Tag: accountable

You Are Not The Owner

Carl Pollard

We live in a world that constantly says, “This is mine.” My time, my money, and my plans! 

But Scripture confronts that mentality head on. The Christian life begins with a fundamental shift in identity. You’re not an owner, you’re a steward.

A steward is someone entrusted with what belongs to another. And according to the Bible, everything we have, everything we are, and everything we will ever touch ultimately belongs to God. “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof” (Psalm 24:1). That includes me and you.

You Are a Steward of Your Life

You don’t belong to yourself. “You are not your own, for you were bought with a price” (1 Corinthians 6:19–20) That’s one of the hardest teachings in Scripture. Your life isn’t self-owned, it’s God-owned. You have been purchased by the blood of Christ. That means your life isn’t about personal fulfillment, comfort, or even your own plans. Out focus is now on faithful management of what God has entrusted to us. We should be asking, “What does the Owner want me to do with this?”

You Are a Steward of Your Time

Time is one of the clearest tests of stewardship because once it’s spent, it’s gone. “Making the best use of the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:16). Every day is a deposit from God into your account. You don’t control how much you get, but you do control how you spend it. We often say, “I don’t have time,” but the truth is, we all have the same 24 hours. We just have misplaced priorities. How much of our time is given to God’s Word? Prayer? Serving others? Teaching our families? And how much is consumed by distraction?

You Are a Steward of Your Money

Jesus talked about money more than almost any other topic because it reveals what we truly value. “As for the rich in this present age… they are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share” (1 Timothy 6:17–18). Your money is not ultimately yours, but it is a tool entrusted to you by God.

You Are a Steward of Your Abilities

Every talent, skill, and opportunity you have is given by God. “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace” (1 Peter 4:10). God gave you abilities so you could serve, not to be selfish. Some have the ability to teach, others to encourage, or lead, or give. And all are expected to use what they’ve been given.

You Will Give an Account

This is what makes stewardship so serious.“Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:2). One day, every Christian will stand before God and give an account of how they managed what He entrusted to them. Jesus told parables about this (Matthew 25:14–30). The master returns. The servants report. And faithfulness is rewarded.

You are not the owner of your life, you are the manager of it. And one day, the Owner is coming back. If God evaluated your stewardship today, your time, your money, your abilities, your life, what would He say “Well done, good and faithful servant”?

Or, “Why did you waste what I gave you?”

Books by the Pollards

A Tiny Spark Snail Mail Club (Kathy Pollard)

Resolutions Reinforcements–#6

Neal Pollard

“Who cares?” That is not necessarily an expression of apathy or scorn. All of us need to feel like we have people in our lives who care about us and our wellbeing. Such people should do more than offer positive reaffirmation and reassurance. We benefit from those who keep us honest and are willing to say even the difficult things we need to hear. When we talk about goals and resolutions, we need at least someone whom we seek out to hold us accountable. Accountability, in its strictest sense, means “liable to judgment and punishment” when used of God’s holding mankind accountable (Rom. 3:19; BDAG 1037).  Today, we typically mean by accountable that we are responsible to someone to explain or defend our actions. Am I succeeding or failing? Who will help me accurately assess that?

Augustine of Hippo, in his fourth-century Confessions, wrote, “A brotherly person rejoices on my account when he approves me, but when he disapproves, he is loving me. To such people I will reveal myself. They will take heart from my good traits, and sigh with sadness at my bad ones. My good points are instilled by you and are your gifts. My bad points are my faults and your judgements on them. Let them take heart from the one and regret the other. Let both praise and tears ascend in your sight from brotherly hearts, your censers. …But you Lord…Make perfect my imperfections.” We are well-served to have those willing to disapprove, to sigh, and to render gentle judgment as much as give their positive counterparts.

Do you have someone in your life right now who can help you stay accountable to your goals? Ideally, it would be your spouse, but maybe it’s a trusted friend, a sibling, a local Christian, a church leader, or a parent. Find someone in whom to confide your goals and then establish a system to have them evaluated. Just knowing that someone else knows what you’re aiming at may dramatically improve your likelihood of hitting it.

