WHO AM I ACCOUNTABLE TO?

WHO AM I ACCOUNTABLE TO?

Romans 14:12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

I heard a remarkable sermon recently about accountability that really stuck with me. So many of us tend to think we are only accountable to ourselves and to no one else. How many of us have said “it’s my life, I can do what I want with it.” Or, “it’s my body, I can do what I want with it.” Yet, is that really true? Don’t my actions or activity, or inactivity affect everyone else around me?

Yes, of course they do! No man is an island only accountable to himself. Every step I take, every dollar I spend and every decision I make affects other people. My decisions or even indecision’s shout to all those within hearing who I am and who I am accountable to. You see, we really are ambassadors of the King of Kings. If we are His, then we represent His crown. In so many parables, Jesus told us that we will be judged by what we say, what we do and how we live our lives before other people.

1 Peter 4:5 Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.

Whether we know it or not, we will all (sinner and saint) stand before God and give an account of our lives to Him. When I sin, I sin against God. I am convicted in my heart, that it was my sins that placed Jesus on the cross. It is my iniquity that caused Him to have to suffer so terribly through the scourging He endured. We are accountable to God – not the reverse! God does not owe us an explanation nor is He accountable to us. When we are tempted to do that which we should not, and we succumb to that temptation we sin against the High Holy One of Israel. When Joseph refused to lie with Potiphar’s wife, he said he could not sin so great a sin against God!

Genesis 39:9 There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?

Joseph knew who he was accountable to. Our lives are not lived in some vacuum. We are not sole proprietors of our own existence. David’s great sin with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah was born of idleness and fueled by lust. David would have continued on in his sin had it not been for a very courageous prophet named Nathan who confronted David with his sin. David’s lament in Psalm 51 always struck me as odd until I considered David’s accountability:

Psalms 51:4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.

When we accept and acknowledge that we are accountable to God, it removes another row from the wall that separates us from God. This acceptance of our accountability also helps us to walk a little cleaner and a little holier than when we are only accountable to ourselves. It removes another layer of deception from us so we can be real with God about everything. We don’t have to play religion if we are accountable to God for every action, every idle word and every thought we entertain. If I am accountable to God, it is easier to love God as I should and to love my neighbor as much as I love myself. When I am accountable to myself – I have placed myself on the throne. When I am accountable to God – I have placed Him on the throne.

So, who are you accountable to?

Father, please help us to come to a full understanding that we are indeed accountable to you for every deed we perform, every word we speak and every thought we entertain or allow to take up residence in our minds. Help us to drop the facade and nail the deception that we are only accountable to ourselves to the cross – where it belongs. Help us to enter into a close and intimate relationship with Jesus where He is truly our Lord and Master as well as our Savior. Please help us stop playing religion and stop trying to show others how spiritual we are as we enter in to an open, honest and loving relationship with you. Help us oh Lord to keep you on the throne of our hearts so we can overcome the wiles and temptations of this world. In the name of Jesus, the Anointed One I pray. Amen