- Joined
- Feb 1, 2012
- Messages
- 761
- Reaction score
- 1
- Points
- 0
The question comes to accountability. The Bible is filled with example of its doctrine. This truth is not limited to only David's statement about the deceased baby from his sinful union with Bathsheba where he said, "I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me." (2Sam 12:23)
There are many Biblical evidences of children not being held accountable for their wrong doing because they are not yet of age to understand their sin as sin.
1) The half-shekel atonement indicates this.
Exodus 30:
11 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
12 When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel after their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the LORD, when thou numberest them; that there be no plague among them, when thou numberest them.
13 This they shall give, every one that passeth among them that are numbered, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary: (a shekel is twenty gerahs
an half shekel shall be the offering of the LORD.
14 Every one that passeth among them that are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering unto the LORD.15 The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when they give an offering unto the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls.
16 And thou shalt take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shalt appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; that it may be a memorial unto the children of Israel before the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls.
It appears that Biblically, the atonement for the souls of men was required only for those 20 years old and above.
2) We also see this in the sin of Israel at Kadesh-Barnea.
The Lord sent them to wander in the wilderness until those 20 years old and up had died, except for Joshua and Caleb. Apparently, those under 20 were not held responsible for this sin.
Numbers 14:
26 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
27 How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, which murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against me.
28 Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the LORD, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you:
29 Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which have murmured against me,
30 Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.
31 But your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised.
32 But as for you, your carcases, they shall fall in this wilderness.
33 And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcases be wasted in the wilderness.
34 After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise.
35 I the LORD have said, I will surely do it unto all this evil congregation, that are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.
3) Children are not held responsible for keeping the commandments of the Lord which they can not yet understand.
But the parents, who have seen God's working and can understand, are held accountable.
Deuteronomy 11:
1 Therefore thou shalt love the LORD thy God, and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments, alway.
2 And know ye this day: for I speak not with your children which have not known, and which have not seen the chastisement of the LORD your God, his greatness, his mighty hand, and his stretched out arm,
4) God reasons with Jonah regarding His sparing of Ninevah by citing the children. Should those so young that they cannot discern good from evil (knowing their right from their left) be destroyed without mercy?
Jonah 4:11 And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?
God indicated to Jonah his compassion for the children of Ninevah. He does not describe them as those under a certain age, but those who do not yet know their right hand from their left. In other words, they were not yet old enough to discern one way from the other. "Right hand from the left" has long been understood to represent those who cannot determine right from wrong.
5) Lastly, God does not condemn without law.
Sin is not imputed when there is no law. Can a child be held accountable for doing good or evil in which he does not even yet possess the capability of knowing good from evil? I trow not.
Romans 5:13 For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
The wages of sin is death. The reason we go to hell is because we are accountable for our sins. Salvation is from sin's penalty. That is why Christ was sacrificed on the cross. He paid for our sins.
With children, there is no question that they are sinful, because they violate many of the "laws" of God. The question is how accountable are they for those sins for which they have no knowledge?
The scriptures tell us that while some are incapable of understanding right from wrong, they are not accountable for those sins, much like Adam and Eve in the Garden. When in the Garden, they were aware of only one law to obey -- don't eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. That was the one thing for which they were accountable, regardless what other laws of later revelation they may have transgressed. They were innocent because they were accountable for only the one command.
Romans 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
We understand what sin is only when we have knowledge of the law.
Romans 4:15 Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.
Here, Paul contends that you cannot break a law that does not exist. But when there is the presence of a law, violating it brings transgression. Do 2 month olds comprehend the laws of God? Not hardly. So then they can be considered as "without law" or at a place in their life where no law is.
The word "imputed" means to be recorded on account. Romans 5:13 states plainly that there is no accounting of sin when there is no law. Those who have not yet reached a stage where they can comprehend right from wrong literally have no "law."
Now, many will make a valid argument about God's laws being universally revealed from heaven, and being set in the hearts of all men, including the lost, so that we are all guilty, even the heathen. This was Paul's argument in Romans 1-3. But in the case of children or the mentally undeveloped, they in no way comprehend these principles. This reasoning is not one of "ignorance of the law," because ignorance includes the idea of willfully ignoring some things ["ignore" is the root base of the word "ignorance"]. It is not a matter that these have ignored the law, they just have not yet reached a stage in growth where they can understand it so they can be held accountable for it. It is therefore not a transgression and is not imputed to them.
