I would like to address the question where do babies go when they die. Do they go to Heaven? Do they go to Hell? Do they go to some special kind of Limbo? The first question in our search for an answer would be:
- Are we “born” in sin?
The Bible does not say we are BORN IN SINS! Let me repeat that: The Bible does not say WE ARE BORN IN SINS!! I could not count the number of times I have been told “we are born dead in sins’! But this is not in the Bible. It is a MISQUOTE! The Bible indeed teaches us we are dead in sins BUT NOT we are born that way. Here is the quote so often misquoted:
Ephesians 2:[1] And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
This verse does not says we were born that way but we were in that way. It is true we were born in Adam and in Adam we are born with a sinful nature. We being human are bent towards sin and will eventually knowingly commit sin. We will, as humans, chose to sin but until that choice is consciously made we have no sin just a sinful nature.
Romans 7: [9] For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.
Paul says he was ALIVE before he knew the law. When he became aware of the law and chose sin then HE DIED!
So the Bible does not tell us we are born dead we must obliterate from our minds the thought and realize it is not based upon scripture. If it is not scripturally based then it is man’s tradition and must be rejected. If we are not born dead in sins then the question should be when did you become dead?
- When do we become dead?
Let us look at our forefather Adam from whom we received this sinful nature.
Genesis 2: [7] And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Adam was made then made alive by the breath of God. Here Adam stood in perfect innocence a living soul with no sin. With no sin he was able to have direct communion with the Lord. The Lord told Adam he would die the day he ate of the forbidden tree. The Lord did NOT sya Adam would begin to die but he would DIE that day.
Genesis 2: [16] And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
[17] But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
As a side note I would like to draw attention to the fact that Eve had not been made yet so the command was given to Adam directly from God and the command must have been given to Eve through her husband Adam as she has knowledge of it as told in Genesis chapter three.
So here we have Adam a living soul without sin having a command from God which command if broken produces death.
Genesis 3: [6] And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
[7] And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
So Adam rejected the command of the Lord and chose rather to eat and according to the authority of the word of the Lord Adam died the day he ate. He no longer was a living soul but rather a dead one. He did not die an outward death but an inward death. He became dead in sin.
Even the anointed cherub Lucifer was created in perfection until he had sin.
Ezekiel 28: [14] Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
[15] Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.
Let us look again in Romans chapter seven.
Romans 7: [7] What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.
[8] But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.
[9] For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.
[10] And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.
[11] For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.
The Bible tells us without the law :
- There was no knowledge of sin
- Sin was dead
- With the knowledge came accountability
- The knowledge wrought death
Romans 5: [13] (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
The Bible teaches us there is a time when a child does not know right from wrong.
Isaiah 7: [15] Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.
[16] For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.
So what do we find? There is no sin without the law giving knowledge. A child has a time when he does not know the choices. Without knowledge there is innocence. Man commits sin when he knowingly rejects what is right and choses to do wrong. When man makes this choice he then dies a spiritual death and is dead on the inside. One might say, then why gives us the law. Man cannot escape the law. Whether it is the Law of Moses, the law of the land or the law of conscience man is under law and bears his own guilt for violation of the law.
- Where do babies go?
To answer this first let us look at the gospel of Mark.
Mark 10: [13] And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them.
[14] But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.
[15] Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.
[16] And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.
We are told by Jesus we must be like these children. That the kingdom of heaven is made up of children. How so? We must become innocent before God. We must be born again. The only method given to us is through the shed blood of Jesus. By accepting Him as Savior we become born again. That which is dead inside of us is breathed into life AGAIN!
John 3: [6] That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
[7] Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
[8] The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
Look in Second Samuel. Upon the death of his child King David made the following confession.
11 Samuel 12: [21] Then said his servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread.
[22] And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?
[23] But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.
Surely King David knew where his child was and also he would someday go to be with him. Let us too have the assurance in the righteousness of God Who will not hold someone accountable for actions done without knowledge of sin