Many counseling and recovery programs stress the importance of accountability partners.

Heath Lambert, in his excellent book Finally Free, says, “If you are caught in a sin, you need to be restored by someone who lives by the Spirit. We are not designed to pull our way out of our spiritual ruts in our own strength. We need the help of other Christians. You will never be free from pornography until you acknowledge that in order to change you need the help of God through brothers and sisters in Christ” (p. 46).

This is true not only of pornography, but any other besetting sin including drunkenness, drug addiction, losing your temper, gambling, compulsive spending, cutting, worrying, discouraging thoughts, etc. We need others to help us, pray with us, hear our confessions, and ask us hard questions. But what exactly do these relationships look like?

One list of accountability questions right for any occasion can be found in Donald Whitney’s book, Simplify Your Spiritual Life. Here’s a sampling…

• What’s the best thing that happened to you since we met last?
• Do you have any unusual burdens or troubles this week?
• How’s your [teaching, hospitality, outreach, deacon, or whatever] ministry going?
• What has the Lord been teaching you recently?
• Have you had any evangelistic opportunities lately?
• Have you had any obvious answers to prayer recently?
• Where in the Bible have you been reading lately?  What impact has it had on you?
  • What else you have been reading? How has it impressed you?

Randy Alcorn, in his Purity Principle, gives some pointed questions related to sexual purity…

• How are you doing with God? Your spouse? Children?
• What temptations are you facing, and how are you dealing with them?
• How has your thought life been this week?
• Have you been spending regular time in the Word and prayer?
• Who have you been sharing the gospel with?
• Have you lied in any of your answers?
• How can I pray for you?

Last fall, I taught a series on Wednesday night called “Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands,” which dealt with a variety of counseling issues to help us grow in our walk with God and be used by him to serve others. In our final session, we discussed accountability. In this lesson, we shared…

• Key takeaways from this introduction to biblical counseling
• The importance of understanding your identity in Christ
• How to confront and restore someone who is struggling
• Helpful questions for any accountability relationship

Here’s the audio recording of my lesson:

And here’s a copy of the handout:

Thanks for listening. This is the final week in a 12-week biblical counseling class called “Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands.” For a complete list of sermons and Bible studies, please see my Teaching Page.

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