Accountability: Part Three
January 20th, 2009 by Brett Wagner
Part 1
Part 2
Accountability: Part Three
Accountability Prevents Deception
Hebrews 3:12-13 ESV
Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. 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.
Blinded by Sin
Part of the power of sin is that it has the ability to blind us to the truth, leaving us unaware of the attitudes, lusts, and idols within our lives. Our sin is so subtle in how it blinds us that we can easily find ourselves saying things like, “My sin isn’t as bad as it could be” or “This attitude is not sin, it is just part of life” or worse yet, “This sin is under control. After all, no one is perfect.”
Not on my own
Because our sin is so deceptive and leaves us blind to its full extent, we need input from others to correctly diagnose our heart’s condition. The puritan John Owen has noted that each of us can have strengths in a variety of areas, but we are all lacking when it comes to discerning our own sin. He rightfully states that on our own, we will never develop a competency for recognizing our own sin – we need the help of others.
David and Nathan
A helpful example of the deceitfulness of sin and the need of others to speak into our lives would be that of David and the prophet Nathan. As the prophet tells a story which mirrors the sin of King David, David has no problem seeing the guilt and deserving punishment of the supposed offender. But it is not until Nathan connects the dots with the declaration, “You are this man!” that David sees his sin sin for what it is. That is the deceitfulness of sin.
So now what?
So what do we do with all of this talk of accountability? While there are multiple lessons to be learned in each of these posts, I would sum all of it up with two statements.
1. Respond to God - never begin to think that your attempts at accountability will somehow improve your acceptance before God or move you into the “good person” category. All of these efforts to maintain accountability are simply in response to who God is, not an attempt to prove our worth to God. If God is challenging you on your need for accountability, be sure that the motive is because ‘God is worth it’ and not ‘I am worthy.’
2. Recognize your need for others - your spiritual health depends on it. Several questions to ask:
- Do you have Christian friends that have permission to confront you, exhort you and encourage you?
- Are you seeking out these types of friendships that can promote accountability?
- Are you being a friend that lovingly holds others accountable?
Hebrews 3:12-13 ESV
Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. 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.
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