Another Look at Accountability

Ephesians 4:25
"Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth, each one of you, with his neighbor, for we are members of one another."


What is accountability? Some say, "the act of being held accountable." Others, going and telling someone you know who's doing something wrong, that they're doing something wrong, so that they will stop.

We talk about Accountability, but do we really practice it?
Even though we toss around the word accountability, we Christians do not truly practice or even understand 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. Yet we can so easily discuss those same things to others when the "person of interest" is not around.

God’s word tells us that not only do we have a right, but we have an obligation to hold each other accountable for our actions, especially when we observe a fellow believer acting in a way that does not reflect God's will. That is one reason why should attend church. As a matter of fact, that is as good a reason as any 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 at the top of this page ends with the phrase “for we are members of one another.”

In fact, Scripture gives us many other examples of this kind of relationships among His people. Example: 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.

How does God speak to us about this?

Let's look at some verses:

2 Timothy 3:16
"All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work."

Proverbs 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."

2 Timothy 4:2
"Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables."

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 friends 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 choice
If 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!  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.

Since we've been commanded to hold each other accountable, why do you think we have such a hard time practicing this clear command of God? Sometime it's because we don't feel qualified to call each other out, especially in relation to the story in Matthew about the speck of wood in someone's eye, and the plank in our own. Other times, it's because of the fear we have that others will judge us or what they may think of us or the possibility of being resented.

The best way to fight this is to realize that we are all sinners (Romans 3:23) and some of us have been save by Grace.

Anyone who has a handle on the fact that we all need a Savior is not likely to condemn us when we confess we have failed.