There are many factors to consider in answering this question. We will go into some of these factors to see how “accountable” the husband is.

1) Was the wife saved? Let’s assume a case where a couple get married and both are unsaved. At some point the husband is saved but the wife remains unsaved. He may faithfully witness to her in hopes of her becoming saved, but if she continues to resist the Word of God, you could hardly charge him with being accountable for her actions. Let’s remember that when a person is unsaved, they are at “enmity against God” and “not subject to the law of God, NOR INDEED CAN BE” (Romans 8:7). Not only that, but in her unsaved state she has 3 enemies that keep her in bondage to sin. In Ephesians 2:1-3 the Apostle Paul reminds believers of their unconverted days and these 3 enemies: “And you He made alive, who WERE DEAD IN TRESPASSES AND SINS, in which you once walked according to the course of THIS WORLD, according to THE PRINCE of the power of the air, THE SPIRIT who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of OUR  FLESH, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and the mind.” The WORLD, the FLESH, and the DEVIL all contribute to one being in bondage to sin and at times some are led into the darkest regions of bondage, THE OCCULT.

2) Let’s assume the WIFE and the HUSBAND are both saved (either at the time of their marriage or sometime after they were married). The husband is told in Scripture to be “the HEAD of the wife” (Ephesians 5:22), and to “love your wive, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her” (verse 25). This means he should “nourish and cherish her, just as the Lord does the church” (verse 29). He should have the desire to see her “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18) and thus he would have devotions and times of prayer with her (and their children if they have any). If this “sacrificial love” is in play, the wife will “usually” respond favorably; she will grow spiritually and not be seduced by the world, the flesh, and Satan. In other words, she would not go into the occult. The Apostle John speaks of this spiritual growth and how once one is established in the Word they can avoid being seduced by the spirit of Antichrist (see 1 John 2:18-27).

3) Now let’s assume they are both saved but the husband fails to be the spiritual leader and in time she is drawn into the occult. Remember, the believer still has those same 3 enemies to contend with so the wife could still succumb to the WORLD of the occult that the DEVIL puts before her FLESH (the “old nature” that is still in the believer…. Romans 7:15-20). The husband is accountable to God for this failure, and he will have to answer for it when he is manifested before the Judgment Seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:9-10 and 1 Corinthians 3:12-15). Yet his wife too will have to answer for her failure at this time of judgment. She will not be able to say, “My husband failed to be the spiritual head of our house, and I was led into the occult.” She had a NEW NATURE (2 Peter 1:2-4) and the HOLY SPIRIT dwelling in her to keep her from falling into sin (1 John 2:20, 24-27; Galatians 5:16-25) and yet she failed to yield to the Spirit.

I want to end with two passages that really helped me to see that even if a man were to be the perfect head of the wife and spiritual leader of his children,” his wife or his children may still fail to follow his leading and thus fall into sin. We read in Jeremiah 3:6 & 11, “The LORD said also to me in the days of Josiah: ‘Have you seen what backsliding Israel has done…Return, O backsliding children,’ says the LORD, ‘for I AM MARRIED TO YOU.” In Isaiah 1:2 we read, “Hear, O heaven, and give ear, O earth! For the LORD has spoken: I HAVE BROUGHT UP CHILDREN, AND THEY HAVE REBELLED AGAINST ME.” God was the PERFECT HUSBAND and the PERFECT PARENT to the children of Israel, yet they still REBELLED against Him. This surely proves to us that a man could be a PERFECT HUSBAND or a PERFECT FATHER, and it would be no guarantee that his WIFE or CHILDREN won’t rebel and fall into sin.  (DO)  (720.3)