“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” — Romans 8:37
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The showdown between No. 1 Texas and No. 3 Ohio State on college football’s opening weekend was perhaps one of the most highly anticipated season-openers in recent college football history. Playing in the friendly confines of their home stadium and buoyed by more than 107,000 raucous fans, the Buckeyes slowed down the Longhorns and won the game, 14-7. They had conquered the nation’s No. 1 team.
On Oct. 7, 1916, a college football game ended with a slightly more lopsided score. The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets — who would go on to win the national championship in 1917 — lined up against Cumberland College — a school that fielded a rag-tag team of fraternity brothers. Georgia Tech scored on every possession, never even reaching fourth down. Cumberland turned the ball over 15 times and never earned a first down.
Final score: 222-0.
To call the Yellow Jackets conquerors on Oct. 7, 1916, is an injustice. They were more than conquerors. And that is who you are every single day, if you are in Christ.
In Romans 1-7, the Holy Spirit inspired the apostle Paul as he methodically explained the Gospel. Paul showed us the utter depravity of our sin and its pervasiveness in our lives, and he showed us God’s righteousness in punishing that sin. However, he also showed us that, in spite of our sinful condition, we can be justified in God’s eyes and reconciled to Him through faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus lived a perfect life when we never could, and His crucifixion paid the due penalty for the sins of His people. Your sin deserves death, and that’s exactly what happened. Only, it wasn’t your death but the death of Jesus Christ. That’s why we call it good news of great joy.
So then, in light of this glorious truth, how are we to approach life? That’s the question Paul answers in Romans 8, one of the most awe-inspiring passages in all of Scripture. Toward the end of this incredible chapter, he reaches a rousing crescendo of a conclusion:
“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” — Romans 8:37-39
Jesus is more than a conqueror. By His life, He destroyed the grip of sin. By His death, He destroyed the grip of death. And because He rose from the grave, those He united to Himself by faith will also rise to be with Him for all eternity.
When you become a believer, you are not promised a life free from trials; in fact, you’re promised the opposite. But, God also promises that He will sustain you, He will be with you in whatever comes, and He will work all things for your good. Like the woman in Proverbs 31, those who live as followers of Christ can look to the future and laugh at the hardships ahead. We live as more than conquerors, because we have life through the true Conqueror — Jesus Christ our Lord.
— Kevin Mercer
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