WE ARE MORE THAN CONQUERORS (ROM. 8:31-39), part 4/4

Suffering can make you feel like the ground is giving way under your feet, but Romans 8 refuses to let hardship define your future. We sit with Paul’s blunt honesty that believers are not exempt from trouble, then we trace the stronger claim that follows: what you’re going through is not designed to separate you from Christ’s love, and it cannot do it.

We talk through why Paul doesn’t call Christians mere survivors. He calls us “more than conquerors,” and we unpack what that means in real life when health fails, money gets tight, relationships strain, or fear of the future starts to run the show. Then we walk line by line through the sweeping list in Romans 8:35–39, from death and life to angels, powers, present things, and things to come, and we keep asking the practical question: what fear is left standing after “nothing can separate us”?

From there we tackle assurance of salvation and perseverance of the saints, including the “golden chain of redemption” and why it’s unbreakable if every link is God’s work. We also address the common claim that you can walk away even if God won’t, and why “no created thing” includes us and our will. The conversation ends with personal reflections on “scary” verses that actually pull believers closer to Christ, plus a closing prayer for strength, rest, and steady faith in hard seasons.

If this helped you breathe again, subscribe, share it with a friend who needs assurance, and leave a review with the Romans 8 line you come back to when life gets loud.

Transcript

Suffering Is Part Of The Call

SPEAKER_06 0:00

That the reality of suffering is acknowledged through the scriptures. So, whoever you may be amongst us, believers, just know Paul is reminding all of us that suffering is part of our allotment in this life. And we suffer. And believers, he's pointing out to us that we are not exempt from hardship. Peter tells us to count it all joy when we suffer for his name's sake. So indeed, our our our our literal identification with God's cause may expose may expose people to continue danger and suffering. Just being a Christian, telling the truth of God's word. If you're going to do that, you are going to have some problems. You are going to have some problems. They don't want to hear nothing about sin and death and hell and redemption and a savior who died and who shed his blood and who resurrected. They don't want to hear about that. They want to keep you quiet. And if you've been quiet, you now know why. You now know why. And so Paul, in this quotation, he shows that such experiences, they are not contrary to God's plan. It is part of his very design for you to go through what you're going through. Whatever you're going through with your job, with your wife, with your husband, with your children, with your past, with your potential future, with the IRS, with the bank, whatever you are going through is ordered by God.

Hardship Cannot Sever Christ’s Love

SPEAKER_06 1:54

And it is not intended, nor can it separate you from the love of Christ. Your health, no matter how bad it is, the purpose of it is not to separate you, nor can it separate you from the love of Christ. Nothing can. Listen,

More Than Conquerors Through Love

SPEAKER_06 3:36

we are made conquerors in Christ because of his love. And that means that we conquer sin, we conquer death, we conquer the devil and his hordes, and we conquer hell itself. There is no one who is called a conqueror in Christ, whoever sets one foot in hell, even for the minutest fraction of a second. Those who are in hell can never be called conquerors because they were not a part of Christ. They were separated from Christ, but they were not separated from his love. You do the math. You do the math because it's a dreadful conclusion when you understand what it what it is saying here. So the love of Christ here, so or in this in this in verse 37, Paul is showing that our suffering is not just about endurance and overcoming suffering, but it's all about victory. We are not just conquerors. He says we are more than conquerors. We exceed what we see conquering being. Believers are described as more than conquerors, indicating this. We are not simply survivors, we are a triumphant people, not just a people who survive. We don't just make it, we are more than conquerors. And this victory that we have as conquerors is not by our own strength at all. Never has been, never will be, but it is through him who loved us. Very simple. The love of Christ is both the source and the guarantee of his triumph, which becomes ours. And this turns what appears to be, what seems to be defeat into a means that can only have one conclusion victory. See, as Christians, this is all you should know. This is your future. This is your future. You may not have clothes today, you may not have the roof over your head, you may have all these things threatening your very existence, but you are not a survivor. You are already more than a conqueror in Christ.

