I'm writing a paper for my most recent class on the theology of accountability in Jonathan Edwards. Sound like a snoozer? It's not. Frankly, it's scared me more than a little bit.
I believe (and I think Edwards did too) that we must give an account to God for our lives. It's not that we won't be covered by the blood of Jesus for our sin. It's that we must give an account. Edwards' last official sermon to his people at Northampton after they fired him was about how they and he must stand before God on Judgment Day to give an account for how the ministry was done and how the minister was treated. That's courage. Or conviction. Or both.
Consider these verses, see if they place an appropriate amount of fear in you:
He who made the ear, does He not hear? He who made the eye, does He not see? (Ps. 94.9)
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil (2 Cor. 5.10)
And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give an account (Heb. 4.13)
And there are many, many more. Sin is tempting, but remember that accountability is real. And that kind of fear is good in preventing us from sin and pushing us toward holiness.
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