VICTORY over the Sufferings of This Present Time Romans 8:31-39 Romans 8:37 is another one of those most awesome verses in the Bible. It is the greatest verse in the Bible on VICTORY. And it ties in with the great verse we have been looking at, 8:28. Note the words, “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” The all these things of v.37 are the all things of v.28, and they relate directly to the sufferings of this present time. I. Victory is for Everyone who is in Christ. It is not the will of God for you to live in defeat. In Christ you can have victory in every area of your life, even and especially in the area of suffering, which is the context of this great verse. And you can experience victory even if you have been defeated in it for years. Israel was in Egypt for over 400 years, but one day they walked out a free nation. They had the victory. You can also have victory over every and any sin and in every and all circumstances, over every fear and worry, every addiction, disappointment, failure, frustration, doubt, grief, heartache, and devil. In fact, the greater the struggle the sweeter the victory. If I could whip my four year old grandson in a fist fight, that would be one thing. But if I could whip the heavyweight champion of the world, well, that would be something else. The point is, in Christ I could. I can have the victory. Jesus didn’t die for you and rise from the dead in order for you to live in defeat. When He died He was purchasing your freedom over everything that could keep you from obeying, trusting and enjoying God. When He rose from the dead He was winning victory for you. That’s what makes us more than conquerors. II. Victory has Nothing to Do with Your Circumstances. Some may think, “Well, I could have the victory if I were not married to him (or her). Or, if it wasn’t for so and so (kids, parents, classmates, neighbors). Or for this or that circumstance in my life.” Do you see the “all these things” of 8:37? Do you know what they are? People, circumstances, demons, death and things like that. Verses 35 and 36 say, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, ‘For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” You don’t have circumstances like that. And yet in all these things, Paul wrote, “We are more than conquerors.” Take Jesus for example. Was He defeated in dealing with the people and circumstances surrounding the cross? I think not. Listen to His words to the Sanhedrin, “Henceforth, you shall see the Son of Man descending from heaven…” And to Pilate He said, “You have no power over me except that which is given you from above.” To the mockers on the cross He said, “Father, forgive them.” He had the worst possible circumstances and people. We have the same victory “through Him who loved us.” In my door-to-door witnessing I ran across a young lady in Clio, Michigan. She answered the door and stood there talking with me with a five year old son at her knee. Within the last year her mother had died, she discovered she had terminal cancer and less than one year to live, and her husband left her, saying he couldn’t take all this. But she said she was trusting God and had no fear. She knew God loved her and she was more than victorious. We too can know this kind of victory. III. On What then does Victory Depend? A five letter word. FAITH. “And this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith.” (1Jn.5:4) And not just any faith. It’s faith in the Savior, the One who loved us and gave His life for us. And the fact is, you choose what you believe. Either you believe that Jesus loved and loves you, or you don’t believe it. What does it mean that God loved you? According to 8:31-32, you either believe that God is for you or God is against you. You have a choice. Believe it or not. You either believe the gospel or you do not. If you believe it, believe it all the way. If you don’t believe, then say, “I don’t believe,” and get on with your miserable life. Paul said in 8:38, “For I am persuaded…” You need to get persuaded in your own mind. You might be saying, “You don’t get it. If you only knew what I am going through.” It has nothing to do with what you are going through or what you have gone through. It has nothing to do with what people have done to you or what has happened to you or your circumstances. It has to do with the cross. Say to yourself, “God is for me.” How do you know that? Not because of your circumstances. They change. You have suffered and you will suffer. You will suffer because you are still part of the old creation and because you are part of the new creation still living in the old creation. You know God is for you because of 8:32, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him freely give us all things?” The cross is God’s final word on how He feels about those who are the called according to His purpose. You might be saying, “But I’m such a bad person. How could He be for me?” The cross says that God is for the worst of sinners. The person who wrote Romans 8 called himself the chief of sinners. And the one who is writing this study is a far greater sinner than you and I know that God is for me and is working all things for my good. What makes you so special that God would pick you out and say, “I don’t love you. I’m not for you. I love all these other sinners and am for them, some worse than you, but I don’t love you and I am not for you.” Get serious. Get faith. Believe everything it says in Rm.8:28-39. Believe it is true. Believe it is true for you. When you do you will have the victory. Verse 37 is a key verse in all of this. It declares that in all these things (the flesh, sin, the world, sufferings, death, demons, etc.) we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. It is not the will of God that we live