> General Discussions
responsible vs accountable
Kat:
Hi Mike,
Here is a excerpt and an email on this subject.
http://bible-truths.com/lake10.html -----------------------
God "created evil" (Isa. 45:7). God does not create things that do not serve a good purpose. By the way, the word translated into "evil" in Isa. 45:7 is the Hebrew word ra, and it is the very same word translated hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of times as "evil" throughout the Old Testament.
Now the word ra does not have a conscience and therefore has no moral bias. Evil is not ‘SIN.’ God created evil; God Himself is not evil. And strictly speaking, God did not create sin, nor has God Himself ever sinned. What God has done is created humanity in a spiritually weakened state that is totally incapable of even understanding spiritual laws and principle, let alone being capable of obeying them. And this was not a sin or mistake on God’s part, this was weakness by design. Therefore, God is responsible (certainly not accountable), but responsible for all sin. And God has already taken responsibility for all sin by Sacrificing His Son, Jesus Christ:
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We have seen that not even Satan can go against God’s intentions. Satan needs permission from God to do his dirty work. Since God is responsible (but not accountable—seeing that nothing He does is without a great and beneficial purpose), God takes responsibility for His whole creation, and that is why everything will turn out perfect for every one of God’s creatures.
http://bible-truths.com/email4.htm#account ------------
There are a couple of reasons why God holds one accountable (not responsible--God takes the responsibility) for his sins even if he couldn't have done otherwise.
People who sin and have no desire to please God, do not believe in the first place that they do not have a free will regarding their sins. They believe that they ARE in control of their own destiny. See the example of that I use of the Assyrian king in the latter part of my letter to James Kennedy. The king took credit for conquering all the nations around him. He though HE was the mighty one. He thought HE planned and did these mighty acts by HIMSELF. God informs us that the king was merely a pawn (or an ax) in God's own hand doing the conquering. Our pride and vanity will be conquered by God.
We actually DO commit the sins that we commit. Whether we could have done otherwise is immaterial in as much as committing the sin makes us SINNERS. Think of sin as DIRT. It matters not HOW we got dirty--God is going to give EVERYONE A BATH LIKE IT OR NOT. God is God and He can and will do as HE pleases. And God pleases to put us through an experience of sin and death before He glorifies us with all the powers of the universe.
Sincerely,
Ray
mhykx:
Hi everybody....
I have already read all possible pages returned when I searched for "accountable" in bible-truths.com.
I know God is the overall responsible for everything. There is no question about it. All of you, and most specially Mr. Ray, proved that. But why is God not accountable (I hope I'm not blaspheming)? Is it because He is not the one directly committed the mistake or sin but man is? God put, plan, arrange everything (even gave a weak heart) for man to sin or experience sin! He set the stage!
How different is the word 'accountable' to 'responsible' when Thesaurus and Dictionary somehow use them interchangeably?
Take a look at this situation...
A certain company went bankrupt.
The Chairman meets all the managers and directors.
He says, "Who is responsible to this mess?!"
Isn't it the same to say, "Who is accountable to this mess?!" ?
I'm sorry...I'm new to this. I hope I'm not annoying anyone.
Mike
Dave in Tenn:
I know God is the overall responsible for everything. There is no question about it. All of you, and most specially Mr. Ray, proved that. But why is God not accountable (I hope I'm not blaspheming)? Is it because He is not the one directly committed the mistake or sin but man is?
Yes.
God put, plan, arrange everything (even gave a weak heart) for man to sin or experience sin! He set the stage!
Yes.
God also gave His Son to die and take Responsibility. And He sent His Spirit to lead us into all Righteousness. Which way are you walking? Does knowing that make you want to run out and live it up in sin?
Many are called, but few are chosen.
That's the Spiritual lesson.
A certain company went bankrupt.
The Chairman meets all the managers and directors.
He says, "Who is responsible to this mess?!"
Isn't it the same to say, "Who is accountable to this mess?!" ?
It's one of the vagaries of English. In some cases, the words are pretty interchangeable. A native speaker would be more likely to say, "Who is responsible?" than "Who is accountable?" In either case, he would be understood...he's looking for the cause.
You might say with God, though, He's not looking for somebody to blame. He is the ultimate CEO and, as we say in the States, 'The buck stops here.'...or 'I am the cause'. Of course, His company is not really in a 'mess'. Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done on earth as it IS in heaven.
That's the English lesson. :D
Ninny:
Good point, Rodger! :D Definitely something to realize! We have been fed well, haven't we? I mean in the church!
Yet churches evolve whole doctrines around this word "responsibility." Things like: "you're responsible for going to hell" or "it's your responsibility to accept Christ" or "the age of responsibility" or "everyone is responsible for his or her deeds." Strange to make so big a deal of a word that does not even appear in Scripture."
hmmm...
Kathy :)
Robin:
I have a simple way of understanding this. God shows me something about my carnal mind. I agree with him and tell him the truth about that part of me that he has shown me. I confess that it is true. This is how I am accountable. There is no guilt involved. I know that I was powerless to prevent myself from being this way and I am powerless to change myself or mold myself into the image of Christ.
God is the only one who can be responsible for completing this work. He is the only one who has the power. He is responsible for the whole plan and designed it to make us his children. It's a good plan.
So I confess my sin as he brings me to repentance and I turn myself over to him to change me and mold me into the image of his son. There is so much freedom in that.
This is how I distinguish accountability from responsibility.
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