Paul’s Nothing Can Separate List

SPEAKER_06 6:38

I'm gonna read them together because they they go together. Paul says, verse 38 I am persuaded that neither death nor life, listen to this, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature. We are all creatures. None of these things shall separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. In verse 35, he says that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. Verse 35. Verse 39, to add more flavor to it, to give it more sauce, he says, nothing can separate us from the love of God. And he gives you this exhaustive list. And what is the purpose of this list? It is to tell you that there is absolutely nothing that can separate you from the love of Christ. There is absolutely nothing that can separate you from the love of God. He means to say that there

Why Salvation Cannot Be Lost

SPEAKER_06 8:00

is absolutely nothing. So, how say some of these unbelieving Christians that a soul can be lost ultimately who has been truly, genuinely saved and bloodborne? That is the most foolish piece of doctrine I've ever heard in my life, if you read the scripture, even if you're not a Christian. Even for somebody who reads the Bible for literature's sake should be able to read into this that he makes it very clear that there is nothing that can separate the believer from the love of God. Absolutely impossible. There is no scenario, none. Even you can't do it. You can't lose your own salvation. Why? Because you have been made new. You are not the same person that you were before you came to Christ. You have a new nature. You were dead before. Now you live. And you live unto Christ who loves you. So I don't see what the confusion is with these people.

The Golden Chain Of Redemption

SPEAKER_06 9:06

Brother Pat and then Meg.

SPEAKER_05 9:09

You know, theologians have long called this section of scripture the golden chain of redemption, this unbreakable chain. And why is it unbreakable? Because every link in this chain is something that God does. And I want everyone to think about this. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. And so if any of this part of chain of redemption is you, that's where it will break. There is no salvation if you are a part of this chain at all, because you will fail. The chain will break at that point. What makes this chain of redemption unbreakable is because the links in this chain are God Himself. So when someone comes along with a theology and they say, Well, you choose God, it's your free will. You need to understand what that person's trying to do. They're trying to replace the work of God and get you to put a link of human work or human choice or human thought in that chain. That's no longer the gospel that Paul has. That's a link that will break. Because God does it all, or else it doesn't work. It fails.

SPEAKER_06 10:29

That's all it can do, too, brother. That's all it can do. Meg.

No Created Thing Includes You

SPEAKER_02 10:35

You know, I think when it says no created thing, think about all that is created.

SPEAKER_03 10:45

And when you think about all that is created, it's you, yourself. So when somebody says, Oh, God won't walk away from you, but you can walk away from him, that's not what the scripture says. Because you are a created thing and you cannot walk away. What about the will? The will of man is it a created thing? Yeah. Can it not cease to do what it wants? No.

SPEAKER_02 11:18

That can even that can't even separate you from the love of God.

SPEAKER_03 11:25

So when we look at these things again, systematically, like I'm learning, it doesn't make sense. No, in comparison to the word of God.

SPEAKER_06 11:38

Right. Stuart.

Scary Verses That Pull Us Closer

SPEAKER_06 11:40

Go ahead, brother. Stuart and then Mariah.

SPEAKER_08 11:44

I just wanted to say it's two verses in the Bible that really make my heart, you know, skip, you know, skip a beat. And one of them is Jesus, you know, telling the disciples that if this world hates you, remember it hated me first. Right. It makes my heart skip. Because I go out here in this world every day, you know, trying to, you know, outsmart God and try to do, you know, you know how we are. You know, we got our own plans, bro. We got our own plans, man. And um the second one is uh Isaiah 55, 11, where he says that my word would never return void.

SPEAKER_06 12:38

Right.

SPEAKER_08 12:39

Right. And it makes my heart skip. Those two verses always make makes my heart skip. Because, you know, I go out here every single day, and I, you know, you try to do right. You try to do right, you don't want to be, you know, but it it's those like the the most two scariest verses in the Bible, when it just you know jumps at me, I'm like, you know what? Stop playing with well, you know what, brother Stood?

SPEAKER_06 13:12

See, see, and see, and you're proving the point that a lot of these people who believe their salvation can be lost don't get. When you read verses like that, like you said, and they have that impact, that is what the that's the Lord's word not coming back void. Meaning your reaction is that reverence for God and that making your heart quake, and it makes you desire to draw closer to God. That's what it is when his word is not coming back from void. It is working in you through that means, through the agency of understanding what is being said that gives you a new holy or renewed composure with reference to Christ. That's what it's for. And so it's just like when I when you know, for me, when Christ says, Depart from me, I never knew you, that's about as scary as again. And when he's in Matthew 28 or Matthew uh 20, when he says that don't be afraid of him who can destroy the body and do no more, but rather fear him who can destroy both body and soul in hell. These two passages are the scariest passages to me. And what do they do? They make you cling closer to Christ. That's his word not coming to him void. That is the effect that he wanted that word to have on me. Whereas to somebody else who's outside of Christ, that same word when they heard it is something they ignore and disregard. And they will, as it were, spit in the face of our Lord. We'll take whatever chances we know. We'll take this Messiah, this dead man who died on the cross in Israel, you know, he's nothing to me. But they will on that day of judgment. You could bet your last dollar on that one. Mariah.

