Subscription Lists

Are babies lost? Or, are they safe? Or, must they await the act of a third party (e.g. priest, intermediary, proxy baptismal candidate, etc)? This entirely relevant and emotional question has been the subject of great controversy for many, many years. Today’s devotional will address this question and will offer an entirely biblical answer to the question.

First of all, why would anyone ever ask to think such a question? It is not a stretch at all to think that this question would never have entered the mind of a “believer” had it not for the doctrine of “inherited” or “original” sin. I doubt if anyone knows when the idea that babies somehow “inherit” the sin of Adam first saw the light of day. However, it is a well established fact of history that John Calvin [1509-1564] popularized the doctrine and is largely responsible for its current impact in mainstream Protestantism. And, regardless of what one might think, or how much he might deny the proposition, Calvin’s impact is extremely significant.

Calvin (and every other person and organization) notwithstanding, what does the Bible teach about the spiritual condition of infants? Some modern-day “Bibles” have quite a bit to say about the matter, but only because of sloppy translation practices and translator bias. Paul never penned a single line about man’s “sin nature” but to truth’s chagrin, some of our “Bible” now speak of our “sin nature.” If Paul be accepted as an authority on the matter, then we ought to let him speak on the matter of inherited sin.

“What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, ‘You shall not covet.’ But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead. I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died.” (Romans 7.7-9; emphasis mine, jb).

Note carefully that Paul speaks of spiritual life and death. He wrote that at one time he was spiritually alive “without the law.” Then he said that when the commandment [law] came, he died. He could not be speaking of literal death; he wasn’t around before the law came via Moses! However, he could be talking of an age at which the law had no applicability to him; he could be speaking of a time in which God saw him as a human being, young thought he was, who was not subject to the law. Burton Coffman comments on this verse by saying, “The hearing of the commandment awakened slumbering desire. At that moment sin came to life, and the innocent child I was died, slain by the very law which pointed the way to life…”

Paul’s statements and Coffman’s comments are fully consistent with what God said through Ezekiel centuries earlier when he wrote, “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.” (Ezekiel 18.20). Calvin and every other person notwithstanding, the truth is the truth and shall always be the truth!

Infants have no need of salvation because they are not lost; they are not lost because they are not sinners! Human being become sinners by violating the moral concepts of God’s law. Until they spiritually mature enough to do so, they CANNOT violate those moral concepts. Babies are safe!

Questions:

1. Among modern Protestantism, who popularized the idea of inherited sin?

2. What did Ezekiel have to say about the son being guilty of the sins of the father?

3. Who was right, Calvin or Ezekiel?

4. When was Paul alive without the law? If Paul was alive without the law, could not every infant (unaccountable person) be alive without the law?

"Inspiration For You" from Randy Mitchell

Watching Your Dollars Fly Away