age of accountability

Why were the children 20 years old and under spared when the Israelites refused to go into the Promised Land?

Numbers 14:26-35
26 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
27 How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, which murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against me.
28 Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the LORD, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you:
29 Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which have murmured against me,
30 Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.
31 But your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised.
32 But as for you, your carcases, they shall fall in this wilderness.
33 And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcases be wasted in the wilderness.
34 After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise.
35 I the LORD have said, I will surely do it unto all this evil congregation, that are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.

 

Its not a matter of knowing sin - its a matter of knowing right from wrong - even the heathen have a general grasp that certain things good - other things bad

 

For many years now I've believed that we are constantly weighing rewards and consequences with every action and decision we make...from tiny decisions such as a scratch all the way to a large decision like where to go to college, whom to marry, and everything inbetween like what words to use when speaking. The only exception to this is deciding to place the Lord first in our lives and base our decisions on that.

The decisions we make (if we choose not to let the Lord be first) will differ from person to person depending on their role models, desires, friends, and level of restraints and morals in their lives (which are also chosen).

I thought I was bad in kindergarten/first grade when a teacher (helper, I think...but was in both grades) smacked me every time I used my left hand. My mother told me that if I got in trouble in school, I'd get it twice as hard at home. I didn't tell my mother so this carried on until I began writing with my right hand. I didn't know right from wrong back then or I would have told my mother. I acted on avoiding punishment.

I would say that I wasn't accountable at this time , but then I also remember around the this grade when I laughed at a girl who got sick in class. I reacted toward her the way everyone acted toward me. But, without anyone scolding or punishing me (only the girl saw my laugh), I felt a deep sick gnawing inside me and felt bad for the girl...bad that she got sick and worse that I made her feel worse about getting sick. I feel this was my age of accountability...when I knew without anyone telling me that I was bad.

It was also around this time that my mother sent me to get popcicles from the ice cream truck and gave me the exact change for myself and my sister. While she waited for her popsicle at the house, I got a big ice cream and sat on the steps near the truck eating it. I didn't enjoy it because I knew I did bad...I knew my sister was not going to get hers. She came out, saw me eating it, and told my mother, who took the ice cream, threw it in the sink and gave money for my sister to get ice cream. I didn't pout, cry, yell...I went to my room knowing that I deserved the punishment.

However, I didn't understand the concept of Jesus dying on the cross for my sins and how asking Him into my heart and life, turning my life around to place Christ first in my life would get me to heaven.

So I was old enough to be accountable for my own sins, but I wasn't old enough to understand that Jesus could wash away my sins with his blood.

I think too many times we want to brag about numbers, if you will: "56 kids accepted Christ as their Savior during Vacation Bible School" "Amen!" AMEN!!!" "PRAISE the Lord!" and at the expense of trying to hike the numbers, souls are falling by the wayside because kids didn't really understand what they were doing.

We see kids "get saved" at a young age and then by the time they're teens, they go to parties, rock clubs, smoke, experience sin and we wonder where they went wrong. If someone is really saved, the Lord will convict. God doesn't leave people. It's possible the kids never had Christ to begin with.

Satan can be very deceitful...very crafty. He can use something like numbers and amen-collecting (pride) to cause us to rush a child through the Plan of Salvation. We take more time helping kids make the decisions and preparations for marriage and college than we do with such a sensitive and important eternal decision as salvation.


I've won many kids to Christ myself. My daughter was one of them. But one day when she was a young teen, we went to church to pick her up after camp and she was crying. Her friend explained to me that she was afraid to tell me she got saved, because she thought I'd get mad. I was delighted! Horrified by the thought "what if the bus crashed on the way to camp?" but delighted she knew this time that she got saved. I asked her why she was afraid, and she said, "Because you thought you won me to the Lord and I didn't want you to be disappointed in me that I didn't". Man.

My sister had the exact same answer when she accepted Christ as a teen: "I've been battling this for months, but I didn't want to disappoint my Sunday School teacher, so I was afraid to go forward." What if she had died during those months she didn't want to disappoint her SS teacher?

At the age of 5, I went forward and was taken in a group with other kids and thought that closing my eyes and bowing my head while the teacher prayed saved me (my testimony is in the welcome forum under my name).

How many kids are we losing to Satan because kids are afraid of disappointing us? How many have we lost because they were deceived into believing they wre already saved? How many adults go forward in church who were raised in Christian homes?...College students who go forward...who chose a Bible college to study, but realized they weren't saved [hand raised]? This is scary, folks. We need to take this seriously. We need to let the kids know that they will not disappoint anyone if they come forward.

