Romans 8:37 (ESV)
³⁷  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

In our last blog, we were inspired by the words of Jeremiah, teaching us that the Love of God is steadfast (Lamentations 3:22).  In Romans eight, Paul reveals another benefit of the love of God, a love from which we cannot be separated (Romans 8:38-39).  Paul teaches us that we are more than conquerors in Christ.

To conquer means “to gain, acquire, or to overcome.”  It means “to be victorious,” and if there is one thing we can be sure about in Christ, it is that we, by the strength of our Savior, are victorious.   We have gained victory over Satan, sin, and even death.

The devil is our greatest adversary.  Truth be told, he is God’s adversary, and in his attempt to hurt God, man becomes collateral damage.  In Christ, however, we escape being victims to the devil’s attempt to get back at God.  The armor of God thoroughly protects us against the flaming darts of the devil (Ephesians 6:10-17).  It may be that Satan is stronger than we are, but in Christ, we have protection that is greater than he is.

1 John 4:4 (ESV)
⁴  Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

We are more than conquerors, not only over Satan, but over sin as well.  Sin separates from God (Isaiah 59:1-2), but in Christ, we have been reconciled to Him.

Colossians 1:21-22 (ESV)
²¹  And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, ²²  he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,

To be reconciled means to have one’s friendship with God restored.  Since a person can have no fellowship with God while living in sin (1 John 1:5-7), reconciliation necessarily implies that the sin in one’s life has been conquered.  This was made possible by the death of our Savior.  What did Jesus accomplish by dying on the cross?  “He condemned sin in the flesh” (Romans 8:3).  We have victory over sin because Jesus paid the price for it on the cross, making it possible for us to be set free (Romans 6:22-23).   Now we are conquerors, not only over Satan and sin, but over death, because Christ overcame it when He was raised from the dead for our justification (Romans 4:25).  The one who had the power of death, that is, the devil, has been defeated (Hebrews 2:14); therefore, we have been delivered from the fear of death (ver. 15).

We conquered Satan and sin when we obeyed the gospel, which is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16), and ultimately we will be victorious over death.  As Jesus once said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die…” (John 11:25-26).  There is no greater victory than this.  It means that we will be with God in heaven and spend the rest of eternity amid His glorious presence.  The difficulties and hardships of life melt away in the presence of our ultimate victory.  Now, that is inspiring.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.