BASICS Training pt.2
A – Accountability - Accountability is a part of life. Your parents, teachers, boss & teammates all expect it. Why then do less than 5% of churches provide it and less than 2% (out of that 5%) of Christians actually embrace it?
Here are some thoughts to help you embrace accountability and mature in your faith.
1. Accountability is a part of life.
Although often misunderstood, and sometimes intimidating, the reality is accountability is an important and necessary part of life. In football, we would watch film after every practice. That’s accountability. Ever build a house? I bet you’re thankful the builders were required to “give an account” of their work. What would school be like if no one had to prove their proficiency? All of this is simple accountability, and we all need it to grow.
2. God expects accountability.
Paul said it this way: “So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.” Romans 14:12
That means, God expects us to live with eternity in view and to this life as men and women who will be required to ‘give an account’ of our lives (Romans 14:12), actions (Matthew 25:40), our words (Matthew 12:36), even our secrets (Romans 2:16). Keeping this in mind helps people develop a healthy fear of God that will keep us from derailing our lives.
3. Trusting Jesus means we have nothing to fear.
Webster defines accountability as “an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one’s actions.” The Good News of the gospel is this: God has taken the responsibility to create us and, having been rejected by sinners, enact a mind-blowing, multi-generational, global, history shaping plan to redeem His creation. Wherein: Jesus took the responsibility of our sin for us (see Isaiah 53, 1 John 2:2, Romans 4:25 for example), and sent his Spirit into our hearts, thus taking the responsibility to live out His life in us (John 14:17, Galatians 5:16). The responsibility left to us then is to simply believe and obey the One who has done so much for us.
