The Greatest Institution on Earth: Part 3

Why should teens be involved in their local church? That's the question I've been exploring in this series, The Greatest Institution on Earth. Check out the Introduction and Part 1. In this post I'll look at the second reason:

2. The church teaches and promotes accountability
Temptations abound for the teen today, many as close as the click of a button or the press of "Send." The church is to be a place that provides, promotes, and teaches accountability.

Accountability is a grossly misunderstood concept today, not just outside the church but inside as well. People tend to think that it's more tied to the constraints of legalism than the freedom of grace. People think accountability is about policing people, watching for them to make the slightest mistake and then calling them on it.

Those people miss the whole point of accountability. They fail to see that it's really a magnificent implication of the gospel; it is the church's way of saying that we hate sin, but we love holiness. Accountability is grown out of community. If the church calls itself a community that cares for each other, they must love each other enough to hold each other responsible for their sin. Accountability means being concerned about sanctification, spiritual growth.

For the teen belonging to a Christian family, this accountability should first and foremost play out in their home. If there is an unrepentant sin in my life that I'm not aware of, I dearly hope that my parents will come to me with it first. Yet the church will play a bigger role in this for the Christian teen in an unsaved family.

I should add too that accountability is more than just nitpicking about sin. It's about fostering honesty and truth and a commitment to obey Christ above all else. So accountability is not just coming to me when I'm sinning; it's the indirect practice of pursuing holiness. When we hear gospel preaching or read the Bible or pray together or sing together or fellowship together, we should be growing in holiness. This is the key of accountability and thus should, indirectly, be taking place in the church all the time. Accountability is about a desire to obey.

Bethlehem Baptist Church wrote this about the church and accountability:

"Accountability in the local church does not mean that the church will ever be perfectly pure in this age. We sin after conversion. The church is a company of forgiven sinners who wrestle against their own remaining sinfulness every day. [...]

Therefore, church membership does not involve an expectation to live perfectly. Rather, church membership is a commitment to worship and minister in a body of believers where the members covenant together to hold each other accountable to pursue obedience to what Scripture teaches."

There is another component of accountability that, if applied biblically, should be very important to the Christian teen. It's the area of discipline.

Church discipline is not just for the "big people." If you are called a member of your local church, then discipline can apply to you too. If you are involved in unrepentant sin, and you have rejected the urges of others to repent, then the church has a responsibility to discipline you in love. It shows that Christianity is an exclusive faith, not a mere social club where people can come and go as they please and act however they want to. Christianity is a way of life, and church discipline upholds that.

There is also to be mentorship going on in the church. Older members should be holding us teens accountable in our walk with Christ and our struggle with sin. But that does not mean that teens are only ever to be "seen and not heard." If we see other church members (remember, your responsibility is not to everyone who walks through the church doors, but only to those who have covenanted together with you in church membership) participating in outward, continuous, unrepentant sin, we have a responsibility to speak the truth in love. 

Now, if you are a member of a Christian family, this means going to your parents first and soliciting godly counsel from them on how to best handle the situation. If you're not part of a family of believers, I would recommend going to a spiritually mature Christian in the church, a mentor perhaps. With them, you can proceed in lovingly confronting that member on their sin.

Accountability is an issue that affects every member of the church body, including teens. Teens should desire to be held accountable, knowing that it is strengthening their relationship with Christ and aiding them in sanctification. No other institution has this aim about them, no other institution can most gloriously boast that all it desires to do is make you more holy and more like Christ. So the teen should rejoice in the church and the loving accountability it provides, promotes, and teaches.

Image Credit: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Qx9mueEgAFw/UQ_lkcCATbI/AAAAAAAAApU/ubW8detpLI4/s1600/Teens_silhouette.jpg