PEARLS OF PAUL
MORE THAN CONQUERORS
COMMUNION SUNDAY
DR. JIM DIXON
ROMANS 8:28-39
FEBRUARY 6, 2000
Almost a thousand years ago, in the year 1027, a man named William was born in northwestern France. He was born to a man named Robert who was the Duke of Normandy. Now, William was born out of wedlock because his father, Robert, had had an affair with a woman named Arlette who was the daughter of a tanner. But William was Robert’s only son, so when Robert, in the year 1035, went off to the Crusades and never came back, William was declared the new Duke of Normandy, and he was only 8 years old. But he grew up to be tall and handsome. He grew up to be strong and mighty in battle. In fact, it was said that there was not a knight in all of Europe who could stand against William in combat. William grew up to rule Normandy. Twice, the King of France invaded Normandy. Twice, William defeated him. William expanded the borders and the boundaries of Normandy by conquest. People in Europe began to say that perhaps William was the most powerful man in Europe.
The year was 1066 when Edward the Confessor died. Edward the Confessor was king of England. He was a weak king, but he was a pious man who loved Christ. The crowning accomplishment of his life was the building of Westminster Abbey in the city of London.
William respected Edward the Confessor. Even though Edward was a weak king, William respected him because William, too, had become a Christian and had accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior. His faith was genuine, but when Edward the Confessor died, Edward the Confessor’s brother-in-law, whose name was Harold, was declared the King of England. William did not respect Harold. In fact, William viewed Harold as an evil man. And so, in October of 1066, William gathered his Norman armies and he crossed the English Channel. He invaded England. It was October 14, 1066, when William met Harold at the Battle of Hastings, and William conquered England. He defeated Harold in what historians call the Norman Conquest. That is why William is known to historians as William the Conqueror.
But it was December 25, Christmas Day, 1066, when William went into Westminster Abbey. There, he was crowned King of England, the first Norman King of England. He was, historians tell us, a great king because he was skilled in administration and skilled in leadership. He was not without flaw, and he was sometimes harsh, but he had wisdom. Though he had conquered the Anglo-Saxons, he embraced their laws and enforced them. He was also a pious man. He attended church twice a day, every morning and every evening. He did not do this out of hypocrisy. This was not politically motivated. He really loved the Lord. He was faithful to his wife, Mathilda, all the days of his life. His marital faithfulness was virtually unknown amongst the royalty. I mean it was uncommon. That kind of faithfulness was unknown amongst the royalty of William’s time.
William the Conqueror… but historians tell us he was more than a conqueror. And if you believe in Jesus Christ today… if you believe in Christ and you are a Christian, then there’s a sense in which you’re like William because you, too, are more than a conqueror. That’s what the Bible tells us. The Bible tells us that all of us who believe in Jesus Christ are more than conquerors. We have flaws, but we are more than conquerors.
This morning, from Romans 8, I have three brief teachings, and the first teaching is this: We are more than conquerors because of predestination. That’s what Paul tells us in Romans 8. That’s what he tells us in Romans 8:29. “Those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son.” We are more than conquerors because of predestination.
Some of you have traveled to Rome. You’ve gone to Vatican City and you’ve seen the Sistine Chapel and you’ve seen the beautiful paintings of Michelangelo. You’ve seen St. Peter’s Basilica, the dome of which was designed by Michelangelo. And perhaps you’ve even seen some of Michelangelo’s sculptures. You may have seen his Moses or his David or his Pieta. You might know that Michelangelo completed 14 sculptures. But you might not know that he attempted 44. He only completed 14 of 44 sculptures, about 30% of the sculptures he began. That was all that he was able to complete.
There is a building in Rome that contains the 30 unfinished sculptures of Michelangelo. You can go in that building and you can see those sculptures. You see huge blocks of marble. You see the beginning of a hand, or a foot, or a torso, or a head, beginning to take shape out of that block. Michelangelo could look at a crude block of marble, and he could see something beautiful just waiting to be released, but he was not always able to release it. He was not always able to bring the sculpture to fruition. He was not always able to bring the vision to fruition.
You see, the Bible tells us Jesus Christ is the Master Sculptor. He never leaves a work unfinished. And so, we have this promise that those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to His image. If you are a Christian, it is predestined that you will be conformed to the image of the Son of God. It’s predestined. It’s guaranteed. “He who began a good work in you,” the Bible says, “will bring it to completion.” You can count on it. That’s why we’re more than conquerors, because our sanctification is predestined. We will be conformed to the image of the Son of God.
