Accountable To Grace

I don’t know what you’re doing with your life as it involves others, but for the rest of my days I promise to keep everyone accountable to the grace of God.  Grace is for life—the length of it and the enjoyment of it.  Romans 6:14 reads, “For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.”

I know that the word “accountable” might be an odd word to put together with “grace,” but it comes as something of a response to the legalistic “accountability police,” who seem always to be prosecuting people with the word.  “You’ll be held accountable,” they might say.  That always makes me shudder . . . and maybe want to vomit . . . on them.  Is that wrong? 

“Grace” doesn’t mean that nothing matters; grace means that Jesus matters.  He’s got us, and He’s given us all of His righteousness and holiness.  Believing that, over and over again, is how you live by grace.  It will have an effect!  Grace works.  You’ll like it, and Christ in you will be in evidence.  You’ll like that, and so will others.

But keeping yourself in the crosshairs of your own gun—“I’ll be held accountable”—and turning it on others—“You’ll be held accountable”—is not Christian living.  It may seem to help people, but it actually hurts them and pushes them toward fleshly living.  And I don’t like that at all.  That’s why I don’t like those who do it to them.

However, if grace is grace, then it’s for them, too.  So I’m going to hold them accountable to God’s grace. 

(This is a transcript of a June 2013 video, “Accountable To Grace,” and is for those who might rather read than watch.  To see the 3 minute video, click: http://youtu.be/zI4l_BiUtD8.)