Impassive or Accountable?


So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.
Romans 14:12

In his book, The Disciple Making Pastor, Bill Hull writes about the need of accountability in the disciple-making process. He says,

To believe you can make disciples or develop true maturity in others without some form of accountability is like believing that you can raise children without discipline, run a company without rules, or lead and army without authority. Accountability is to the Great Commission what tracks are to a train.

Accountability is essential for any society to function and Christian accountability is no different. We are all held accountable in one way or another. The Bible is filled with stories of men and women who tried to "pass the buck." Adam and Eve did it after their transgression in the garden (Genesis 3:12,13). Aaron did it after he led the Israelites in making and worshipping a golden calf (Exodus 32:22). King Saul did the same, blaming the people after he failed to carry out the Lord’s command to wipe out the Amalekites (1 Samuel 15:15,20,21). Each of these Old Testament people failed to hold themselves accountable for their actions. It was easier then, as it is now, to try and push the blame off on someone else.

What is accountability? It is a check and balance system to protect us from harm from ourselves and others. We do this by being open to what we are thinking and doing so we can receive encouragement and reproof, when needed.

Accountability is a fact of life. All through life we are accountable to someone for our actions, our decisions, and our productivity.
-When we were children we were accountable to our parents.
-When we were in school, we were accountable to our teachers
and our coaches.
- In the work place, we are accountable to our supervisor or boss.

Christian accountability is accounting for what we are up to. It is the realization that we are liable, responsible, and answerable for our actions in life to God (Rom. 2:16; 14:2; 1 Cor. 3:10-15; 2 Cor. 5:10), as well as to key Christians in our life (John 13:34; Philip. 2:4).

Accountability enables us to share our lives with one another in a deep, introspective way. This helps us to get to know ourselves and others in a deeper manner. (Rom. 12:5; 14: 13-23; Eph. 5:21) In our lives, we may be able to hide our character flaws and sins from our families, our friends, and our church. But we cannot hide anything from God. God evaluates everything that we do. Since we are accountable to God, we need to make sure that we are always striving to please Him by obeying His commandments.

As Christians, we are in the process and practice of our faith, growth, learning, and maturity all the days of our lives. At the same time, we are still susceptible to temptation, spiritual warfare, and our misplaced desires. Accountability is essential for every Christian to help reach his or her full potential; it is a mandate to those in leadership and ministry.

Today, we live in a time when, having fundamentally rejected the absolutes and clear teachings of Scripture, man seeks to make God accountable to him for his comfort and pleasure. Thus, people are not only doing what is right in their own eyes, but the prevailing attitude is ‘Do your own thing. We are only accountable to ourselves and our own self-fulfillment.’ This is a shift from a God-centered perspective of life to a man-centered perspective. This is all part of man’s attempt to dismiss any accountability to God.

As the prophet Daniel declared to a powerful monarch of the past, “. . . there is a God in heaven” (Daniel 2:28). The God of heaven is called “the Judge of all the earth” (Genesis 18:25). Men may deny, mock, or ignore those truths, but those truths remain unmovable and unchangeable.

Dear friends Each human is accountable before the Lord. God is the Creator and we are the created. God is the Potter; we are the clay. By right of creation, He has authority over all flesh. The Lord God is one hundred per cent aware of our earthly activities. He “knows all things” (1 John 3:20). It is written, “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:13). The Lord seeks faithful, reliable servants.

This Lenten Season, let us not try and deceive ourselves and take up our accountability before the Lord seriously for the Lord of heaven and earth sees everything and holds us accountable for our choices.

God Bless You.

Location: Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India

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