Romans 8:37
“But in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”
This popular verse is often misused in our day. Though God will give the Christian successes unparalleled in Christ, still this promise does not apply to any and every circumstance the well intentioned believer wants it to. For instance, this verse does not mean that Christ will give your softball team the win over your rival’s. He will not necessarily give you the promotion that’s up for grabs over against your colleague. Again, you don’t want to use this verse when making an important financial investment, believing God will make you “conquer” monetarily. Any use of this verse with the wrong spirit behind it is misleading and a bad testimony to others who may be watching you quote and apply Scripture to your life.
Being more than conquerors in Christ does not refer to outward victories but inward ones. It is not a promise to be successful in everything but successful in spiritual things. It is an exhortation for the believer to never give up, even in the midst of life’s greatest challenges, so as to persevere in Christ to the end. As the passage goes on it explains it plainly: “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 which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39).”
You are a conqueror in Christ when even the greatest of life’s pains and losses aren’t able to persuade you to give up on your Christian faith. Jesus said, “He who perseveres to the end will be saved (Matthew 24:13).” Christ-conquerors are those who trust God’s plan for their lives no matter what trials may befall them. Nothing life throws at them can make them give up on Christ.
Here’s today’s text with the preceding verses added to give us a more accurate perspective on its meaning:
“Who shall separate us from Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, ‘For Your sake we face death all day long. We are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’ But in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us (Romans 8:35-37).”
The next time you quote this verse make sure you’re quoting it within the bounds of its proper context. We Christians conquer in Christ only so much as it pertains to spiritual victories over life’s struggles. We conquer because our hope is in Him not in this life. It is this hope that saves us from falling away, from quitting our Christianity in the midst of life’s struggles (Romans 8:24-25). Christians conquer only as they persevere through pain so as to meet Christ face to face one day and here the words “Well done good and faithful servant (Matthew 25:23).”
