Accountability As a Reason for Small Groups (Part 2)

Selected Scriptures
2007.03.21
one28 Wednesday worship

Go here for Part One on Accountability

There is precious little interest or pursuit of holiness today. We are not very concerned with being holy, pure, blameless, spotless, or righteous. We are typically much more concerned with being accepted, understood, appreciated, and included. So our conversations are marked with compromise when it comes to holiness. Our free time is filled with influences that stain our hearts and minds. Even our ministries are marked by making unholy people feel better about themselves by camouflaging God’s holiness so it doesn’t hurt quite as much to look at Him. Holiness is not a high priority for many.

But if we do not strive for holiness we will not see the Lord.

Hebrews 12:14 Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

I’d like to think that some of you who have listened to the messages from our Sunday morning series are already wrestling to connect this condition in Hebrews 12:14 with the truths of Calvinism. If God is sovereign over who is saved and who isn’t, then what good is this human qualification/condition? In fact, taking a step back, what good is this entire series on Small Groups, and what on earth is accountability necessary for if God is in control of salvation?

I hope to cover some of these kinds of questions as we go through our Sunday series, but I think it would be beneficial to point a couple things out.

First, God’s goal in election is to get glory for Himself by making the elect holy, not just getting them to heaven.

Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him.

The aim of predestination is not simply to forgive sin, but to conform us into the image of Christ, which is perfect holiness.

Romans 8:29 For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son…

So God exercises His sovereignty in our salvation to save us not just from the condemnation of our unholiness but also to save us from the practice of unholiness.

And a second thing to keep in mind is that, God uses means to accomplish His goals. God reveals in His Word not just the final end of His plan, He reveals that He uses instruments and processes, over time, to execute His plan and get to His desired end. So, God not only chooses who will be saved, He chose how and when and through whom to save them. He decided to use the gospel, as preached by men, through the invisible work of His Spirit, to save His elect.

For our purposes in this series, God has not only planned our salvation and purposed our sanctification, that is, a life of increasing holiness, He has also sovereignly ordained the methods of accomplishing that sanctification. Participation in a local church body, discipleship, and even small groups is one ingredient in His recipe to make His saints.

And there is much to overcome to make us saints. As we discussed last time, we are naturally self-centered, proud, and worldly. And because of that we don’t always appreciate accountability. But in this message I want to show you from Scripture that God has established three levels of accountability as means to His end of making us holy.

Three Levels of Accountability to God

The prepositional phrase at the end is very intentional. There is a sense in which we are accountable to fellow human beings, and we’ll see that in the first two levels. But our ultimate accountability is to God. Answering to one another is part of His plan, but only as we are helping one another to answer to God. We look only to Christ, along with each other.

This is information you need to have. There is no one in our culture, no movie, no music, no MySpace page that is going to promote accountability. We fancy ourselves as self-contained, independent persons who don’t want, who don’t need, the input or (constructive) criticism of anyone else. But like I said, God has constructed various accountability keepers around us.

1. PASTORAL - We are accountable to spiritual leaders.

Obviously there is parental accountability as well, that is every student is answerable to their parents. We are also accountable to government, both national and local. But since we’re working to make a case for small groups in a church setting we’re considering primarily the importance of accountability in local body relationships. So as God has given parents authority over their children, likewise, God has put spiritual authorities in the lives of His children.

These passages address the sheep and their accountability to their shepherds.

1Thessalonians 5:12 We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, 13 and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work.

Hebrews 13:17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

The sheep are to listen, heed, and follow the shepherd. They are to respect and obey and submit to their pastors. God gives overseers to His church to feed and protect the sheep and they are accountable.

Jesus explained the clear system of spiritual accountability that extends to the church and her leaders in Matthew 18:15-17. The discipline process is a process of accountability that begins on a private, interpersonal level, that progresses to the leadership level. When one of the sheep is out of line, another sheep is to do what they can, then the shepherd gets involved, then the whole flock.

And part of the reason we are accountable to our pastors is because our pastors are accountable to God for us (Hebrews 13:17). And there is much at stake, as we pastors are stewards of a very precious people.

Richard Baxter’s book, The Reformed Pastor is basically an extended meditation with application on the following one verse:

Acts 20:28 Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with His own blood.

There is great responsibility here, to care for the health and holiness of those purchased by Christ on the cross. This this is no new accountability that sheep have to shepherds, or that shepherds have to God. Consider the prophets in the OT. Even though the situation was different for a prophet to the nation of Israel, it functions as an illustration of the kind of work God expects His shepherds to do:

Ezekiel 3:16 And at the end of seven days, the word of the Lord came to me: 17 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. 18 If I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. 19 But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul. 20 Again, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die. Because you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, and his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered, but his blood I will require at your hand. 21 But if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning, and you will have delivered your soul.”

See also Ezekiel 33:1-9, 34:1-6, 16.

We in spiritual leadership as pastors, and even by extension as small group leaders, will give an account to God. And though we can’t make anyone do anything, we are responsible to urge the sheep to live worthy of the gospel and worthy of Christ and you are accountable to listen and obey.

The NT is full of actions for pastors to hold sheep accountable to God’s desire for holiness. We are to admonish, appeal, argue, ask, assert, beseech, call, commend, console, declare, demonstrate, discern, edify, equip, feed, implore, inquire, lead, model, pray, proclaim, reason, upbuild, labor and work. Furthermore, the NT is full of actions for sheep to follow their pastors in the pursuit of holiness. Sheep are to listen, follow, repent, do, love, remember, seek, consider, respect, honor. We are accountable to our pastors.

