How to Keep Other Christians Accountable for Sin| Transformed4More.com| Ministry for Teenage Girls| Truth| Christianity

In my last post, I discussed why it’s OK to keep other Christians accountable when it comes to sin. I broke down that in our modern Christian culture it has somehow become taboo to “call each other out” for sin and if we don’t do it, we aren’t helping each other grow spiritually.

Since I said we should do it, I wanted to also share how to do it. The following scriptures explain how to do this process effectively.

Remember, this process should be entered into prayerfully and should also only be done with someone you already have an established positive relationship with. The other person needs to already know you have a sincere heart and a genuine concern for his/her well being.

So, here we go…

Speak the Truth in Love

The first step of accountability is to speak the truth in love. Love should be your motivation behind this process. You love God and know that not keeping his commands will lead to heartache and regret. You love your friend and do not want to see sin destroy his/her life.

Ephesians 4:15-16 states, “Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”

Before my college experience, which you can read about here, my attitude on accountability would not have been in love; it would have been in superiority. If are close with someone who claims to be a Christian and you see them in sin, ask yourself why you want to point it out to them. Is it to help them grow in their walk and keep them out of sin, or to make you feel superior because you think you’re better?

Do Not Judge…?

Let’s take another look at Matthew 7: 1-2, which I mentioned in the previous post, “(1) Do not judge, or you too will be judged. (2) For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

There are two points of clarification that need to be made about these two verses:

To “judge” has a negative word association in our culture, but it simply means, “to form an opinion or conclusion about.” We should be forming all of our opinions in alignment with what God’s word says. When we “judge” a friend, which will happen naturally by simply paying attention and caring about them, we should be using a biblical standard and when we conclude, (after seeking God) that our friend is in trouble, we need to help them.

2. Some people also take this verse to mean that if we don’t judge other Christians that we somehow will escape
God’s judgement, but this is not the case.

2 Corinthians 5:10 states, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” In the end, we will all be judged. There is no getting out of it. This verse in actuality is a warning on how to judge and this is explained in verse two. If we judge others to feel superior, God will judge us that way. If we judge them in love to help them on the path of righteousness, we will be judged in a similar manner by God.

How would you rather God judge you?

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How to Keep Someone Accountable

Matthew 18:15-17 provides the way to keep one another accountable. Remember that we are talking about Christians being accountable to other Christians.

“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.”

Here’s the breakdown of these verses:

Start by telling the person with just the two of you. In an attitude of love, explain what you see happening and ask if they see it too.

If they refuse to see, then ask a few people to join you who also care for the person that have seen the behavior as well. This way the person will know you’re not just making it up.

Many times, it will not get to the third step which is to tell the church. If the person doesn’t listen after the first two steps, enlist the help of a pastor or youth pastor.

If all of these measures fail, God allows us to no longer carry the burden of making the person see. He can find another way to reach the person even if it isn’t through you.

As a final step, never stop praying that the person’s eyes will be opened even if they do not listen to you.

In Closing

I am passionate about Christians keeping other Christians accountable because it truly changed my life in college, and I am forever grateful. It has helped me to immensely grow in my faith and caused me to approach people in a more loving way. I can see how much more effective I am in ministry because of this incident, and I think we could be more effective as the body of Christ if we were not afraid to hold one another accountable.

I want to leave you with two questions…

Are you trying to help keep your Christian brothers/sisters accountable for open sin in their life in a loving and God honoring way?

This is no easy task, but it is necessary to help strengthen each other and the church.

Do you have open sin in your life you know needs to be dealt with?

Sin is serious. It separates us from God, and Jesus DIED ON A CROSS IN AGONY to pay for it. Please repent, ask God for forgiveness, and walk in righteousness.

Thank you so much for reading. Below are a few other posts of interest…

Here is the link to the previous post:

Why it’s OK for Christians to “call each other out” for Sin

The following vlog may also interest you:

Three Reasons it’s Vital to have an Accountability Partner

Also, I cover the topics of sin, salvation, the Christian mission, and more the book God’s Not Gray: Biblical Truth in a Society of Blurred Lines. Click below to find out more!