Romans 8:37
In Jesus We Win, Big Time.
Prepared by Dr. John E. Marshall
Romans 8:37a (Holman) No, in all these things we are more than
victorious…
"No" answered the question Paul raised in verse 35b. Can troubles we Christians daily face separate us from Christ's love? No. However, on the other hand, troubles are not guaranteed to improve a believer's spiritual life.
Trials are neutral regarding their consequences. They spiritually help or harm based on how we respond to them. The way we set our spiritual sail determines whether winds of affliction drive us nearer, or farther from, God.
Our text tells us what God expects of us, and has made possible for us. The difficulties of life are opportunities for God's power to be demonstrated in us. In our toughest times, we can best display Jesus' resurrection-life.
In our daily struggles, God enables us to do more than barely hold on. Unbelievers can do this much. There would be little to celebrate if believers barely won in life. We are to not only hold our own, but victoriously win.
Face life confidently. We can be more than "victorious". The word implies war, and bespeaks fighting soldiers who are part of a winning army.
Do not fear a life filled with afflictions. Face it bravely. March boldly. In our daily conflicts, we are more than victorious, for at least four reasons.
One, we suffer very little loss in the battle. However fierce the skirmishes become, a believer can never experience everlasting harm.
We can never lose anything essential to our salvation. If faithful in the battle, we ultimately lose only what gold loses in a furnace: dross, impurity.
Earthly conquerors often win at too high a cost, paying as heavy a price to win as they would have if they lost. At Gettysburg, Pickett's men gained the ridge, the high water mark of the Confederacy, but lost too many lives to hold it. Often a leader is killed winning the victory, like Nelson at Trafalgar, and General Wolfe at the Plains of Abraham near Quebec.
Earthly victors often win only to be vanquished later by someone else. Persia ruled an Empire, but succumbed to Alexander. Carthage controlled the Mediterranean, but fell to Rome. Rome ruled the world, but the Barbarians ultimately toppled it. The Moors had their Tours, the British had a Saratoga, Napoleon a Waterloo, Lee an Appomattox, Hitler a D-Day.
History paints military and political defeat in this world as inevitable, but this is not true in the spiritual realm. Any who know Jesus can never be completely vanquished. Our losses can never be of an everlasting nature.
Two, we receive wonderful rewards. Our rewards are far greater than anything won by earthly warriors. Our inheritance never fades; our crown is incorruptible. Soldiers here receive human accolades, but these are nothing compared to hearing Jesus say, "Well done, good and faithful servant."
Another reward is; each victory makes us stronger. Exercise reliance. Winning increases our faith, and prepares us for more difficult conquests.
A faith never tested remains feeble. Arms and legs unused quickly begin to atrophy. Idleness and ease weaken us; conflict strengthens us.
It takes a war to make servicemen real soldiers. Similarly, overcoming trials develops our spiritual fiber, and makes us true soldiers of the cross.
Maybe our best reward is; we can so overwhelm our troubles that they become our helpers. Earthly conquerors suppress enemies, but become more than victorious when they turn enemies into allies. We are more than victorious when we let God use adversities to draw us closer to Jesus.
Not only can afflictions fail to separate us from Christ's love. They can actually be turned into spiritual benefits. Trials rightly borne do not drive us father away from God, but intensify our oneness with Jesus.
Temptations overcome cause us to feel closer to Jesus in the trial. Scoffing endured increases our sympathy with Jesus in the Judgment Hall. Sorrows withstood let us commune more closely with Jesus in Gethsemane.
Thomas Browning, jailed in Charles II's terrible persecution, wrote his flock. "The cup of afflictions for the gospel is the sweeter the deeper." He told them he found the strongest consolations near the bottom of the cup.
As Browning's persecution intensified, his delight became sweeter. He could echo the Psalmist, "It was good for me to be afflicted" (119:71).
Three, we win though the battle continues to rage. Earthly conquerors are pronounced victors after their battles end. Their conquest is celebrated in ceremonies after the turmoil is over, but for believers the battle never ends. We continually win victory after victory, but not the kind that end conflicts.
For us, the battle never ceases to rage. Sounds of triumph and alarm are always heard simultaneously. We win victories, though under duress and constantly being wounded. Just before his martyrdom (107 A.D.), Ignatius said, "It is part of a brave combatant to be wounded, and yet to overcome."
A noble part of our victory is; it comes despite our injuries. Some of our highest USA military decorations are reserved for those who show valor in battle after being wounded. We Christians should also glory in the fact we are more than victorious because we win though the battle continues to rage.
Four, we win though we are extremely weak. Lest we grow proud and presumptuous, Paul now mentioned the source of our triumph. We win…
Romans 8:37b …through Him who loved us.
In ourselves we are feeble, frail creatures having little strength. Our victory is never won by human energy, but always by Jesus' power in us.
The fact we ever win a spiritual conflict is amazing. Had Goliath beat David, the story would not have been newsworthy; David beating Goliath made it immortal. As believers, our victories over Satan are as remarkable.
Victory is not in Christians themselves, but rather belongs to the Holy Spirit. We conquer only to the degree we let the Holy Spirit fight through us.
Without Christ, we can do nothing; but we marvel at what God in us can do. The Spirit makes contact with frail spirits, enabling them to achieve feats impossible before. God stations Himself in our weak lives and defies all Satan's hosts to try an assault. Retain no pride in self. Ascribe all glory to God. We conquer, not because we hold him, but rather because He holds us.
Notice that in our text the word "loved" is past tense. This means the writer was referring to a past event that provides evidence of a huge love.
We believers know the instance Paul referred to was Jesus' dying on Calvary's cross. The Christ who empowers in us is One who suffered for us.
The pains He endured make Him a Companion to all who are weary. He knows what it means to hurt, and helps us bear our load and overcome it.
Our troublesome road is not quite as rough when we remember Jesus' footprints have preceded us. Christ "Himself has drunk to its bitterest dregs the cup which He commends to our lips. He has left a kiss upon its margin, and we need not shrink when He holds it out to us" (Maclaren).
Our Master was also our Martyr. He taught us by His example in the cross and resurrection to turn weakness incarnate into strength invincible.
Blandina, who died in 177 A.D., was a frail teenage slave who refused to renounce her faith despite hideous tortures. People had feared she would recant under pressure due to her being young and weak. Her execution was slow and gruesome. She was wrapped in a net and tossed repeatedly on the horns of bulls, and was forced to sit in a red-hot iron chair until she died.
Seems a waste, doesn't it? Where is victory here? It's easy to see if we look close enough. Though the weight and might of the Roman Empire were thrown against her, a slave remained unsubdued to the end, awing her tormentors. They returned to their ruler and complained, "We are put to shame, for these Christians mock us while they suffer."
The tormentors were unnerved by the fact they could not vanquish the spirit of what they considered to be weak men and women. As Paul said, "In all these things we are more than victorious through Him who loved us."
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