Will Babies Be in Heaven? (Part 4): What Respected Bible Teachers Say

Last updated on: May 21, 2020 at 5:00 am by Mark Driscoll

Will Babies Be in Heaven? (Part 4): What Respected Bible Teachers Say 2020-05-18T13:40:48-04:00 Mark Driscoll

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

When people have a question about the Bible, they often ask their pastor. When their pastors are not sure about the answer, they tend to ask a theologian who has studied the issue to help them formulate an answer.

One of the most painful and complicated questions that a pastor gets is what happens to a baby who dies in the womb (e.g. miscarriage or abortion) or dies at a young age. Unlike some questions like how old the earth is, or what happened to the dinosaurs, this question is loaded with incredible emotional intensity and pain. I have been asked this question maybe hundreds of times over a few decades as a pastor, and each time the look of anguish on the face of the person asking it reveals that this is a question asked in hopes of healing a broken soul.

There are a number of respected Bible teachers who have offered varying answers to the question of infants and eternity. Their insights can help us better understand how to think through the issue and give us hope which is what our soul needs as much as our lungs need air.

Pastor Charles Spurgeon (1834–1892) believed in universal infant salvation arguing from the character of Jesus saying, “I cannot conceive it possible of him [Jesus] as the loving and tender one, that when he shall sit to judge all nations, he should put the little ones on the left hand, and should banish them for ever from his presence.” [FOOTNOTE: https://www.spurgeon.org/resource-library/sermons/infant-salvation]

Likewise, the London Baptist Confession of 1689 says, “Elect infants dying in infancy are regenerated and saved by Christ through the Spirit; who worketh when, and where, and how he pleases; so also are all elect persons, who are incapable of being outwardly called by the ministry of the Word.”

Theologian Millard Erickson holds the same view, albeit with much weaker theological reasoning. In an effort to provide strength to the concept of universal infant salvation, he weakens the sin nature inherited from our first father Adam in relation to unborn children.

Dr. John Piper holds to universal infant salvation, based on a reading of Romans 1:19-20, saying, “Because I don’t think little babies can process nature and make conclusions about God’s grace, glory or justice, it seems they would fall into the category of still having an excuse.” [FOOTNOTE: https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/why-do-you-believe-that-infants-who-die-go-to-heaven]

Dr. Ronald Nash argues that all infants who die go to heaven because infants are incapable of moral good or evil. He cites Deuteronomy 1:39 and 2 Corinthians 5:10 and states, “Infants are innocent in the sense that whatever their natural disposition to sin may be, their status as infants makes it impossible for them to perform good or evil acts. Therefore they are not moral agents.” [FOOTNOTE: When a Baby Dies: Answers to Grieving Parents, by Ronald H. Nash. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1999.]

Dr. Wayne Grudem, agreeing with Spurgeon and Piper that infants are elected to salvation the same way that adults are, is far more reserved in his statements about whether or not all infants are saved. “How many infants does God save in this way?” he writes, “Scripture does not tell us, so we simply cannot know. Where Scripture is silent, it is unwise for us to make definitive pronouncements.” [FOOTNOTE: Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, 2004), 500.]

Theologians like these have concluded, after a lifetime of biblical study, that there is great reason to hope that little ones who pass from this life pass into God’s presence forever. In the next daily devotional, we will examine what the Bible says from many of the same verses that these theologians emphasize in their conclusions.

Daily Devotions

Previous Post

May 20, 2020

Will Babies Be in Heaven? (Part 3): The Age of Accountability

Next Post

May 22, 2020 Will Babies Be in Heaven? (Part 5): 3 Reasons for Hope from the Bible

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Ask Pastor Mark Blog Daily Devotions Sermons Uncategorized

Select a Month July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 October 2018 September 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 December 2014

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

How many commandments were written on stone tablets?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Seven Twelve Ten Thirteen