Accountability

We hear the term, accountable or accountability a lot it seems, but what does it really mean? What does true biblical accountability look like?

Matthew 18:15-17 says:

15 “If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back.16 But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses.17 If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector.

So, how does this really look in our day to day life? First, let’s define what accountability IS NOT…

1) Accountability is not pronouncing judgment – Holding someone accountable is all about calling out a sin or behavior in another believer. It is not about judging someone’s relationship with God or salvation.

2) Accountability is not about being right or wrong – Accountability is all about enforcing a standard of living that God has laid out in scripture, not about someone being right or wrong.

So, what is accountability then and how do we do it?

1) Accountability is about relationships – Everyone responds to being held accountable based on the level of relationship with the person who is holding us accountable. This does not mean you cannot call out sin or behavior of a believer if you do not know them, just know that the less they know you the less likely they are to respond the way you intend…why Matthew 18:16 is important. If you do not know the person well, get to know them and find out who does know them well and have them go with you.

1) Accountability must be done in love – If you care about someone enough you will eventually need to confront and hold them accountable. When you do this it must be done in love. Saying things like “I care about you and am concerned about _____” is better than condemning or being derogatory towards them…and it will go farther to doing the next item on accountability.

2) Accountability must be about restoration – If your intentions to holding someone accountable are not about restoring a relationship or keeping a relationship, your intentions need to be checked before you confront. Caring enough to confront or hold someone accountable means you care enough to keep the relationship.

3) Accountability must have follow through – You are not done once the confronting is over! Check back on the individual and see how they are doing and pray for them. If you are not willing to follow through, find someone who can or the accountability will be done in vain.

I hope this helps as you go through your life as a Christian. This is something that Christians don’t do real well, mostly because we don’t totally understand how to do it well. I have had people hold me accountable and it was more like a verbal firing squad, but I have also had people hold me accountable who were very much into the Matthew 18 model and sought to have our relationship restored or continued.

Thanks for reading!