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Probe
Ministries > Founder's
Corner > Do Babies Go to Hell?

Do Babies Go to Hell?

Do you believe that babies go to hell or not? Please
support your answer with Scripture.

This is an issue that challenges or questions the justice
of God. It is a legitimate question, and I must say at the
outset we cannot give a total answer. But there are passages
in the Bible which shed a great deal of light on the subject.
I will try to address the ones that have come to my mind which
I think bear directly or indirectly on your question of the
innocence/accountability of children.

Generally speaking, we are asking the question, " What do
children know and when do they know it? And the key issue here
is one of comprehension of, or the understanding of the Gospel
message. This is not only true for children, it is true for
adults. When Philip saw the Ethiopian eunuch sitting in his
chariot reading Isaiah 53, he was instructed by the Holy
Spirit (Acts 8:29) to "Go up and join this chariot." Philip
asked him if he understood what he was
reading. The eunuch replied, "Well, how could I, unless
someone guides Me?" (v. 31). Acts 8:32-40 goes on to relate
that Philip explained how this Eunuch could become a
Christian. He responded and was baptized.

My point in beginning with this incident is because there
can be no salvation without an understanding of the gospel
message. We find Paul throughout the book of Acts reasoning,
debating, contending with people so they might understand the
message of salvation. And so children must be old enough to
understand the gospel, which involves a
comprehension of their own personal sin and guilt.

This brings the next question: At what age would that
be? I am sorry that I cannot give an affirmative answer
since the Scripture never pinpoints clearly the exact age when
this occurs. The Talmud from ancient times designated age
thirteen for boys ("Bar Mitzvah,"—cf. Judaism, Arthur
Hertzberg, p. 100) and twelve for girls ("Bat Mizvah"). This
was the time when Jewish boys and girls became responsible for
themselves and were to observe all the rituals, feasts, etc.,
incumbent upon them as members of the Jewish community. It was
also the time when the boys were allowed (called) to read the
Torah as full members of the worshipping community.

The confirmation services for the young which are practiced
in all Catholic, Greek Orthodox, and some Protestant churches
are based on the earlier Jewish traditions above. All of them,
including the Jewish community, have traditionally set the
"age of accountability at about age twelve.

It is also interesting that Luke records the incident at
the temple where a twelve-year-old Jesus lagged behind his
family and was found (three days later!) in the temple
"sitting amidst the teachers both listening to them and asking
them questions. . .And all who heard Him were amazed at His
understanding and His answers." (Luke 2:46,47).

We can glean from other Old Testament passages additional
insights:

1. I Samuel 1:22-18; 3:1-19: Hannah, married to Elkanah,
was barren. She made a vow to the Lord that if He would give
her a son, she would dedicate him to the Lord for lifelong
service. God graciously did so, and Samuel was born. Hannah
cared for him and told her husband she would not go up to
the Tabernacle (at Shiloh) for the annual sacrifice (Day of
Atonement) until she had weaned Samuel, saying, "I will
not go up until the child is weaned; then I will bring him,
that he may appear before the Lord and stay there forever."
(1:22).

The weaning of Hebrew (and other ancient) children did
not occur until two or three years, and nursing may have
extended beyond to perhaps age five. Therefore Samuel was a
very young boy when he was dedicated to the service of the
temple. Hannah says on this occasion, "For this boy I
prayed, and the Lord has given me my petition which I asked
of Him. . .So I have also dedicated him to the Lord; as long
as he lives he is dedicated to the Lord. And she worshipped
the Lord there."(1:27,28). We are also told in 2:11 that
"the boy ministered to the Lord before Eli the
priest."Verses 2:18-21 indicate that the boy was visited
each year by his mother, at which time she would bring him a
new, little robe. Several years are indicated in this
passage, including the fact that Hannah had given birth to
three more sons and two daughters. We can conclude, since
Samuel was at least three or four years old when initially
brought to the temple, he would at least be nine or ten, and
could have been even older (a teenager) when he had his
visitation and call from the Lord in I Samuel 3:1-21. The
critical verse in this chapter is as follows: "Now Samuel
did not yet know the Lord, nor had the word
of the Lord yet been revealed to him." (v. 7).

So here again, Samuel could well have been around age
twelve when this event occurred, an incident pointing out a
demarcation in his life—of "not knowing" and then "knowing"
the Lord.