We can resist our sanctification and grieve the Holy Spirit and bring the discipline of God into our lives. Perhaps if we resist our sanctification throughout our lives, we will lose some measure of heavenly reward. But the sanctification is guaranteed. If you’re really a Christian and you belong to Christ, you will be sanctified. Of course, your sanctification will reach fruition in the life to come when you stand before Christ. You will be made like Him. It’s predestined.
The subject of predestination is one of the most controversial subjects in Christian theology. The church of Christ has debated this subject for the better portion of 2,000 years. Calvinists and Arminians debate the subject of predestination. Reformed theologians debate the subject of predestination as it relates to supralapsarianism and infralapsarianism. Confessionalists debate the subject of predestination as they discuss what they call primary and secondary causes as they relate to the sovereignty of God and the free will of man. Confessionalists debate the merits of the various confessions, from the Westminster Confession to the Augsburg Confession to the Heidelberg Confession.
All of this may seem like mumbo jumbo to you, and that’s because you’re normal. But there are people out there who really like to talk about that stuff. They really like to debate it. But all of us should embrace predestination in the sense that it is guaranteed. We who believe in Christ will be sanctified. All of us should embrace that. If you’re a Christian, you should know that you will one day be conformed to the image of the Son of God. Romans 8:28 says, “We know that in everything God works for good with those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.” This really has to do with predestination and sanctification, that in every circumstance God is working for good. That is your sanctification. He’s sculpting you. In every situation, He is sculpting you that you might be conformed to the image of the Son of God.
We are more than conquerors because of predestination. We are also more than conquerors, this passage of scripture tells us, because of justification. We are more than conquerors because of justification. Romans 8, verse 30, says, “Those whom He called, He also justified.”
We all know that product packaging generally contains consumer warnings. I was reading this past week some consumer warnings that I actually found on product packaging. Some of them are kind of amazing, and some of them are kind of humorous. These are actual consumer warnings on product packaging. Some of these products are produced in America. Some are produced in other countries, but these products are all marketed in America for Americans.
On a Sears hair dryer: “Do not use while sleeping.” On a hotel provided shower cap in a box: “Fits one head.” On Marks and Spencer Bread Pudding: “Product will be hot after heating.” On the packaging for a Rowenta Iron: “Do not iron clothes on body.” On Nytol Sleep Aid: “Warning: May cause drowsiness.” On Sainsbury Peanuts: “Warning: Contains nuts.” On a Swedish chainsaw: “Do not attempt to stop blades with your hands.” On a child’s Superman costume: “Wearing of this garment does not enable you to fly.”
What’s going on there? Is this just the dumbing down of America, or what’s going on there? I think we all know what’s going on here. It all has to do with litigation. It has to do with the fear of litigation. That’s why we have these consumer warnings on product packaging. It has to do with the fear of litigation. Companies who produce these products are afraid of litigation. They’re afraid they might wind up in court, and they’re afraid that when they wind up in a court—if a consumer was injured, no matter how dumb the behavior—they might lose the case. That’s their fear. Of course, they’re afraid of condemnation. That’s what they’re really afraid of: Condemnation in an earthly court and the loss of money that might follow.
There are people who are afraid of condemnation in the heavenly court. They’re afraid that someday when they get into that heavenly courtroom, they’re going to be condemned. But Christians should not have this fear. If you believe in Jesus Christ, you should not have no fear of condemnation. The Bible says, “There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Paul says in Romans 8 that “We have been justified.” Paul also says in Romans 8, “It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn?” You see, if you’re a Christian, you will not be condemned. You’ve been justified. You are justified by Christ. When He died on the cross for you in substitutionary atonement and He paid the penalty for your sin and for my sin, He satisfied the demands of justice and He paid the penalty for our sins. When we, then, embrace Christ, His righteousness is imputed to us. Our sins are forgiven us, and we are justified. There is no fear of condemnation. That’s why we’re more than conquerors. There is no fear of condemnation.
