The Blessing of Accountability in Fighting Sin

The Puritan John Owen famously said, “Be killing sin or it will be killing you.” His advice is timeless. In a time when sin is often downplayed or ignored, the idea of battling your sin can feel overwhelming. Despite this, Christians from centuries past have consistently urged one another to fight sin relentlessly.

One of the most commonly neglected resources in this fight with sin is the involvement of other Christians in the fight. The battle with sin is not a one-on-one boxing match between a Christian and his sin. Rather, the battle with sin is a multi-front war, in which the Christian enlists counselors, friends, mentors, fellow church members, and family members (along with the rich resources of the Bible) to fight and root out the sin in his heart. One way of enlisting others is through accountability.

From what I can tell, there are at least 3 primary benefits of accountability when fighting sin:

1. Accountability partners keep you honest.

In the fight with sin, it is common for people to struggle with truly recognizing the severity of their sin. We have the tendency to say things like, “That didn’t really hurt anybody,” or “I’ve met other people who have done way worse things than me.” What phrases like this miss is that our sin is against a holy and righteous God, and therefore is extremely severe and worthy of punishment. If we enlist godly people as our accountability partners, they can help us by presenting us with biblical truth about just how severe and destructive our sin is.

Sometimes, our problem is not that we downplay our sin, but that we don’t see it at all. I can imagine a situation where a man is sinning by looking at pornography. He rightly sees the porn habit as a real problem and tries to fight it, but when he goes out to eat with his friends, his eyes frequently linger on the waitress or other women he sees there. When one of his friends and accountability partners asks him about it, he seems dumbfounded, as if he has no idea what the other man is talking about. But he trusts his friend’s judgment and considers what he’s said going forward. In this scenario, the second man made the first man aware of the sin that he was sinfully ignorant of. Accountability partners do the same thing.

Whether a person tends to ignore or downplay their sin, one of the most helpful things an accountability partner can do is assist their brother or sister in cutting off temptations. In Matthew 18:8-9, Jesus commands his followers to ‘cut off your hand’ and ‘tear out your eye’ that causes them to sin. While this does not entail that Christians should dismember and blind themselves, what it does entail is that Christians should be eager to take drastic measures to cut off the sources of temptation in their lives. After all, we are often much weaker and unable to resist temptation than we would like to admit. Practically speaking, one of the ways I’ve seen this play out most often is in the use of accountability software on the phone and computer of men with porn problems. In situations like that, accountability partners receive daily reports of the person’s internet activity, thus cutting down significantly on the temptation to look at pornography. In cases like this, restrictions lead to more freedom rather than less.

2. Accountability partners point you to God’s glory.

So often, when I talk to people steeped in sin problems that they just can’t seem to shake, part of what lies at the root of their sin is that they have a tiny conception of God. A small god has little to offer. He is not in control, he is nothing special to behold, and he does not have the power to change you. But our God is not a small god. Our Lord is mighty and does what he pleases (Psalm 115:3), he is great and worthy of praise (Psalm 145:3), and he has all the power we need to be changed and helped in any circumstance (2 Peter 1:3). One of the circumstances where it is easiest to doubt the biblical truth about God is when you are in the midst of sin that just won’t seem to go away. In those moments, one of the best gifts in the whole world is a godly friend to point you back to the glory of our sovereign Lord.

3. Accountability partners offer gospel encouragement.

When Christians have long, exhausting battles with sin, one common temptation is toward discouragement and disbelief in God’s promises. Difficult sins have a way of making themselves look eternal and God look limited. In the moment of distress, a good accountability partner presents his or her friend with truths like Ephesians 1:4 (God “chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.”), or Philippians 1:6 (“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Christ Jesus.”), or Romans 8:2 and 8:11 (which together tell us that those of us who believe in Christ have the Holy Spirit, through whom we have victory over sin). Regardless of the particular truth, a major role for the accountability partner is to consistently, relentlessly preach the gospel to their friend who is in the midst of a difficult struggle with sin. Christians need to regularly be reminded of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and reminded of what that means for them when they trust in him.

Concluding Thoughts

If you’re a Christian and you have a persistent sin you’ve been carrying alone, and you don’t know where to turn, there are many things you should do. But one of the first things you should do is find a trusted brother or sister, confess your sins to them, and ask them to graciously and kindly walk with you through this difficulty. In doing so, you allow them to fulfill the command in Hebrews 10:24—’And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.’ In return, you will receive a great blessing.

This blog was written by Brandon Adkison.