More Than Conquerors!

Paul opens Romans 8 with one of the most profound statements in all of the bible. He says that there is no condemnation for those of us who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). He means that those of us who are animated by the Spirit of Christ, and who belong to him, and who walk with him, and who love him are immune to condemnation. While we may suffer correction, discipline and chastisement, we will never be permanently punished. Instead, we will be shaped into a full maturity in which we will ultimately be like Christ (Romans 8:29).  The closer we come to that maturity, the more we will reject sin, and the more oriented we will be toward the will of God the Father. Indeed, his Spirit will be constantly guiding our consciences in that direction so that permanent punishment is not necessary. Our love for God continually grows in inverse proportion to our attraction for sin because he will cause it to be so.  

But Paul also ends that chapter with an equally compelling statement that reinforces his opening point (Romans 8:35-39). He begins it by asking a question, “who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” Then, he names a variety of possibilities like, tribulation, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger and the sword! The obvious answer to his rhetorical question is that none of these things separate us from Christ’s love for us. But look at what he quotes in the very next verse! He reminds us of Psalms 44:22: “for your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” There is much complex debate around Paul’s use of that Psalm.  But one thing seems clear; the people of God often willingly suffer for the sake of the Lord they love. Paul appears, at least in part, to be illustrating for us the reciprocal love that exists between God and his people. Those who really belong to him, no longer face condemnation. They are his children, and he has no loss of love for them even when they suffer in the midst of tragedies. Further, they continue to love God even when they are faced with tragedies. They love him fully in spite of those tragedies – even when they are being slaughtered like helpless sheep! The Holy Spirit seals that in us so that we have a divine orientation to the highest possible good – which is the person who is most worthy of all love and adoration.

Paul sums up his argument by answering emphatically that tribulation, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, and sword shall not separate us from God’s love for us. In fact, he says that in the midst of those things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us! In other words, through Christ, we overwhelmingly and decisively will conquer and have victory over all of those things. Paul even adds other things to which we will have victory. He says that he is convinced that since we are in Christ that death will not separate us from the love of God; that things in life will not separate us from the love of God; that angels and spiritual forces will not separate us from the love of God; that what is going on right now in our world will not separate us from the love of God; that nothing in our future will separate us from the love of God; that evil Spiritual powers will not separate us from the love of God, and that nothing in all of creation will separate us from the love of God.  In the end, we will have overwhelming victory over all evils because Christ is our animating force, our shield, our protector, and our champion who is transforming us from sinful fallenness into divine holiness.