduction
Romans 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than
conquerors through him that loved
us.
Brothers and sisters, we are not just conquerors, we are more than
conquerors. It is true that we have enemies and they lay charge against us. They accuse us
and seek to condemn us. The goal of those who are against us
is to separate us from the love of God. But our enemies will fail because these things have already
been settled in Heaven.
Who shall lay any thing to the charge
of God's elect? Who is he that condemneth? Who shall separate us from the love of
Christ?
The answer to these three big questions is no one and nothing! Oh, Christians, this is
what it means to live victoriously in
Christ Jesus. And we should know and stand firm in this realization! And if we know who we are; if we know whose we are; know what we have in Christ; and if we know who won the battle; then it makes sense to
take courage and expect victory in our lives!
Today, consider with me the "When, How and Why" of our conquest.
I - When are We More than Conquerors?
There are two ways we could ask the question "when"?
1.
At what time or day or month or year or period?
Romans 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than
conquerors through him that loved
us.
When Paul said Christians
are "more than conquerors" he meant that this truth is now and not in the future. The tense of the verb is
present tense not future. It does not say, you will be more than conquerors, it says, you
are more than conquerors. Now, right now. It is a present reality. As I have said last Sunday, we may not always see it, we may not always feel it, we may not always live like it but it is true
nonetheless.
Oh, to be fully awake and alive to this truth. With Christ on our side, even before the
contest against Satan begins, "We are more than
conquerors!" We are not waiting for the final buzzer to sound or the last out to be
made. Christ has already conquered the enemy of our soul. Amen!
Many times I hear preachers say, "Stay faithful to God
because we read at the end of the Book; We win!" But actually we don't
have to read the Book of Revelation to know that we win. The Bible reveals who wins this Spiritual Battle far before the end of
the Book!
Genesis 3:14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and
above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of
thy life: 15: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed;
it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Genesis 3:15 is called the "Protoevangelium". The word is derived from
the Greek prefix proto meaning "first" and evangelion meaning "gospel" or "good
news." Protoevangelium is the term for the first declaration
of the Gospel. It is a prophecy that
Christ will overcome the devil and redeem mankind. On the cross, our Lord
Jesus Christ "bruised", that is, crushed the devil's head, defeating him forever.
Hebrews 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of
flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same;
that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; 15:
And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
'We win!' We are more than conquerors. And that theme is
constantly proclaimed throughout the Bible. God has repeatedly
declared victory over the life of every Believer:
Moses said in ...
Deuteronomy 20:44 For the LORD your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.
For the Lord your God is He who goes with you to fight for you
against your enemies, to give you victory.
Notice what Jesus said in ...
John 16:33 These things I have spoken
unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be
of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
The Apostle John in ...
1 John 5:4 For whatsoever is born of
God overcometh the world: and this is the victory
that overcometh the world, even our
faith.
What wonderful truth from the Scripture! Christ defeated the enemy
of our soul on the Cross and gave us the victory even before
our battle began.
Then another way to ask the question when is ...
2.
Under what circumstance or what occasion?
When are we more than conquerors? Under what
circumstance or under what occasion?
Romans 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
In all these things. Which things? The "all
these things" Paul is referring to, can be found in verses 33-35.
Romans 8:33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. 34: Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right
hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. 35:
Who shall separate us from the love of
Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36:
As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for
the slaughter. 37: Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38:
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things
present, nor things to come, 39: Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be
able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Paul did not say that we are more than conquerors when we are out
of all these things. No, but did say, that, we are more
than conquerors while in the midst of these things. In the midst of all the accusation and condemnation from the enemies against
us, we are more than conquerors. In the midst of the oppression and persecution from the enemies against
us, we are still more than conquerors. In the midst of tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril and
We are more than conquerors does not mean we are exempted from difficulties in life. God
This is what makes us more than conquerors. We are more than
conquerors in spite of those who
We are "more than conquerors" not by avoiding these things, but by
triumphing over them
So far from these
afflictions separating us from the love of Christ, they are more than
conquered.
That is, they are
not only deprived of all power to do us harm, they minister to our good, they
swell the glory of our
victory. Hodge
Paul is not out of touch, for he himself
suffered much. He suffered tribulation, distress,
This is not to say that the fiery darts don't hurt, they do hurt,
the conflict is real, it is not a picnic,
"In the world,
persecutors and oppressors are judged as the conquerors; but here, those are
pronounced to be such, who are
oppressed and persecuted. They are the servants of Him whom
the world put to death,
but who said to His disciples, 'Be of good cheer, I have overcome the
world.'" (Haldane, R. An Exposition
on the Epistle to the Roman)
"More than conqueror" is one who, by the grace and the
gift of God, and in the strength of God
II - How are We More than Conquerors?
Romans 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors
through him that loved us.
The key words are "through him who loved us". God lets us know that it is not our strength that
III - Why are We More than Conquerors?
Romans 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors
through him that loved us.
Why do we have such privilege and assurance and confidence? It is
because He loved us. Note
"Him that loved us" is referring to His
sacrifice. We are guaranteed to be more than conqueror
Romans 8:34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again,
who is even at the right
hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
Paul associates Christ's love for us with His death on the Cross
as we read in ...
Ephesians 5:2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath
loved us, and hath given himself for us an
offering and a sacrifice to God
for a sweetsmelling savour.
And in Galatians Paul associates Christ's love with Calvary's love
declaring...
Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live;
yet not I, but Christ liveth in me:
and the life which I now
live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me,
and gave himself for me.
In the Revelation John writes ...
Revelation 1:5 And from Jesus Christ,
who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the
dead, and the prince of the
kings of the earth. Unto him that loved
us, and washed us from our
sins in his own blood,
Here is the great secret of our victory, the source of our
triumph. This is the only explanation
And this is the song we sing ...
1 Corinthians 15:57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus
Christ. 58: Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always
abounding in the
work of the Lord, forasmuch
as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the
Lord.
Conclusion
The most profound reality is this universe is that God loved us in
Christ. He loved you and me.
Let me encourage you to seriously and constantly meditate on the
glory of the love of Christ for
Ephesians 1:17 That Christ may dwell in
your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded
in love, 18: May be able to
comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth,
and height; 19: And to know
the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye
might be filled
with all the fulness of God.
But let me remind you that the truth of God's love is not the
absence of struggle, conflict and
Dear ones, that's how the Holy Spirit describes the true people of
God in all their conflict. In all
So, my fellow "super conquerors", what should we do with this
information? I think we should
I pray that God would drive this truth home to us that we might
leave here undefeated because
Is your hope in Jesus
Christ? If your hope and trust is
not in Christ, you are not more than
2 Timothy 2:25 In meekness instructing
those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will
give them repentance to the
acknowledging of the truth; 26: And that they may recover
themselves out of the snare of the
devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.
If your hope and trust is not in Christ you are conquered, you are
a captive of the enemy the
1 John 3:8 He that committeth sin is
of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the
beginning. For
this purpose the Son of God
was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
AMEN!