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

Last night and this morning, as I read, prayed, and pondered the Word of God, I kept hearing a word— “Accountability!”  That Word is connected to many current things around us today and speaks to a missing element in today’s church and world.

We are accountable to God.   Yet, believers fail and fall into an avoidable sin due to the lack of true accountability.   Why is accountability difficult for many today?   There are many reasons, but one glaring reason is trust.   We do not trust each other fully.  

Why don’t we trust?   It is mainly due to a lack of understanding and community.   The concept of the Body of Christ is not fully comprehended.   We remain individuals, isolated rather than integrated into one body.   We fear exposure and people’s perception.   We fear the loss of status and power.   We fear being seen as flawed in comparison to others. (Forgetting the only comparison is with Jesus. He is our standard.)

Accountability requires full disclosure and a willingness to be corrected.    But if we attain a measure of success and status and appear flawed, it endangers our position and makes us vulnerable.   The truth is if the body of Christ operated as a body, accountability and full disclosure would provide healing and protection.

The human body works as a unit.   If one part of the body is wounded or malfunctions, the other elements in the body focus on restoring that part.   In the church, we treat a flawed part as a part to be destroyed rather than restored.   

We judge, forgetting that we, too, are flawed.   Maybe not in the same way, but in our minds, we see our flaw as a lesser sin.   However, sin separates us from God.   We must never excuse or justify sin.   We must never forget that we are cells in the Body of Christ.   If my hand is accountable to the body and reaches to pick up fire, the head sounds the alarm.   If the hand is in right relationship and has willingly subjected itself in accountability, it draws back from the flame and is spared.

Too often, we sit in silence, even when we see warning signs of deception in our brothers and sisters because there is no agreement of accountability.   The devil takes advantage and destroys many lives as a result.    Some believe they are justified in correcting or criticizing others who they think are in error.    If there is no authority, correction will likely be rejected.  

The watchmen in the Bible were required to sound the alarm.  The warning was either embraced or ignored.   Do we love God and each other enough to warn each other (in a spirit of love with the goal of restoration)?    That is the key, the desire for restoration, not from self-righteousness.

Do we become the Body of Christ and act towards each other like the parts of the human body or say, it’s none of my business?   We hesitate because we think they will reject me if I speak.   We think they are advanced above me in Christ, so I have no authority to speak.   In doing so, we allow the devil to gain an advantage.

Please love me enough to warn me.   Warn me in genuine agape, not judgmentalism.  Everyone needs people who have been given the freedom and authority to speak correctively in their lives.

Love for each other demands that we care enough to risk being rejected.   A threefold cord is not easily broken, but individual straps are easily defeated.   Pride and deception produce a sense of entitlement that results in rebellion.  Let’s love each other enough to intercede and warn when danger looms.

There is safety and defense in accountability.   I ask myself frequently, am I accountable?  How can I be one to whom someone is accountable unless I am accountable?  It is first accountable to God but also to others for safety and protection.   None live or die isolated.  That means what happens to us impacts others.   The more known we are the more people are affected.   Let’s live every day with others in mind and seek iron to sharpen iron.   Be accountable and give accountability.

This is a very different message today, but the devil is seeking to destroy, and we can prevent it. Let’s be the Body of Christ!   The ultimate goal is restoration; anything else is judgmentalism and flows from self-righteousness, not agape.

May the peace of God and the love of the brethren over in our hearts!