Accountability As a Reason for Small Groups

Selected Scriptures
2007.02.21
one28 Wednesday worship

Our Wednesday night theme for the year is Look Only to Christ: Along with Each Other. We’re specifically considering how we Look to Christ with each other in Small Groups.

The first thing we considered is The Gospel as a Reason for Small Groups. Small groups enable our proclamation of the gospel to be thorough and our building up of believers in the gospel to be particular. Small groups also provide an opportune environment for gospel-motivated service and for gospel-unifying worship.

And we regularly and rightly talk about the gospel as being free, there is a Scriptural expectation connected to the gospel. In the gospel we learn that Christ has done everything for us that we need to be saved. And though the gospel is offered freely and received freely, it costs us everything. Those who believe the gospel are also called to live worthy of it.

Philippians 1:27 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ

Hold on to that thought for a moment.

The second thing we considered is Shepherding as a Reason for Small Groups. We talked specifically about the Three Target Levels of evangelism, edification, and equipping, which is all toward the goal of becoming ourselves, and seeing others become, like Christ. Then we considered the Five Stages of Development as we help persons move toward being complete in Christ, seeing them from regeneration through sanctification to spiritual reproduction.

Becoming like Christ is not only God’s plan, it is to be our pursuit. Those who shepherd and those who are sheep are called to walk worthy of the Lord.

Colossians 1:10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him

1Thessalonians 2:12 we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

There is a connection between manner of life and walking, in fact walking is just a figurative expression of a person’s conduct or pattern of life. And every believer is obligated to live and walk worthy of the gospel and worthy of Christ. The word worthy is an adverb which refers to a balanced scale, indicating things that are equal in worth. Therefore, the “worthy” walk is one that matches up, is proportionate to, is on par with the life which the Lord Himself lead while on this earth and the truth of the gospel.

So we are responsible to live worthy of the gospel. We will answer for living worthy of Christ. For both of these things are are accountable.

Accountability and Those Who Hate It

Accountability has gotten much bad press. It is almost a dirty word. As I was looking around the internet doing research on accountability I saw one sight that didn’t even want to spell the whole thing out, putting a dash after the A- and that was it. The little research I did confirmed that many professing evangelical Christians do not want to be held accountable to anything by anyone. Some are so extreme as to call any kind of accountability unbiblical.

And you probably know the passage those people regularly turn to: Matthew 7:1, “Judge not, that you be not judged.” It’s worth looking at that passage for just a minute. You realize that Jesus is not condemning judging, He’s condemning hypocritical judging! In the process of confronting sin in someone else, the problem is not confronting someone else’s sin, it is confronting someone else’s sin while you keep living in yours!

So the conclusion of the paragraph is first deal with your sin and then you will see clearly enough to deal with your brother’s sin (verse 5). Jesus assumes that it is right to hold others accountable. But He also expects us to not be hypocrites in doing so.

It is true that hypocritical, impatient, unkind, judgmental, self-righteous, legalistic, prejudicial, and/or ignorant accountability is no good. Job’s friends were wrong as they held Job accountable, and got meaner as the story went on. But–and get this–accountability does not equal those things and those who hold others accountable are not by definition arrogant, overbearing, big-headed, spiritually abusive jerks.

So why is “accountability” such a bad word? I think it is more than that accountability is sometimes hypocritical or ignorant. I think accountability is a bad word because we’re born with a dislike for it.

Three Reasons People Naturally Hate Accountability

1. We are naturally self-centered.

Thinking about ourselves first is inborn. No one has to teach us that. Love of ourselves is in our genes (2 Timothy 3:2).

In being so consumed with ourselves we don’t have much appreciation for outsiders. We certainly don’t have much interest in someone else troubleshooting our system or making requirements of us.

But there are great dangers in isolation. Solomon said that the person who isolates themselves rages against all sound wisdom (Proverbs 18:1). And in the body of Christ we cannot get away from the other members without harming the body. The body is no place for selfish members.

We live in an era that magnifies the individual. We do not value community. Because we are naturally self-centered we naturally hate accountability.

2. We are naturally proud.

It is not only naturally to think about ourselves, but to think highly about ourselves. Pride is characteristic of every person, regardless of whether it is displayed externally or just thought internally. Pride originates in the natural heart (Mark 7:21-23) and defiles a man.

And proud people don’t like authority, they are their own authority. Proud people don’t like to be told they are wrong, they know they aren’t. Proud people don’t like discipline and correction, they just like to give it.