Persuaded Means Peace And Trust

SPEAKER_04 15:02

These are beautiful uh verses here. One, I wanted to say the definition on persuaded is very interesting. It has several different meanings for this one word, persuaded, and they all seem to be very fitting to the application applied, which normally, you know, you'll just take one part of that definition and apply it. But I find it interesting. It says to tranquilize, which is that we are to have a calmness or peace to be induced by this calmness or this peace that these things following will never separate us from Christ. We are to believe in this, we are commanded, we're or to comply, to listen to this, take heed to this, and and we also obey this, and we're to have confidence and trust in this. So I find that all of these definitions for this one word is so fitting because man, isn't it a peace that comes knowing that you have this assurance that God will never, once he has saved you, will never forsake you. And also angels, nor angels, a lot of people overlook that, but they still give credit to the devil and to his ministers, which we know comes as an angel of light or disguises themselves as ministers of righteousness. And so we need not to give credit where credit is not due. And so we see that God has extended this invasive list of things that we would see that would be scary, right? But also I wanted to say very quickly that it extends even to eternity, nor life. Christ has life and he gives us life, and when we go to be where he is, we have life, right?

unknown 17:05

Yep.

SPEAKER_04 17:05

And so I I just I just love it. It says, nor present things, okay, here, nor the things to come. Well, what are the things to come? You know, us being with Christ. And so we have this assurance that even though we're here, that when we exceed and and go on to be with him, that hey, you're with me. Once you're with me, you're with me.

SPEAKER_06 17:31

Right. You're right. And he's saying, you know, like for instance, on another side of that coin, hell is coming for a lot of people, coming for a lot of people, but it's not coming for us. He talks about things, like you said, he talks about things present, nor things to come. You know, and so he's talking about things that aren't necessarily having anything, having nothing, having anything to do with that which is comes from intelligence, intelligent beings. But above that, as you pointed out, angels and principalities and powers, these are these are, you know, beings, authorities, magistrates, power. So the whole point that he's making here is that there is nothing. And he says, and he is persuaded. You use a great word. That's just that's one of the verses for which I use as my little, you know, be provoked, be persuaded. Two verses by Paul. And this is one of them for the persuaded part. And this is the point. You you you rest in that. You you you you you recognize this is the truth, and it brings to you and gives you, like somebody said in the comments, it gives you an unparalleled peace. It makes you know that you are truly a conqueror, truly triumphant, truly victorious. And this is spoken about this is spoken with regard to us in present sense. So this is something that we're expected to believe and to know now, not to wait till the end to find out if that's not what it is. That's not what it is. And so this passage concludes with this very comprehensive declaration that is supposed to give us assurance.

