“Do Infants Who Die Go To Heaven?”
Romans 5:12-19
Introduction: Those who have lost a child, and especially a very young child, have experienced perhaps the greatest grief a parent can go through. None of us who has escaped that experience can appreciate the depth of that grief. For Christian parents, there is the assurance that our sovereign and merciful God is still in control, but the nagging question remains, “Is our infant in heaven?” While this question has vested personal interests, it also has profound theological implications. It has implications for the way we think about God, the work of Christ, the doctrine of sin, and especially the doctrine of salvation. I have yet to hear a protestant clergyman say that the deceased infant is in hell rather than heaven because s/he did not accept Christ as personal savior. All desire the best for the dead child. But upon what basis is that hope placed?
Such an important question demands a response, and hopefully a sound biblical and theological response. Too often many resort to proof-texts that are not really relevant to the question in order to arrive at a positive “yes.” Those who want to rely on Scripture often come up with responses like these:
Yes. Jesus let the little children come to Him (Luke 18:15-16).
No. all humans are sinners in Adam until they are believe in Christ (Romans 5:12-21).
Yes. David knew he would see his son in the afterlife (2 Samuel 12:15-23).
No. Not unless they have been baptized: “No one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit” John 3:5).
Yes. If their parents are believers: A child is sanctified by a believing parent (1 Corinthians 7:14).
Some are quick to answer this question out of sentimentality. Of course infants go to heaven, they argue, for how could God refuse a precious little one? The Universalist has a quick answer, for he believes that everyone will go to heaven. Some simply suggest that elect infants go to heaven, while the non-elect do not, and must suffer endless punishment. Each of these easy answers is unsatisfactory.
Still others resort to mere sentimentalism that ignores the Bible's teaching on this question. We have no right to establish doctrine on the basis of what we hope may be true. We must draw our answers from what the Bible reveals to be true.
Several biblical theologians have suggested that there is no condemnation until one reaches the age of responsibility (Erickson – 654-655). But how can that be in light of Romans 5:12-19? Similarly, others say that since the Bible does not specifically condemn children and because those who would be condemned need to be able “to read and hear” the message for the condemnation to be applied, how can they be lost? And it is manifestly apparent that children can do neither (Hodge- ST, Vol 1, 26).
Both Erickson and Hodge postulate a desirable conclusion with little more than rational support. But if my thesis is correct, it could offer greater biblical and theological support for the salvation of infants, children, and those who never reach the “age of accountability.”
Based on my understanding of Romans 5:12-19 I believe there is biblical warrant to say that all who die in infancy are among God’s elect, and therefore, will spend eternity in heaven.
(WSH) exegesis - You will remember that Romans 5:12-19 speaks about Adam’s sin and its consequences and about Christ’s work on the cross and its consequences. Last week we looked a little more closely at verses 18-19 that summarize the previous six (6) verses. Verse 18 says that when Adam sinned, judgment came to all men resulting in condemnation. However, Christ’s death on the cross resulted in justification for all men. It should be obvious that the all who were condemned in Adam is the same all who are justified in Christ.
Many of my evangelical friends seem unsettled by this verse. However, the verse clearly says that condemnation resulted because of Adam’s sin and just as clearly says that justification resulted for the same group because of the death of Christ. This sounds like universalism. And, in fact, the universalists have a point here. This verse is very good news, but not in the way the universalist understands it. What the universalists do not believe and what my evangelical friends do not point out is that this verse has to do with the guilt of Adam’s transgression. If my contention is not true, then it is difficult to escape the conclusion that everyone will ultimately be saved. I believe verse 19 has the elect in view and that is why Paul reverts to his use of the many (hoi polloi) as he did in verse 15. Note the difference is between “condemnation” for all and the many “were made sinners.” Note also there is a difference between all being “justified” and the many being “made righteous.”
Simply stated, then, verse 18 says that all are condemned in Adam and all are justified in Christ with respect to the condemnation of Adam’s transgression. The result is that no one goes to hell because Adam sinned. Christ’s death was efficacious for everyone with respect to Adam’s sin. Verse 19, focusing on the implications of Christ’s death for the elect, and says the many must answer for their own sins as a result of being made sinners and that same group will be made righteous in Christ.
John Newton, who wrote the hymn Amazing Grace, was certain of this truth. He wrote to close friends who had lost a young child: "I hope you are both well reconciled to the death of your child. I cannot be sorry for the death of infants. How many storms do they escape! Nor can I doubt, in my private judgment, that they are included in the election of grace."
One of the most eloquent and powerful expressions of this understanding of infant salvation came from the heart of Charles Spurgeon. Preaching to his own congregation, Spurgeon consoled grieving parents: "Now, let every mother and father here present know assuredly that it is well with the child, if God hath taken it away from you in its infant days." Spurgeon turned this conviction into an evangelistic call. "Many of you are parents who have children in heaven. Is it not a desirable thing that you should go there, too? He continued: "Mother, unconverted mother, from the battlements of heaven your child beckons you to Paradise. Father, ungodly, impenitent father, the little eyes that once looked joyously on you, look down upon you now, and the lips which scarcely learned to call you father, ere they were sealed by the silence of death, may be heard as with a still small voice, saying to you this morning, "Father, must we be forever divided by the great gulf which no man can pass? Doth not nature itself put a sort of longing in your soul that you may be bound in the bundle of life with your own children?"
For you or a friend you know who has experienced the loss of a young child, your hope for that child is well founded. It is not based on sentimentality or Bible verses that really do not speak to the situation. Rather, it is based on the truth of the verses we have been studying for the past few weeks. I believe that Romans 5:12-19 gives me the authority to say that all infants who die will spend eternity in heaven.