2. Another passage which marks out this demarcation is
found in Nehemiah 8:1-3. After Nehemiah and the Jews had
rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem they gathered together in
worship to hear Ezra the Scribe read the Torah: "And the
people gathered as one man, . . .and they asked Ezra the
scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses which the Lord
had given to Israel. Then Ezra the priest brought the law
before the assembly of men, women, and all who could
listen with understanding. And he read
from it before the Water Gate from early morning until
midday, in the presence of men and women, those who
could understand; and all the people were
attentive to the book of the law. . .And
they read from the book, from the law of God, translating to
give the sense so that they
understood the reading (v.8). By
implication, the younger children—those without
understanding—were not present.

3. Another interesting "accountability" issue is found in
the Torah which involves the numbering of the fighting men
of Israel in the book of Numbers. We are told in Numbers 1
that Moses was instructed to "take a census of all the
congregation of the sons of Israel, and their families. .
.according to the number of names, every male, head by head
from twenty years and upward, whoever is
able to go out to war in Israel." (1:2,3). This passage
informs us that there were no teenagers in
Israel's army. This census was taken at the end of the
entire year the Israelites spent at Mt. Sinai where they
received the Law, and during which time they built the
Tabernacle and organized themselves into a well-defined
community. They were now to embark upon the conquest of
Canaan. However, they were called upon to postpone that
conquest because of their unbelief and disobedience at
Kadesh Barnea. God sent them into the wilderness for forty
years after their "Reconnaissance" of Canaan by the twelve
spies ended in failure.

After this forty-year exile we read in Deuteronomy
2:14-16, "Now the time that it took for us to come from
Kadesh-barnea to (here has been) thirty-eight years; until
all the generation of the men of war perished from within
the camp, as the Lord had sworn to them. Moreover the hand
of the Lord was against them, to destroy them from within
the camp, until they all perished."

What is significant here is that those men who perished
were those selected for the army forty years earlier whose
ages ranged from twenty to age sixty. The Bible says that by
thirty-eight years later, all of these men, the men of
"unbelief," had now died off, leaving only the new
generation which would be allowed to enter Canaan.
This new "fighting force" would include that original group
of males (from age 1 to 19 (which would now be ages 40 to
59) as well as all the males which had been born during the
roughly forty years of Wilderness wanderings. So here again,
there is an "age of accountability" factor taken into
account by the Lord and His servant, Moses. There was no
judgment upon this younger group of males. They were allowed
to enter Canaan and participate in the conquest of the Land.

There is another passage that touches on this later "age
of accountability" from the life of Jehoiachin, II Kings
24:8: "Jehoiachin was eighteen years old
when he became king. . .and he did evil in
the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father had
done." So here we find an eighteen- year-old king who is
viewed by the Lord as being accountable for the evil he had
already done.

I put this section in, but I don't personally believe
that exempting the "under-twenty-year-olds" at the time of
the Exodus is a likely precedent for an age of
accountability. Furthermore, we find in the legal
regulations of the Torah that a disobedient and unmanageable
teenager was responsible for his actions, and could be
stoned to death by the community! This could occur for
cursing his parents, violence, drunkenness, adultery, and so
forth. So, in my thinking, the ten to twelve year age would
seem more likely for an age of understanding or
accountability.

4. Another passage which bears upon our question comes
from the life of David, and specifically the outcome of his
sin with Bathsheba and the premeditated murder of her
husband, Uriah the Hittite (II Samuel 11 & 12). You will
recall that David lusted after Bathsheba's great beauty and
committed adultery with her, after which she became pregnant
(11:1-5). David gave instructions to have Uriah placed "in
the fiercest battle and withdraw from him so that he may be
struck down and die." (11:15). After Uriah's death, David
brought Bathsheba to his house as his wife, and she bore him
a son. (11:27) Nathan the prophet confronts David with his
sin and says, "because by this deed you have given occasion
to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that
is born to you shall surely die.: Then the Lord struck the
child that Uriah's widow bore to David, so that he was very
sick." (12:14,15).

The child lingered for seven days and then died. During
this time, David prayed and fasted and laid on the ground.
When the child died the servants were afraid to tell David,
but he saw them whispering and they finally told him, "He is
dead." (12:19).

