What is the age of accountabilty to get saved and accept Jesus?

[HighwayMan]

We hear and preach if someone has not accepted Jesus Christ as their savior they are not saved and will not get eternal life. I remember watching TV preachers say by 13yrs old a child needs to make that decision and some people think that is too young as they child might not know what they are doing and some think that decision should be made sooner than that.


Assuming they don't suffer from any mental issues and can think and comprehend fine, at what age should a child/teenager to young adult be held accountable for making that decision to accept Jesus and become saved?

I asked that question here in a poll: http://www.christianforums.com/t7779989/

As you can see, some people were furious at me for asking.

 

[Tangible]

It all depends on whether or not you believe that your justification before God is something God does or something you do. If God is the justifier then age and mental ability are irrelevant. If you believe you save yourself, then you can erect any obstacles and hurdles you deem appropriate.

 

[Tangible]

How do you know?

What do you do with John 3? Or Romans 10:13?

Since you mentioned it, I'll just note a few highlights from John 3 that destroy any doctrine of an age of accountability.

1. Mankind is sinful and without hope until God acts to save us.
2. Those without faith in Christ are lost, regardless of age.
3. Jesus Christ has done everything necessary for our salvation.
4. The Holy Spirit gives us new birth in Christ when he grants to the individual faith in Christ, regardless of age.
5. This faith in Christ is not something that comes from within ourselves, but is a gift of God. We can no sooner give ourselves new birth from above than we can give ourselves life and birth in the flesh.

Your theology implicates that there are two ways to be saved, through faith in Christ, and outside of faith in Jesus Christ by God's mercy to those incapable of making rational decisions. The first is scriptural Christianity. The second is unscriptural Universalism.


John 3

English Standard Version (ESV)

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he remained there with them and was baptizing. John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized (for John had not yet been put in prison).
Now a discussion arose between some of John's disciples and a Jew over purification. And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him.” John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.’ The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease.”

He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all. He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony. Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

 

[PaladinValer]

How do you know?

Because I adhere to historic, orthodox Christianity that holds to the sound and valid logic that the finite cannot ever hope to possibly fully comprehend the infinite.

What do you do with John 3? Or Romans 10:13?

Simple: I recognize they are originally written in Greek, and we must understand the Greek for the Greek.

Age of Accountability is not orthodox.

 

[Tiredknight]

Since you mentioned it, I'll just note a few highlights from John 3 that destroy any doctrine of an age of accountability.

1. Mankind is sinful and without hope until God acts to save us.
2. Those without faith in Christ are lost, regardless of age.
3. Jesus Christ has done everything necessary for our salvation.
4. The Holy Spirit gives us new birth in Christ when he grants to the individual faith in Christ, regardless of age.
5. This faith in Christ is not something that comes from within ourselves, but is a gift of God. We can no sooner give ourselves new birth from above than we can give ourselves life and birth in the flesh.

Your theology implicates that there are two ways to be saved, through faith in Christ, and outside of faith in Jesus Christ by God's mercy to those incapable of making rational decisions. The first is scriptural Christianity. The second is unscriptural Universalism.


John 3

English Standard Version (ESV)

Like I said It was my opinion...

 

[Lion King]

Age of Accountability is not orthodox.

That's just your own opinion.

The Scriptures themselves proves the age of accountability to be true. Babies (who do not yet have the knowledge of good and evil- as was Adam and Eve before the fall) will not held accountable for their sins by God at the Great Day of Judgement (Deut 1:39, Isaiah 7:15-16, James 4:17, John 9:41).

The Lord was also angry with me for your sakes, saying, ‘Even you shall not go in there. Joshua the son of Nun, who stands before you, he shall go in there. Encourage him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.

‘Moreover your little ones and your children, who you say will be victims, who today have no knowledge of good and evil, they shall go in there; to them I will give it, and they shall possess it. But as for you, turn and take your journey into the wilderness by the Way of the Red Sea.’ Deuteronomy 1:37-40

_____________

Brothers and sisters, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults. 1 Corinthians 14:20

_____________

But Jesus called the children to him and said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Luke 18:16

 

[Lion King]

Since you mentioned it, I'll just note a few highlights from John 3 that destroy any doctrine of an age of accountability.

