Rev. David Holwick ZH
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
October 24, 2010
Romans 14:10-12
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Very well received, though several wanted specifics on how they could
become accountable to someone.
I. When the whole world is watching.
A. Many people were mesmerized by the ordeal of 33 Chilean miners.
It was 17 days before anyone knew they were still alive.
A handwritten note attached to a drill bit let rescuers know
they were trapped half a mile down.
As the final rescue played out, hundreds of newsmen, relatives
and wives were waiting for them.
But some of the men had more than one woman waiting for them,
women their wives did not know about.
In the end, five different miners had mistresses waiting on top.
For some of the men, the mine may have been safer than the
surface.
As it says in Numbers 32:23 - "Be ye sure, your sin will find
you out!"
B. Judgment Day may be a lot like this.
1) Every part of our lives will be laid bare.
a) Big difference: some Chilean miners got cold shoulders
from wives, but this is nothing compared to being
shut off from God for eternity. 2 Thess 1:9
2) God's forgiveness is a comfort for Christians.
a) There is no condemnation for those who are washed by
Jesus' blood.
b) Yet our works will still be assessed by him.
As Romans 14:12 says, "Each of us will give an
account of himself to God."
Even for forgiven Christians, there will be an
assessment of accomplishments - and failings.
c) There will be a difference between those who obey Jesus,
and those who do not.
C. Some Christians want to improve their assessment.
1) They sort of want their Judgment Day now, so they don't
have to have it later.
2) They practice what is known as accountability.
a) Accountability means you open yourself up to another
trusted Christian, and ask them to help you grow.
b) Genuine accountability includes confession, challenge
and encouragement.
c) The goal is to be a more consistent and holy Christian.
3) Would YOU be willing to submit to this?
II. The foundation of accountability.
A. Accountability mirrors our relationship with Christ.
1) You admit to God that your character and lifestyle matter.
2) Beyond just being saved, you want to be sanctified.
(pure and set apart for serving God)
a) It is sad how many Christians have no desire to move
beyond where they are right now.
b) The ones who are serious about God, do something
about it.
B. Charles Swindoll sees 4 qualities in people who are accountable.
1) They are vulnerable, and can admit they are wrong before
they are even confronted.
2) They are teachable and have a willingness to learn and to
be open to godly counsel.
3) They are available, able to be reached, able to be
interrupted.
4) They are honest, and committed to the truth no matter how
much it hurts. They hate what is false and phony. #1616
Psalm 141:5 says, "Let the godly strike me! It will be a
kindness! If they reprove me, it is soothing medicine.
Don't let me refuse it."
III. Accountability can take several forms.
A. Sometimes it is treated like a Weight Watchers class.
1) Before the class starts, you have to weigh in while
everyone watches.
2) They can hear if you get scolded for gaining too much
weight that week.
3) It's a big motivator!
B. Typical examples.
1) Two Christians meet once a week and challenge each other:
a) ...on how often they had devotions (ie, Bible reading).
b) ...on whether they succumbed to temptation on the
internet.
c) ...on whether they are tithing to the church. (Etc.)
2) Knowing you will be questioned by someone can be an
incentive to change your behavior.
a) 12-step groups do this all the time, with mentors.
C. Areas that many people need help in obeying.
1) Spirituality, both practices (devotions) and feelings.
2) Relationships and sex.
3) Entertainment - TV, movies, internet.
4) Substances - alcohol, pot, cigarettes.
5) Personal finances.
IV. The best accountability comes from relationships.
A. Deadly legalism can disguise itself as accountability.
1) You may do the right things, but for the wrong reasons.
a) Even the list above can end up focused on external
behavior and not your heart, where Jesus says the
real problem originates.
b) True accountability tries to get you to think and act
as God would have you think and act.
2) In some cases, accountability becomes an excuse for control.
One of our members shared how in her previous church, a
new group took over.
They challenged everyone in the congregation to get serious
about their relationship with God.
One concrete requirement - from that point on, you had to
make an appointment to meet with the finance committee.
And you had to bring your 1040 tax forms for them to look
over.
She left soon after that.
B. Accountability should function like a close friendship.
1) You care enough about each other that you want to bring out
the best.
2) Proverbs 27:17 says, "As iron sharpens iron, so one man
sharpens another."
3) It is important to be intentional.
a) You don't just hang out with each other.
b) You need to ask the hard questions.
c) Never forget the goal is genuine spirituality and growth.
C. Knowing that others are watching you, makes a difference.
It's no surprise that people are more honest when they know
that they're being watched.
But what about just reminding them of the idea of being watched,
without them actually being watched?
For years, the psychology department at the University of
Newcastle had an "honesty box" where people were supposed to
deposit payment for coffee.
There was a note saying how much they should pay.
In 2006, Melissa Bateson and colleagues decided to do a little
experiment: they placed an image above the note.
They alternated between two pictures: one week they would use a
picture of human eyes and the other week, flowers.
After 10 weeks, they plotted the amount of money received
versus drinks consumed.
To their surprise, they found that people paid nearly three
times as much for their drinks when eyes were displayed!
The eyes won every time.
If the eyes of God don't do it for you, establish an
accountability relationship with another person.
#14941
V. You need it more than you think.
A. Most Americans cringe at oversight.
1) Africa is different.
In an interview in a Christian magazine, an African pastor
said that Americans really don't want accountability.
We want freedom.
In Africa, he would pop into someone's house, unannounced,
at any time of day or night.
He wanted to see how they live.
He also noticed that Americans don't put up with that.
And in Africa, if someone in the church had premarital sex
or committed some other sin, they would be publicly
rebuked.
He said if American churches would do this, they would be
empty! [1]
2) Maybe we need some oversight. The church is drifting!
B. You need accountability where you are weak.
1) In the Bible, both Joseph and King David were sexually
tempted.
a) Joseph resisted it, even though he paid a steep price.
b) David, on the other hand, gave in and committed adultery.
1> It wasn't until the prophet Nathan confronted David
that David acknowledged his sin.
2> Nathan was acting as an accountability agent.
2) Weakness often hides in the little details.
The Titanic got six warnings of icebergs, but hit one anyway.
And the most dangerous part of the iceberg was below the
surface.
Baptist leader Bob Reccord says it's not the big stuff that
brings us down, it's the culmination of the little stuff.
#17220
C. What areas do you need to be called to task for?
1) Deal with it now, before it grows.
a) The longer things fester, the harder they are to root
out.
b) Don't make peace with your sins.
c) Honor God by turning from them, with help from others.
2) Deal with it with a friend.
a) You may already have some close friends who are
Christian.
b) Perhaps you could enhance one of those relationships
to include intentional accountability.
3) Deal with it before you have to answer to God for it.
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
[1] "A Message To US Believers: Three Christians From Other Countries
Offer Their Perspectives On the American Church," by Lesa
Engelthaler, Discipleship Journal #119, Sept/Oct 2000.
# 1616 "Four Qualities of Accountable People," by Charles R. Swindoll,
Living Above The Level Of Mediocrity, page 127.
#14941 "The Honesty Experiment," by Alex [no last name given],
<http://www.neatorama.com/2008/01/18/the-honesty-experiment/>
January 18, 2008.
#17220 "Accountability Key To Safeguarding Marriage," by Lee Weeks,
Baptist Press, http://www.baptistpress.org, June 15, 2003.
These and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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