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Some Things That Will Not Be At The Judgment

Neal Pollard

What will the throne of judgment look like? What will Christ, the Judge, look like? Will the Judgment be experienced through the sense of sight? What will be different there from this life? What will be changed?

The Bible speaks often about the moment of reckoning, when the righteous and wicked dead (John 5:28-29) and all living (Mat. 25:31-33) will stand before the King of kings to give account for the conduct of the body (2 Cor. 5:10). As we attempt to paint a mental picture of the Judgment Day, some things shouldn’t be envisioned because they won’t be there.

  • There will not be an unbeliever at the Judgment (Phil. 2:10-11). With an introduction only heaven could produce, John says Jesus will come with clouds, every eye shall see Him, and all nations of the earth will wail because of Him (Rev. 1:7). No person will be able to continue in unbelief. Faith will be permanently past tense. Evidence of God’s power and the power of His promises will be beyond the realm of the hopes for and in the arena of the finally seen (Heb. 11:1). Jokes scoffing the Divine will not slip off the sin-darkened hearts of the defiant. No skeptics, no agnostics, no doubters, and no infidels will be at the Judgment.
  • There will not be a material possession at the Judgment (2 Pet. 3:10). The inhabitants of this planet seem to be more engrossed with things daily. The Lord calls things “corruptible” (1 Pet. 1:18) and inferior treasure (Mat. 6:19). People seek material things to provide them a life of joy, peace, and comfort. We will give an account for our stewardship of material things. We will answer “yes” or “no” when asked if we robbed God (Mal. 3:8). But no person will bring his possessions or amassed wealth into the venerable court of justice.
  • There will not be a mistrial at the Judgment (Acts 17:31). Each of us will appear before the Judgment seat of Christ (Rom. 14:10). We will each “stand trial” (2 Cor. 5:10). Christ, the “true” (John 8:16), universal (Acts 10:42), righteous (Acts 17:31), God-ordained (Rom. 2:16) and ready (1 Pet. 4:5) judge will sit to hear the case of every mentally accountable person to have lived. Jesus will judge without bias (Eph. 6:9) by relying on heaven’s unabridged record of the individual’s life (Rev. 20:12). He will judge according to the perfect law of liberty (Jas. 1:25). No one will be able to legitimately cry “foul.” When the law book is closed and the last judgment is handed down, no one will be able to find a loophole or mistake in the proceedings that will allow them to go free or be retried. There will not be any miscues or oversights.
  • There will be no secrets at the Judgment (Rom. 2:16). God now knows every man’s secret sins (Psa. 90:8) and He shall bring such things to the Judgment (Ecc. 12:14). God sees every secret place (Jer. 23:23). He reveals the deepest, darkest secrets (Dan. 2:22). At the Judgment, such things will judged (Rom. 2:16). “…All things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do” (Heb. 4:13b).
  • There will be no baptistery at the Judgment. Most people will go into eternity not having been washed, sanctified and justified (cf. 1 Cor. 6:11). As Christ divides the sheep from the goats, it will matter whether a person has fully obeyed the gospel (cf. 1 Pet. 3:21; Rom. 6:3-4; Col. 2:12; Acts 2:38; Gal. 3:27; Acts 22:16; Mark 16:16). Perhaps people will cry out for another person to baptize them. The angst of many who bargained for a later date to be baptized will be realized when they stand before Christ without His blood covering their sins.
  • There will be no invitation song at the Judgment. When the trumpet sounds, no sermon will be preached to convince the lost to obey the gospel. There’ll be no pleading with the lukewarm and unfaithful Christians. No song leader will stand before that numberless crowd to appeal to the lost and erring. Legions of hearts will be melted by the power of God. Fearful realization will fill those unready to meet Christ. Perhaps many will cry out for another chance, but the last opportunity will have passed.

There will be a righteous Judge who will give a fair trial to every individual. All will give an account. An eternal sentence will be handed down based upon one’s life and acceptance or rejection of Christ’s sacrifice. There will be no parole, stay of execution, or pardon for the lost. We all will need abundant grace to be able to stand at His right hand side, but Scripture tells us how that is extended. We must prepare for that in this life (Heb. 9:27). OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA