ACCOUNTABILITY
INTRODUCTION:
ILLUSTRATION:
On February 26, 1995, Barings, the oldest bank in Britain,
announced it was seeking bankruptcy protection after losing
nearly one billion dollars in a stock gamble. At the time Barings
went under, the bank held assets for Queen Elizabeth, some
$100 million according to Time magazine.
In late 1994, the chief trader at Barings's Singapore office began
betting big on Japan's Nikkei market. Then disaster struck. An
earthquake hit Kobe, Japan, and on January 23, 1995, the Nikkei
plunged more than one thousand points.
Barings Bank lost big money. But instead of cutting his losses,
Barings's Singapore trader doubled his investment, apparently
hoping that the Nikkei would rebound. It didn't. As the Nikkei
continued to plummet, Barings's London office put up nearly
$900 million to support its falling position on the Singapore
investments. Finally Barings ran out of capital and declared
bankruptcy.
How could one twenty-eight-year-old trader in Singapore lose
nearly a billion dollars and ruin a 233-year-old British bank?
According to Time, the problem was lack of supervision.
London allowed (the Singapore trader) to take control of both
the trading desk and the backroom settlement operation in
Singapore. It is a mix that can be, and in this was, toxic. For a
trader to keep his own books is like a schoolboy getting to grade
his own tests; the temptation to cheat can be overwhelming,
particularly if the stakes are high enough.
1. Without accountability, temptation becomes all the more
tempting. Accountability protects us from ourselves.
1
TONIGHT, I AM GOING TO SPEAK ON
THE SUBJECT OF ACCOUNTABILITY.
I.
FIRST, THE BIBLE TEACHES THAT
WE ARE ACCOUNTABLE TO GOD.
ILLUSTRATION:
Aaron was an eleven-year-old boy whose behavior was
described by Dr. William Glasser, his psychiatrist, as horrible. In
his book, Reality Therapy, Glasser says Aaron was the most
obnoxious child he had ever met. The boy would kick, scream,
run away and hide, become withdrawn, disrupt his classes and
make everyone disgusted with him.
Dr. Glasser saw one problem with Aaron that no one else
observed: "No one had ever told him that he was doing wrong."
No one had ever set limits on what he could do and not do. The
psychiatrist decided to try a completely new tack. The boy would
have to behave, to act reasonable, or be punished. He
responded remarkably. "Probably because he had been anxious
for so long to be treated in a realistic way." Thus he became
courteous, well behaved, and his miserable grades went to
straight A's. For the first time in his life Aaron began to play
constructively with other children, to enjoy honest relationships
with others, and to stop blaming his troubles on his mother or
other people.
Dr. Glasser calls this "reality therapy" and says one of an
individual's greatest needs is to be made to realize that he is
personally accountable for what he does.
2
1. I think Dr. Glasser got his idea for reality therapy from the
Bible.
 "For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. It is written: ”‘As
surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every
tongue will confess to God.’” So then, each of us will give an account
of himself to God" (Rom. 14:10-12).
 "But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of
judgment for every careless word they have spoken" (Mt. 12:36).
2. Everyday, God holds us accountable for our actions and
deeds.
3. In our lives, we may be able to hide our character flaws and
sins from our families, our friends, and our church. But we
cannot hide anything from God. God evaluates everything
that we do.
 (Read Ps. 139:1-8).
4. Since we are accountable to God, we need to make sure that
we are always striving to please Him by obeying His
commandments.
3
II.
SECOND, THE BIBLE TEACHES
THAT WE ARE ACCOUNTABLE TO
ONE ANOTHER.
1. Some things taught in Scripture make us so uncomfortable,
we tend to ignore them. The notion of being personally
accountable to someone else for our actions is certainly one
of them.
2. Accountability is not a new concept. Each of us is
accountable in many ways to different organizations and
people. If you have a job, you are accountable to your
employer, who expects certain things of you. If you are
married, you are accountable. Your spouse and your family
expect certain things.
3. But when it comes to our character and spiritual
development, we are prone to resist accountability. "After
all," we reason, "that's between me and God. It's nobody
else's business."
4. Yet the Bible teaches that we as brothers and sisters in Christ
are to be accountable to one another.
5. Accountability is a relationship between believers wherein
one has invited the other to monitor the development of
character in one or more areas.
 “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him" (Lk.
17:3).
 "Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should
restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.
Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of
Christ. If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he
deceives himself" (Gal. 6:1-3).
6. Accountability may not be specifically mentioned here, but it
is assumed.
4
7. How does accountability work?
a. As Christians, we should give our brothers and sisters in
Christ the invitation to evaluate our character and spiritual
development.
(1) Brethren, if I am doing something wrong and sinful, please
tell me about it. Since you’re my family, you should want to
help me overcome anything that could cause me to lose my
salvation, my family, or lose my effectiveness for the Lord.
 "My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone
should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from
the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a
multitude of sins" (Jam. 5:19-20).
(2) As true genuine Christians, we should welcome correction.
 (Prov. 9:8) "Rebuke a wise man and he will love you."
 (Prov. 25:12) "Like an earring of gold or an ornament of fine gold is a
wise man’s rebuke to a listening ear."
 We should welcome our brothers and sister's correction, for it
is valuable.
5
b. As Christians, we must have the courage to speak to people
who are in need of correction.
ILLUSTRATION:
On Monday, February 6, 1995, according to the Chicago Tribune,
a Detroit bus driver finished his shift on the Route 21 bus and
headed for the terminal. But somehow he took a wrong turn. He
didn't arrive at the terminal at the scheduled time of 7:19 P.M.,
and a short time later his supervisors started looking for him.
Meanwhile the driver's wife called the terminal and reported her
husband might be disoriented from medication he was taking.
For six hours, the forty-foot city bus and its driver could not be
found. Finally the state police found the bus and driver--two
hundred miles northwest of Detroit. The bus was motoring
slowly down a rural two-lane road, weaving slightly from side to
side. The police pulled the bus over, and the driver said he was
lost.
A police news release later stated, "The driver had no idea
where he was and agreed he had made a wrong turn
somewhere. Apparently this had not occurred to him during the
four hours he drove without finding the bus depot."
Unless we confront those who have taken a wrong turn in life,
they may never regain their orientation.
(1) As faithful servants of the Lord, we must approach people in
a loving and gentle way when they make a wrong turn in life.
We must approach them because we are accountable to one
another.
 "Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should
restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.
Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of
Christ. If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he
deceives himself" (Gal. 6:1-3).
(2) If we love the souls of people, we must show that love by
encouraging people to leave their life of sin.
6
CONCLUSION:
1. Tonight, we have seen that we are accountable to God and to
one another. We should welcome the loving correction that
we receive from of our brothers and sisters in Christ. But
most importantly, we must welcome the correction that we
receive from the Word of God.
2. If you are not living your life according the will of God, then
tonight may be the time for you to admit your faults, be
accountable for your sins, and allow God to heal your
spiritual heart. If you are subject to the Lord's invitation,
please come as we stand and sing.
7