There are many Biblical evidences of children not being held accountable for their wrong doing because they are not yet of age to understand their sin as sin.
1) The half-shekel atonement indicates this.
Exodus 30:
11 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
12 When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel after their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the LORD, when thou numberest them; that there be no plague among them, when thou numberest them.
13 This they shall give, every one that passeth among them that are numbered, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary: (a shekel is twenty gerahs
an half shekel shall be the offering of the LORD.14 Every one that passeth among them that are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering unto the LORD.15 The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when they give an offering unto the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls.
16 And thou shalt take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shalt appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; that it may be a memorial unto the children of Israel before the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls.
It appears that Biblically, the atonement for the souls of men was required only for those 20 years old and above.
2) We also see this in the sin of Israel at Kadesh-Barnea.
The Lord sent them to wander in the wilderness until those 20 years old and up had died, except for Joshua and Caleb. Apparently, those under 20 were not held responsible for this sin.
Numbers 14:
26 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
27 How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, which murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against me.
28 Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the LORD, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you:
29 Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which have murmured against me,
30 Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.
31 But your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised.
32 But as for you, your carcases, they shall fall in this wilderness.
33 And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcases be wasted in the wilderness.
34 After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise.
35 I the LORD have said, I will surely do it unto all this evil congregation, that are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.
3) Children are not held responsible for keeping the commandments of the Lord which they can not yet understand.
But the parents, who have seen God's working and can understand, are held accountable.
Deuteronomy 11:
1 Therefore thou shalt love the LORD thy God, and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments, alway.
2 And know ye this day: for I speak not with your children which have not known, and which have not seen the chastisement of the LORD your God, his greatness, his mighty hand, and his stretched out arm,
4) God reasons with Jonah regarding His sparing of Ninevah by citing the children. Should those so young that they cannot discern good from evil (knowing their right from their left) be destroyed without mercy?
Jonah 4:11 And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?
God indicated to Jonah his compassion for the children of Ninevah. He does not describe them as those under a certain age, but those who do not yet know their right hand from their left. In other words, they were not yet old enough to discern one way from the other. "Right hand from the left" has long been understood to represent those who cannot determine right from wrong.
5) Lastly, God does not condemn without law.
Sin is not imputed when there is no law. Can a child be held accountable for doing good or evil in which he does not even yet possess the capability of knowing good from evil? I trow not.
Romans 5:13 For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
The wages of sin is death. The reason we go to hell is because we are accountable for our sins. Salvation is from sin's penalty. That is why Christ was sacrificed on the cross. He paid for our sins.
With children, there is no question that they are sinful, because they violate many of the "laws" of God. The question is how accountable are they for those sins for which they have no knowledge?
The scriptures tell us that while some are incapable of understanding right from wrong, they are not accountable for those sins, much like Adam and Eve in the Garden. When in the Garden, they were aware of only one law to obey -- don't eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. That was the one thing for which they were accountable, regardless what other laws of later revelation they may have transgressed. They were innocent because they were accountable for only the one command.
Romans 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
We understand what sin is only when we have knowledge of the law.
Romans 4:15 Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.
Here, Paul contends that you cannot break a law that does not exist. But when there is the presence of a law, violating it brings transgression. Do 2 month olds comprehend the laws of God? Not hardly. So then they can be considered as "without law" or at a place in their life where no law is.
The word "imputed" means to be recorded on account. Romans 5:13 states plainly that there is no accounting of sin when there is no law. Those who have not yet reached a stage where they can comprehend right from wrong literally have no "law."
Now, many will make a valid argument about God's laws being universally revealed from heaven, and being set in the hearts of all men, including the lost, so that we are all guilty, even the heathen. This was Paul's argument in Romans 1-3. But in the case of children or the mentally undeveloped, they in no way comprehend these principles. This reasoning is not one of "ignorance of the law," because ignorance includes the idea of willfully ignoring some things ["ignore" is the root base of the word "ignorance"]. It is not a matter that these have ignored the law, they just have not yet reached a stage in growth where they can understand it so they can be held accountable for it. It is therefore not a transgression and is not imputed to them.
