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Dear Larry Wilson:
I have wondered about the
eternal destiny of infants and young children who
die before reaching the age of accountability.
Are they “lost” or “saved?”
Sincerely, Crystal
______________________________________________________________
Dear Crystal:
For twenty centuries,
Christians have debated the question of how God
deals with the death of young children. In
ancient times, infant mortality was very high, so
to make sure that infants would inherit eternal
life, certain Christians began baptizing infants
as soon as possible after birth. In fact,
Catholics and a few Christian’s groups
currently believe that baptism is a requirement
for eternal life, so they apply the sacrament
of baptism to infants as soon as possible. (See
John 3:5) On the other hand, most Protestants do
not accept the idea that sacraments are necessary
for salvation. Protestants believe that salvation
comes through faith in Christ alone and baptism
is regarded as an ordinance. (An ordinance is
something that a believer does to show publicly
that he or she is a follower of Christ, but it is
not a requirement for salvation.) As you can see,
baptism means different things to different
Christians, but the question still remains,
“What happens to children who die before
reaching the age of accountability?” Are
they saved because they were baptized, are they
condemned because they were born into the curse
of sin or does God deal with them as though they
never sinned?
I believe that all
children, in all religions and cultures, are born
in a “saved” state. Yes, the Bible
teaches that all human beings are born with
fallen natures. We come from the womb having a
natural tendency toward selfishness, sin, and
rebellion, but I believe God does not impart
guilt to children for their sins until they reach
the age of accountability. For normal children,
the age of accountability (knowing the difference
between right and wrong and having the ability to
follow through with a conscientious decision to
do right or wrong) varies somewhere between the
ages of 7 and 14.
In other words, God does
not condemn a child to eternal death because (a)
Adam sinned, (b) the child’s parents are
sinners, or (c) the child is a natural
born sinner. If the blood of Jesus can justify
an adult who has willingly sinned, then the blood
of Jesus can also justify a child whose
ability to reason is limited and knowledge of
right and wrong is incomplete. A child is a
living trust given to parents until he or she is
intellectually and emotionally prepared to bear
the responsibilities of adulthood – or age
18, whichever comes first. Because the emotions
of children can be easily swayed, because
children cannot reason adequately, and because
children do not have a well-defined understanding
of right and wrong, they do not have
accountability during their first years of life.
In fact, this is why we call them “minors”
until they are 18 years old. Minors do not have
the same rights as adults. Minors cannot enter
into legal agreements, own property, vote, or get
married without parental consent. Because child
lack judgment (intellectually and emotionally),
they are not generally held to the same standards
of conduct as adults. (Occasionally, there cases
in juvenile courts where minors are charged and
sentenced as adults because the court proves that
the minor knew the difference between right and
wrong and chose to willfully do wrong.)
If, in our fallen state,
we realize the insufficiency of minors, surely
God does, too. Notice how God deals with
insufficiency of Gentiles (those who do not know
God). “Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not
have the law [of God, that is, a revelation
of the will of God], do by nature things
required by the law, they are a law for
themselves, even though they do have the law,
since they show that the requirements of the law
are written on their hearts [by the Holy
Spirit], their consciences [when they do
right are free of guilt] also bearing witness,
and their thoughts now accusing [when they do
wrong, they know their guilt], now [their
actions show their faith] even defending them [in
God’s sight].” Romans 2:14,15
insertions mine)
Paul makes the point
clear that when Gentiles follow the leading of
the Holy Spirit, God accepts them as His children
even though they do not know Him! God justifies
Gentiles who do not know Him because He sees the
heart of Jews and Gentiles alike. A person’s
salvation is not based on the purity of his
beliefs about God. Instead, a person’s
salvation is based on his response to the Holy
Spirit. Our response to the Holy Spirit reveals
our faith. God called Abraham to leave his
homeland. The Bible says, “By faith
Abraham, when called to go to a place he would
later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and
went, even though he did not know where he was
going.” (Hebrews 11:8) When God called
Abraham, one could say that Abraham was a
Gentile! God tested Abraham’s faith by
asking him to leave his family and home behind,
and Abraham passed the test because Abraham loved
God! Similarly, God knows that many Gentiles are
honest in heart and they would gladly do all that
He commands if only they had the knowledge of His
commands! Therefore, since God is willing,
through the blood of Jesus, to justify Gentiles
who do not know His ways, God also justifies
insufficient minors with the same blood!
Carefully consider this
passage: “Therefore, just as sin entered
the world through one man, and death through sin,
and in this way death came to all men [that
is, death was imposed upon all mankind because of
sin’s curse], because all sinned –
for before the law was given [at Mount Sinai],
sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into
account [that is, God does not impart guilt] when
there is no [knowledge of the] law
[right and wrong] …. Consequently, just
as the result of one trespass was condemnation
for all men [the curse of sin was passed
along to the offspring of Adam through his sin],
so also the result of one act of righteousness [Jesus
living a perfect life for us, without sin] was
justification that brings [eternal] life
for all men. For just as through the disobedience
of the one man the many were made sinners, so
also through obedience of the one man [Jesus
Christ] the many [sinners] will be made
righteous [before God].” (Romans
5:12,13, 18,19 insertions mine)
Paul affirms three
important facts in Romans 5 that every Christian
should know. First, Adam’s offspring
inherited Adam’s fallen nature. Thus,
everyone, but Christ, has sinned because we have
Adam’s sinful nature. Second, even though a
person will eventually die because of the
consequences of sin, God does not impart guilt to
a person who sins ignorantly. God is more than
fair. He does not hold a person accountable for
things that does not or cannot know. However, God
does hold a person responsible for refusing to
learn the truth. Third, God reconciled the world
to Himself through the blood of Jesus. Jesus
voluntarily came to Earth and died in our place
so that God could legally save sinners through
the process of covering our life’s record
with the perfect life of Christ. (The process of
covering our sinful record with Christ’s
sinless record is called “justification.”)
