ACCOUNTABILITY - is the biblical principle that we are answerable to our Maker for our thoughts, words, and deeds. The Bible plainly teaches that
the whole world is accountable to God
Romans 3:19 "Now we know that what things so ever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God."
Man cannot attain righteousness by the Mosaic Law. It is as if mankind in desperation grabbed for the Law as the proverbial straw when drowning. The Law will not lift man up. It does the opposite. To hold onto the Law is like a man jumping out of an airplane, and instead of taking a parachute, he takes a sack of cement with him.
The Law will pull a person down.
It condemns man. It is a ministration of death.
Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."
This means we cannot experience God’s Grace until we first
see ourselves as sinners who are without excuse.
Christians are accountable to God individually
Romans 14:12 "So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God."
We today need to recognize that we have to give account of ourselves to Him.
and corporately as well,
Ephesians 4:25 "Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another."
God says that we are to "speak every man truth" is the injunction that leads all the rest. When we are in Christ who is The Truth we speak the truth for we have put off the old old man in the crucifixion of Christ, the lying tongue and deceitful heart were put on the cross. One of the reasons our Lord Jesus had to die for us was because you and I are liars. Now that we have been born-from-above we are to always speak the truth.
All who trust Christ Jesus as their Savior are forgiven for the penalty of their sins. They also receive the strength to fight the presence of sin in their lives
Galatians 5:16–26 "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another."
Thus, our accountability is matched by God’s grace and Forgiveness.
God’s forgiveness of us demands us to forgive others, because grace brings responsibility and obligation
Matthew 18:23-35 "Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses."
Our Lord Jesus Christ placed no limits on the extent to which believers in Him are to forgive others
Matthew 18:22 "Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven."
Luke 17:4 "And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him."
A forgiving spirit shows we are a follower of Christ
Matthew 5:43-48 "Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."
To be forgiven is to be identified with Christ in His crucifixion and resurrection.
Those who are forgiven sin’s penalty also die to its controlling power in their lives
Romans 6:1-23 "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over Him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
Sin deserves divine punishment because it is a violation of God’s holy character
Genesis 2:17 "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."
Death means separation and Adam was separated from God spiritually the day he ate, we can be sure of that.
Romans 1:18-32 "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them."
1 Peter 1:16 "Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy."
but His pardon is gracious
Romans 5:6 "For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
In order for God to forgive sin,
two conditions are necessary.
A life must be taken as a substitute for that of the sinner
Leviticus 17:11 "For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul."
Hebrews 9:22 "And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission."
and the sinner must come to God’s sacrifice in a spirit of repentance and faith
Mark 1:4 "John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins."
John was preparing them for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ into the world. Our Lord Jesus is the One who remits sins.
Acts 10:43 "To Him give all the prophets witness, that through His Name whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of sins."
Here is the gospel: Jesus Christ died, He has risen, and whoever believes in Him shall receive remission of sins. If we do not tell people that message, we are not telling them the gospel.
James 5:15 "And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall he forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may he healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."
We are to confess our sins to God but our faults one to another. If I have perhaps injured you or you me we ought to confess that to each other. But our sin we are to confess the Lord because He and He alone is able to forgive us for he paid the penalty for that sin we committed. You and I cannot forgive sin which is against God and when our sin hurts one of His dear children we sin against Him and therefore we must go to Him and tell Him exactly what we did and He will see in we are truly sorry for that sin and He will restore us to fellowship with Himself and the one we have wronged.
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).
You and I cannot forgive sins; neither can any clergyman forgive sins -
only God can do that.
The basis of forgiveness is not legal, but gracious. This is not a command under law but is on the basis of the grace of God exhibited in our forgiveness because Christ died for us.
We are to forgive because we have been forgiven.
It is not that we forgive in order to get forgiveness.
Notice the contrast:
Christ stated the legal grounds for forgiveness in the Sermon on the Mount when He said,
"For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" (Matthew 6:14–15).
