Romans 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36: As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37: Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38: For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39: Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Introduction

On December 6, this year I turned 66 and in my long 66 years of existence I have never met a person who wants to lose. Nobody wants to lose. Everybody wants to win. So when I read in Romans 8:37 that we as followers of Christ are “more than conquerors,” I get excited. We are on the winning side.

This is a truth that is taught throughout the Scripture. God has repeatedly declared victory over the life of every believer:

Psalm 27:1 The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? 2: When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. 3: Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.

Psalm 118:6 The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?

2 Chronicles 20:15 And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's. 16: To morrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel. 17: Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you.

Romans 8:31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

If God is for us, who can ever be against us?

2 Corinthians 2:14 Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.

1 Corinthians 15:57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Colossians 2:14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; 15: And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

Our Lord had disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

Again and again in the Scripture, God has repeatedly declared victory over the life of every believer. This morning as we close the year 2025 and welcome this new year 2026, I invite you to consider this truth that we are  “more than conquerors” in three headings, first, The Glorious  Truth, second the Sobering Truth, and third, the Comforting Truth. 

I – Glorious Truth 

Romans 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

When Paul said Christians are “more than conquerors” he meant that this truth is now and not in the future. It does not say, we will be more than conquerors, it says, we are more than conquerors, now, right now. It is a present reality. We may not always see it, we may not always feel it, we may not always live like it, but it is true nonetheless.

How many times I hear preachers say, “Stay faithful to God because we read at the end of the Book; We win!” But actually we don’t have to read the Book of Revelation to know that we win. The Bible reveals who wins this Spiritual Battle long before the end of the Book!

Genesis 3:14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: 15: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Here is a prophecy that Christ will overcome the devil and redeem mankind. On the cross, our Lord Jesus Christ “bruised”, that is, crushed the devil’s head, defeating him forever.

Hebrews 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; 15: And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

We win! We are more than conquerors. Satan is a defeated foe.

“Satan may win some battles, but he cannot win the war.”

This truth that “we are more than conquerors” is sandwich between two realities, namely, “Nay, in all these things” and “Through Him that loved us.”

II – Sobering Truth

Romans 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

“More than conquerors” does not mean we don’t have enemies; nor does it mean a trouble-free life. It does not mean we are exempted from difficulties in life. The word “conqueror” implies conflict. It implies struggle.

Romans 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

In all these things. Which things? The “all these things” Paul is referring to, can be found in verses 33-35.

Romans 8:33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. 34: Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. 35: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36: As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37: Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38: For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39: Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Paul did not say that we are more than conquerors when we are out of all these things. No, but he did say, that, we are more than conquerors while in the midst of these things. In the midst of all the accusation and condemnation from the enemies against us, we are more than conquerors. In the midst of the oppression and persecution from the enemies against us, we are still more than conquerors. Even in the midst of tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness,  peril, and sword, we are more than conquerors.

We are “more than conquerors” not by avoiding difficulties in life, but by overcoming them through Jesus Christ. Our pain in our suffering is very real, but so is God’s purpose. 

Paul is not out of touch, for he himself suffered much. He suffered tribulation, distress, persecution, hunger, nakedness, danger of the sword, - yet in all these things, that is, in the middle of all these things, he is confident that we are more than conquerors.

Hodge put it this way, “So far from these afflictions separating us from the love of Christ, they are more than conquered. That is, they [afflictions] are not only deprived of all power to do us harm, they minister to our good, they swell the glory of our victory”. 

What is it to be “more than conquerors”? As someone has said, “More than conqueror” is one who, by the grace of God, and in the strength of God within him, actually takes the very things that are designed to destroy him, and they become stepping stones instead of stumbling blocks. That is being “more than conquerors.”

III – Comforting Truth

Romans 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

Here is the secret of our confidence. Here is the basis of our confidence. Paul tells us that the only reason that we are victorious in this life is “through Him that loved us.” Our victory does not lie within ourselves; our victory rests in Him alone! Only because of Him. It is through Jesus Christ. If you try to conquer this world or the trouble and suffering that comes your way, you will be defeated. If you try to do it yourself, you will be defeated. It is only through Christ that we overcome the world. Why? Jesus Christ is the only One Who has overcome the world.

The key words are “through him who loved us.” God wants us know that it is not our strength that gets us through the storms. It is not your wisdom or mine, that sees us through the dangerous deception of false doctrine. It is not our abilities that save us from our hardships but the ability, the strength, and the wisdom of Christ who loved us. It is all by the grace and power of the Redeemer.

Romans 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

It is because He loved us. Note the tense points to the past, which directs our attention to His love expressed on the Cross, the great demonstration of His love.

“Him that loved us” is referring to His sacrifice. We are guaranteed to be more than conqueror and it was because of His love that was clearly demonstrated on the cross. 

Romans 8:34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. 

Paul associates Christ's love for us with His death on the Cross as we read in …

Ephesians 5:2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.

And in Galatians Paul associates Christ's love with Calvary's love declaring…

Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

In the Revelation John writes …

Revelation 1:5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,

Here is the great secret of our victory, the source of our victory. This is the only explanation how we who are weak and flawed believers, and are often hurt and dismayed by the fiery darts of the enemies, and still “more than a conqueror” over his many and strong enemies. It is to Christ who loved us, who gave Himself for us, who died in our place, and lives to intercede on our behalf, we ascribe the glory for our  triumph. 

Closing Exhortations

We are still in the battle, and we still have enemies who seek to take us down. Our enemies are relentlessly throwing fiery darts at us, and they hit us and they hurt, but we are more conquerors through Him that loved us unto death. 

Satan is a defeated enemy. He is a conquered foe, it is just a matter of time till we all trample him under our feet. The issue has been decided, if you are a child of God, your sins cannot condemn you, death has lost its sting, the grave has lost its victory, and the devil cannot destroy you. If God is for you who can be against you. Christ died who can condemn you?

As we face the year 2026 and the conflict of this life may we focus entirely on Christ, the glorious captain of our salvation. May we focus on the triumphant nature of His work for us. May we begin to live and behave for what we are; we are  more than conquerors through Christ who loved us.

Is your hope in Jesus Christ? If your hope and trust is not in Christ, you are not more than conqueror. 2 Timothy 2:25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; 26: And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will. 

If your hope and trust is not in Christ you are conquered, you are a captive of the enemy the devil. You are under the power of Satan. Your only hope of deliverance rests on the fact that God did not spare His Son but has given us His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. So, cry out to God. Flee to Jesus Christ who came to destroy the works of the devil.

1 John 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

AMEN!