Response:
The Bible says nothing about an age of accountability. It
is a phrase
that is used to attempt to explain Biblical teaching (like
the word
"trinity" or the word "rapture"). The fact that the phrase
does not
appear does not destroy the concept.
If David's child was with the Lord, then God in His grace
did not hold
him accountable for his sin nature. Therefore, there must
be some point
up to which God does not hold children accountable. Where
is that
point? There are any number of options, most of which have
problems.
It could be at a certain age, but all children develop
mentally at
different rates, and some handicapped folks never develop
at all!
Therefore, I don't think it is a specific age. It could be
at the point
in time when a child rejects Christ. However, we know that
those who
have never heard the Gospel are still responsible before
God (Rom
1:20). Therefore, a person does not have to reject Christ
to go to
Hell. It can not be when a person begins to sin, for
infants are
conceived in sin and sin immediately.
My guess (and that is all it is) would be that it happens
around the
point where a child chooses what he is going to trust in
for salvation.
He may not know the terms, but he knows right from wrong,
and he knows
that he is accountable to Someone. At that point he may
become
accountable.
The Bible says virtually nothing on this subject. I
believe our
response to this issue should be to teach our children
Biblical truth
about Christ and salvation from birth on, so that when they
are able to
have a God and sin consciousness, they will understand the
need to be
saved.
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By Dr Mark Montgomery
Ambassador Baptist Church
1926 Babcock Blvd
Pittsburgh, PA 15209
(412)477-3210
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