Life Group Lesson Feb. 2012
Accountability
“The What, Who, How, and Why of Accountability “
First Google the word accountability. The top 10 hits will likely include articles or sites dealing with fiscal responsibility, corporate integrity, and product reliability. The personal accountability of the Christ follower is something similar yet different altogether.
While Scripture doesn’t explicitly mention accountability, its urgency is implicit particularly in passages describing successful Christian community. So what exactly is accountability? How do we do it? To whom should we be accountable and why?
The WHAT!
One day we all will stand before God to give an account for who we are and how we have lived. Scripture references the judgment seat of God in numerous passages. Trusting Christ for salvation will be all that matters when we meet our Maker.
Becoming a Christian by believing in Christ is very easy. But when it comes to following Him, we often flounder. Accountability is a discipleship tool that operates in the context of relationships. It is one friend helping another to live for Christ and holding another to a standard of faith and vice versa.
The WHO!
Several essentials can be identified for successful accountability relationships.
1. Faith. Both persons must be people of expressed faith in Christ. While it is important to develop influential relationship with nonbelievers, accountability is best in a relationship yoked by Jesus and similar beliefs.
2. Homogeny. Both parts must be of the same gender. There is a world of difference between how men and women communicate and relate to the world.
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Entering into an accountability relationship with a member of the opposite sex (other than the one to whom you are married) could lead to a level of intimacy that births physical attraction. That is an unhealthy temptation. While there is certainly a call for accountability in a marriage relationship, each spouse should also seek the accountability of a friend of the same sex to walk with them through life’s challenges and maintain fidelity in their marriage.
3 Shared struggle. Perhaps it makes sense to find someone to hold you accountable in an area in which you struggle but they do not. But who better to help you “toe the line” than someone who needs the same encouragement? When your accountability partner struggles the same as you, he likely understands the temptation and knows intimately the signs of weakness and the weight of consequences. The shared struggle can be a shared incentive.
The WHY!
Dozens of biblical mandates and illustrations come to mind when considering our need for accountable relationships. None are quite as obvious as the wisdom of Solomon in Ecclesiastes and of James in the New Testament.
“ Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their efforts. For if either falls, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to lift him up. Also, if two lie down together, they can keep warm; but how can one person alone keep warm? And if somebody overpowers one person, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not easily broken.” Ecc. 4:9-12
“Therefore confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The urgent request of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect.” James 5:16
Discuss the significance of each scripture.
The HOW!
So how do you do accountability? Here are some steps to get you started on a successful road to healthy accountability.
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1. Identify an accountability partner. Both parties must agree to be honest about struggles and to sharing the load of carrying another brother or sister.
2. Select the frequency and methodology of your accountability relationship. Decide whether to meet weekly face to face or have several phone check-in times. Determine a method for outside communication.
3. Agree on honesty and confidentiality. Both parties must agree to be honest and to keep what is shared completely confidential in order to build and maintain trust.
4. Confess and Pray one for another. This is a two step process. James said that confession is only part of the process. The other part is prayer, the most powerful medium for the faithful Christian.
5. Spur one another on toward Christ. The writer of Hebrews discouraged us from abandoning our gatherings with other believers but to instead encourage one another toward love and good deeds. (Heb. 10:25) Accountability shouldn’t ever be just about that from which we abstain. It should also be about the values we work to incorporate into daily Christlike living.
“Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.” Mat 18:19 NIV
Done right and given the proper place in our lives, accountability can prove to be the most mutually beneficial relationship in our lives. Any covenant relationship where people are honest about sin and committed to prayer is bound to enjoy the favor of God and the success of following Christ better every day.