When David heard this, he got up, washed himself, changed
his clothes, asked for food and ate. His servants were
perplexed by this: while the child lived, David mourned.
When the child died, David got up and ate food. They
wondered why. David said, "While the child was still alive,
I fasted and wept; for I said, Who knows, the Lord may be
gracious to me, that the child may live. But now he has
died; why should I fast.? Can I bring him back again?
I shall go to him, but he will not return
to me."(12:22,23)

David has a view of death and immortality which expresses
itself in this incident involving the death of a child.
David believes in the after life. In Psalm 23 he concludes
by saying: "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all
the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the
Lord forever."So for David there was a place for the dead,
including children—the house, or the dwelling place, of the
Lord. David also speaks of this in Psalm 16:9,10 where he
says, "For thou wilt not abandon (leave) my soul in Sheol
(the grave); Neither wilt Thou allow Thy Holy One to see
(experience) decay (corruption)." David believes in the
resurrection of the body—for himself, and for the Messiah
(the Holy One) (see also Acts 13:35). Job says something
very similar: "And as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives,
and at the last He will take His stand on the earth. Even
after my skin is flayed (corrupted) Yet without my flesh I
shall see God; Whom I myself shall behold, and whom my eyes
shall see and not another."

The point of David's perspective is that he believes that
the child is still alive and in God's presence, David
anticipates that when he dies, he will join his
little son in the house of the Lord: "I shall go to
him."

5. Finally, we have the teachings of Jesus Himself. In
Matthew 19:13-15, our Lord says as the children we being
hindered from coming near to Him, "Let the children
alone, and do not hinder them from coming to me; for the
kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these, and after laying
His hands on them, He departed. . ."

Christ has a special love for little children. Why He
associates children with the Kingdom of Heaven is because it
is the place of the innocent, the blameless. It would appear
that Jesus sees children in this light. The whole trend of
Scripture seems to teach that the innocents who are too
young to sin and too young to accept Christ intelligently
(with understanding!), are safe in the arms of a
just and holy God.

We need never fear about God being unjust. He cannot be.
His mercy and justice are from everlasting to everlasting. I
therefore conclude, that there will be no children in hell.
There will also be no retarded, or otherwise
mentally-incapacitated individuals there, those who cannot
fully comprehend and understand what Christ has accomplished
on their behalf at Calvary.

In summary, I think we can conclude the following:

First, that there is some period of grace afforded the
young before they have developed an understanding to fully
comprehend the gospel message and its implications for their
lives.

Second, there seems to be good scriptural support that all
infants, like David's little son, go immediately, in their
innocence, into the arms of the Lord.

Third, that the likely range of such an age of
"accountability " may occur around the time of puberty.

Fourth, that we are not saying children younger than this
"accountability age" commit no sin (as sinful tendencies and
acts occur quite early in children), and because of their
fallen nature, they do these things spontaneously, things
which they have definitely NOT learned from their parents or
their friends). What we are saying is that up to the point
when they reach clear understanding, they do not come under
the judgment of the Law.

I'm sure that much more could be gleaned from the
scriptures on this, but these passages came to my mind. At
least it's a start at answering your question, D____. I hope
this helps.

Jimmy Williams, Founder
Probe Ministries

Yes Sir, that does help. Thanks very
much. What you wrote is what I've long believed, without
really knowing how to defend it biblically.

Now for a follow-up question which seems to spring quite
logically from what you wrote: If God exempts from holding
accountable for their sins those who are not old enough to
have "understanding," and those of any age who are incapable
of having "understanding" (such as the mentally retarded), is
it also possible, Scripturally speaking, that He exempts in
some measure those who have never heard of Jesus at
all—judging them perhaps by whatever standard He utilized for
those before Christ (lived), both Jews and non-Jews, some of
whom certainly gained eternal life, rather than automatically
condemning them for not accepting the Savior of whom they
never heard?

I would suggest you check the Probe web site and look for
three articles which address this question: "What
About the Person Who Never Heard of Jesus,"  "Is
Jesus the Only Savior?" and "Salvation:
A Second Chance."

I would say in addition, to your remarks about Old
Testament believers, that there were two kinds of people
before Christ just as there are two kinds of people now:
believers and
unbelievers.

It is helpful for me to think of this in terms of a
painting. As early as Genesis 3:15, immediately after the
"Disobedience/Fall" God began to reveal His plan of
redemption. He speaks there of the "Seed" of a Woman" who
would one day crush the head of Satan and
destroy his power and influence on the earth.

As we move through the Old Testament, God continues, with
broad strokes at first, to sketch out the details of Who this
Person would be. By the time we get to Malachi, a fairly
accurate portrait of Messiah and His Mission has been
provided. The New Testament is the fulfillment of that
unfolding from the Old.

Jesus said, "Your Father Abraham saw my
day (time, era) and rejoiced in it" (John 8:16). Now,
what did He see (comprehend, understand)? Not the
whole picture revealed in the New Testament,
but enough information for him to have a basis (God's promise
of a Messiah) for his trust, his belief, at that time.

Noah is another example. There is nothing directly
mentioned about the Messiah in the Noah narrative (except the
fact that the Ark itself is a type of
Christ—those inside the Ark were saved; those outside the Ark
perished), the important principle is that God revealed some
things to Noah and asked him to be obedient to them.

We cannot understand this Old Testament Salvation issue
unless we see clearly what God was doing. What was He doing
from Genesis 3:15 to the end of the Old Testament? He was
progressively revealing more and more details about His
promised Messiah. Hebrews 1:1-2 says, "God spoke long ago to
the fathers by the prophets and in may portions and in many
ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He
appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the
world."

It seems apparent that the Old Testament saints had
some "light" and they were responsible to respond to
it. The CROSS has always been the basis for our
salvation. Those who came before it looked forward in
time to when it would be fulfilled. Those of us who
have lived after Jesus's Day look back to that time
when it was accomplished. This is the basis
for our salvation. The means of our salvation is
always faith, encompassing all who lived before and
all who lived after the Cross who "believed God" and whatever
revelatory information they had at that time. And the
results of our faith are always expressed in being
obedient to those things which God has revealed. I hope this
information and the other articles I have recommended you to
read will answer your above question.

Do Babies Go to Hell? #2

This is one of those items that, as you know, God has not
revealed. Consider this: If we think they don't, that is, that
God takes them all to Heaven, then abortion and the killing of
those before the so-called age of accountability would be a
great way to have more babies go to Heaven. Consider, what
percent of those that reach the so-called age of
accountability get saved/born again. By aborting and killing
the young children we could increase that to 100 percent. This
would of course make abortion and murder good.

Thank you for this response to my remarks about the above
topic.

First of all, I respectfully disagree with your first
statement. It seems to me that, while we do not have a total
answer to this question from the Scriptures, I enumerated
several lines of thought pertaining to the question, one of
which was a clear, biblical example recorded of a child who
had died and went to heaven. So I don't think you could say
"God has not revealed anything about this issue to us. We do
have some information and insight from the
Scriptures.

So I will restate my conviction that I do believe there are
not—nor will there ever be—any children in hell.

Secondly, I don't follow your logic in your next statement.
Given my view, any infant death—whether from abortion,
accident, disease, assault or other causes—does not matter:
All babies go to heaven. And so aborting children
would not be a great way to have more babies go to
Heaven, as you suggest, since all of them go to Heaven.

Thirdly, you have tacked on to this another issue which
must be kept separate from the above. You say, I think, that
we would be doing some persons (those who are not
going to become Christians after they have reached the age of
accountability when they are held responsible to God for their
choices and behavior) a big "favor" by aborting them. I hope I
am reading you right.

There are several things very wrong about what you propose:
(a) I would assume that you believe, as I do, that the
"termination of a pregnancy" (i.e., a euphemism for killing
and destroying an unborn infant) is murder. This is a
violation of the Sixth Commandment (Ex. 20:13). This
commandment alone is in opposition to what you suggest. (b)
Further, in order to carry out such a task, you would
literally have to be God Himself, since you don't know which
ones are the "fledgling" non-believers upon whom you are to
perform your acts of "mercy." (c) But why stop there? Why not
go ahead and do the same with the mentally-impaired? The
comatose? The "non compos mentis" elderly? Would they
not also qualify? Something is wrong with this picture.

