Loving Accountability

Pastor’s Pen…

Many years ago I had the opportunity to host Gary Smalley and John Trent on the radio to discuss their book The Two Sides of Love. When we think of love, we typically think of that positive, affirming, supportive element that says “I’m with you, and I care about you, and you are really special” 

But there's another side of love, one that says “I care enough about you that, if I see you involved in something that could harm you or those near you, I will speak up to you about it.” It's the kind of love described of God in Hebrews 12, which says, “Whom the Lord loves, He chastens (disciplines)….” Sometimes this is referred to as ‘tough love.’ It must be practiced the right way among believers as well. Smalley and Trent would call this the other side of love. I use the term “loving accountability.”

 “Accountability” is not a term explicitly found in Scripture. Rather it is an implicit and abstract concept that is, of course, biblical. This is obvious because of the many references to the various judgments and because of passages like Acts 17:31 and Romans 14:12. The last passage uses the English term, “give an account.” As with other doctrines like the trinity, a term not found in the Bible, but a truth which is clearly seen in Scripture, loving accountability is a vital concept for Christians to understand and practice. 

Today, we live in a time when, after fundamentally rejecting the absolutes and clear teachings of Scripture, man has sought to make God accountable to him for his comfort and pleasure. Thus, people are not only doing what is right in their own eyes, but the prevailing attitude is ‘Do your own thing. You are only accountable to yourself and your own self-fulfillment.’ This is a shift from a God-centered perspective of life to a man-centered perspective.  Yet Scripture makes it clear in many passages, including Acts 17:31 and Romans 14:12, that every human is accountable to God. In 2 Corinthians 5:10 we see that every believer will be accountable to God for how we lived. 

In this week’s Scripture, Galatians 6:1-5, we discover how loving accountability should operate among believers, especially when one is overtaken in a fault or failure.

Again let me thank all who help sanitize our facilities for services each Saturday morning in preparation for Sunday worship. Also, to those who make it possible for us to ‘live-stream’  on Facebook at 10:45 each Sunday morning, and to post each message on our website (www.fccwylie.org) each Sunday afternoon. We continue to hold our Sunday services with all safety protocols and pre-service sanitizing in place. No Sunday school yet, and the nursery is not available.  We will continue following the protocols as outlined by GA-18 guidance.  Face masks, social distancing, no physical contact. We use bulletins printed untouched by human hands, with songs, etc. printed therein, and pre-packaged communion elements. Offering plates are located at the rear, or giving can be done online at www.fccwylie.org.

 

If you still feel uncomfortable attending, you can join our live-stream on Facebook (at 10:45 am) which includes communion and the worship hymns, or the website, where the message is posted each Sunday afternoon.  We are blessed to have the technology available that allow us to still worship, and those in our church family who have the expertise to post the service online.

 

 

Now let’s examine the concept of loving accountability from Galatians 6:1-5, considering what it is, how it helps, and how it works.

 

I.               Its’ operation (v.1)

·      The situation where it is needed 

·      The participants 

·      The process “katartizw”

·      The manner in which it should be carried out

 

II.              Its’ foundation (v.2)

·      The law of Christ (John 13:34, 35)

·      Fulfilled as I help carry “overloads”

·      In a word: Encouragement  

 

III.            Preparing for its’ exercise (vs. 3-5)

·      Set aside pride and conceit 

·      Examine your own actions 

·      Fulfilll your own responsibilities 

Application: The following comes from “Marks of Maturity,” published by bible.org.      “By accountability, we are not talking about coercive tactics, the invasion of privacy, or bringing others under the weight of someone’s taboos, legalism or manipulative or dominating tactics. Rather, by accountability we mean developing relationships with other Christians that help to promote spiritual reality, honesty, obedience to God, and genuine evaluations of one’s walk and relationship with God and with others. We are talking about relationships that help believers change by the Spirit of God and the truth of the Word of God through inward spiritual conviction and faith.”

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RADIO THIS EVENING: The Coronavirus pandemic topped 13 million known infections worldwide this week—over 3 million in the USA, with 573,000 of those being fatal—over 135,000 here in our country. This weekend on Encouragement Live, molecular Biologist Dr. Tom Dooley joins host Don Hawkins this weekend to give both a scientific and a Christian perspective on COVID 19. Encouragement Live can be heard at 7:05 PM central time on American Family Radio (www.afr.net) and on theworshipchannel.org.

May His grace and peace continue to encourage you during these challenging times.

Don Hawkins, D. Min.                                                                                                                     Interim Pastor