What is the age of accountability? If my 3month old son die do they go to  heaven automatically after judgement day, because he us young and can’t make  a decision for himself?  Thanking you in advance for helping with my question.

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Dear Andrew, Thank you for writing and asking this question. This is a question that a lot of theologians—and a lot of everyday Christians—have had to wrestle with.  I believe that the thing to remember first of all is that our God is a just and merciful God; who always does what is right.  And with that in mind, I believe that while it is absolutely essential that someone place their faith in the cross of Jesus Christ for salvation—and that there is no other way to be saved but through Him—I also believe that children who die in infancy, and cannot make a conscious choice to place their faith in Jesus, are nevertheless saved by His grace.  Jesus’ atoning sacrifice is sufficient to save them.  When that age of “accountability” is, I don’t know.  But God knows. I look to two passages of Scripture to support my belief in this.  First, I look to the Old Testament passage in 2 Samuel 12:23; where King David’s infant son died.  David was assured of that child’s presence in heaven; and said, “I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.”  David had the assurance that, though the child would not come back to him, he would go one day where the child was. Another passage I look to is Matthew 18:10, where Jesus speaks of little children and says, “Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven.”  I preached a sermon on this passage once; and in it I said that Acts 12 gives us a good explanation of what this means:

In that passage, the apostle Peter had been arrested for preaching the gospel.  While he slept in prison—awaiting what might well have been his own execution—the people of God were intensely praying for his life.  And in answer to their prayer, in the middle of the night, an angel came to released him from his bonds and escort him out of the jail. He went immediately to the place where the Christians were gathered together to pray for him.  He knocked on the door of the gate, and a servant girl named Rhoda came and recognized him.  The poor girl was so excited that she forgot to let Peter in!  Instead, she ran inside and told everyone that Peter was standing at the gate.  Sadly, the people didn’t believe her at first.  They said she was crazy.  But when she kept insisting, they concluded—with what seems like a tragic tone—”It is his angel” (Acts 12:15). Now; whatever they thought it was that was knocking at the door, they were wrong in their esimation.  It was really the genuine, flesh and blood Peter!  And he kept on knocking until they finally let him in!  But notice what they said—that it must have been his “angel”.  And here, that word “angel”—which is a word that, basically, means “messenger”; and that has a variety of possible meanings—seems to be describing “a disembodied spirit” or what we might call “a ghost”.  They assumed that such an “angel” would look and sound like Peter. And so, many reliable Bible teachers suggest that Jesus is using the word “angel” in this same sense—that the spirit of one of His little ones, upon death, immediately enter into a relationship with the Father in the heavenly realms that is so direct that they are said to “always see the face” of the Father.  This would be like what is mentioned in Hebrews 12:23—that they are “the spirits of just men made perfect”. And again, I draw great comfort from the belief that when a tiny little one dies—and with this, I would understand the severely retarded, or those who for whatever reason could not place a conscious faith in Jesus Christ—then his or her spirit is immediately redeemed by the blood of Jesus, and is immediately in God’s presence in great glory.

I hope this is helpful to you, Andrew.  I’m concerned that you may be asking the question because you experienced such a loss.  If so, I hope God’s word—and His great mercy—is a comfort to you. Pastor Greg