Fourthly, you say that carrying out such an enterprise
would "make abortion and murder good." This is actually very
far from what I view as a Scriptural perspective. Paul asks,
"Shall we sin (continue in sin) so that (we can see) grace
abound? (Romans 6:1)" In other words, should we take advantage
of God's forgiveness of sins through Christ and go on sinning
so we can see His marvelous Grace go to work to cover it? Paul
says, "God forbid." He elaborates on this later on: "Let love
be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cleave to what is
good (12:9)." Earlier Paul defends his actions against those
who were criticizing him and his colleagues, "slanderously
reporting that we say, 'let us do
evil that good may come.'
Their condemnation is just (Romans 3:8)." In Psalm
109:3-5 David's words could easily be applied to the unborn:
"They have spoken against me. . they have also surrounded me
with words of hatred, And fought against me without
cause. In return for my love (innocence) they act as my
accusers;...Thus they have repaid me evil for good.
...and hatred for my love." In II
Corinthians 13:7,8 Paul says, "Now we pray to God that you
do no wrong...but that you may do what is right
. ...For we can do nothing against the
truth, but only for the truth." In Proverbs
17:13 it says, "He who returns evil for good, Evil will not
depart from his house." And "He who justifies the
wicked, and he who condemns the righteous, Both of them alike
are an abomination to the Lord (vs. 15,16)." And
Moses says, "I call heaven and earth to witness against you
today, that I have set before you life and
death, the blessing and the curse. So choose
life in order that you may live, you and your seed, by
loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and
by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the
length of your days (Deut. 30:19,20)." And finally, James
says, "Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted
by God'; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself
does not tempt anyone [to do evil] (James
1:13)."

The principle is pretty clear: "It is never
right to do wrong in order to do
right." "It is never good to do
evil in order to do good."

I hope this answers your question, ______ .

God's blessings,

Jimmy Williams, Founder
Probe Ministries

Do Babies Go To Hell #3

First, I want to say that our family has been blessed by
the ministry of Probe. I've caught up on my mail, and just
read the answer to the questions "Do Babies Go to Hell?" There
is a passage in Romans that always comes to mind in this
regard. It is Romans 7:9.

I was once alive apart from the Law; but when
the commandment came, sin became alive and I
died;

This is "the" verse that really spoke to me about the
existence of an "age of accountability," whatever that age may
be. Being a Jew, and a Pharisee at that, I'm sure Paul had a
knowledge of the law on some level at an early age. But it
wasn't until it "came" to him (he understood it?) that he was
accountable, i.e. he "died" (came under condemnation which he
knew was worthy of death).

Just though I'd pass this on. I might not have bothered to
respond, not wanting to take time to look up the verse, but I
just read Romans 7 this morning so it was "quite" fresh in my
mind. And I can never read this without thinking of this
point.

May the Lord continue to bless your ministry.

PraiSing Him,

______

Dear ______,

Thank you for your e-mail and comments on Romans 7:9. It
really relates to this subject. I am glad you are benefiting
from the Probe web site. Thank you for expressing your
appreciation, which is a real encouragement to all the Probe
Staff.

Jimmy Williams
Probe Ministries

Do Babies Go To Hell #4

I frequent your web site and have enjoyed it thoroughly. It
has helped to shape me and has been a source of God's truth
for me. For that I am grateful!! I don't think that once I
have ever felt that you have been different than what God's
truth says. Below I raise some questions about the recent
article about babies' salvation. Please comment to help me
understand how you feel. Thanks.

First of all, the Bible says that "…all have sinned and
fall short of the glory of God." All we like sheep have gone
astray, we have turned everyone to our own way. . ." ". . .
there is none that doeth good, no not one." These folks that
believe that children won't be held accountable for their
sins, I believe, don't understand the fallen nature of man and
the righteous character of an all-Holy God.

Even David had a handle on this doctrine when he wrote in
Psalm 51: "Behold, I was shaped in iniquity and in sin did my
mother conceive me."

It's important to note that the "all" and "everyone" listed
above means all people, even babies, born and yet unborn. We
are by nature sinful, which means we are spiritually dead and
enemies of God. Spiritually-dead people (of any age) cannot
make themselves spiritually alive any more than
physically-dead people can make themselves physically
alive.

Spiritually-dead babies are enemies of God and separated
from Him and completely unable to change that situation. The
nature of God is that He is totally just and righteous. The
Bible says, "…I am of purer eyes than to behold iniquity."
"The soul that sinneth, it shall die." "I will by no means
clear the guilty." He had sworn a "thousand" times in
Scripture to punish sin wherever He finds it. His justice
demands that He do it. He cannot make any exceptions.

