Age of Accountability

Deuteronomy 1:39/Numbers: 14:11-31

God does not send children to hell.

God draws the boundary Himself.

And the LORD said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them? I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they.Numbers 14:11-12

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, 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. 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.Numbers 14:29-31

The adults twenty and older bear the judgement. The children inherit the promise instead.

The age of accountability is based on God’s mercy and grace.

God views children as innocent, especially when harm is done to them.

Because they have forsaken me, and have estranged this place, and have burned incense in it unto other gods, whom neither they nor their fathers have known, nor the kings of Judah, and have filled this place with the blood of innocents; They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind: Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that this place shall no more be called Tophet, nor The valley of the son of Hinnom, but The valley of slaughter. And I will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place; and I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies, and by the hands of them that seek their lives: and their carcases will I give to be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth.Jeremiah 19:4-7

The sacrifice doesn’t have to be literal to be real.

And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.Deuteronomy 6:6-7

God is unchanging.

For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.Romans 9:15

And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.Exodus 33:19

He shows compassion to the helpless.

Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations, And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto Jerusalem; Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan; thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother an Hittite. And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple thee; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all. None eye pitied thee, to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field, to the lothing of thy person, in the day that thou wast born. And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live; yea, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live.Ezekiel 16:1-6

The heart posture of a child is a picture of saving faith.

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.Mark 10:14

God forbears His wrath until real accountability begins.

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.Romans 1:18-19

For adults, that wrath currently abides. For children under this age, God forbears it.

What about teenagers, do they get a free pass?

That same mercy covers them, but their time is short and accountability is coming.

What about those with intellectual disabilities?

That same mercy covers anyone who never develops that capacity.

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?Jonah 4:11

God’s character doesn’t change based on physical development alone. It’s based on His mercy and grace, the same standard we see throughout Scripture.

Take hope in what Scripture says and in the character of God.

Be present, not perfect.

“Spiritual answers without comfort will fall on deaf ears, and comfort without spiritual answers never completely heals a grieving heart.”, John Macarthur