In this insightful episode of the InTouch Podcast, Charles Stanley explores the profound concept of accountability as a cornerstone for spiritual growth. Delving into scripture, he discusses how true freedom in Christ is balanced with the responsibility to live a life that honors God. Listeners will hear stories of how neglecting accountability can lead to spiritual decay, supported by biblical narratives that bring lessons from history alive.
Welcome to the InTouch Podcast with Charles Stanley for Monday, December 29th. Did you know that sometimes sharing your struggles can help you overcome temptation? If that sounds a bit uncomfortable, stay with us. Scripture shows that accountability is essential for spiritual growth.
SPEAKER 01 :
The Scripture says we are accountable to God for our actions in this life. We’re accountable to God for the resources we have. We’re accountable to God for the privileges and the awesome, wonderful opportunity to live in this country as God has provided for us. Now, what I want to talk about in this message is this whole idea of accountability. And when it comes to freedom, I think about what Paul said in Galatians chapter five for a moment. And he put it this way. He said in the first verse of this fifth chapter, it was for freedom that God set us free. Therefore, keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. Then he goes right to the thirteenth verse and he says, watch. He says, for you were called to freedom, that is to live a life for freedom in Christ. Do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another, which was what he was saying is this. While we are forgiven children of God, that name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. We are heaven bound one of these days. We have a responsibility. He says, don’t turn that freedom into the flesh. But he says, you’re responsible. I had a friend of mine who was a fellow pastor, and he believed just like I believed. And somewhere along the way, somebody convinced him that because he was free in Christ Jesus, that there’s certain things that he could do. And I watched my friend, who was theologically as correct as a guy could be, who was an excellent pastor, but somewhere along the way, somebody convinced him that freedom in Christ meant that you could just do most anything you wanted to do. And I warned him and warned him and warned him. I said, look, I’m telling you, this is going to come back to haunt you because if you slip over on this side just a little bit, you’re going to keep going out of the ministry. Wonderful servant of God out of the ministry because he did exactly what the Apostle Paul warned us not to do. We are accountable to God for our freedom. And oftentimes people do not recognize that. And so when I look at that, I want us to go to the 25th chapter of Matthew, if you will. And here is a passage of Scripture that a lot of people know maybe not by heart, but they’re familiar with it, so I want us to read it. Because this is all about accountability. That’s what I want to talk about is the call to accountability. Now, accountability is sort of like consequences. That is, people don’t like consequences. They don’t want to talk about consequences, and people don’t like talking about accountability. Because our idea of freedom is you do what you want to do, when you want to do it, how you want to do it. But sometimes they also add consequences. to any person you want to do it. And you and I know that’s not accountability. So, listen to what Jesus said. He says in this fourteenth verse, the twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew, for it is just like a man about to go on a journey who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. to the one He gave five talents. Now, remember this. In this particular passage of Scripture, He’s talking about finances, about money, and so forth. But it could be your spiritual gifts, your talents, your skills, your abilities that God has given you. And what He’s saying is here, this is all about accountability. And so, he says, to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, each according to his own ability, and he went on this journey. Now, notice that. He gave to them according to their ability. That’s what God has done for your life and my life. He gives and provides and gives us privileges and opportunities and work to do according to the ability that we have, and He knows that perfectly. Then he says, immediately the one who had received five talents went and traded with them and gained five more talents. In the same manner, the one who had received the two talents gained two more. But the one who had received the one talent went away, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money. Now, after a long time, the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I’ve gained five talents more. You entrusted me with five. Then he said to him, Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things. Now I’m going to put you in charge of many. Enter into the joy of the master. Also the one who had received the two talents came up and said, Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I’ve gained two more talents. His master said to him, Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things. I’ll put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master.” And the one who had received the one talent came up and said, Master, now listen to his response. I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed, as if to accuse him as an excuse. And I was afraid. And I went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours. But his master answered and said to him, “‘You wicked, lazy slave! You knew that I’ll reap where I did not sow, and gather where I scattered no seed. Then you ought to put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest.'” Therefore take away the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Now, this is a parable and that does not mean that if a person doesn’t live up to God’s expectation of their use of their skills and talents and abilities that they go into hell. That’s not what that means. The whole idea is about accountability. It’s about something that all of us have to deal with because all of us are accountable. Now, let’s just define what is accountability. Accountability in essence is responsibility. It’s sort of like a check and balance system in our life that really protects us from harm that we would do to ourselves or harm, for example, that someone else will do. So, accountability in its very essence is a protective