How Does the Bible Hold Us Accountable?
Christians sometimes talk about “holding one another accountable.”
There is certainly a place for Christians to encourage, correct, and pray for one another.
But perhaps we should begin one step earlier.
What holds all of us accountable?
The answer is God's Word.
Every time we seriously study the Bible, we place our lives alongside what God has said.
The question is no longer simply:
“Do I understand this passage?”
It becomes:
“Does my life match this passage?”
The Bible Is a Mirror
James gives us a powerful picture of what happens when we hear God's Word.
“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”
— James 1:22
He compares God's Word to a mirror.
A person looks into the mirror and sees himself. But if he walks away and immediately forgets what he saw, looking into the mirror accomplished very little.
Bible study can work the same way.
We can study a passage carefully.
We can understand the history.
We can explain what the words mean.
We can have a good discussion.
And then we can go home unchanged.
James says we have missed the point.
Every Bible Study Should Eventually Turn the Question Toward Me
Good Bible study begins by asking:
“What did the biblical writer mean?”
We should never skip that question.
But we shouldn't stop there.
Once we understand what the passage says, another question follows:
“What does this require of me?”
Not:
“Who else needs to hear this?”
But:
“Where does my life need to change because I have heard this?”
Paul said:
“Each one should test their own actions.”
— Galatians 6:4
That is personal accountability.
God's Word Examines More Than Our Actions
Sometimes we think obedience is simply about what we do.
Scripture goes deeper.
“For the word of God is alive and active... it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”
— Hebrews 4:12
God's Word examines what I do.
But it also examines what I think.
It examines my motives.
My attitudes.
My words.
My treatment of other people.
Even the things nobody else knows about me.
So after studying Scripture, I should be asking:
Am I thinking the way God wants me to think?
Am I saying what God wants me to say?
Am I using words in a way that honors Him?
Am I treating people the way He tells me to treat them?
Am I actually doing what He tells me to do?
Those are accountability questions.
What Happened to Last Week's Lesson?
There is another question we probably do not ask often enough.
What happened to the Scripture we studied last week?
Suppose we studied a passage about controlling our speech.
We understood it.
We discussed it.
We agreed with it.
Then we went home.
What happened during the following week?
Did I speak differently to my wife or husband?
Did I control my temper?
Did I repeat something I should have kept to myself?
Did I use words that encouraged someone—or words that hurt?
Did the passage actually change anything?
That may tell us more about the success of the Bible study than how much information we remembered.
Bring Last Week's Scripture Into This Week's Study
Perhaps one of the most useful questions at the beginning of any Bible study would be:
“Did anything from last week's passage stay with you during the week?”
And then:
“Did it show you something you need to work on?”
“Did you have an opportunity to put it into practice?”
“Is there something connected with it that you would like us to pray about?”
That doesn't require a separate accountability program.
It simply refuses to leave last week's Scripture behind.
We studied it.
Then we lived with it.
Now we come back and ask what it did in us.
The Same Should Be True of Sermons
A sermon should not merely give us something interesting to think about on Sunday.
If the sermon faithfully explains God's Word, that Word should follow us home.
What did I hear Sunday that needs to affect Monday?
And Tuesday?
And Wednesday?
What did the passage tell me about how I speak to people?
How I handle money?
How I respond when someone irritates me?
How I treat my family?
What I watch?
What I think about?
What I do when nobody is watching?
The real test of a sermon is not simply:
“Was that a good sermon?”
A better question may be:
“What am I going to do because God's Word said this?”
Accountability Is Not Mainly Watching Someone Else
This changes the way we think about accountability.
Biblical accountability does not begin with:
“I'm going to watch you.”
It begins with:
“God's Word is examining me.”
Jesus warned us about becoming experts at identifying someone else's problems while overlooking our own.
“First take the plank out of your own eye.”
— Matthew 7:5
That does not mean Christians never correct one another.
Galatians 6:1 tells us to restore someone caught in sin.
But even there Paul immediately says:
“Watch yourselves.”
Even while helping someone else, I am still examining myself.
Then We Help One Another
Once God's Word has done its work in each of us, Christian fellowship becomes tremendously valuable.
We can say:
“This is something I am struggling with.”
“Would you pray for me?”
“Would you help me with this?”
James says:
“Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other.”
— James 5:16
Hebrews says:
“Encourage one another daily.”
— Hebrews 3:13
And Paul says:
“Encourage one another and build each other up.”
— 1 Thessalonians 5:11
Now accountability isn't one Christian supervising another.
We are helping one another respond faithfully to what God has said.
Study. Examine. Apply. Live.
Perhaps every Bible study could follow this simple pattern:
What does the text say?
What did the writer mean?
What does it reveal about God?
What does it reveal about me?
Where do my thoughts, words, attitudes, or actions fail to match it?
What needs to change?
How can others pray for or encourage me as I make that change?
Then comes the most important part:
Go live it.
And when we meet again, we don't simply forget that passage and start another one.
We can ask:
“How did last week's Word affect this week's life?”
The Bottom Line
Bible study is not complete when we understand the text.
Understanding is necessary.
But God gave us His Word to change us.
James says:
“Do not merely listen to the word... Do what it says.”
So perhaps the most important accountability question is not:
“Who is holding me accountable?”
It is:
“I have heard what God said. What am I doing about it?”
And perhaps that is a question we should ask after every Bible study, every sermon, and every day we spend in God's Word.