Thanks for visiting insearchoftruth.org. This is in response to your question about babies and sin.
The Bible does say in Romans 3:23
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Actually, the word “all” as used in the Bible does not necessarily mean all humanity. Let me give you an example. In Matt. 3:5-6 we read,
“Then Jerusalem, all Judea and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan…”.
This clearly says that John baptized
all those in Judea. But, did he baptize every last person? No. In Luke 7:30 speaking about John the Baptist we read,
“But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.”
So, what happened? The great majority of Judea did go out and were baptized by John, but not every last person was so baptized. I could show you other examples in the Bible where the word “all” does not mean every last one of the category it is speaking about. Therefore, we don’t automatically have to assume that when the Bible says all have sinned, that babies are included.
Babies cannot sin, so if they die, they are in a saved condition. David said of his infant son that died,
“But now he is dead: why should I fast? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.” (
II Samuel 12:23)
It is the people who sin that will die and lose their souls. In Ezekiel 18:20 we read,
“The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.”
Babies can’t sin. They can only do so when they reach the age of accountability. Of course, we don’t know exactly when that age is attained. It may differ from child to child. Some psychologists say that abstract thinking begins about age 12. Abstract differs from the concrete. Concrete words deal with what can be known by the physical senses. Abstract terms are not known by touch, taste, etc. Such concepts as salvation, condemnation, commitment, faith, hope, grace, and love are abstract terms. Only when children become old enough to understand abstract concepts are they capable of sinning and then losing their souls unless they repent and are saved by the grace of God. Until they reach that age, they are saved.
God is no respecter of persons as you say, and God is totally just and fair. He only condemns those who sin (disobey His will) and will not repent. He desires that all repent (
II Peter 3:9) and come to Him, but many refuse to do so. Those are the ones who will be lost.
I hope this is helpful to you. Feel free to ask more if you have additional questions.
larry
http://www.insearchoftruth.org