God’s Unchanging Love And Certainty

SPEAKER_06 19:10

And I feel sorry for you if it doesn't. And I hope the Lord will open your eyes and let you see this and let it let it let it let it burn in your heart until you understand it. He is speaking about every conceivable force that is available to man, and he says it can't do anything to you, whether it's in this life or in death, whether it is spiritual or whether it is temporal, whether it is present or whether it is future, is considered and dismissed as being incapable of separating believers from God's love. You may be able to do a lot of things, but you cannot change God's love towards you. That's only something he can do. And since God cannot change, that means the love that he has for you now, he has always had for you and always will have it. And so the worst of the worst that can happen to men will never happen to those whom he loves, because he sent his son to die for those whom he loves, and only them. Only them. And so this list is exhaustive, and it is intended to cover every possible dimension of our existence. Nothing can separate us from his love, nothing can separate us from his grace, nothing can separate us from him. We are his now and forevermore. And Paul says with great certainty, I am persuaded. And this reflects a very settled conviction that every one of you should have. I should have. We all should have this. We should know this. If you never knew this till now, you need to know it today. This is not something you need to contemplate and vacillate over. This is something you have now. You need to believe it now. And so the love from which believers cannot be separated, he says here, is the love of God. The love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. We are supposed to know by what he has done for us that we are loved by God as well as being loved by Christ. You see separation from the love of Christ in 35, and that we cannot be separated from the love of God in this verse 39. And this shows that this love is grounded in Christ and it is inseparable from union with him. It's an impossibility. The last thing, the last thing this world wants, the last thing the devil wants, excuse me, is for you to be assured of these things. So the argument culminates in absolute security in Christ because of his love, because of God's love, and nothing Christians, nothing can ever separate this bond that has been established by God for us in Christ. Nothing. And this is all the gospel. Start to end. This is an unbreakable bond that can never be separated, and it is based solely and squarely in the eternal love of God and his son. And if you are in him, it belongs to you now. Rest in that assurance. Be provoked and be persuaded. That's all I got for tonight.

Final Reflections From The Group

SPEAKER_06 23:02

So I'm gonna give everybody here your last word. No sermons, but I want you to get your last word in for tonight. And I hope this has been a blessing to all of your souls. So let me start with you, Brother Victor. You're one of the newer ones here, so I'll let you start first with your last word for tonight. All right, I'll come back to you, Victor, if you hear me. Brother Pat, how about you?

SPEAKER_09 23:33

I can hear you now. Oh, he's here.

SPEAKER_06 23:38

Go ahead, Victor. Go ahead.

SPEAKER_09 23:39

I said Jesus is truly God. If he wasn't God, like some people argue, he would not have been able to pay a debt of eternity. Only God can pay a debt that is that is an eternal debt.

SPEAKER_06 23:57

That's right.

SPEAKER_09 23:58

And also another point I just wanted to bring real quick is that when we get saved, we are married to Jesus. Now imagine if we could lose salvation. That means he can divorce us. That's right. And God does not allow for divorces. Thank God.

SPEAKER_06 24:20

Tell it, Victor. Thank God. Amen. Amen to that. Pat, go ahead.

SPEAKER_05 24:28

This this passage of scripture is just when we talk about good news, this is just one of those passages where you're like, man, if you want to, if you want to have a reason why you can rest and why you don't have to be overcome by the world, and why you don't have to get caught up and get all depressed over politics and all the things that are going wrong, all the social injustice, all the wars, all the terrible things going on in the world. This is why. Because God truly has overcome the world. Right. And there's no breaking the chain. You know, Jonathan, there's nothing that the world can do to rob us from this. And that is why religion hates reformed theology and always will. Because they want to steal our joy, and there's nothing that they can do to do it. That's right. They can't. Because God is the one who's who does it all.

SPEAKER_06 25:31

Amen, brother. Sister Cindy. Your last word for tonight, sister.

SPEAKER_07 25:38

Okay, so I just had two scriptures that I wanted to read because it went with what you were saying. So the first one is Ecclesiastes 3, verses 14 and 15. It says, I know that whatever God does, it shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, and nothing taken from it. God does it that men should fear before him. That which is has already been, and what is to be has already been, and God requires an account of what is past. And then the last one I wanted to read was 2 Corinthians 2, 14 to 17. And this is now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of his knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things? For we are not as so many, pitdling the word of God, but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ. Amen.

SPEAKER_06 26:56

Amen, sister. Excellent, excellent, excellent, excellent. Sister Copper, your last word for tonight, sister.

SPEAKER_00 27:06

Eternally grateful for God's unfailing love. I'm gonna sleep so good tonight. Because I can rest in him. I know I can, no doubt.

SPEAKER_06 27:18

Absolutely. That's good to hear, sister. Excellent. Terry? Last word.

SPEAKER_01 27:26

Oh, I'm just gonna say good night. And I'm tired tonight. And I just believe that God's gonna see me through this season. I I'm listening, I'm I'm kind of weeping. Uh while I'm listening. And I I uh feel like like the ground's been pulled out from under me. But I know in who I'm put my faith in, I am persuaded. I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I've entrusted to him, which is my soul.

SPEAKER_06 28:11

That's right. That's right, sister. Be encouraged the Lord with these things, Terry. I know you're going through things, and but you know what? You are more of you are more a fighter than you realize. And I think that some of us who know you know that. And I'm one of them.

