So Will Children Go to Heaven or Hell?
Summary:
Someone recently said:
"Scripture is clear that children and the unborn have original sin--including both the propensity to sin as well as the inherent guilt of original sin.
But could it be that somehow Christ's atonement did pay for the guilt for these helpless ones throughout all time?
Yes, and therefore it is a credible assumption that a child who dies at an age too young to have made a conscious, willful rejection of Jesus Christ will be taken to be with the Lord."
- <--- Close but Why Should this be the case? Why limit it to babies only? Why not the disenfranchised, the mentally ill?
Born in Sin = Kids go to Hell
Recently a little three year girl died because of a freak accident. It's very sad.
The average traditional Christian theology has no adequate way of addressing whether this girl is in heaven or not without cognitive dissonance and mental gymnastics.
The fact is, ****You are supposed to confess Christ as Lord***, as you are **supposedly** born in sin.
Well a three year old, may not have the cognitive capacity to do so. Since she was born in sin, she would not make it. She would be in hell right?
This is exactly what I was told "unless she has repented this is the state of that child and in fact of any unrepentant person". A three year old.
Then I was given this chart to indicate this is the state of a three year old.
Do you see how sick some people can be blinded by theology?
Wait... are you recoiling at that? What did you say? She would be in heaven? What gave her a free pass? Because she is a child or because she is under some mystical age of accountability (which is no where to be found in scripture)?
Kids Get a Free Pass to Heaven?
Do you remember the picture above of a child from Syria? Why should he get a free pass to heaven? Just because he is a child (at least according to our theology)?
(Besides who would ever put up a message like what was attached to this picture. This is what our current theology causes us to think)
Someone will reply "No body can go to heaven without accepting Jesus. Again my reply would be "even aborted babies, 3 year olds, mentally ill? How can they "accept Jesus"?"
Current Theology Inadequate
- aborted babies,
- the mentally handicapped, and
- people in comas.
Surely Aborted Babies God to Heaven right? No Hell.. No Heaven....
The Andrea Yates Challenge
It is Better to Not be Born Then
Someone said "[This is] good news-- Your great, great, great grand children (and their progeny as well) will be born and can accept Christ as Savior." <-- Maybe I'm wrong, but it does not logically sound like good news to me.
It is Better to Be Aborted Then
If it seems that there is a 90% chance my grandkids are born and end up eternally in hell, or annihilated immediately, then logic states that it is better not to be born. It would be logical to abort babies because they don't have to accept Christ as their Savior and they are automatically in heaven. Andrea Yates had it right then to drown her kids before they lose their automatic ticket to heaven and can go to hell.
I even heard someone say that they would go to hell and then when resurrected, the gospel would be shared so that a choice given before they are annihilated. I am not making this up.
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Logic Analysis 1
- Premise 1: All Babies go to heaven when they die
- Premise 2: when Abortion occurs a Baby is murdered
- Conclusion: Therefore upon abortion baby goes immediately to heaven
- Premise 1: All men are sinners. If you don't confess before you die, you go to hell
- Premise 2: Babies are human and are sinners. Upon abortion they die before confessing.
- Conclusion: Babies go to hell when aborted.
Is the Answer the Age of Accountability?
"The age of accountability", now there's a novel idea. We couldn't stand the thought of little kids being eternally tormented, even though we already confessed them to be "totally depraved". Sure, grandpa Herbert deserves eternal torture, cause he's an adult, but little Jimmy? Nah he's only 10. The old faithful "God’s ways are higher than our ways" cliche didn't work with this one, so we invented an age when a person starts to deserve eternal damnation. "Happy 13th birthday Jimmy! You are now eligible to burn in hell forever!" - Jacob M. Wright
WRONG.
What does 1 Sam 12:23 say?
"But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.” [1 Sam 12:23]
<--- Where did David go? He went to Sheol, not heaven.
"Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day." 34 “For David did not ascend into the heavens" [Acts 2]
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Remember Yemen?
Logic Analysis 2 - More False Premises
- All children automatically go to heaven
- When does a child stop being a child so that he/ she does not automatically go to heaven?
- Is there a mystical age of accountability? is it 9, 10, 12, 13?
- So according to your logic, if they are under some mystical age of accountability, God is easing their suffering and taking them home right?
- However as soon as they passed this mystical age, is God still easing their suffering? Is he bringing them relief? Or do they die now and go to hell for passing the threshold age?
- If God does not stop the suffering as soon as they cross this mystical age past innocence where their ticket to heaven is voided, then He is worse that the false Yemen gods."