2. MUTUAL - We are accountable to one another.

So we are accountable to spiritual leaders and now we’ll see that we have accountability to, and from, spiritual friends. We have responsibilities to our authorities and to one another. This is the level of mutual accountability.

The NT in particular is filled with obligations we have toward one another. For example, as Paul transitions from our personal responsibility to walk in the Spirit and not in the desires of the flesh at the end of Galatians chapter 5, what if we see a fellow brother or sister not walking in the Spirit?

Galatians 6:1 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.

There is no room for arrogant, unkind, impatient accountability. But there is also no room for silence, indifference, or inaction when it is appropriate. Sin is serious. As we said last time, sin reflects on Christ, it steals personal joy, and it if a person persists in a pattern of sin, their eternal destiny may be at stake. If there is not a pattern of holiness, then they won’t see the Lord.

1 Thessalonians 5:14 And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.

Admonish. Encourage. Help. These are all very messy things. They are viewed by some as meddling. But we are to rebuke the lazy and slothful. We are to stir up the timid and nervous. We are to aid the feeble and tired, but this is all toward the goal of being complete in Christ.

Hebrews 3:13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

Hebrews 10:24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

James 5:19 My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, 20 let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

Jude 22 And have mercy on those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.

It is not loving to leave someone in their sin. Unconditional love is proven when you confront and get rejected and mocked. Not confronting when it is necessary is conditional love, on the presumed condition of their negative response and is really love of self.

And for those of us on the receiving side, hating correction is stupid (Proverbs 12:1). Mutual accountability is there for a reason, in essence to help us when we get to the third level.

3. PERSONAL - We are accountable to God Himself.

This is the ultimate and most direct level of accountability. Every one of us will answer to God. No one, except Jesus for those of us who are believers, stands between us and Him.

In Romans 14 Paul gives instructions on not holding one another accountable for superficial, legalistic things. He is not removing our responsibility to help each other in the pursuit of holiness, but he is reminding us that holiness is the primary issue, not secondary issues like valuing some days being more important than others, etc.

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

And the writer of Hebrews is encouraging his readers toward obedience that comes from grace, because,

Hebrews 4:13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

The same verse is translated in the KJV as “but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.” For true believers, though we can’t lose our salvation, we will receive God’s discipline and chastisement if we fail to pursue holiness. Of course, that might be through another person’s rebuke or through some other means, but the pursuit of holy living paramount.

And it is this accountability to God that provides motivation for accountability to others. It is worse to try and hide your sin from God than from another person. When we ask for prayer, ask for advice, share our burdens and struggles, we are asking others to help us so that in our accountability to God we can give a good answer. Augustine recognized accountability with others as a form of self-watch, so that we’ll be most ready before God.

Small Groups and Accountability

Of course when you do something because of fear of man that is no good. But learning from men how to live in the fear of God is not only good, it is necessary. In the best situations, blind spots are discovered, we’re roused to fight sin, we’re helped to be more holy.

Small groups provide a perfect place for this common, concerted aim of sanctification. Here is a quick list of things that make accountability the best.

1. Accountability is the best when it comes from someone the same gender.

Many dangers are avoided when men should seek accountability from other men, women from women.

2. Accountability is the best when it comes from someone more mature.

There is a place for friends to hold one another accountable, but those people who are having the exact same struggles that we are, are not always best to learn from.

3. Accountability is the best when there is a personal relationship with prolonged exposure to each other.

A moving target is tougher to hit. Some people are good at telling lies and it takes a while for another person to uncover the lies. If the first person keeps moving, they can persist in the same lie without it being addressed.

4. Accountability is the best when you pursue it, tell the truth and submit.

Of course, you can participate in accountability and just lie through your teeth. That will do you no good, in fact, it is more harm to the sheep than to the shepherd.

Still there are those who want nothing to do with accountability. I guess they don’t want the protection. But I’ve never heard anyone complain about guardrails as they navigate narrow, windy mountain roads that keep cars from slipping over the steep cliffs. So what if the car gets banged up, at least they have their life. God-given accountability is like protective guardrails.

But even more than protection, accountability helps us glorify God more. A lot of people seek out financial input/counsel (accountability) in their investments. They do research to find the best of the best, counselors that can help them get the most out of their money. They listen to their advisor, buying some stocks and selling others to get maximum gain. They are willing to put up with a lot in hopes of getting a lot. And I think we aren’t willing to put up with much spiritual input because we don’t care about much holiness. We aren’t interested in learning how to invest ourselves to give maximum glory. We’ve got access to our parents, pastors, small group leaders, and friends to help us toward holiness for God’s name sake, but I guess the pay-off isn’t high enough for us.

This is why we have small groups and why we work so hard to have small group leaders that are Jesus-loving, Scripture-saturated, holiness-desiring. They are not leaders because they are spiritually superior but because they are willing to take on spiritual responsibility to help others in their pursuit of holiness.

Good small groups comfort and confront. They comfort those with confusion, forgetfulness, immaturity, weakness, and fear. And they confront those in unbelief and rebellion.

When someone stops coming to small group, it is crucial to pursue them, not because small group is so important, but because if they’ve stopped coming to small group because of sin, it is important to deal with that sin.

So even though we ultimately answer to God, accountability in small groups is a way to prepare ourselves by answering to His delegated authority.

CONCLUSION

Remember:

Proverbs 27:17 Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.

The sharpening in small groups is toward greater sanctification.

Proverbs 27:6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.

The wounds in small groups are toward greater holiness.

Ecclesiastes 4:9 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. 10 For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!

In small groups, we are lifted up by others when we fall to pursue Christlikeness.