Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 5
The speaker’s “hijacked resurrection” concern targets a view he caricatures as “God’s going to wave a wand… because we said a prayer”; what specific evangelical instincts about assurance, grace, and “once saved” get confronted by his reading of Romans 6:16 (“his servants you are to whom you obey”)?
Another way to ask: If someone thinks, “God will save me because I prayed a prayer,” how does Romans 6:16 challenge that by linking whose “servant” you are to who you obey? What does that do to ideas like assurance, grace, and “once saved”?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
According to the speaker, instincts that treat assurance as detached from obedience—like assuming a past prayer guarantees future life regardless of present slavery—are confronted by Romans 6:16’s claim that the one you obey is your master. His emphasis makes assurance tightly connected to who presently has “authority” and “a grip” on your life.
- He criticizes the idea: “God’s going to wave a wand over us at the last day because we said a prayer.”
- He insists resurrection-life begins now: “This is not something just that happens when we die… we begin to live a life now.”
- Romans 6:16 is interpreted as authority: “the one that you serve is the one who you give authority and who you give a grip on your life.”
- He draws a stark consequence: “whether of sin unto death or of obedience unto righteousness.”
- He explicitly rejects grace as permission: “Shall we continue in sin…? God forbid,” and again, “Shall we sin…? God forbid.”
- He says serving sin brings death “in this life” and “in the next life,” while serving righteousness leads to “everlasting life.”