Bible Study with the Cincotti’s – Discipleship and Accountability – 05/04/2025
Today’s Bible Study, Authored by Arthur Cincotti.
Listen to our Bible Study Discussion at: Discipleship & Accountability Podcast
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Discipleship and Accountability
“Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Rm. 3:19 NIV
It should seem rather commonsensical that discipleship and accountability go hand in hand; two sides of the same coin; congruently leading down the same path. It’s difficult for us to understand discipleship in our culture, especially the level of discipleship that Jesus cast as an example. He took a small band of select followers and formed a community that was dependent upon one another for basic needs as well as fellowship. As best we can tell they were committed to a 24/7 relationship with Jesus and each other for the better part of three years. Now that’s discipleship. This wasn’t a forced imposition, but a free decision on their part to remain. They had opportunity to leave if they wished; Jn. 6:67 tells us, “Then Jesus said to the twelve, ‘Do you also want to go away?’ But Simon Peter answered Him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” I think that was a watershed moment for the disciples, a declaration that they were all in even if Jesus said and did some uncomfortable things.
This is the hallmark of true discipleship; an unwavering commitment. Jesus is always going to say and do things that are uncomfortable to our flesh. The sermon on the mount must have made a lot of people squirm. It still does.
Jesus followers weren’t perfect at this discipleship thing. Judas Iscariot is an easy and obvious example. But Andrew and John were disciples of John the Baptist in the early days, and they jumped ship and joined up with Jesus. It’s also clear throughout the gospel accounts that they only scantly grasped what they were getting themselves in to. In Mk. 4:41, after Jesus calmed the sea and storm, it says, “feared exceedingly and said to one another, ‘Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!’”
When we think of the modern expression of extreme, unwavering discipleship we may by tempted to think of negative examples such as Jim Jones, or the Branch Davidian’s, or any number of cultish groups. Suzanna and I know of a group called “The Twelve Tribes.” Though I don’t agree with some of their theology, I find their commitment to Christ and pattern of discipleship admirable. They are definitely counter culture. They live in community, disposes themselves of ownership of worldly goods, take Hebrew names, and celebrate the Sabbath, and the feasts. It’s the living in community part that makes them naturally accountable to one another. Proximity is big in accountability relationships. Church history is full of positive examples of monastic orders who choose to take the gospel accounts and the ways of Jesus both literally and seriously.
We are all accountable to God who sees and knows all things. Jesus is very sobering when He says, in Mt. 12:36, “But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken.” We know this and yet we violate it frequently, using idle words, sarcasm, joking and hyperbole, but yet there persists in us a yearning to live righteously before God, according to His design.
Just as true discipleship requires an element of choice, genuine accountability requires the same. You make a choice to place yourself under the accountability of someone you trust. In a healthy accountability relationship the person you are accountable to only holds you to what you have determined that you want. There is no force or pressure or condemnation; only the simple reminder, “this is what you said you wanted.” A good accountability person might go so far as to say, “have you changed your mind?”
With discipleship someone must be at the helm. We read in the Scripture that so and so is a disciple of… Jesus said, in Mt. 10:24-25, “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. It is enough for the disciple that he may become like his teacher, and the slave like his master….” Jesus calling on our lives is not to just follow Him but to become like Him. He seals this by saying, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” Jn. 13:34-35
The Apostle Paul gives us a snapshot of discipleship in the church age. We no longer have Jesus in the flesh to follow around the countryside of Galilee. Paul says, “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.” I Cor. 11:1. In the church age we follow a man; a vicarious representative of Christ. Eph. 4:11 tells us that, “He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers.” Though we have seen many examples of corruption with this order we should persist to trust Christ to preserve His church as His divine order of expression. We should never judge systems by their abuses.
This order extinguishes the notions of being a lone ranger Christian, along with any elevated notions that I’m the only one “doing it right,” which we are all susceptible to. We hold each other accountable in community because of our mutual love for one another. James said, “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other…” Js. 5:16. That’s a scary proposition in most churches and yet this transparency is the essence of discipleship and accountability. Jesus said, “For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known.” Lk. 12:2. It is a great privilege that God gives us to reveal our own sins and frailties before they are revealed by fire. Just imagine the kind of love that is willing to risk confession because the fear of rejection has been taken away. This is what John was talking about when he said, “There is no fear I love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.” I Jn. 4:18
Speaking of perfection, let’s not be afraid of our opening verse, which said, “Now we know that what ever the law says, it says to those who are under the law…”Rm 3:19; because Ps. 19:7 reminds us that, “The law of the LORD is perfect.” Rm. 13:8 pulls it all together, “Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.”
The law of love overshadows the written code. If you truly love your brother you won’t covet with jealousy to a point of wanting to kill or lie against. “love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.” I Cor. 13:4-8. That’s actually a long list that Paul gives in order to color in our definition of love. To often, in our culture of heart emoji’s, we dramatically reduce our definition of love. And yet, even the atheist will most likely elevate love as the highest ethic though it may lack definition and boundaries. Love, in a Biblical framework, is complicated. Just consider that Jesus calls us to love our enemies.
Healthy discipleship is a reciprocal love relationship. The master loves the disciples and, as in Jesus case, is willing to lay down His life for them. The disciples love the master and long to be like him, not out of envy, but pure adoration. This love affair is propagating. That is the force behind the great commission. That’s the impetus behind Jesus hand off to the disciples with His promise, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.” Jn.14:12
As disciples of Jesus we are submitted to a local church community. This is His design and commandment and to violate it would put us outside of discipleship. It declares, in essence, “I disagree with your design, Jesus, and have my own way.” Disobedience shroud in nobility is the worst kind. It’s like King Saul keeping back the live stock that God told him to destroy, in order to sacrifice to the LORD.
True disciples are all in, even when it is difficult. The reward is life and life more abundant!
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