Infants, Mentally Incompetent, & Death

Not long ago, some friends lost their baby preterm. Just a few days ago, a friend from high school and her

husband lost their newborn baby mere days after his birth. I’ve never been in the circumstances where I’ve had to grieve the loss of one of my children like my friends are, so I cannot empathize with them completely. Nonetheless, my heart grieves for their losses. As a pastor for many years, I have been privileged to help many say goodbye to loved ones and, on more than one occasion, helped them bury their children. The death of an unborn child, infant, or very young child is never an easy thing for parents to deal with and often brings more questions than answers. The most common question involves the eternal destiny of the deceased child.

Not all Christians are united on this topic. Simply the put, the positions go something like this. On the one hand there are those who believe that all children who never reach an age of accountability and die are automatically taken to heaven by God. The look to a singular passage, 2 Samuel 12:23, to prove that all children who die immediately go to heaven. (While this passage can be variously interpreted, I believe, in the context, that David was speaking of seeing his son in the afterlife, not merely joining him in the grave.) On the other hand, there are those who believe that children who do not personally put their faith in Jesus Christ and die, regardless of age, are not saved and spend eternity in Hell. To be honest, Scripture is nearly silent on the matter. However, I believe a straight forward look at the truth that is revealed in Scripture can provide an answer to this question.

The Age of Accountability

The concept of an “age of accountability” does not exist in Scripture. It’s nowhere expressly taught or implied. The idea stems from the Jews who believed that young men became personally accountable to the Law of Moses at age 12. A Bar Mitzvah (meaning “son of the Law”) celebration would be held to usher the young man into full manhood and personal accountability for his obedience or disobedience to the Mosaic Law. Prior to age 12, the Jews believed young men were personally innocent of their violations of the Law and, therefore, not accountable. Many Christian groups have adopted this notion throughout history, and it remains a popular idea among many Christians today. Sadly, it’s not taught in Scripture.

What is clearly taught in Scripture is that all human beings have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory (Rom. 3:23). Furthermore, every human being born since Adam has inherited sin, been condemned for it, and suffers its consequence, death (Rom. 5:12-18). Nowhere does Scripture set an age limit on that accountability. Repeatedly, in fact, Paul uses the term “all” to describe the pervasive effects of the sin of Adam on the human race. He does not say all after a certain age, but merely all.

That said, Scripture says that people are condemned with the presence of an active moral conscience (Rom. 2:14-15) - that is an active understanding of right and wrong – even without the presence of Divine revelation. Young children do not possess and active moral conscience at birth. The consciousness of right and wrong and the relationship of personal responsibility to their moral understanding of right and wrong develops as the child matures. Typically, children become morally aware between ages 3-5; though it may take longer for some. While not prescribed age of accountability exists in Scripture, there does seem to be a time of moral unaccountability during the earliest few years of a child’s life.

The Gospel

It is tempting, based on what I just said, to believe that all children who die are then immediately consigned to Hell. Before such an idea can even be entertained, a fuller discussion of the gospel must be engaged. The good news of Jesus Christ is a simple thing. The apostle Paul stated it quite succinctly to the Corinthians, “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3-4). That’s it. That’s the gospel as simply put as possible. God, in his infinite wisdom and sovereign power has determined that men are saved when we believe that simple gospel without convolution or addition. Our salvation comes by a simple act of faith (Acts 16:31; Rom. 3:22; 10:9; Eph. 2:8-9; et. al.). I contend saving faith is not blind faith in abstract. Rather, there is a cognitive aspect to the gospel that must be understood before saving faith can be exercised. The unbeliever must understand, at even the basest level, what sin is, that he has personally sinned, that his sin must be paid for, that he cannot pay for it himself, that Jesus Christ has paid for his sin, and that simply believing this truth will save him from the consequences sin brings.

Why point this out? Because without even a base understanding of the simplest presentation of the gospel; saving faith isn’t possible. Paul put it this way, “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ” (Rom 10:17). If a child never hears and understands the simple truth of the gospel, the opportunity to exercise faith is not available for him. Young children are incapable of understanding even the basest explanation of the gospel until time and maturity work to bring them to that ability. Some children understand and believe as early as 3-5 years old; for others, it may take a bit longer. We cannot put a specific age on it. What we can say is that until a child is mature enough to recognize his personal sin and need of a Savior that saving faith cannot be exercised.

The Nature of God

God is a holy, righteous, just God; that is true. He is also loving, gracious, merciful, and kind. It makes little sense, and is inconsistent with a biblical view of God, to see God as consigning every person who, as of yet, is incapable of cognitively grasping the basic concept of sin, personal responsibility, and the need of a Savior, to an eternity in Hell. To consign a person incapable of understanding the gospel and exercising personal faith is inconsistent with the just nature of God1 John 2:2 states that, “He (Jesus Christ) is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world” (1Jo 2:2). The atonement of Christ is sufficient for the sins of the entire human race. Why could God not apply the power of the atonement to those who had not matured to the point of possessing an active moral conscience? God, in His grace and mercy, is perfectly free to do so if He so chose.

Furthermore, God has decreed that salvation comes by faith. Sinners must believe the truth of the Gospel of Christ in order to be saved. A child who dies before developing an active moral conscience, and maturing to the point of being able to understand the truth of the gospel, I believe, would not be held responsible by God for his unbelief. Why would God hold that child responsible for something he was incapable of understanding? To me, it’s incongruent with the nature of God to believe he would.

The Mentally Incapable

I’ve focused my points on children who have not matured to the point of having an active moral conscience and being able to understand the gospel, but the same logic can be applied to those individuals, regardless of age, who are incapable and have never developed an active moral conscience due to a mental incapacity to do so.

Conclusion

While no specific age of accountability exists, Scripture is clear that we are condemned by either the Law of Moses or the law of conscience (Rom. 2:12-15). Either way, we must become cognizant of right and wrong and our responsibility to it for us to recognize our need of the Savior and exercise personal faith for salvation. I believe it is incongruent with the nature of God for him to hold responsible those who are incapable of understanding right and wrong and exercising personal faith – due to age or mental incompetence. Scripture, however, I believe, based on what was presented above, that Christian parents who lose their children in the womb or early in life can take comfort in knowing they will see their children alive in Heaven some day.