measure. It’s a way of life that God has given to all of us for many, many reasons. Some of them we will talk about here. And what it means is simply this. We live out this accountability by being open and free and by being willing to tell the truth and to share with someone else what’s going on in our life. And to be willing, listen, not only an encourager to other people, but that other people would encourage us. And not only that. That when we need to be brought to accountability about something, and something needs to change in our life, that that is exactly what happened. And all of us have been there. We’ve all been in situations and circumstances where we may have said something, it did something that we didn’t, we knew that it was not exactly right. Then what happens? Somebody brings us to accountability. So, here’s what I want you to see. There’s nothing wrong with accountability. Accountability is a gift. Accountability is the way God, one of the ways He chooses to protect us from ourselves because, remember what Paul said to the Galatians. He said, now, don’t slip back into this slavery that you’re in. And then he said, now, you’re free, but don’t turn your freedom by being ungrateful. unaccountable, forgetting that you’re accountable to God into the flesh, that is, to slip over into a life of sin. So, while we are free in many ways, we are accountable, and that accountability naturally is of God. Now, so when I think about that, and I think about it in this light, The truth is, accountability is the principle of the Word of God. Well, all through the Old Testament, you’ll think about how the prophets came upon the scene. And in one occasion, Samuel, who was the prophet when Saul was the king, and Samuel had given him clear instructions. You are not to offer sacrifices. That is a responsibility given strictly to the prophet. And you wait before you go to battle, you wait before you offer sacrifice till I get there.” Well, he waited a pretty good while and he thought the day was already over, maybe he got impatient. And so, he decides, I’ll offer the sacrifice. When the prophet came, he had to give an account. And his giving of account was that he violated the very clear message of the prophet. And so what happened was the day of accountability came that very day and the result was that he lost his kingdom. Samuel said, you’ve lost your kingdom. You disobeyed what I told you. Do you remember when Bathsheba and David got together? David knew better, and yet what happens? He violated the law of God. He should have been out with his soldiers in battle. And Nathan the prophet shows up. And what was Nathan’s responsibility? To bring him to accountability for his actions. All through the Scripture, God is bringing man to accountability. He’s still bringing people to accountability today. Now, you and I may see some people doing some things who have great notoriety or less than. And we think, well, I don’t see any accountability. Oh, listen, it’s coming. There’s no such thing as escaping the accountability of God. He says, every knee shall bow, every tongue shall confess. There’s a coming a day of judgment when all of us, as He says, will give an account of our life to Him. And so, when you look at the Scripture, for example, look at Jesus and Peter. Now, on one occasion Jesus said to Peter, Peter, your name is the Rock. A big compliment to Peter. encouraging him to be strong and to follow him. Next thing you know, what is he saying to Peter? Peter, you’re acting just like the devil. Get behind me. Now, that’s real accountability. You encourage and then you bring to confrontation when something is not right. And Jesus could have said, you’re the rock. That’s okay. You know, you get by with it. No. You don’t want your children to take advantage of you because you know what will happen ultimately if they don’t come to accountability for you and with you, you know that they’re going to drift further and further away, violate the very simple principles that you’ve tried to teach them as they’ve been growing up in life. And so, when you think about the importance of accountability, and I think about the fact that accountability is just good stewardship. Whatever you and I do, if we know that someone’s holding us accountable, we’re going to do our best. I think you ought to at least. You would do your best if you are held accountable and they’re expecting the best of you. And what happens is the very idea of accountability sometimes is very motivating. And let me give you an example. My grandson was enrolling in the ROTC, the Army ROTC, and so his mother wrote this beautiful story of her last day before he went to school, and the very day he went to school. I called him the night before he was to take this test to get into the ROTC, and it was pretty strenuous. And so he told me what he had to do. He had to have so many push-ups in a short period of time, so many sit-ups, and he had to run two miles in a certain length of time. So that night I called him and I said, now, listen, tomorrow, what time are you running? He said, I’m running at 7 o’clock my time, 8 o’clock your time. I said, now, Gimps is going to be praying for you. I’m going to be praying for you starting at 7 o’clock your time, and I’m going to pray for you long enough that I know that you’ve already done all that. So remember, Gimps is praying while you’re sitting up, pushing up, and running. So he said, okay, Gimps, I appreciate that. Now, here’s the most important thing. Not only did he do far more push-ups than was expected, far more sit-ups quicker than expected, he outran everybody. Now, here’s, but here’s the issue. I told him, I said, now look, tomorrow after that’s over, I want you to call me. I want you to call me. If I’m going to be praying, you call me and tell me what happened. So, accountability is coming the next day. He called me back. He said, Gimps, tell me what happened. He said, Gimps, I was running and He said, and I thought about you praying for me. And He said, I just lunged, Father. He said, I just had this burst of energy when I thought about you praying for me. He was motivated. And he was motivated because he loved me, one thing. And secondly, of course, he wanted to do his best. But just to know that, you know what, shortly he had to call me and give an account. Accountability is a wonderful thing. If I’d have just said to him, well, I’m going to be thinking about you tomorrow while you’re running. That’s one thing. But he knows me well enough to know that if I told him I’m going to be praying, I’m going to