Galatians 6:1-2

Galatians 6:1-2

        ”Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:1-2 ESV)

In an accountability relationship, we should care for one another enough to be humble and restore others who are in sin with a spirit of gentleness. True accountability can only be performed with love and humility in the heart. When we see a brother or sister who has fallen into sin—not a moral grey area, but sin—we should love him enough to call him out for his sin. If we truly care for him and his relationship with God, we won’t allow him to wallow in his wrong. However, we should go to him with a humble heart in order that he might receive our correction in love as well. Holding a brother or sister accountable is a kind of “tough” love that doesn’t flatter or puff up, but truly cares.

As we love and correct our brother in his sin, we must be careful not to be tempted and fall into sin ourselves. We could be tempted to participate in the sin our brother or sister has fallen into, or we might be tempted to be prideful because we haven’t been rebuked for our sin. If we resist the devil, he will flee from us (James 4:7), and If we will be honest with ourselves, we know that all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory (Rom. 3:23), therefore none of us have any room to boast in our own righteousness. 

Christ bore our sins in His body on the tree (1 Peter 2:24), and became the example for which we should strive. Because of the saving power of the Gospel, Christians can now desire to love their brothers and sisters and help them bear their emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual burdens. By helping one another with our burdens, we fulfill the law of Christ. Aiding our brothers and sisters doesn’t add one ounce of merit to our salvation since we lean on Christ to save us, but we do please Christ in fulfilling His great commandment of loving our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:31).

As Biblical Christian brothers and sisters, we must love each other enough to say hard things, confront one another in a spirit of meekness, and aid one another in bearing burdens. We as Christians should strive to esteem each other as family instead of just regarding one another as friends we see on Sunday or Wednesday. By living life together in this way, we move closer to fulfilling Christ’s commandment for us.