Some of you travel to New York City. You’ve seen the Empire State Building on 5th Avenue and 34th Street. It was completed in 1931. Every year, millions of tourists visit the Empire State Building. They want to go up to the top of that 102-story building. They want to see the view. But sometimes the trip down is kind of scary. That’s what a couple of people found out a few weeks ago. You might have read about them in the newspaper. Two people named Shameka Peterson and Joe Masoraca. They were working on the 44th floor of the Empire State Building. They got into the elevator to go down, pushed the down button, and did that elevator ever go down! It just went into a free fall. The elevator dropped 400 feet in a free fall. Finally, the safety system engaged, and the elevator was brought to a halt a few floors before the bottom. They were not seriously injured, but both of them said they thought they were going to die. Wouldn’t that be a horrible feeling, being part of an elevator drop?
I know Barb and I have been to the Tower of Terror in Orlando at Universal Studios. You just drop a few floors, and it takes your stomach away. But all this pales when compared to what some are going to experience at the final judgement. It pales when compared to the elevator drop that some people are going to experience at the final judgement, the free fall. At the bottom, there is a destiny worse than death. But Christians should never fear that. You, if you believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, should never fear that because there is no condemnation for you. You have already been justified, and you are more than a conqueror.
You are also more than a conqueror for a third and final reason, and that is glorification. Predestination, justification, and glorification. This is also Romans 8, verse 30. “Those whom He justified, He also glorified.”
In 1962, Peter, Paul, and Mary made famous a song called “This Train.” “This train is bound for glory, this train…” But as Christians, we know that the only train that’s bound for glory is what we might call the Christ train. If you’re a Christian, you’re on that train and you ARE bound for glory. You’re bound for heaven, and you’re bound for all the wonder and the beauty and the greatness of heaven. You are glorified and glory is your destiny. If you believe this, it will affect the way you live. You WILL be more than a conqueror. It will affect the way you live. It will even affect the way you die, if you really believe in your glorification through Christ.
You know, in the year 1830, missionaries began to go en masse to China. By 1949, China had become the largest Protestant mission field in the world. Over those 119 years, from 1830 to 1949, there were many times of persecution for missionaries in China. One of the greatest times of persecution was in the year 1900 during the Boxer Rebellion, which I mentioned in a sermon a few months ago. Of course, the Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists, called the Boxers, rebelled against western involvement in China. Particularly they targeted Christians and missionaries. They slaughtered, in and around Beijing, hundreds of missionaries and thousands of Christians. Missionaries were oftentimes unable to escape.
I want to read for you a brief little letter written by a missionary named Lizzie Atwater. She wrote this letter on August 3, 1900. She could not get out of China, and she knew that she was going to die, yet she wrote this letter. It remains to this day, and I thought you might want to hear this. “August 3, 1900. Dear ones: I long for a sight of your dear faces, but I fear we shall not meet on earth. I am preparing for the end very quietly and calmly. The Lord is wonderfully near, and He will not fail me. I was very restless and excited while there seemed a chance of life, but God has taken away that feeling and now I just pray for grace to meet the end bravely. The pain will soon be over, and oh the sweetness of the welcome above. My little baby will go with me. I think God will give it to me in heaven, and my dear mother will be so glad to see us. I cannot imagine the Savior’s welcome. Oh, that will compensate for all these days of suspense. Dear ones, live near God and cling less closely to earth. There is no other way by which we can receive the peace from God which passes understanding. I just keep calm these hours. I do not regret coming to China, but I am sorry that I have done so little. My married life, two precious years, has been so very full of happiness. We will die together, my dear husband and me. I send my love to you all, the dear friends who remember me.”
Twelve days later, Lizzie Atwater and her husband died. They were executed by the Boxers. But they did not live in vain. In 1949, when the Communists took over China and all missionaries were expelled from China, the foundation had already been laid. The Christian foundation had already been laid by wonderful people like Lizzie Atwater. The foundation had been poured in their blood. There was already a community of believers in China, and Communism could not stop it. Today, there are more than 50 million Christians in China because of people like Lizzie Atwater. How was she able to remain so faithful even in the midst of death? She was able to remain faithful because she knew that her glorification was coming. She knew she was on a “train bound for glory” and her child and her husband with her. She knew that.
So, we are more than conquerors because of predestination. We will, one day, be made to conform to the image of the Son of God. We are more than conquerors because of justification. We do not fear condemnation. And we are more than conquerors because of glorification. We are bound for heaven. So, as you come this morning to the communion table and you partake of the bread and the cup and you thank Jesus for His body broken and His blood shed, remember that you are predestined, justified, and glorified. Let’s close with a word of prayer.