Accountability in the Body of Christ

THE discipline of a Corinthian believer (2 Corinthians 2:6) points to one of the important functions of the body of Christ, to hold its members accountable for how they conduct their lives. In the case mentioned here, the censure of the church caused the offender to repent and change his ways, restoring his spiritual life and bringing joy to the church.

Accountability is easy to talk about but difficult to practice. No one likes to be judged by others. In modern society it’s especially easy to feel that one’s personal life is no one else’s business. But a study of Scripture reveals a number of important principles about accountability:

1. As believers, we are accountable not only for our actions, but also for our attitudes. In the performance-oriented work world, evaluations tend to measure results alone, higher sales, greater cost control, more clients served. Everything is quantitative. But God is interested in our innermost heart. He looks at the quality of our character. As God told Samuel, “The Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).
2. Accountability depends on trust. To hold ourselves accountable to others is to trust their judgment and to believe that they are committed to the same truths and values that we are. It also helps if we can sense that they have our best interests at heart. That’s why Paul pleaded with the Corinthians to forsake their divisions and “be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment” (1 Corinthians 1:10). Without that unity, they would never submit to each other.
3. Accountability is directly related to the principle of submission. Every person must struggle with the natural tendency toward rebellion against God. Accountability involves allowing others to enter into that struggle with us. But that means that sometimes we must defer to the judgment or counsel of another, especially when they challenge us with clear-cut Scriptural truth or the wisdom of personal experience. Paul told the Ephesians that part of living in the will of the Lord involves “submitting to one another in the fear of God” (Ephesians 5:21).

It’s not surprising that participation in the body of Christ would involve accountability, because all of us experience accountability in many other areas of life. For example, the government holds us accountable for obeying the law and paying taxes. Likewise, government officials are accountable to the public for their decisions. Employees are accountable to the boss for their work. Likewise, corporate officers are accountable to stockholders for quarterly financial results. In short, accountability touches us at home, at work, at church, and even at play.

But our attitudes toward accountability in general ultimately reflect our attitude toward accountability to God. If we are rebellious toward the One who created us and loves us most, how will we be able to submit to others?

Courtesy of Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.