Step Ten - Find an Accountability
Friend
You increase your ability, stability
and responsibility when you increase your sense of accountability
to God. One way you can do this is to find another believer who will
be your accountability friend.
What is an accountability friend?
It is a mature Christian who agrees to disciple you, to help you grow
and mature in your new faith in Christ. It is someone who agrees to
hold you accountable, someone who will help you carry through on what
you determine to do.
But the accountability street
goes both ways. Frequently two people will be accountability friends
for each other. They will hold each other up and lift each other up
when they need a lift. And if one should fall, the other will help
him or her up.
there is a striking image of this
in Ecclesiastes 4:9,10: "Two are better than one...For if the
fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone
when he falls, for he has no one to help him up."
The principle works not only when
you take a physical tumble but also when you have a weakness in the
spiritual realm.
If you have an accountability
friend, you know that someone is there for you when you stumble, someone
who will help you to keep from falling. For example, if you lose youe
enthusiasm in your walk with the Lord and become lukewarm, your accountability
friend can take you aside and kindly, sincerely warn you that you
are in spiritual danger.
An ancient proverb from the Near
East says, "A friend is one who warns you." But an accountabililty
friend, a true friend, never stops with a warning.
He will also pray with you, encourage you and guide you back on the
right track. That's what accountability friend are for.
Friends don't just criticize,
they help. A true friend doesn't sympathize with your weakness; he
helps you summon your strength. When you and another Christian make
a commitment to be accountable to each other, the best will be brought
out in both of you.
A Final Word
Have you recently com
e to Christ as your Saviour. If so, it is important for you to start
your Christian life right. Now that you have new life, you need to
grow--for growth is as important as birth. What a tragedy it would
be if a tiny baby were to remain small all of his life. It would be
equally tragic if you had been born again but never grew spiritually.
These ten action steps
for the new Christian do not constitute a magical formula, but they
derived from God's Word and have been successfully practiced by mature
Christians for generations.
If you follow these steps
on the road to heaven, you'll find the journey to be a challenge and
a blessing. God bless you as you step out for Him!
Go to step Intro
- One - Two
- Three - Four
- Five - Six
- Seven - Eight
- Nine - Ten