So. . .this is why Jesus came to earth to die on the cross.
If babies were not going to be held accountable for their sins
(and would automatically go to heaven when they die) as this
fellow teaches, then Jesus wasn't needed for them. This path
would lead us to believe that Jesus came to die only for those
who have reached that mystical "age of accountability" and
understand their sinful condition and can make a decision
regarding the gospel. It is true that as we mature and do
become aware of our thoughts and behavior and choices that we
will be held accountable for them. Those who assert that the
age of accountability is when children become responsible
before God, yet none of them seem to know when that age is.
Wouldn't it seem important to know that?

One more thing. By stating that we must reach this
(unknown) age before we can understand and believe and thus be
responsible for our salvation puts some of the credit for our
being saved upon US, doesn't it?

The business of enlightening souls and saving same belongs
to the Holy spirit. Martin Luther stated, "I cannot by my own
reason or strength believe in God or come to Him…" We are
saved by God alone. "By grace are you saved through faith, and
that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works,
lest any man should boast."

We are accountable for our sins from conception and can
only be saved when the Holy Spirit gives us this faith and
changes us from spiritually dead to spiritually alive. This is
why we embrace Baptism. In I Peter 3:21, Peter states:
"Therefore we conclude, that Baptism doth also save us, not
the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a
good conscience toward God, through the resurrection of Jesus
Christ."

In Baptism, we are responding to a command of Christ's and
the Holy Spirit promises to save us through the water and the
Word by this act. What do you think of this?

Thank you for your recent e-mail. I appreciate the fact
that you have found benefit from the Probe Website. I am the
fellow you refer to who is responsible for writing the e-mail,
"Do Babies Go to Hell?"

In your first two paragraphs you mention the fact that from
conception babies bear the stamp of sin. I have no problem
with this as long as we understand what that means. And what
it means is that babies are members of a fallen race (See my
discussion on this in E-Mail #1). Sin is passed on genetically
from the male. This was why the Virgin Birth was necessary and
specifically why Jesus was "without sin." He is therefore the
only exception to the general rule.

And I also agree with you that apart from the working of
God, all humans are spiritually dead until they hear the
Gospel, respond to it and are born again into the family of
God.

You say that "spiritually-dead babies (born and unborn) are
enemies of God, separated from Him, and are completely unable
to change that situation." And I agree with you on the basis
of what I have just said above. But I want to ask you a
question. Do you then believe that every embryo, every unborn
fetus, and all toddlers, let's say, from the beginning of time
until now, are actually in hell? What if we add four and
five-year olds? Them too? I don't think so. But this is what
you are asserting to be true.

I point you back to a review of my original discussion in
E-Mail #1 about an alternative to your conclusion and one
which has some (not exhaustive) support in the Scriptures.
Specifically, I would ask you to focus on David's experience
with his newborn son (from Bathsheba) who became sick and died
seven days after his birth (II Samuel 11 and 12). After the
child has died, David says, "I shall go to him, but he will
not return to me (12:22,23)." Now here is a baby that had, as
we all do, a sin nature, but didn't go to Hell. In
Psalm 23 we have a clear indication of where David felt he
would be after death: "I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever." And he anticipated that he would again see his
little son.

In your next paragraph you make the assumption that those
who have not reached the age of accountability have no need of
a Savior. I don't follow your logic. On the basis of your own
premise that all in Adam are tainted with sin and are in need
of a redeemer, I don't understand why you would say His death
would not apply to these young ones as well. You do admit that
"it is true that as we mature and do become aware of
our thoughts and behavior and choices that we will be held
accountable for them." That is exactly the point. The
primary reason that Christian parents hesitate to explain the
Gospel to very young children is because those parents want
them to be old enough to fully UNDERSTAND what Jesus did for
them.

This leads me on to answer your question about "pinning
down" what/when that age might be. I don't think we can
arbitrarily pick an exact age for everyone. There are too many
variables. But we do know this: there are FOUR components
necessary for one to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus
Christ. We find them in Paul's interchange with Lydia in Acts
16:14: "And a certain woman named Lydia. . .was (1)
listening, and the (2) Lord opened
her heart to respond to the (3) things
spoken by (4) Paul."

