Prior Book | Prior Chapter | Prior Verse | Next Verse | Next Chapter | Next Book | Viewing NASB and Amplified 2015 | |
NASB | Mark 10:14 But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, "Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Mark 10:14 But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and He said to them, "Allow the children to come to Me; do not forbid them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. |
Bible Question: Please help me find scripture that suggests that all babies and children go to heaven. I have been taught that all go to heaven until they are old enough to know right from wrong but have been asked to quote verse, thank you for the help |
Bible Answer: Greetings Jshort, Jesus Christ welcomed and blessed children during His incarnate ministry. Mark 10:13-16 reveals an interesting incident involving children. The Greek word used there for "children" specifies that these were very young children, so was Christ's effort in vain? No, for that very same Greek word is used in 2 Timothy 3:15 to state that from earliest childhood Timothy had been "acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus." [ESV] However, some believe that a child has to reach a certain age (often called the "age of accountability") before he can make any spiritual decisions. Often the age of twelve years is advanced because of Jewish ceremony which marked the twelfth or thirteenth year. Rather than assigning an arbitrary age, one would be more consistent with Scripture to realize that at whatever age a child is capable of learning simple Biblical truths, at that age he becomes accountable to God for acting on those truths (Is. 7:15-16). Once a child realizes his sinfulness and responds to that sinfulness in repentance and faith in Christ, he or she can and will be saved, regardless of their age. The promise that Peter spoke of in Acts 2:39 included "you and your children." And what was the promise? The promise of salvation to all who recognized Christ as the Son of God and accepted Him with repentance and faith (Acts 2:22-42). Even adults are told to emulate the implicit, uncritical trust which children exemplify (Matthew 18:3-4). God called Samuel at an early age that even the venerable and godly Eli did not think possible at first (1 Sam. 3). It would be presumptuous indeed to set age limits for the work of the Holy Spirit. Blessings to you, Makarios |