SPEAKER_01 28:32

Thank you so much. Good night, everyone.

SPEAKER_06 28:35

Good night, sister. Mariah, last word.

SPEAKER_04 28:39

Yeah, when I'm reading this, something came to my mind when Jesus said to them, I know where I where I came from and I know where I'm going. But they did not know where he came from and where he was going. And now I can say, I know where I came from because I was in Christ before the foundation, or in God before the foundation of the world. And I know we're going. And as Christ came down to this earth, and he knew that God loved him and that nothing can separate that love from him, and I know that I am in Christ and nothing can separate that love. Wow. So just praise God.

SPEAKER_06 29:23

What a great, great connection. Great connection. You know, sister. Look, uh, you know, you know, God has blessed you with a tremendous understanding to be able to tie these things, you know. Don't let that slip. Keep that going, because there's something there that I think you are just getting into. And this, and this, and this is deep. It's deep. That's a great, a powerful assessment there. Great one. Sister Meg, last word and close us out if you would.

SPEAKER_03 29:54

I just want to say, I think that it just brings me so much joy when I hear Sister Copper come in and you know express not only her gratitude, but her gratitude in the word of God, knowing that when she comes in and she learns, and it just reminds me, and it should remind everybody else that we're all students of the word of God, and we're all learning, and we're all going to continue to learn. We have we are a finite being, right? Trying to understand and comprehend our infinite God, and it's just so beautiful and it's so encouraging. So thank you so much, sister, for sharing that with us today. I really appreciate you.

Prayer For Strength And Rest

SPEAKER_03 30:39

And let's pray, dear Heavenly Father, Lord God. Thank you again so much for your word tonight, Lord. Thank you for the encouragement that you give your children through your word. Thank you for the promises that you keep. Thank you for giving us something as a foundation to stand on completely and utterly. Thank you for the opportunity to be bold in your word, Lord, when we know these truths, Heavenly Father, that we can help one another grow in you, Lord Jesus. Lord, I just pray for Sister Terry tonight, Heavenly Father. Lord, I pray for this season that she's going through. I ask that you just continue to be with her and strengthen her. I pray for her faith, Lord God, as you continue to increase that, Lord, as you take her through these hills and these valleys, and no matter where she is, Lord God, please let her know that she's never alone. She's loved by her brothers and sisters, but much more, Lord, she's loved by you. And Lord, I thank you for her courage and her patience and her boldness. Lord, I thank you for everything that you're doing in and through her in this season. And Lord, sometimes when we're going through things, we really don't see or can't see what you're doing. And sometimes when you're silent, Lord, it's when you're moving the most. And I thank you for that. Lord, I just thank you for everybody in this live. Thank you for having them come in day in and day out to get edified in their word in your word, Lord God. Lord, help them to grow, Lord, as they continue to understand your word and as we continue to learn and grow. Lord, I pray for Brother Jonathan tonight, Lord. I ask that you just continue to give him the energy and the boldness, Lord, that you have placed upon him, Lord God. I ask that you continually encourage him as he reads your word, Lord. I thank you, Lord God, for his zeal. I thank you for his boldness. I thank you that you have given him just a spirit that just doesn't compromise, Lord. Lord, there's nothing more than he desires that when he comes up here, Lord, to preach your word, he holds it in high regard, Heavenly Father, as we all do, Lord. Thank you for giving us the spirit to take it seriously, to be careful and fearful, Lord, to reverence your word, Lord. I thank you for that. I pray that everybody has a wonderful sleep tonight, Lord God, that they may rest in you. For wherever there is, the word of God says that there's pain in the night, but joy cometh in the morning, and that joy can only come from you. In Jesus' name I pray.

SPEAKER_06 33:21

Amen. Amen. Amen. God bless you, everybody. Have a great night. And may God be with you. And I pray that this tonight and every night, the what things we talk about are blessings to your soul. And I seriously mean that from the bottom of my heart. I really do. And like Meg said in her prayer, take these things very seriously because they're blessings to your soul. Sister Vicky, Barbara, all of you who've been in the chat, God bless you as well. We see you there. And until our next gathering, may God bless every one of you. Be provoked and be persuaded. Good night.

SPEAKER_03 33:56

Good night. Love y'all.