The Need for Accountability
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Introduction
Introduction
We have come to the end of January. It is about this time that many people’s New Year’s resolutions begin to falter. This is one reason why many people have given up on making New Year’s resolutions in the first place. They are tired of the let-down when they slip up. It usually happens with a little slip here that becomes an excuse to slip up again and again.
When it comes to living the Christian life, there are some that treat it like a New Year’s resolution. They say something like, “I’m going to do this right. This time is going to be different.”
This life would be much easier if there wasn’t something called temptations. These fiery darts of the enemy come into our lives seeking to get us off track of what God is wanting to do in our lives. Sadly, we are all prone to give in to temptations at times. When we do slip up in our walk with Christ, it is important that we use one of the greatest gifts that has been given to us: repentance.
Repentance is a word that we do not hear much outside the walls of a church building. It should be a key word in our vocabulary because it is something that we all need to practice daily.
This morning, I would like to unpack a little of what repentance is truly about and how it can lead to us having the best year yet.
David’s Fall
David’s Fall
In , we read an interesting story about one of the heroes in the Bible, King David. Typically, when we think of David, we think of the brave young man who defeated the giant and became king over God’s people. This story is one of his darkest moments.
One of the things that I love about the Bible is that it does not just show when things go right. It shows everything… the good, the bad, and the ugly. While at one point David was called a “man after God’s own heart,” this story that we will look at is one that shows that anyone is capable of going astray if they do not set up the proper measures.
The story goes that during the time of the year when kings usually led their troops to the battlefields, David allowed his generals to cover it and decided to stay at the palace. While he was taking a stroll one evening on his rooftop, he happened to notice a young lady named Bathsheba bathing at another house. He could have (and should have) turned away and went on his way, but he chose to linger and lust. He would have Bathsheba brought to his palace where he would take advantage of the situation. Later on, it was revealed that Bathsheba became pregnant from the ordeal, and David knew he was in trouble.
David would concoct a plan to bring this woman’s husband home from the battlefield and give him some R & R. Uriah, the woman’s husband, wouldn’t play along because he felt guilty being at home while his brothers in arms were fighting for their lives. After many failed attempts to get Uriah to go home to his wife, David sent Uriah back to the battlefield with special orders. These special orders were actually his death sentence because they told the general to put Uriah at the fiercest spot of battle and leave him there to die.
After Uriah’s death, David brought Bathsheba into his palace and married her. He thought that he had finally covered everything up. Then, Nathan appeared with a word from God. Nathan would confront David about his sin and call him out. It was at this moment that David was finally broken over his sin.
Sometime after the confrontation of Nathan, David would do what he was really good at. He wrote a song to express his brokenness before God. We have that song today in our Bibles. It is .
In this song, David gets honest with God about his failures. We see David pleading with God for forgiveness as he owns his sin.
Be gracious to me, God, according to your faithful love; according to your abundant compassion, blot out my rebellion.
Completely wash away my guilt and cleanse me from my sin.
For I am conscious of my rebellion, and my sin is always before me.
Against you—you alone—I have sinned and done this evil in your sight. So you are right when you pass sentence; you are blameless when you judge.
Indeed, I was guilty when I was born; I was sinful when my mother conceived me.
As David found out, you can never fully have victory over your sin until you own it. It is easy to blame others for our failures, but the truth is that the guilt is ours. We make the decision to either follow God’s ways or not.
Another point that David makes in these verses is that every single sin that is committed is ultimately committed against God. Sin is the breaking of God’s commands. While we may wrong others and need to seek their forgiveness as well, it is important that we do not lose sight of the fact that when we sin, we do so against God.
When we own the fact that our sin is ours and it is done against God, we can then find the beauty of what is shared in = The one who conceals his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy.
The one who conceals his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy.
When we own our sin and the confess and turn from it, we find that God is there waiting with mercy for our situations. He does not want to hold it over our heads for eternity. He wants to remove it from our lives and replace it with His everlasting joy.
How do we do this? We see it clearly laid out in this psalm.
We come before God and ask Him to renew us ().
Then I will teach the rebellious your ways, and sinners will return to you.
Restore the joy of your salvation to me, and sustain me by giving me a willing spirit.
God, create a clean heart for me and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not banish me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
We allow God to restore us to where we need to be ().
God, create a clean heart for me and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not banish me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore the joy of your salvation to me, and sustain me by giving me a willing spirit.
We go forward in the new life He has given us sharing with others how it is available to them as well ().
Then I will teach the rebellious your ways, and sinners will return to you.
One More Thing
One More Thing
If this were not enough, God also gives us one more element to help us stand strong in the face of temptations that we face - the church.
One of the greatest works of the Body of Christ is to be there for one another in this life. This has been called accountability. This is where we join together with others for support in this life. We give one another permission to confront us when they see us straying at times. The Christian life is not meant to be done alone. Not one of us is strong enough on our own to stand up against all of the temptations that come our way.
David secluded himself from his accountability and fell hard. We are foolish if we think that it will not happen to us. David’s story teaches us that even the mightiest of Christians can fall. We all need others in our lives to stand up to us when we go wrong. I don’t believe David’s story would have been the same if he had this accountability with him at this time.
Conclusion
God has given us everything that we need to make 2019 the best year ever. He has opened the invitation to us to come and be part of His family. He has also promised mercy and grace at the point when we fall short.
I want to encourage you to not be like David in this story. Do not allow Satan to fill your mind with the lies that you do not need anyone. Do not allow the temptations in this life to seclude you from one of the greatest tools to victory - other Christians.