The Handbook of Bible ApplicationNeil S. Wilson, EditorACCOUNTABILITY (Consistency, Integrity, Responsibility)
INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTABILITYWill there be any excuses when we stand before God?
BIBLE READING: Romans 14:1-22
KEY BIBLE VERSE: So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God. (Romans 14:12 , niv)
We will appear alone before God. Each person is accountable to Christ, not to others. While the church must be uncompromising in its stand against activities expressly forbidden by Scripture (adultery, homosexuality, murder, theft), it should not create additional rules and regulations and give them equal standing with God’s law. Many times Christians base their moral judgments on opinion, personal dislikes, or cultural bias rather than on the Word of God. When they do this, they show that their own faith is weak. They do not think God is powerful enough to guide his children. When we stand before God’s court of justice (“judgment seat”), we won’t be worried about what our Christian neighbor has done (see 2 Corinthians 5:10 ).
GROUP ACCOUNTABILITYHow do individual choices affect a group of people?
BIBLE READING: Joshua 7:1-15
KEY BIBLE VERSE: Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. (Joshua 7:11 , niv)
Our actions often affect others. Why did Achan’s sin bring judgment on the entire nation? Although it was one man’s failure, God saw it as national disobedience to a national law. God needed the entire nation to be committed to the job they had agreed to do—conquer the land. Thus, when one person failed, everyone failed. Achan’s sin was not merely the act of keeping some of the booty (which was allowed in some cases), but disobedience to God’s explicit command to destroy everything connected with this city. His sin was indifference to the evil and idolatry of the city, not just a desire for money and clothes. God would not protect Israel’s army again until the sin was removed and the army returned to obeying him without reservation. If Achan’s sin went unpunished, unlimited looting could break out. The nation as a whole had to take responsibility for preventing this. God is not content with our doing what is right some of the time. He wants us to do what is right all the time. We are under his orders to rid our lives of anything that hinders our devotion to him.
BIBLE READING: Judges 6:1-16
KEY BIBLE VERSE: “But sir,” Gideon replied, “if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian.” (Judges 6:13 , niv)
Accountability means taking personal responsibility for national sin. Gideon questioned God about the problems he and his nation faced and about God’s apparent lack of help. What he didn’t acknowledge was the fact that the people had brought calamity upon themselves when they decided to disobey and neglect God. How easy it is to overlook personal accountability and blame our problems on God and others. Unfortunately this does not solve our problems. It brings us no closer to God, and it brings us to the very edge of rebellion and backsliding.
When problems come, the first place to look is within. Our first action should be confession to God for sins that may have created our problems.