be talking to God and calling your name while you’re running and sitting and pushing up, it made a difference. He said, I felt this burst of energy when I realized that you were praying for me. And I think about how the motivation comes. And also you think about this, that accountability, what does it do for us? It gives us an opportunity to get promoted. In other words, wherever you’re working and whatever you’re doing, if you are accountable, trustworthy, reliable, dependable, nobody’s having to look over your shoulder because they gave you a task, they know it’s going to get done. I’ve got some staff members like that. If I ask them about something, I don’t have to ask them anything else. I know that it’ll be done. It’ll be done to the very best of their ability. That’s a motivating factor when you know that you’re accountable to someone. Now, think about this. What could you build? Think about bridges and big high rises and so forth. There’s no way in the world to build a building or do any kind of big construction without accountability. If the plumber doesn’t do his part, the electrician doesn’t do his part, and the drywall man doesn’t, and you could just go down the list. Everybody has a responsibility and everybody has accountability. I don’t want to cross any bridges where there are a bunch of folks who didn’t feel very accountable and didn’t do a very good job, and neither do you. In other words, we trust these constructions to do what they’re supposed to do because these people are accountable. And in any business where you have a business and people are not accountable, then you’ve got a problem. And when people are not accountable, it’s bad news for everybody. Accountability is a principle of the Word of God. It’s a principle of the law of God. And we just read this passage and Jesus spent all that time saying that a man or a woman is accountable for what they do. And they’re accountable for what they have. Watch this, everybody is not equally accountable as far as what they achieve. People, some people are more gifted, as he says, to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one. God did not judge the one talented man by the five talented man. He judged him on the basis of what he, watch this, of what he did with what he was entrusted with. And that’s the way God judges us. He doesn’t mean that all of us have to excel and to be better than someone else. We are just accountable to doing as I say to you, look your best, do your best, be your best. That’s all we’re accountable for. And so it’s very motivating to other people when we’re accountable. And likewise, what we’re doing in accountability is we’re sharing our lives with people. And when we take it out of the business world and just personally, all of you have friends. And I wonder how many of you have friends that you’re accountable to?
SPEAKER 1 :
Shh.
SPEAKER 01 :
How many of you have friends that you’re accountable to? People say, I don’t want to be accountable to anybody. Then you’re walking on dangerous ground. We all need to be accountable. Now, you’ve got to be willing to be accountable. In other words, you can’t be one-sided and say, okay, now, if I see something going on in your life, I’m going to tell you. But since I’m the pastor, you can’t tell me that. No, you can’t do that. We are all accountable to each other. And when a person has no one to be accountable to, they are automatically in danger. We live in a world where the devil works day and night, where Satan is there, and where temptation is lurking everywhere, and you and I need to be accountable. Accountability is a protection. And this is why there are men, for example, who are in accountability groups, women in accountability groups. And God intends for men to be accountable to men, women to be accountable to women. You say, well, I’d rather be accountable to some woman. Well, forget it. Because you are accountable to your wife if you’re married. She’s accountable to you. And the two of you are accountable to each other. You say, well, I’m not having some woman telling me what to do. Then you shouldn’t have gotten married. For the simple reason, for the simple reason God, God set up accountability for marriage. He set up accountability for families. Children are accountable to their parents. If they rebel against them, then God’s going to hold them responsible. There’s no such thing as being unaccountable to anybody. And you call the opposite of accountability rebellion. I don’t want to be accountable to anybody. But you are. And, for example, you’re accountable to the government. And most of you, I certainly hope all of you are accountable at this point. For example, you’re accountable to pay your taxes. I didn’t say you liked it. I said we are accountable. That is, we have to be honest and above board and be truthful about it. You’re accountable to God, for example, about your tithe. Nobody else may know how much you give, but somebody says, well, you know, the truth is that I just don’t know how much I made last year. Oh, well, I can help you. Just let me see your tax return and see what you put down at the bottom line and we’ll just take ten percent of that and I can answer your question. You see, you are accountable. We’re all accountable. We’re accountable to the government, for example, accountable to each other. And accountability is a godly principle. It is always for our protection, our motivation, our joy, our excitement, our, listen, building relationships with other people. And the bottom line is this. We all live in a world that’s full of a flesh and temptation. We all need to be accountable to somebody or somebodies. And there’s no exception. It’s a law of God. It’s a principle of Scripture. But the basic truth is, it’s just good for everybody.
SPEAKER 02 :
Thank you for listening to A Call to Accountability. This podcast is a presentation of InTouch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.
In this insightful episode of the InTouch Podcast, Charles Stanley explores the profound concept of accountability as a cornerstone for spiritual growth. Delving into scripture, he discusses how true freedom in Christ is balanced with the responsibility to live a life that honors God. Listeners will hear stories of how neglecting accountability can lead to spiritual decay, supported by biblical narratives that bring lessons from history alive.
Figure out how to have true peace through a relationship with Jesus Christ.Donate: https://store.intouch.org/donate/generalSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information….