in defeat or disobedience, worry or fear. We can have “Victory In Jesus” in every area of our lives, even if we have not had it for years. The greater the struggle, the greater the victory! We can have victory over any sin, every addiction, disappointment, discouragement, failure, frustration, doubt, grief, heartache, devil and IN every circumstance. Jesus did not die for us and rise from the dead in order for us to live in defeat. When He died He was purchasing our freedom and our victory over everything that would keep us from obeying and enjoying God. That’s what makes us MORE than conquerors. He won the battle and gives us the victory. Victory has nothing to do with our circumstances. This is the common error of thinking for those in defeat: “If it weren’t for this circumstance or that person, I could have victory and be happy.” This way of thinking is a chain on many-a defeated soul. The sword of the Lord cuts that chain. See the all these things in v.37. Do you know what they are? People and circumstances. Go back up to v.35-36 and read the listing of all these things. Through Christ we are more than conquerors in the worst of circumstances, even death. Note the phrase in 8:31 that says If God is for us. God IS for us. There’s only one thing that will make you think otherwise--- adverse circumstances. But look at the adverse circumstances of the early church and remember that they were more than conquerors. Was Christ defeated as His enemies had their way with Him? I think not. He had the worst possible circumstances and He was more than a conqueror in them. Behold His behavior from the time the troops came for Him in the garden to His last breath on the cross. What a conqueror! And He is in the business of, indeed all of salvation is God making us to be like Him. “OK, if victory doesn’t depend on our circumstances then upon what does it depend?” As I said, FAITH. I’m not making this up. Faith is the victory that overcomes the world (1Jn.5:4). Modern man is finding out that faith in and of itself is a powerful thing. But when faith is in something powerful it is that much stronger. Notice the strong thing that our faith is in - Him who loved us. We have a choice in what we believe. Either we will believe that Jesus loves us or that He does not. What does it mean that Jesus loves us? It means what it says in v.31. You will either believe that God is for you or that His is not for you. That is a choice. You must choose one or the other to believe; but by all means get it settled! Either believe the gospel and have victory or say, “I don’t believe it.” According to your faith, so will it be unto you. Be persuaded. This Scripture will help persuade you. IV. How do you know that God is for you? THE CROSS is God’s final answer on that, not your circumstances. You know that God is for you because of the cross (v. 32). Don’t let circumstances tell you differently. Faith looks at the cross and not at circumstances. V. What we should Believe in order to have Victory over the Sufferings of this present time: A. God works everything for Our good (v.28). This is what it means when it says that God is for me. The sovereign Lord of the universe, who controls everything, is working all things for my good. It doesn’t say all things are good and it doesn’t say all things work to the good of all people. But it does say that God works all things for the good for all those who love Him and are fitting into His purpose. What is the purpose of God and what is the good toward which all things work? He tells us in the next verses. Ultimately it is the conforming of all believers into the image and likeness of Christ. God’s purpose is to fill the universe with people who think, talk and act like Him. Nothing can stop Him from pulling off His purpose. He is almighty and sovereign. B. We are foreknown, predestined, called, justified and (as good as) glorified (29-30). It’s a done deal, as far as the Lord of the universe is concerned. The language in this text indicates that as many as He foreknew are the same as He glorified. Foreknew has nothing to do with God finding out beforehand who would choose Him. The term means to be intimately acquainted with beforehand. We are considered intimately acquainted with God in eternity past, just as we are now considered glorified in eternity future. From the beginning it has been a done deal. If our salvation from sin is rooted in eternity then we are secure and we are loved no matter what our circumstances say. C. We will never be charged with wrong nor condemned (31-34). The opening clause in this chapter declares, there is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Why? Because Jesus has taken all the condemnation upon Himself. There is no more for me. Never will be. D. Nothing shall separate Us from the love of Christ (35-39). NOTHING! Not anything. Nada. I am persuaded of this. “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” And I am secure in His love. He will never let me go. He loved me while I was still a sinner and will He love me any less now that I am His child? If I didn’t do anything to obtain God’s love, it stands to reason that I can’t do anything to lose it. Nothing shall separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. This is not the generic love of God for all people, even people who perish. This is a verse of eternal security. Nothing can separate me from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Now you can believe what you want about all of these things like foreknowledge, predestination, and security which Paul discusses in this passage; but as for me – I believe them. That faith helps me reign over the sufferings of this present time.
Posted on: Mon, 01 Jul 2013 12:47:12 +0000
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