In Acts 9:27-39 we have the account of Philip's encounter
with the Ethiopian Eunuch, who was reading Isaiah 53 out loud
as he sat in his chariot. Philip ran up and asked him, "Do you
understand what you are reading? The eunuch
answered, "How could I, unless someone guides
me?" You know the rest of the story. My point here is that
even adults don't become Christians until
they, with the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, come to
understand the gospel and see it with the
eyes of faith. Would it be any less important
for children to have the same understanding?

We also find in the Scriptures times when God
overlooked sin under certain circumstances as
the redemptive work unfolded through time: "the redemption
which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a
propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to
demonstrate His righteousness , because of the passing
over of the sins previously
committed in the forbearance of God (Romans
3:24-25." (See also Acts 17:30; Romans 5:13,14). You will also
find other, similar elements in the first e-mail.

In your next paragraph you indicate you feel special credit
is due those who come to a place of accountability to God, and
that their use of reason or comprehension somehow negates the
work of the Spirit. I point you back to Lydia. NO ONE COMES TO
CHRIST WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING THE GOSPEL. This involves
reason. And part of that reasoning is to comprehend
Romans 6:23—it is, as you mention, by grace and not
of works, "lest anyone might boast."

You conclude with some comments about baptism, and quote I
Peter 3:21. I am not sure why you included this in the
discussion, but let me comment: First of all, I am wondering
if you are including believer baptism as part of the
Gospel: that is, you believe one does not become a Christian
when he believes the Gospel, but rather that you only
accomplish when you are baptized. I am assuming that you are
not here referring to infant baptism, which, incidentally, is
used by some segments of Christendom to do something to
cover these young ones until they come of an age when
they can understand the Gospel. I do not personally
believe that baptizing an infant with water, without an
understanding of the Gospel, accomplishes anything.
It isn't even mentioned in Scripture.

Further, Paul tells us clearly in Romans 1:16 that he is
"not ashamed of the gospel, for
it is the power of God
unto salvation for every one who
believes." And so it is clear that the
Gospel is the power of God unto
Salvation, and nothing else. But we find in 1
Corinthians 1:17 that Paul clearly
distinguishes between the Gospel and Baptism: "For
Christ did not send me to baptize, but to
preach the gospel." Evidently, Paul does not
include baptism as part of the gospel, but rather saw it as
the appropriate response of obedience following one's
conversion. Even the verse you quote from Peter must be
carefully read: Peter qualifies his statement about baptism by
making sure he is not misunderstood. He appears to me to be
saying that water will not wash away sin, but rather, in
obedience to the command of Christ, the
believer, in good conscience toward God, gives his answer, or
his response, to the truth of the Gospel by submitting to
baptism. Baptism is a public testimony of one's inner
commitment to the Person and Work of Christ: "The word is near
you, in your mouth, and in your
heart.—That is, the word of faith which we
are preaching, that if you confess with your
mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe
in your heart that God raised Him
from the dead, you shall be saved; for with
the heart man believes,
resulting in righteousness, and with the
mouth he confesses,
resulting in salvation.

You asked me to comment on these issues and I have tried to
do this as honestly as I can from my understanding of God's
Word. You may not be comfortable with all of my responses, but
I have given you my "best shot."

May the Lord bless you and your family,

Jimmy Williams, Founder
Probe Ministries

About the Author

James
F. Williams is the founder and past
president of Probe Ministries International, and currently
serves as Minister at Large. He holds degrees from Southern
Methodist University (B.A.) and Dallas Theological Seminary
(Th.M.). He also has pursued inter-disciplinary doctoral
studies (a.b.d.) in the humanities at the University of Texas
at Dallas.

Over a thirty-five year period, he visited,
lectured, and counseled on more than 180 university campuses
in the United States, Canada, Europe, and the former Soviet
Union. He also served on the faculties of the American, Latin
American, and European Institutes of Biblical Studies.

What is Probe?

Probe Ministries is a non-profit ministry whose mission is
to assist the church in renewing the minds of believers with a
Christian worldview and to equip the church to engage the
world for Christ. Probe fulfills this mission through our Mind
Games conferences for youth and adults, our 3-minute daily
radio program, and our extensive Web site at http://www.probe.org/.

Further information about Probe's materials and ministry
may be obtained by contacting us at:

Probe
Ministries
2001 W. Plano Parkway, Suite 2000
Plano TX
75075
(972) 480-0240
[email-masked]
http://www.probe.org/
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