In Ephesians 4:31-32 we are told to forgive on the basis of the grace of God which He exhibited in our forgiveness for Christ’s sake, because Christ died for us.
"Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you."
This is quite wonderful!
We are told in Colossians 3:12 to put on
"Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering."
The elect of God are clothed in the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The garment is actually the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
We cannot produce them in our lives. The minute we think about the wonderful position that we have in Christ and the high calling we have in Him, we have to recognize
as we look at ourselves we are impotent.
We are weak and powerless, unable to
"put on" these fruits.
We are in the same position as the bride in the Song of Solomon. She had been kissed with the kiss of peace. Peace has been made with God. He has kissed us, my friend, and told us that our sins are forgiven us in Christ.
How wonderful that is!
But as the children of God we still sin. Then we need to remember the boy who got away from his father and his home, who lived in sin and wasted his fortune in riotous living. When he came back home, his father saw him afar off and ran and fell on his neck.
What did he do?
He kissed his son.
That is the kiss of pardon, the kiss of forgiveness which God gives to His children.
We are in the position of the bride who says in the Song of Solomon,
Draw me, draw me" (see Song of Solomon 1:4).
We are not able to attain to this wonderful position that we have in Christ. We cannot do it ourselves. So we find ourselves cast upon Him.
This is where the Spirit of God moves in and enables us to walk in the Spirit.
Bowels of mercies means "a heart of compassion."
How heartless this world is today.
How indifferent and mechanical it has become!
We as believers should have a heart of compassion in our relationships with those around us.
Kindness is a word that Paul uses that carries with it the thought of being "profitable."
It means to be helpful to others.
There is another Greek word for kindness that has an element of sternness in it. We can be kind and still be stern, as when we tell a person to "not do something or to do something right now"
we mean to be stern for their own good.
But there is the kindness that means gentleness.
Humbleness is "meekness" and meekness does not mean weakness.
Meekness - the emphasis is meekness of spirit.
Longsuffering means "long-burning" - it burns a long time.
We should not make snap judgments.
Quarrel actually is "complaint."
Paul is including situations where there is blame involved and the complaint is justified.
What are we to do in such circumstances?
"Even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye."
This does not mean that we are to become a doormat.
But it does mean that when we have a complaint, we are to go to the person and try to work out the matter.
There are always going to be some people with whom we cannot work things out because they refuse to acknowledge the truth - they are deceivers.
Christ is the witness at every situation and we are to stand girt about with truth for Christ is the truth and He will one day settle every single account in truth.
"For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world" (1 Corinthians 11:30-31).
Forgiveness depends on the shed blood of Christ.
That is how valuable His blood is.
Christ Jesus alone can forgive us because He paid
the penalty for our sins.
This is the only way that we can have forgiveness for our sins.
Our Lord Jesus Christ said to His disciples,
"… Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His Name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem" (Luke 24:46–47).
Apostle Paul says the same thing in
Colossians 1:14 "In whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins."
When our Lord Jesus met Paul on the Damascus road, He told him to go to the Gentiles,
" ... to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me" (Acts 26:18).
The shedding of the blood of Christ and His death on the cross is the foundation for forgiveness
God cannot forgive until the penalty has been paid.
We who believe in Christ are in Him and we can only forgive others because we are in Him because He has already paid the penalty for their sin.
Christ bought the church that He might make it fair.
He bought it with His own blood.
He paid the penalty for our sin.
God has redeemed us according to the riches of His grace. God is rich in grace, and He is willing to give according to His riches of grace.
We can have forgiveness because He paid the price.
We are to respond to Him out of genuine love for Him.
That is the basis on which we are are to serve Him.
"If ye love Me, keep My Commandments" (John 14:15).
I give unto you,
That ye love one another as I have loved you,
That you love one another as I have loved you.
By this shall all men know that you are My disciples,
If you have love one for another,
By this shall all men know that you are My disciples,
If you have love one for another.
Special Thanks: Losinda.
Amen!
Reply to Caryl@cherith.co.za.
THIS PAGE UPDATED: 27-8-2010