9276	Forums / Main Forum / Is Accountability Good	on: April 02, 2006, 09:31:43 AM
Accountability can be good and bad. Think of this, if we are made clean salvation, and we are given all that we need for life and godliness in a personal way then really the focus of our christian life is not what others can inforce apoun us but what kind of submission that we have to Christ in the inward experience. If Christ is our high preist, our mediator, then what can replace Him as a relationship that can compete with our love for Him and our trust in Him. If we are in a relationship of grace in Christ, that is being given grace prior to all acts of obedience, and giving grace to prevent us from straying, in a supernatural way, then that carrot should keep us dependent on Him in prayer and meditation and that same grace to prevent us from sinning should also prevent us from idols, that is placing people in a position of authority that only Christ should have. If there are relationships that have accountability then we need to see the positive aspects and the negative aspects in a discerning way because concentration of behavioral change on the outside as an overall focus, will be a deception for us as to the work of the Spirit, that is, His acting by the word in a continuous, all seeing communication in the sanctifying action on our souls. And in that fellowship the focus is to overcome sin. If we just confess sin to people, then we will not experience all the peace and joy of forgiveness of truly repenting to God alone, and we will not understand what trust in the work of Christ is on our behalf, so that we will have a divided love in our hearts. In a since real accountability partners are facilitators. They can offer advice, or can act as an in-between in a dispute between peoples by opening up lines of communication. But as to keeping someone from sinning, that process is brought about by faith alone, through Christ alone, by grace alone.