We live in an era that magnifies self. We do not value humility. So because we are naturally proud we naturally hate accountability.

3. We are naturally worldly.

Love of self is not the only inherent thing in humans, love of the world is also innate.

Ephesians 2:1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

It is more natural for us to walk in a manner worthy of the course of this world rather than to walk in a manner worthy of the gospel. Sinners follow Satan and live in the passions of their flesh. Our nature was like the rest of mankind, pursuing the present world. Love of the world and the things in the world causes compromise and settling for less than gospel-worthy living.

What this really means is that we don’t value holiness. We aren’t pursuing sanctification and separation from the culture. We are satisfied being conformed to this world. The mold of the world is comfortable, and we dislike the discomfort that comes when the mold is confronted.

We live in an era that magnifies fitting in. We do not value separation. And because we naturally fit better with the world we naturally hate those who hold us accountable to live other-worldly.

So disliking, disdaining, detesting, disapproving, and despising accountability is natural. Even for those of us who have been born again, who are not natural but spiritual, we still must fight against these tendencies toward self-centeredness, pride, and worldliness. We need each other’s help to do so.

It is a sign of immaturity and foolishness to ignore help from others. Fools despise wisdom and instruction (Proverbs 1:7). It is sad that we need to make a case for it, but since I think we do, let’s do it well.

A Definition of Accountability

Accountability is “giving account; required or expected to justify actions or decisions; responsible, liable, answerable.” It is a check-and-balance system ultimately designed to protect and fortify.

Schools are accountable to parents to educate their students. Teachers and administration must be able to justify their decisions. Banks are accountable to their investors. They are liable for the money handed over for them to protect. Employees are accountable to their employer. What they do is a reflection on their boss and the organization. Players are accountable to their coach and to their fellow teammates. What they do impacts the larger group.

Spiritual accountability is another way to say that there are certain expectations (namely to walk worthy of the gospel and worthy of the Lord) in the Christian life. Therefore we are required to give an account, to answer for our decisions and our actions. The final account is to God Himself and in the meantime He has provided a check-and-balance system in the church to keep the individual members safe as well as cause them to grow stronger.

Before developing that, let me remind us that spiritual accountability is important because important things are at stake. Namely,

• Christ’s (His gospel’s, and His church’s) reputation.

What we do is a reflection on Christ. We will answer for being salt and light. Our good works are to shine before others so that they may see our good works and give glory to our Father in heaven (Matthew 5:13-16). As sojourners and exiles we are charged to abstain from the passions of the flesh which wage war against our souls and to keep our conduct honorable so that evildoers may see our good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation (1 Peter 2:11-12).

• Personal joy (in Christ).

When you sin, you don’t lose your salvation (if you are indeed saved). But you do lose the intimacy of the relationship with God. You don’t lose your salvation, but you lose the joy of your salvation. Accountability helps you, as it seeks to protect your joy and to see it be full.

• Final destiny.

I’ll admit that it is easy to lose sight of the fact that heaven and hell are at stake.

This is one of the reasons Edwards was so passionate in his work. Two years ago I put this quote on my blog and I think I’ve shared it in a sermon before as well:

If any of you that are heads of families, saw one of your children in a house that was all on fire over its head, and in eminent danger of being soon consumed in the flames, that seemed to be very insensible of its danger, and neglected to escape, after you had often spake to it, and called to it, would you go on to speak to it only in a cold and indifferent manner? Would not you cry aloud, and call earnestly to it, and represent the danger it was in, and its own folly of delaying, in the most lively manner you were capable of? Would not nature itself teach this, and oblige you to it? If you should continue to speak to it only in a cold manner, as you are wont to do in ordinary conversation about indifferent matters, would not those about you begin to think you were bereft of reason yourself?

If [then] we who have the care of souls, knew what hell was, had seen the state of the damned, or by any other means, become sensible how dreadful their case was … and saw our hearers in eminent danger, and that they were not sensible of their danger … it would be morally impossible for us to avoid abundantly and most earnestly setting before them the dreadfulness of that misery they were in danger of … and warning them to fly from it, and even to cry aloud to them.

It is very important for us to treat important things like they are important. Sometimes it is the right thing to get fired up. God may bless the means of our hot, passionate appeals to overcome deadness and hostility of unbelieving hearts. It is a better choice to have heat in preaching (and in small groups) over the heat of hell.

So even though the natural man, and even spiritually immature believers may react against accountability to living worthy of the gospel and worthy of Christ, great things are at stake.

Go on to Part Two on Accountability