The term “the age of accountability” is a man-made term that isn’t found in the Bible. This doesn’t mean, however, that such a concept isn’t taught in scripture. The fact is, the Bible does teach such a concept.

For those of you who don’t know what I mean by “the age of accountability,” I’m talking about the age when a child is mature enough mentally and spiritually to be able to understand the differences between salvation and damnation, sin and forgiveness, and heaven and hell. Obviously, you can talk all day to an infant about that child’s need to believe in Jesus as Savior, but you aren’t going to get anywhere in winning that child to Christ. Why not? It’s because the child hasn’t reached the so-called “age of accountability” yet.

This subject is of vital importance because it applies directly to infants who are miscarried, aborted, or in some other way die in infancy. Do the souls of those children go to heaven? That’s a good question, and it’s one that gets into the realm of each child having a unique “age of accountability.”

So, here now is what the Bible teaches about this topic. I’ll leave it with you to do the homework by actually taking the time to look up each passage and read it. As for me, I believe these passages prove that there really is such a thing as an “age of accountability,” even though that age is surely different in each child.

1. Every child is not just a born sinner but a conceived sinner who is both conceived in sin and born “dead in trespasses and sins.” (Psalm 51:1-5; Psalm 58:3; Job 14:1-4; Job 15:14; Proverbs 20:9; Ecclesiastes 7:20; 1 John 1:8-10; Romans 3:10; Romans 5:12; Ephesians 2:1,4-5; Colossians 2:13; Matthew 8:22)
2. Even though infants and small children have the inborn nature of sin, they do not possess the ability to differentiate between good and evil (righteousness and sin). (Deuteronomy 1:39; Isaiah 7:16; Jonah 4:11 (refers to Nineveh’s small children); Romans 9:10-12)
3. In order for anyone to have an actual knowledge of sin, he or she must first either feel the effects of a conscience or clearly understand some revelation of God’s moral law. Infants don’t fit into either category. (Romans 2:12-16; Romans 5:13)
4. The people of Judah sacrificed some of their infants to the false gods Baal and Molech, and God described those infants as “the innocents.” (Jeremiah 19:4-5; Jeremiah 2:34; Jeremiah 32:35; Leviticus 18:21; Leviticus 20:1-5; 1 Kings 11:6-8; 2 Kings 16:2-4; 2 Chronicles 28:1-4; 2 Kings 21:1-6; 2 Kings 23:10; Jeremiah 7:30-31)
5. God also said those same sacrificed infants were born unto Him rather than unto their parents. This might be taken to mean that children under “the age of accountability” belong to God. (Ezekiel 16:20)
6. Jesus used small children as examples of those who are a part of the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:1-4; Matthew 19:13-15; Luke 18:15-17)
7. David planned to one day go to be with his deceased infant, and David certainly thought of himself as being forgiven, saved, and headed for an eternity with God. Furthermore, according to 2 Timothy 3:16 that entire story is written down for us as part of God’s inspired word. (2 Samuel 12:15-23; Psalm 23:6)