Limbo & The Age of Accountability

Hello, and thank you for listening to the

Testing the Spirits podcast. The title of this episode is Limbo and the Age of Accountability.

What is limbo? What is the age of accountability? Is that biblical? Hopefully we're going to answer these questions and really the question that's underlying all of this, what happens to babies or small children or even miscarriages or abortions?

What happens to babies or small children who die before they can reach an age where they can accept

Christ? The question is phrased this way because we know what Jesus taught that a person must be born again, that no man comes to the

Father except through Christ, John 14 verse 6. The apostles taught that salvation was through faith in the gospel,

Acts 4 .12, Ephesians 2, 8 and 9. So according to the Bible, in order to get to heaven, a person must believe in Jesus.

But what about those who never had an opportunity to believe? Well, we could expand this obviously to, you know, that question people ask about the poor, innocent native in the jungle.

What about people in remote parts of the earth who never had an opportunity to believe?

That's a separate question because they're adults. Romans 1, Romans 2 and 3, they're very clear, those chapters, adults, they have sinned.

Okay, so that's a different issue because children, the whole premise that I'm working on in this video, and it is absolutely biblical and I'll prove that, that children are innocent.

Okay, so that tells you where I'm going with this question. What happens to babies who die? Well, they're innocent.

They go to heaven, right? Well, but there's a lot of other questions. What about Adam's sin, original sin, the fall?

Okay, so let's try to work all this out. There are many different ideas out there.

The first thing you're likely to hear about when talking about the question, what happens to small children who die?

You're likely to hear someone bring up the so -called age of accountability.

Now I want to be careful about that because on the one hand, I do believe in the concept, but at the same time, when it comes to the age of accountability,

I have to admit the Bible doesn't really teach an age of accountability.

Well, how does that line up? How can you believe it if you say the Bible doesn't teach it? Well, hold on. The Bible, okay, the term age of accountability is not in the

Bible, but that doesn't really matter as long as the concept is taught. But at the same time,

I think you'd be hard pressed to point to any one verse or passage that teaches an age of accountability.

So you might say, well, then it's not biblical, right? Well, hold on. Just because there is no specific age,

I mean, it's not like you can say that at six or eight or 12 or 13 or 16, it could be different for everybody.

But there does come a time, most certainly, there does come a time when an innocent child begins to understand the difference between right and wrong.

So here's what I know for sure. The Bible refers to children as innocents.

Jeremiah 19 verse four is a good example, referring to the children who are sacrificed to Molech, the word of God calls them innocent.

It's also common sense. A three -month -old baby does not have the capacity to even understand

God's law, nevermind to violate it. And sin, according to scripture, is a violation of the law.

So long story short, there does come a time where a child loses their innocence, okay?

They realize, they start understanding the difference between right and wrong, and as soon as they're able, then they start choosing the wrong.

Now I think that's a different age as children develop differently and mature, some at a quicker rate than others.

I think a good indicator, just something to consider, is when a child begins to become self -conscious about their own nakedness.

Why do I say that? Because remember in the Garden of Eden, as soon as Adam sinned, what's the first thing him and Eve realized?

Well, they realized that they were naked, and they immediately covered themselves. So that was like the first thing, as soon as they became sinners, that's the first thing they noticed.

So when a little child, my point is, when a little child reaches that age where they start becoming self -aware of their nakedness,

I think that's an indicator that they're really starting to understand the difference between right and wrong.

That could be a different age for different kids, 4, 5, 6, 7, who knows?

Again you can't point to any one age, but there are some people out there, and I really don't put any stock in this, but they'll say the age of accountability is 13, like they want to put this number 13, because that's when the

Jews, you know, a boy goes through, I thought it was 12, but you know, a Jewish boy goes through his bar mitzvah and now he's considered a man at age 13 apparently.

Yeah, well that's not in the Bible anywhere. So I'm going to base my arguments on the

Bible, not Jewish tradition, okay? So people are going to say all sorts of different things, but some would say it's puberty.

I mean, you know, that sort of makes sense. To me, around age 15 or 16 is when kids really kind of develop a mind of their own.

Long story short, I can't really say, I do believe in the concept, again, there is a time where children go from being innocent to they're not innocent anymore, but I can't really say when that is.

So a lot of questions, all that to say this, there's a lot of questions surrounding the age of accountability.

Now, does that mean there's no answer to the question? What happens to infants who die and small children who die?

And obviously this is a very sensitive topic. If you had a young child who died,

I hope by the time this video ends, you can really take great comfort in the answer because I think there is an answer and it goes back to the fact that God's word calls these babies and young children.

God's word says that they're innocent. So I'll just give you my belief now, and then

I'll come back to it because there's a few other things we need to work through. I do believe that infants and young children who die, and that would include miscarriages and even abortions.

I believe that they go to heaven partially because, or not just partially,

I would rest most of my argument. I think there is one biblical text that does tell us this, but mostly it's because they're innocent.

Here's the thing. You, while you need to believe in Jesus in order to be saved, right? Sinners need to be saved.

Innocent people have no need of a savior. Now, at the same time, and this is where it does become a little complicated because some will bring up original sin, right?

It's like a theological term, but you know, we go back to Adam and Eve, Adam's sin, which some people think that's what original sin means.

It's, well, that's Adam's sin, eating the apple. Of course, the Bible doesn't say it was an apple. Adam ate the forbidden fruit.

That was the original sin. Well, actually the term original sin doesn't refer to the, you know, original sin.

It refers to the effects of it. That through Adam's sin, the human race became, we became sinners.

It's true. We have the sin nature, and that is kind of where the tricky argument comes in.

People say, but pastor, these little children, yes, the Bible calls them innocent, but they have, they have original sin.