1. Mankind is sinful and without hope until God acts to save us.
2. Those without faith in Christ are lost, regardless of age.
3. Jesus Christ has done everything necessary for our salvation.
4. The Holy Spirit gives us new birth in Christ when he grants to the individual faith in Christ, regardless of age.
5. This faith in Christ is not something that comes from within ourselves, but is a gift of God. We can no sooner give ourselves new birth from above than we can give ourselves life and birth in the flesh.

Your theology implicates that there are two ways to be saved, through faith in Christ, and outside of faith in Jesus Christ by God's mercy to those incapable of making rational decisions. The first is scriptural Christianity. The second is unscriptural Universalism.


John 3

English Standard Version (ESV)

Ain't it wonderful that God gives every infant His Spirit when they come into the world? Praise Jesus!

Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. Psalm 8:2


"Do you hear what these children are saying?" they asked him. "Yes," replied Jesus, "have you never read, "'From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise'?" Matthew 21:16


This only have I found: God created mankind upright, but they have gone in search of many schemes. Ecclesiastes 7:29

 

[MoreCoffee]

What is the age of accountability to get saved and accept Jesus?

Birth, or maybe conception.

 

[PaladinValer]

That's just your own opinion.

No; that's orthodox, historic Christianity.

The Scriptures themselves proves the age of accountability to be true. Babies (who do not yet have the knowledge of good and evil- as was Adam and Eve before the fall) will not held accountable for their sins by God at the Great Day of Judgement (Deut 1:39, Isaiah 7:15-16, James 4:17, John 9:41).

<snip>

None of those verses, nor the ones after it, support your view.

God is a respecter of no one and shows no partiality. That's Christianity. No infant, toddler, or young child will be exempt.

 

[Standing Up]

I think it varies from person to person. When God once drew a line of accountability based on age, he chose 20. What I'd take from that is by age 20 everyone is accountable.

Wasn't that the age of accountability for war?

Yet that was the point, they would enter the land by war. So given this (as was also pointed out)

Deut1:39
Moreover your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it.

Then the age of 20 appears accurate.

It would also explain this.

1 Cor. 7:14
For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy.

 

[Tangible]

Ain't it wonderful that God gives every infant His Spirit when they come into the world? Praise Jesus!

Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. Psalm 8:2


"Do you hear what these children are saying?" they asked him. "Yes," replied Jesus, "have you never read, "'From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise'?" Matthew 21:16


This only have I found: God created mankind upright, but they have gone in search of many schemes. Ecclesiastes 7:29

None of those verses say that "God gives every infant His Spirit when they come into the world," and implying that they do would place them in direct contradiction to many other scripture passages. The word of God is not broken.

 

[Lion King]

No; that's orthodox, historic Christianity.



<snip>

None of those verses, nor the ones after it, support your view.

God is a respecter of no one and shows no partiality. That's Christianity. No infant, toddler, or young child will be exempt.

That's not Christianity, but your own opinion.

God let all the children of Israel enter the promised land, which is a type of Paradise/New Jerusalem, because they had no knowledge of good evil, but denied the same to most of the adults because of their sins.

The Kingdom of God is FOR children and those like them. The Bible says it and I believe it.

 

[ViaCrucis]

The Kingdom of God is FOR children and those like them. The Bible says it and I believe it.

And how do they (and we) see the kingdom of God?

John 3:3-5 should help clarify this for you.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[Lion King]

None of those verses say that "God gives every infant His Spirit when they come into the world," and implying that they do would place them in direct contradiction to many other scripture passages. The word of God is not broken.

Yet you brought me out of the womb;
you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.
From birth I was cast on you;
from my mother’s womb you have been my God. - Psalm 22:9-10


This only have I found: God created mankind upright, but they have gone in search of many schemes. Ecclesiastes 7:29


With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God's likeness. James 3:9

As I said before, when a baby comes into the world, God gives it His Spirit (Psalm 8:2). This is what the Scriptures mean when they say that every man has been created in the image of God.

The word of God is never broken, only our interpretation of it is.

