Two people together can keep each other warm, but one alone can quickly become cold. If a log rolls off the fire, it cools down quickly. In our case, the purpose of two walking together is to encourage each other in the Lord, to stir one another up toward love and good deeds, to share the power of the cross from the Word of God and thereby stir up white-hot passion for Jesus. Spiritual warmth and passion is the value of two believers together.
Question 7. How does Ecclesiastes 4:12 figure into our strategy of warring against our flesh?
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There are many ways God has given us to protect ourselves from the evil one. “In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:16-17). Another way is through seeking the assistance of a brother or sister in Christ.
When we are tempted, we know we are to resist the devil, and he will flee from us (James 4:7). Remember, the Christian is never “triggered,” only “tempted” - 1 Corinthians 10:13. We can be “tempted” by food, stress, difficulty, etc., but never “triggered” to sin by gratifying our flesh with food or anything else. Believers always have a way out and can learn to take it, and should never use the word “triggered.”
One way that we can resist the devil is by calling (texting, emailing, or any other way you want to connect) a Christian friend and saying, “I’m tempted and want to ask for prayer and a helpful word.”
Finally, we should not utilize the worldly concept of accountability; that is, our “accountability” is not merely “have you overeaten this week?” or “have you exercised this week?” While these are helpful questions to ask, they are incomplete in themselves.
The Christian’s accountability is far more comprehensive than merely not doing something. Instead, we should ask questions such as, “Have you washed at the cross today?” “In what passage of Scripture did God show the gospel to you?” “Are you walking by the Spirit?” “Are you living in humility and love with your family, co-workers, and friends?” These questions get to the heart and help us to discover weak areas in our lives that are providing opportunities for our enemies to attack us.
In other words, worldly accountability is always sin-focused, where people ask us about whether we gave in to temptation or not, whether we succumbed to sin's power, etc. always keeping us thinking about sin. This in itself stirs up temptation within us, and is the wrong approach.
Biblical accountability asks us about whether we're viewing the cross of Christ today and walking by the Spirit of God and His power today. It helps us to rejoice in the finished work of Christ, and in the empowering work of the Holy Spirit. It helps us war against our flesh by pointing us to how the battle was won at the cross! So if you're not being directed to the cross, and becoming cross-centered, you don't have a biblical accountability partner.
The following is a podcast that my wife and I did on the topic of biblical accountability vs. worldly accountability.
Question 8. What is the value of asking for help in our fight against gluttony?
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