- Joined
- Oct 26, 2007
- Messages
- 12,543
A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. Proverbs 17:17
Accountability has become one of those trendy, buzzword kinds of church ideas that people either love or hate but don’t really know how to do, or why. Too often, we get caught up in some of the issues surrounding accountability—good things like confessing sins and liberty in Christ—and lose sight of the most important things—obeying God’s Word, the grace of the Gospel, and faithful, committed fellowship.
You need accountability because you still need God. Sanctification is a lifelong process because you’re still susceptible to temptation and sin. You have blind spots, and you need to be told about them. You still struggle with the “old man”—old habits and patterns of thinking and acting that will cause you to fall away if you let them dominate you. This is much more likely to happen in isolation. For those reasons, you need fellowship—encouragement and accountability from your brothers or Sisters in Christ (Hebrews 10:25).
Accountability isn’t optional. It requires commitment, as well as compassion. Pray that God would show you the men or women with whom you can live life, not making idols of confession or obedience but embracing God’s grace together on a regular basis.
If you find yourself resisting this, ask why. Make sure you’re not harboring sin. “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2).
Accountability has become one of those trendy, buzzword kinds of church ideas that people either love or hate but don’t really know how to do, or why. Too often, we get caught up in some of the issues surrounding accountability—good things like confessing sins and liberty in Christ—and lose sight of the most important things—obeying God’s Word, the grace of the Gospel, and faithful, committed fellowship.
You need accountability because you still need God. Sanctification is a lifelong process because you’re still susceptible to temptation and sin. You have blind spots, and you need to be told about them. You still struggle with the “old man”—old habits and patterns of thinking and acting that will cause you to fall away if you let them dominate you. This is much more likely to happen in isolation. For those reasons, you need fellowship—encouragement and accountability from your brothers or Sisters in Christ (Hebrews 10:25).
Accountability isn’t optional. It requires commitment, as well as compassion. Pray that God would show you the men or women with whom you can live life, not making idols of confession or obedience but embracing God’s grace together on a regular basis.
If you find yourself resisting this, ask why. Make sure you’re not harboring sin. “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2).