The Answer is Always THE CROSS
Well what is the answer? The Cross.
"When I am lifted up, I will draw all men unto me"... "The Love of Christ compels me to conclude, that when Christ died, all men died" [All Men, including all babies.]
Christ is the Righteous Judge
Perhaps, some of these questions on how will Christ deal with the billions of people who lived, especially those incapable of free will choice can only be answered, once we look at what He said. Perhaps we can then agree on how powerful the cross is.
Here is what Christ told us and how He was the Righteous Judge...
- Principle 1: Christ Knows Who Would Have Repented if Circumstances Were Different
- Principle 2: Christ Knows Which Humans Before Christ Lived As If The Law was In Their Hearts
- Principle 3: All Judgment apart from the Cross is Based on Works Only....But as we all know, works do not save us...
Christ’s Righteous Judgment at Work
The cross makes all this righteous judgment possible, because when He died all men died in Him and His death dealt with the sin separation problem.
Now He can judged on the basis of:
- Would they have repented if they were given an opportunity?
- Are they physically able to exercise free choice?
- In their ignorance, did they follow their conscience?
- If capable and given a choice, did they refuse to believe?
This demonstrates how powerful the cross is and how righteous God's judgment is. This is why we are to judge or look at no man according to the flesh.
The cross was the Supreme Divine Court Judgment on this world. This judgment is not based on works, like all other judgments found in scripture pre and post the Cross. It was based on His Work.
It all has to do with what Christ did on calvary. There is a grace that takes care of those who die young, are aborted, never heard about Jesus, are mentally disabled and so forth. His Grace not only takes care of those who die young, but affects all men.
When Christ died on the cross, all men died in Him [2 Cor 5:15]
That was Paul's crazy statement that he concluded because of the love of Christ.
These children of Yemen died when He died. We all do. But all do not yet live. But in Christ, each will live in their own order...
Humans, including babies, who have done nothing to be made accountable of, go straight to Him, when they die, because
- Christ's death, is their death,
- Christ died as them, and
- Christ reversed the effects of sin and death, and
- Christ's death removed the barrier sin and death that to prevent men from receiving permanent life without decay
Humans, who have done stuff to be made accountable of, if they have not reckoned Christs death to be their death, and have not lived for Him, are made accountable, may suffer ruin, loss, be put to shame, but the goal is for their full restoration, a process that was started by the Cross. But their lives will be interrupted for an age. It is still a matter of living only by faith. How? Every knee will worship and every tongue will swear, what He swore on the throne, by Himself, that truthfully "In the Lord I have righteousness and strength". which God defined as salvation.
Humans, who have done stuff to be made accountable of, if they have reckoned Christs death to be their death, and made Christ their Life, live for Him, are also made accountable, but though their works are tested by fire, will not may suffer ruin, loss, be out to shame, but the goal is for their full restoration, a process that was started by the Cross.
That's why aborted babies etc, go to "heaven" because of the cross. [To be honest going to heaven isn't even the goal, but that is for another blog]
Here is the truth: Everyone who comes out of Him, goes through Him and will go back to Him as Paul stated [Rom 11:36].
Divine Logic
- Everyone comes out of Him <-- Does ANYONE DARE DISPUTE THIS? (Well those who are still believers that is)
- Everyone goes through Him [And the Cross is the fulcrum point]
- Everyone goes back to Him [No matter how long it takes]
Many times, going through Him involves lots of suffering, people, being put to shame, accountability, loss if life, ruin, apollumi. But because of the Cross, the process has started where by faith all things in heaven and in earth will be summed up in Christ, just as Paul said. And yes, even though all died in Him, you live by faith and believing in Him.
In Conclusion - One more example
The above is a very sad and repulsive report, about a mother who let men sexually abuse her 10 year old daughter to death. Let's say for arguments sake she does not know Jesus. She never confessed Him. She had no idea of the gospel.
Traditional Christianity will say that since this 10 year old did not confess Jesus she will be in hell or as others may say, be annihilated.
Others would say well, she hasn't reached the age of accountability (whatever that may be, it is certainly not biblical), so she gets to to go to heaven.
Well why is she given a free pass? Because she is ten? Did she choose this?
Again those two positions are not the answer.
The cross is the answer. This 10 year old already had her death in Christ. Christ died for her and she died in Him, whether she knew it or not.
On the basis of that and Christ's righteous judgment, there should NOT be "fire" for her to be disciplined, perish (apollumi which means lost or ruined).
It's the cross that makes the argument that she be given life, NOT the law, or religion or man's traditions or biblical arguments.
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