So they're not really innocent in that sense. Well, again, the Bible, what do

I know for certain? I know for certain the Bible calls them innocent. People say, well, they have, kids have the stain of original sin, and that's why they need to be baptized and have that sin washed away.

Hold on. And that's where I would stop you. That is a Roman Catholic concept.

That is a Roman Catholic view of original sin. And I'll just be upfront.

I reject that. This idea, and the Roman Catholic church taught this for centuries.

What's the title of the episode? Limbo in the Age of Accountability. I said, yes, there are some questions about the

Age of Accountability. As far as limbo goes, though, limbo is totally unbiblical, but the

Roman Catholic church taught for centuries that there are all these babies and it's true. They, they died without being baptized.

And because of original sin, that state, you know, quote unquote, stain of original sin, the

Catholic church taught that these babies who died without being baptized, they went to this place called limbo.

Okay. Limbo supposedly is an in -between place, right?

People use the term today. You're stuck in limbo. You're in between. Well, originally the belief was that limbo, it's not heaven, but it's not hell either.

It's yeah, it's in between. It's not a good place, but it's not really a bad place. It's not where you want to be.

So these unbaptized children, I mean, they're not in hell, but they can't go to heaven.

Cause they haven't had the stain of original sin washed away by the Catholic priest baptizing the baby.

And listen, I reject all of that. That is not biblical at all. Limbo does not exist.

And this whole concept that baptism washes away original sin, that is

Roman Catholic doctrine. It is not biblical. So let me, cause this is a bigger subject of original sin.

And I don't want this podcast to get too deep and too theological. Maybe they can do that another time.

But let me just say this. Yes, all human beings, including babies have been affected by Adam's sin or original sin.

We do have that sin nature. That's true. But the Bible also teaches that we are held responsible.

As far as God punishing the person, we are not going to be punished for the sin of our father.

We are affected by it, but we are not punished for the sins of our fathers or forefathers.

We are punished. The person is punished individually based on their own sin.

Here's what the Bible says in Ezekiel 18 verse 20. The soul who sins shall die.

The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son.

The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.

So the point is a baby is not going to be punished for Adam's sin.

When someone is judged by God and they face

God at the great white throne and they're cast into the lake of fire, anyone who does that, they're judged for their own sin.

So I think this concept of original sin, really a lot of people go wrong because they have a

Roman Catholic view of that, not a biblical view. So just to recap, the age of accountability.

There is no specific passage that teaches it. There's no one specific age. Limbo, there's no such place.

But if you're starting to get confused, let's go back to the simple statement that the

Bible calls little children innocent. And that gives us a pretty good idea that babies who die in a state of innocence, they go to heaven.

Why wouldn't they? Now, before I read that verse that to me just seals it.

Okay. Because I think there is a verse, a passage that, you know, if you want to point to a place in the

Bible that shows the babies go to heaven, I think I can point to that verse and I'll do it in just a moment.

But there are a few other ideas I want to address. Some people say, well, yes, babies do go to heaven, but they have to be elect babies.

Have you heard this? Well, they have to be elect. Okay. You know, to me, this is not helpful because number one, how do you determine that?

You can't. And number two, how can you have a baby that is innocent? They die in innocence, but what they're non elect.

I mean, how would that even be possible? So the whole thing, well, they have to be elect. To me, that's just not helpful.

Or someone will say, yes, they can go to heaven, but it's, they need to be a child of a believer.

So a baby that dies, if the baby is a heathen baby, they don't go to heaven.

But if it's a baby of a believer, then they go to heaven. I mean, listen, these ideas that I don't want to be respectful of my reformed brethren, but that is more of a reformed concept that they have to be elect babies.

And listen, don't get me wrong. I believe in election. I believe in the doctrine of election. Okay. But that's more of a reformed understanding that the babies have to be elect and to say, well, it has, they have to be children of, of Christians to go to heaven.

That just sounds very similar to the Roman Catholic idea that babies will go to heaven.

If they have Catholic parents, if they had their kids baptized, if their parents did this and we're faithful Catholics, that's not the issue.

You don't go to heaven based on what someone else did to you. The issue, it all comes down to this.

Is the child innocent or are they not? Here's what Jesus said in Matthew 19 verse 14.

He said, let the little children come to me and do not forbid them for of such is the kingdom of heaven.

I think that's a powerful verse on the whole subject. And I think it could be used to suggest that yes, children do go to heaven based on what

Jesus said. At the same time, I have to admit that that verse by Jesus, what Jesus said in Matthew nine, that doesn't prove it.

Okay. Doesn't prove it. But that verse along with second

Samuel 12, 23, I think does prove it. And I'll end with this. You remember after King David committed adultery with Bathsheba and she became pregnant and the

Lord told David, this child is going to die. And the child did die.

And do you remember how David responded? And remember, let me bring up the point again, this child was conceived in adultery.

But do you remember what David said about the child? He said, the child shall not return to me.

Okay. That that's the bad part. That's the negative part. The child has died. The child is not coming back to me.

He's dead. But David seemed to take great comfort in the idea that while he shall not return to me,

David said, I will go to him. Most agree. What David is saying is that he believed he would see his child again one day.

And I believe he did. One last thing. The late theologian, Dr. R .C.

Sproul once wrote about this question and he spoke of how his wife had four miscarriages and he said in his book, and I quote, we fully hope and expect to see those unborn children in heaven with us.

We assume that we have six children and not only two, and we're looking forward to a reunion with the children that we've never been able to know personally.

And to that, I say, amen. And I believe that is consistent with the nature and the character of God and the person of Jesus Christ who said about little children of such is the kingdom of heaven.

So if you've ever lost a child, a baby, maybe miscarried a child,

I believe that you will see that if you're saved, you will see them one day.

I believe that's what the Bible teaches. So I hope that will be an encouragement to someone listening today.