The Difference Between Condemnation and Accountability

Romans 8:1 says, "There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." 

What an incredible promise God makes us in this verse! It's full of love, because we all know we deserve condemnation for what we've done. Regardless of how big or how small your past sins have been, any type of sin separates us from God. Still, Jesus paid the price for all of them (both past and future) so that we don't have to stand condemned and we don't have to be separated from God.

Thank God for His mercy and grace!

If you're in this group, it's because you're loved and you're valued as one of God's children. As a member of this group, you will never experience condemnation from any other member, just as you will never experience it from your Heavenly Father. Still...there has to be a difference between condemnation and accountability, and accountability is something we all need.

If we don't hold each other accountable to our goals (which we have set for ourselves), then we've become enablers. That's just the simple truth. We need to be loving when we remind each other of what we need to do to stay on track, but we still need to do the reminding.

If you slip and fall? Well, you're human. We're all going to make mistakes, and thank God there's grace for that. Where it becomes a problem is when we turn our backs on what we've decided to do and go back to our old habits and ways of living. When we hold each other accountable, we're not saying, "I'm better than you" or "I can't believe you did that." We're saying, "Hey, this isn't what you told us you wanted for your life," "I love you and I want to help you get back on track," or "We're in this together, lean on me and I'll help you get through this sugar craving, emotional experience, etc."

If you have the heart of Jesus, you want nothing more than to see everyone else in this group succeed. However, that success is not going to happen unless we hold each other accountable with love, and free from condemnation. Jesus doesn't condemn, but He's always there reminding us of where we need to be. He's always there reminding us of how much He loves us. He's always there with open arms, ready to help us get on the right track.

Let's do the same thing for each other.