 

[Lion King]

And how do they (and we) see the kingdom of God?

John 3:3-5 should help clarify this for you.

-CryptoLutheran

What do babies need to do to see the Kingdom of God?

Nothing. They are already inheritors of the Kingdom.

But Jesus called them to him, and said, Suffer little children to come to me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Luke 18:16

 

[GratiaCorpusChristi]

No such thing exists.

I can't speak for anyone else, but I needed washed in the blood of my Savior as soon as I drew my first breath.

Too much Gnosticism here.

If salvation is based on the ability to comprehend, then we're all doomed.

If, however, salvation is based on actual living faith, which is NOT INTELLECTUAL, then that's an entirely different story.

Age-accountability is not orthodox and quite Gnostic.

It all depends on whether or not you believe that your justification before God is something God does or something you do. If God is the justifier then age and mental ability are irrelevant. If you believe you save yourself, then you can erect any obstacles and hurdles you deem appropriate.

Birth, or maybe conception.

All that.

There may be an age of accountability for ethics, but there is no such thing when it comes to getting saved, because we aren't accountable for getting saved. God's the one doing that, and it has nothing to do with our intellectual ability and everything to do with his grace and our being in his grace: a situation of total dependence, or trust, or- no surprise here- faith.

What I want to know is whether Baptistic theology developed the concept of an age of accountability in order to rescue non-Christian babies from hell, or to justify withholding baptism from infants. The former is laudable if misguided, whereas the latter is a monstrous denial of God's grace from human sinners.

 

[PaladinValer]

That's not Christianity, but your own opinion.

It is historic, orthodox Christianity, which is all verifiable by the written records that are continuous for 2,000 years.

God let all the children of Israel enter the promised land, which is a type of Paradise/New Jerusalem, because they had no knowledge of good evil, but denied the same to most of the adults because of their sins.

Um, no. All the people who left Egypt never entered the Holy Land. Only their descendants entered, who were all grown up by then.

The Kingdom of God is FOR children and those like them. The Bible says it and I believe it.

No, it is your incorrect interpretation that says it, and it isn't even what the Holy Writ states.

 

[PaladinValer]

What do babies need to do to see the Kingdom of God?

Nothing. They are already inheritors of the Kingdom.

But Jesus called them to him, and said, Suffer little children to come to me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Luke 18:16

Not proof of them already being inheritors. They needed to be invited first. And that is what Jesus does here, and since Jesus Himself said that He came to save sinners, that means those little children were sinners too.

Thus says the Holy Scripture. No Age of Accountability. No Gnosticism. Just salvation by grace alone by living faith alone, which is done, begun, and is made possible by the Sacrament of Holy Baptism, prefigured in such stories as Creation itself, the Deluge, the Crossing of the Sea of Reeds, and many, many others.

 

[SayaOtonashi]

What about toddlers many have yet to understand and some do. Are they bound to hell. What of many children and teens who have not yet understood what they have gotten themselves into. I do I was one.

 

[Lion King]

It is historic, orthodox Christianity, which is all verifiable by the written records that are continuous for 2,000 years.

The Scriptures say otherwise and that's all that matters to me. Your church's teachings and traditions are of no significance to me.

Um, no. All the people who left Egypt never entered the Holy Land. Only their descendants entered, who were all grown up by then.

When the Lord heard what you said, he was angry and solemnly swore: 35 “No one from this evil generation shall see the good land I swore to give your ancestors, 36 except Caleb son of Jephunneh. He will see it, and I will give him and his descendants the land he set his feet on, because he followed the Lord wholeheartedly.”

37 Because of you the Lord became angry with me also and said, “You shall not enter it, either. 38 But your assistant, Joshua son of Nun, will enter it. Encourage him, because he will lead Israel to inherit it. 39 And the little ones that you said would be taken captive, your children who do not yet know good from bad—they will enter the land. I will give it to them and they will take possession of it. 40 But as for you, turn around and set out toward the desert along the route to the Red Sea.” Deuteronomy 1:34-40

Again, only Caleb, Joshua and the children were allowed to enter the promised land by God.

No, it is your incorrect interpretation that says it, and it isn't even what the Holy Writ states.

See above.