Parents from all walks of life often find themselves most concerned about the eternal security of their children. This is especially so for parents of infants and small children. Many believers, across different denominations, maintain that Scripture teaches a doctrine called “the age of accountability.” Unfortunately, neither that nor any similar phrase is found anywhere in the Bible. The issue regarding this belief is found in man’s focus on the word “age” and our instinctive desire to want a definitive answer to our specific question—when will my child be accountable for his/her sin?
It is important that we, as believers, understand that every child that has ever been born or ever will be born is born into sin. This is called The Doctrine of Inherited Sin which teaches that, through the fall of Adam, God counts all men (and women) guilty of sin (Gen 3; Rom 5:13-19). Furthermore, David writes, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me,” and “The wicked go astray from the womb, they err from their birth” (Ps 51:5; 58:3). Every child that is born stands dead in his/her sin without the presence of the Holy Spirit dwelling within them. The only account we have of a child born with the Holy Spirit is the case of John the Baptist when the angel Gabriel said, “He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb” (Luke 1:15). Even understanding this Scriptural truth, the question remains: can a child be saved who dies before he/she is old enough to understand and believe the gospel? To answer this question, we must first understand that, if such a child is saved, the salvation extended to him/her is not based on the child’s merits nor based on his/her own righteousness or innocence, but only and completely on the redeeming work of Christ and the regeneration by the Holy Spirit within that child (Eph 2:8-9).
Having established these truths, it has been seen throughout history that, from era to era, from culture to culture, children mature at different paces and the Lord, in His wisdom, did not identify a specific moment of “sin accountability.” God knows when one becomes accountable and when the love of sin exists in the heart. Most agree that a condition of accountability, as much as is possible based on a person’s mental capacity, is associated with the time when one’s heightened sense of feelings, impulses, and desires start to develop. Often this is around the time of puberty; but again, this is not a set age and each child is different.
Until a child reaches this condition of accountability, I believe that God, in His love, grace, and mercy, would save that child, should he/she die. We find evidence of this in many passages of Scripture (e.g., Gen 7:1; cf. Heb 11:7; Jos 2:18; Ps 103:17; John 4:53; Acts 2:39, et al), but one of the most vivid examples is found in the death of the child that Bathsheba bore to King David. When the baby died, David said, “I shall go to him, but he will not return to me” (2 Sam 12:23). David knew where he was going because, throughout his life, he expressed great confidence that he would dwell eternally in the Lord’s presence (Ps 23:6, et al). David had the same confidence that, upon his own death, that he would be reunited with his son in heaven, forever. This truth of God’s Word, along with the consistency and faithfulness of God’s character, should bring assurance to all believers who have endured the loss of a child. That child is not in their past, but in their future—and one day they will be reunited in the presence of the Lord forever.
Brent Thompson
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