Bible Question: What would be considered the age? So is there no age where a person is considered responsible for their actions? I know we are all born of the knowledge of good and evil, but does it mean that a child is directly responsible for their actions? Or are the parents? I'm not sure if I'm wording this right, but a lot of help on this topic would be greatly appreciated. |
Bible Answer: All are sinners and under the wrath and curse of God. Remember that God has the right to judge all mankind, not only for their own sins, but for the sins imputed to them in Adam. So, if by some miracle, you had never ever sinned, you would still be guilty by virtue of the sin nature you have inherited. This goes for young and old, male and female. All babies are sinners and subject to the same wrath. This is where the destructive views of Arminians enter in. Because they think man is able to choose God, they must make up an "age of accountability" where this must happen, and also excuse all infants and say God must be sending them to heaven. However, the Bible teaches that we are saved by faith, not that we give to ourselves, but that faith is a gift from God. GOD REGENERATES US BEFORE WE ARE ABLE TO BELIEVE; or, put another way, we are enabled to believe because regenerates/saves us. For those who cannot choose -- like the mentally ill or infants -- are they different than us? Not at all. No man with all his usual capacities is able to choose God. God elects those whom He will save. Those who are able will express that new life by exercising faith in Christ. Those who cannot show the expression of their salvation -- such as babies, etc. -- are still saved because God has saved them. |