We Shall See Our Children Again One of the more difficult set of circumstances is when a baby or child dies. I am convinced to the deepest core of my being that our God, who is love and never arbitrary in judgment would ever in a million years consign a little one to Hell. Allow me to explain. The Bible says, “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin” (James 4:17). A baby or young child is born with the sinful nature because of the fall, but if that child has not come to the age of accountability, in other words, a clear understanding of right and wrong, they will not be held accountable before God for what they did not know. This principle is found throughout the Bible: “For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not” (II Corinthians. 8:12). So God will not hold someone responsible who cannot cognitively embrace the simple facts of the Gospel. This is why I believe in three spiritual states: 1) Lost, (this is the person who sins and knows it and refuses to repent). 2) Saved, (this is the person who knows he has sinned but has repented and received Christ). 3) Safe, (this is the person who never came to the knowledge of right and wrong) Babies, young children, and the severely mentally handicapped would be in this category. The Bible says of the law of God -- the commandments given on Sinai, i.e. the “thou shalts” and “thou shalt nots”-- “For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law” (Romans 5:13). In theological definition, “impute” is to ascribe to someone by virtue or guilt of a similar quality in another. So when we believe, the righteousness of Christ is imputed. Outside of Christ we are living in a fallen state because of the original sin of Adam, but if we do not have the knowledge of our lost-ness, we are not lost, although we may not be categorized saved. We are safe in calling that person, “safe,” for you see the Bible declares, “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:20). Paul said, “For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died” (Romans 7:9). This is a most fascinating proclamation, because Paul is saying there was a time he was spiritually alive, then he understood the law, in other words, he became accountable to the law he understood. Then he declared, “...and I died.” That dovetails with, “For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me” (Romans 7:11). Sin cannot take advantage when the weapon of the law is not handed off. King David’s baby died within the first week of its life outside its mother’s womb. David said, in II Samuel 12:23, But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me. We know that David went to Heaven; centuries after he died he was declared, “...a man after mine own heart...” (Acts 13:22). Where was the baby? Only one place for him to be and that would be Heaven as well. The Bible never says anything about limbo or purgatory. There is no in-between state where a soul must be prayed out of to enter heaven. The baby goes directly into the presence of Jesus.
Posted on: Sun, 08 Jun 2014 01:22:31 +0000
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