You probably recognize that accountability is a powerful tool for behavior change. The business world, the self-help world, and the porn-recovery world all acknowledge the vital importance of accountability.
But it can be much more than this, especially for followers of Jesus. I believe accountability is a foundational part of the Christian life. If you undertake accountability as a spiritual discipline, it will deepen your relationship with God.
Here are five ways this can happen.
Accountability Humbles Us
“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6)
Few things are more humbling than accountability. That’s one of the reasons it’s so hard to do. When you ask someone to keep you accountable, you’re acknowledging your vulnerability to sin and your need for help.
This is exactly the attitude that God wants us to have. Pride says, “I’ve got this.” Humility says, “I know my weakness, and I need some support.” Again and again throughout Scripture, we see this humble mindset is necessary for us to come into fellowship with God.
And humbling ourselves before a brother or sister in Christ helps us stay humble before God.
Accountability Teaches Us How to Repent
“If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive our sins.” (1 John 1:9)
Confession, saying you’re sorry, admitting you’re wrong—these all speak to a fundamental part of the Christian experience: repentance. The Bible teaches that we can’t approach God unless we’re willing to repent from our sins.
That means both taking responsibility for our sin and turning away from it. Ultimately, God is the one to whom we must confess our sins (Psalm 51:4). However, when we confess our sins to one another, it gives us a more tangible experience of repentance. That’s why James 5:16 tells us to confess our sins to one another.
Accountability helps us experience authentic repentance, and this draws us closer to God.
Accountability Helps Us Receive Grace
“But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God.” (Romans 15:15)
The Apostle Paul is explaining to the Roman church why he’s trying to hold them accountable through his letter. It’s because of God’s grace. Accountability is one person who has received grace extending that grace to another person.
And this means effective accountability is always gracious. That is to say, it follows the teaching of Galatians 6:1, “If anyone is caught in some trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness.”
When you have experience of being “restored in a spirit of gentleness,” you realize this is God’s grace in action. God’s character is demonstrated through this kind of accountability, and we see it in action.
Accountability is one of the ways we receive God’s grace.
Accountability Lets Us Experience Love
“But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into him who is the head —Christ.” Ephesians 4:15
One thing I’ve learned over the years, exercising accountability according to the Bible is an exercise in love. That’s true whether you’re being held accountable or holding someone else accountable.
Jesus said, “If you love me, obey me” (John 14:15). Accountability helps us love Jesus by obeying him. Accountability helps us love others by speaking the truth in love, and seeking what’s best for them. And if you’ve received loving accountability from someone else, that is God’s love being directed to you.
In both cases, both giving and receiving, we experience God’s love manifested in the body of Christ.
Accountability Helps Us Reflect God’s Image
“…and to put on the new self, the one created according to God’s likeness in righteousness and purity of the truth” (Ephesians 4:24)
Genesis 1:27 makes the incredible statement that God created humanity in his own image. I believe living in accountability helps us live out our identity as image bearers of God. How so? It does this in at least two different ways.
First, accountability underscores that we are communal beings, like God himself. Christians affirm that God is three in one—a built-in community of Father, Son, and Spirit. As such, He reflects the idea of accountability in His own being. So Jesus can say in John 6:38, “I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me.” He’s essentially saying, “I’m accountable for my actions here.”
Second, accountability helps us reflect God’s image by making us holy. Ephesians 4:24 tells us that holiness is part of God’s image in us. And when we practice accountability according to the Bible’s teaching, it leads us on the path of holiness.
How about you? Has accountability deepened your walk with God in any of these ways? Are there other ways that accountability might draw a Christian into closer relationship with God?
Let us know in the comments.
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