In last week’s posting, we discussed the first two of the three lines of Kingdom distinctives in the FAMILY—authority and responsibility. Today, I want to look at the third: accountability. All of these distinctives function
differently in each of the three God-ordained institutions, family, church and civil government, as each of these institutions have distinctly different organizational structures.
As we have seen, leadership in the biblical family resides in a single person, the husband. He has final authority and full responsibility for the well-being of his family. Therefore, it follows naturally that the husband alone is FULLY ACCOUNTABLE to the One who delegated it to him!
For example, we are told again and again in Scripture that Adam’s sin caused all mankind to fall into sin. A summary example is Romans 5:14: “Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam.
But wait just a little minute! It was Eve who sinned first! Satan approached HER, not Adam , and.Satan tricked HER to eat, not Adam. SHE SINNED by eating the fruit FIRST, not Adam. As Paul says, “And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression” (1 Timothy 2:14).
It appears that Adam knew exactly what was going on (there has been much discussion over whether or not Adam was on site and actually observing Satan’s encounter with Eve). However, he was NOT RESPONSIBLE OR ACCOUNTABLE for Eve’s personal sin before God. She is free and accountable to God for the condition of her own heart: “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate” (Genesis 3:6a). This sin of blatant disobedience evidently did not, in any way, affect mankind’s future standing before God.
Nonetheless, all human history WAS completely changed by what happened next in Genesis 3:6b. Adam had two options when offered the fruit by Eve. First, he could have said “Eve, you know God told us to not eat this fruit! I want you to drop it right now!,” and if she had done so, Adam and Eve would have continued to live in the Garden as previously, even though Eve had already eaten of the fruit.
But, according to God’s inscrutable, sovereign will, we all know that Adam chose option #2. Genesis 3:6b says: “She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate,” and all of future mankind fell into sin!
Therefore, Eve eating the fruit first did not affect Adam or the future human race that resided “in him,” It was Adam’s “Yes-Dear-“whatever-you-say-Dear” lack of strong, loving, decision-making leadership that brought spiritual death to the human race! The extent of Adam’s ACCOUNTABILITY before God for his and Eve’s sin and the sin of all his descendants that would come was total!
This perspective flies in the face of today’s culture, as Satan has blurred the biblical, male-female, leader-helper distinction. As a result, many men have adopted, subconsciously, Adam’s beta-male, passive attitude of that culture. Since the advent of the modern feminist movement in the 1960’s and ‘70’s, women are, actively and aggressively, learning to fill the now-vacated, biblical, alpha-male role!
This is a far cry from Paul’s admonition that the older women in the church “…so train the young women to love their husbands and children, be self-controlled, pure, WORKING AT HOME, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled” (Titus 2:4, 5).
The ideas Paul presents in this verse are reviled, denigrated, and ridiculed as “trying to keep women in the old male-chauvinist role of remaining ‘barefoot-and-pregnant in the kitchen.’”
However, the picture of the possible activities of a biblical wife, portrayed in Proverbs 31:10-29, completely destroys this idea. This Proverbs 31 woman, while remaining completely under the authority of her husband (who worked full-time in civil government as an “elder” in the community), not only was a homemaker, feeding and clothing her household, but was very involved in her community. This Scripture tells us that she bought and sold real estate, planted a vineyard, started businesses and charitable organizations, and always added to the family’s wealth. She was, self-consciously in all she did, under the authority of her husband and always contributed to and furthered HIS vision for their family!
So, in the family, the husband has 1.) complete AUTHORITY, under Jesus Christ, is 2.) totally RESPONSIBLE for his family’s direction and its conduct in the world, based on biblical standards, and is 3.) totally ACCOUNTABLE to Jesus Christ for his family’s failure to meet those standards.
Next week we will look at the 2nd, God ordained institution, the church, also in light of these three distinctives. Hold on tight!
