Infants are subject to, liable to, death in both its phases: (1) inward corruption of character, and (2) physical death. The first phase of death is evident from the start of every individual life, requiring vigilance and diligence on the part of the parents to correct, restrain, and train. The second might come at any point from conception, during pregnancy, at birth, or afterward.

Since, according to Scripture, death is the penalty of sin, why do infants suffer death as described above? The answer is that they are in fact guilty, God does not condemn and punish the innocent. It is obvious also that a baby’s lack of innocence cannot be judged from his or her countenance, because infants certainly have a precious, innocent appearance. Guilt refers to the state into which they are born, according to Romans 5: 12. (“Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, … in this way death came to all men, because all sinned.”) Adam has bequeathed damnation to the human family. The state of sin (legal guilt) is what we all inherit from Adam. Nor is this sin — as guilt — derived from sinful acts. No wrongdoing is present, of course, in the infant’s behavior. The real problem is forensic, apart from breaking any law. Study carefully Romans 5: 13-14: “For before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. [Infants are totally unaware of any law, thus their guilt does not come from lawbreaking.] Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam.”

Death as inner defilement and ultimately in the grave came to all those living after Adam and before the law came through Moses. The same is true for all unknowing babies. That is, a great universal taproot of sin exists, involving every breathing mortal, regardless of what he or she knows about right and wrong. This use of the term “sin” concerns God’s judgment against the human family from the point of Adam’s disobedience. Babies are born under the canopy of this legal condemnation, being under Adam’s family headship, or “in Adam” (1 Cor. 15:22).

We come now to the major question at hand. If infants are thus declared guilty, what if they die in infancy? Can they be saved?

While all guilty persons could justly be condemned and lost from God, Scripture leads me to understand that infants are in fact saved when they die. The basis for their salvation is not that they are sweet and innocent in appearance, nor even that they have not yet done a wrong deed. Some just basis must be discovered that satisfies God and turns away judgment from guilty ones.

There is only one basis for salvation for anyone of any age, and that is through the Savior, Jesus Christ. What assurance have we that Jesus’ blood atonement and righteousness is applied to the dying little one? Here are three lines of thought that should grant assurance to those who have this question.

First, in the biblical passages dealing with mankind’s final judgment, the actual damnation is administered because of evil works. Notice this basis in such texts as John 5:28-29 and Revelation 20: 12-13. In other words, the final conviction and punishment for sin will not be simply because one is related to Adam. This thought, however, does not prove that dying infants are saved; it merely says that Scripture does not in the judgment sections make us think that they are necessarily lost. But can they be saved?

Second, since infants have no record of wrongdoing that would bring them into damnation, they are fit candidates for the Savior’s receiving them on the basis of pure grace alone.

Third, all depends on what the Sovereign Lord does with the little ones. If, as we have shown, nothing compels us to believe that infants will be condemned at the judgment, and if we understand that they might be saved by pure grace, then the only remaining question is, What did Jesus teach and demonstrate about children?

According to Jesus, the only persons with question marks of uncertainty over their eternal future are adults, not children. He said, “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 18:3). Again, “The kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these [little children]” (Matt. 19: 14).

In addition to Jesus’ words recorded in the Gospels, other texts are relevant, such as 2 Samuel 12:23, where King David says of his deceased newborn son, “But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”

Perhaps we may also apply the principle disclosed in Isaiah 57: 1, where those dying are said to be “spared from evil.” We can well imagine that God’s great broom of merciful grace sweeps a larger number into salvation from the nations with high rates of infant mortality than may be reached there through all our efforts in evangelism.

Taken from my book, Bringing Christ Back, Appendix 2.  To order, click here…