Accountability Eph 4:25 Therefore,
laying aside falsehood, speak truth, each one of you, with his neighbor, for we are
members of one another Have you ever been in a conversation with a Christian who is not currently walking with the Lord, and who isn’t going to church anywhere? With someone like that, it’s not a matter of explaining the Gospel to them. You give them reasons that they should regularly meet with other Christians, including the verse that says “do not forsake the assembling . . “. Possibly, you have given accountability as one of the reasons for becoming part of a church family. I know that I have heard the word accountability quite a bit in different churches of which I have had membership, including my current one. However, it occurs to
me that we Christians do not truly practice or even understand the concept of
accountability, and how the Lord wants us to keep one another on track. We are afraid to say some tough things out of fear
that we will hurt someone’s feelings, or that the hearer might become defensive or
even hostile toward us. The sad truth is,
those fears may be well-founded. Often, I
myself have resented a friend who spoke the truth to me out of love, only to realize later
that he was right in bringing these things to my attention. God’s word tells
us that not only do we have a right, but we have an obligation to hold each other
accountable, especially when we observe a fellow believer acting in a way that does not
reflect God. That is one reason why should
attend church. As a matter of fact, that is a good reason that he gave us the Church in
the first place: because we are a relational people. We need relationships with others to
maintain our spiritual health. It is how He
designed us. This is why the verse in Ephesians which opens this study ends with the
phrase “for we are members of one another.” In fact, the Word gives us
many other examples of this kind of relationships among His people. At the beginning of
the Church Age, Jesus sent disciples out in pairs; among other things, they kept
each other honest and on track. When you read Paul use the analogy of the Christian walk
as a battle, you can see the benefits of Jesus sending them out in two: in war, you
don’t go out into combat alone. One man
who was all alone in his walk with God was David. As king, he didn’t have people in
his life who would even question him, let alone hold him accountable. It is pure speculation, but if he had had a
men’s group filled with men who would ask him the tough questions, it is very
possible he wouldn’t have fallen into an illicit relationship with Bathsheba. There is not enough space here to discuss the realties of God
speaking to us. I am one who believes that He does. Don’t get me wrong; I have never
heard an audible voice or seen a burning bush, yet there have been times when I have known
it was Him, making an impression on my heart to do or say a particular thing. God can speak to His people in different ways,
including through His word. Second Timothy 3:16 tells us:
Other passages worth noting: Acts 11:22 they sent forth
Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch. Who,
when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with
purpose of heart they would cleave Prov 12:15 The way of a
fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man is he who listens to counsel Colossians 3:16 NIV - Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and
admonish one another with all wisdom and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs
with gratitude in your hearts to God. Now here’s an interesting point made
by Paul: the 2nd book of Timothy was, as you may know, actually a letter
he had written near the end of Paul’s life. Many have supposed that Timothy was a
pastor of a young church. Actually, the Word doesn’t say that, but it does say that
he was in a position to teach his fellow church members. Please take a look at 3 verses in
chapter 4 of 2nd Timothy: 4:2 Preach the word; be
instant in season, out of season; reprove,rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and
doctrine. Paul is telling Timothy to tell the believers what they NEED
to hear, rather than what they WANT to hear. It
is important to note that this verse does not apply only to Timothy, and it does not apply
only to those in teaching positions in our churches. The warning in verse 3 tells us that
our Christian friend may very well want to hear ear candy. In fact, some translations say
that “they want their ears tickled.” If
you are a true friend, you will allow the Lord to speak some tough things when necessary,
and you will not hold back for fear of losing that person’s friendship. We do not have a choiceIf the thought of helping your fellow believers stay on the straight and narrow seems uncomfortable, so . . . un-American, you need to get over it. God makes it very clear through His word that this is not optional. Proverbs 24:24-25 Whoever says to the guilty,
“you are innocent”—peoples will curse him and nations denounce him. But it
will go well with those who convict the guilty, and rich blessing will come upon them. In fact, if we fail in this area and
don’t tell our brother what he needs to hear, as opposed to what he wants to hear,
his blood falls on us! Don’t believe me? Read this: Ezekiel 3:18-19 When I [God}
say to a wicked man, “You will surely die,” and you do not warn him or speak out
to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for
his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the
wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his evil ways, he will die for
his sin; but you will have saved yourself. Fear of Man In the preceding section, I half-joked
about how holding each other accountable seemed un-American. In truth, why do we have such
a hard time practicing this clear command of God? I
am afraid that for most of us, our hesitation is a direct result of our fear of what
others think; rather, what we think they will think.
The best way for us to combat this is to realize that we are all sinners, and some
of us have been saved by grace. Better yet,
we need to establish accountability relationships with others who understand this basic
truth. Anyone who has a handle on the fact that we all need a savior is not likely to
condemn us when we confess that we have failed. It is my recommendation that all
believers should find someone of their own sex for accountability purposes. It should be
someone who can be trusted to keep things confidential, and an agreement should be made
right up front that both partners will not refrain from asking tough questions. Dr. James Dobson has a set of accountability
questions for men that we can and should use on each other on a weekly basis. This list below is a slightly modified version of
those questions: 1. Have you been with a person of
the opposite sex during the past week in a way that could be viewed as compromising? 2. Have all your financial dealings been
filled with integrity? 3. Have you viewed or read inappropriate
material this week? 4. Have you reached the goals you set for Bible Study and prayer? 5. Have you spent quantity time and given priority to your family? 6. Are you fulfilling the mandate of your calling? 7. Have you just lied to me?
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