The net effect of God’s love is truly
beautiful: In spite of Adam’s failure and
our sinful nature, each child starts out in life
“saved” through Christ’s perfect
life until a time comes when as a adult, that
person insists on rebellion against God,
nevertheless], we were reconciled to him
through the death of his Son, how much more,
having been reconciled, shall we be saved through
his life [the gift of His sinless life which
covers our sins]! Not only is this so, but we
also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus
Christ, through whom we have now received
reconciliation. (Romans 5:10,11, insertions
mine)
The
Holy Spirit Has Two Objectives
When a baby is born, the
Holy Spirit begins working with that baby. The
Holy Spirit understands the sinful nature that
the baby has inherited. The Holy Spirit also
understands the rebellion that is in each human
heart. The Holy Spirit also understands the
language and culture of the baby. He also
understands the religious training that the baby
will receive. The Holy Spirit knows all this, but
He has two persistent objectives. First, He wants
to impress on the child the importance of honesty
and truth, that is, firmly standing up for what
is right and good and abhorring whatever is wrong
and evil. Second, the Holy Spirit works on every
person to bring us into submission with the will
of God. (For some people, this happens in
childhood, and for others, submission occurs in
adulthood.) Obviously, the Holy Spirit has many
obstacles to overcome such as arrogance and
ignorance, but eh greatest obstacle for the Holy
Spirit is man’s natural rebellion
toward God’s authority! For example, God
says love your enemies. Human beings do not
naturally love their enemies. God says not to
steal, commit adultery, covet, or lie. God says,
take care of your parents, no not commit sexual
immorality, do not take His name in vain, do not
worship idols, and do not forget to rest on the
seventh day, as He did. So, what is the problem
with doing all that God wants? “Those who
live according to the sinful nature have their
minds set on what that nature desires; but those
who live in accordance with the Spirit have their
minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of
sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by
the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is
hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s
law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the
sinful nature cannot please God.” (Romans
8:5-8)
The Holy Spirit may work
on the heart of a person for many years,
attempting to bring that person into a “born
again state.” Being born again means
starting all over in life. Paul says it is a
whole new beginning, a new life! (Romans 6:4)
Finding submission to God’s will as a joyful
experience is only possible after being
born again. Some people have “on again
– off again” experiences with the Holy
Spirit for years. Fortunately, the Holy Spirit
does not give up until He sees rebellion cannot
be overcome. I have known people who have
resisted the Holy Spirit for most of their lives,
and then at the end of their lives, they finally
relinquished their rebellion and surrendered
their will to the Lord before it was too late. I
have also seen people resist the Holy Spirit and
die without appearing to have any interest in God
or spiritual matters. Of course, I am not in a
position to read the mind or heart of anyone, but
I am saying that the hope of salvation is lost
when we grieve away the Holy Spirit. Once the
Spirit leaves, there is no return and in His
absence, there is no further interest in
spiritual things or a desire to glorify God.
“If we deliberately keep on sinning after
we have received the knowledge of the truth, no
sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful
expectation of judgment and of raging fire that
will consume the enemies of God.” (Hebrews
10:26,27)
Conclusion
From birth, everyone has
a sinful nature. Therefore, a minor will sin, but
a minor is guiltless in God’s sight because
he or she is intellectually and emotionally
insufficient. Jesus has reconciled the whole
world to the Father through His perfect life and
sacrificial blood. This means that God is
permitted to legally wrap every minor and every
submissive person in the perfect record of Christ’s
life (justification). Salvation is a gift from
God for everyone. Salvation does not come through
sacraments, rituals, or observing ordinances.
What matters to God is our response to the
demands that the Holy Spirit imposes on us. If we
are honest-hearted and love “the light of
truth,” we will embrace the truth, and then
upon experiencing rebirth, we will make every
effort to conform our lives to Christ’s
gospel through His power. If we remain
self-centered and rebellious and we allow our
fallen nature to control us, we can be sure the
Holy Spirit is not making headway in His struggle
to bring us into submission. Obviously, the Holy
Spirit tests different people with different
things to see if they are willing to obey God. Do
you remember the story of the rich young ruler?
(Luke 18:18-24) He failed the test of selling his
material wealth for Christ’s sake. He loved
his religion and his money more than he loved
God. He could not walk away from his wealth and
his status in Israel and follow Jesus. On the
other hand, King Nebuchadnezzar is an example of
a rich ruler who was tested with humility, and
after being humiliated by God’s Spirit for
seven years; the king finally became a believer.
(Daniel 4:35-37)
In closing, “Jesus
said, ‘Let the little children come to me,
and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven
belongs to such as these,’” (Matthew
19:14) Crystal, if you accept the idea that
minors are freely justified by God’s grace,
this text will make perfect sense just as it
reads!
I hope this helps!
Larry Wilson
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