I'm not putting down those who truley accepted Christ at a young age, or have won children to Christ. If it was a truly authentic Salvation, PRAISE THE LORD! It's great that kids get saved at a young age. It can happen. It's very possible if the child knows he is a sinner and can understand what Christ did to save them...and they have the faith to ask Christ into their heart and lives. But we need to be very careful. We need to take the time to make sure they know and understand what's going on...and if they don't...forget the numbers. They don't mean a thing if their name isn't written in the Lamb's Book of Life.

[ July 29, 2005, 12:07 PM: Message edited by: Victory in Jesus ]

 

I'm so sorry my post is long. I'm really trying to cut down, but it's hard.

 

Victory in Jesus

The following Scripture may relieve some of your worries expressed in your post.

Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

 

I believe that a lot of people confuse [and use] the guilt feelings of children when they disobey or disappoint their parents to indicate they have reached an age of accountable to God.

 

I don't think there is "one age", and if there is, I'm sure it is much younger than 20 for many people.

I know the exact moment I was saved, and I was so young that the church was nervous about Baptizing me. I spoke to the Pastor and he was convinced I knew exactly what I was doing, and that I knew the Lord.

My entire life, my way of thinking, my heart, all changed 100% the moment I asked Christ to be my lord and savior. It was like someone flipped a light switch on in my soul. I didn't understand all the deep theology of salvation, but I knew that Christ was real, that I loved Him, that He loved me, and that I never wanted to disappoint Him.

Even though I didn't know what all 10 of the 10 commandments meant, I understood quite a few. I knew that stealing was a sin, and I knew what stealing was. I knew what lying was, and understood that to be a "false witness" you had to be a liar. I knew that God wanted us to love Him, and I knew that Jesus had taken the punishment I/we deserved. I didn't necessarily understand why we needed that punishment, but I did understand that He didn't deserve it, and I did, but He took it so I didn't have to.

I think that once I knew God did exist and that God was not part of the Santa Claus, Easter Bunny mtyhs of the age - that I was accountable to God, but it is .. more than that. I think that every human being, if they are honest with theirself, knows there is a power greater than mankind, and I think the moment you realize that - you are accountable to God. I believe that is true of ALL people. I know some will make intellectual arguements to the contrary, but I think they are only trying to convince themselves. They look at things like witchcraft or fortune telling or science to explain what their soul tells them, and what they want to reject, but deep down they know there is a higher power, and when they deny that - they have to live with the consequences.

 

Texas, did the church stay with you and monitor you to make sure you knew? I don't for a second doubt your salvation. You are so secure, you have me doubting my own salvation now. (heh! I don't really doubt my salvation...put your tracts back in your pockets, y'all))

But, kids can repeat what they've heard and still not understand what they're talking about...especially if they were raised in a Christian home. You were on the INSIDE of you and you knew for sure, but it's difficult to tell as a teacher on the outside. Do you see what I'm saying?

I'm not saying we shouldn't witness to young kids. We should teach them from Tiny Tots on up about Jesus and salvation.

I'm not saying we should reject them when they come forward. If we feel he's not ready, we should keep a close eye on him until we know he's ready...and if he thinks he is, we should continue to talk to him. I mean, here's the question: Should we let him bow his head and "say the magic words" (if he doesn't understand) and let him go on thinking he's saved all his life? God only knows if he's saved...and that's true with all of us. You've convinced me you are, Texas, but I don't know your heart. You don't know mine. I could be a serial purse snatcher just playing around with your heads. (I'm not)

What if the child moves? How many of us actually get their new address from their parents and help them find a new church home? (I never did when I was teaching...had a bus route...I just encouraged them to look and prayed for them a few weeks).

Too many times we witness, they accept and we part our ways. Doctors have follow-up visits after they've repaired broken bones and torn tissue...why dont we follow up more closely when the Lord repairs a broken soul? And I'm beginning to talk about the realm of all ages now, because they may need discipleship (at least those who weren't born into a church).

 

Victory in Jesus,

Actually, I was one of the movers. We moved to another city very soon after I was Baptized. Fortuantely the church up my street in the new city was a wonderful church of God that did a great deal to mentor very young Christians.

I agree that childhood conversions are at times very difficult. I had doubts when my daughter first announced she was saved, and when she was baptized. She "knew the words," and "intellectually knew," what she was doing, but as a parent I heard things in her speech that just struck me as "good person" more than "Christ." She didn't do anything I would have been ashamed of, she knew her bible, she was good to other people, and she obeyed her parents, but she just didn't seem to have that peace and love that only Christ can give.

When she was little older she had a moment when she reached out to God in a way that actually turned her life over to Him totally, and she changed, overnight, into a Christ like person. She actually began to weep over unsaved friends. She uses her experience in that regard as part of her testimony in her mission field now, explaining that she "thought" she was saved "until I really was."

My son had a similiar experience, only it gave me much greater concern. He came home from a friend's house announcing that his friend's had had everyone bow their heads and become Christians. Took quite a while to straighten that mess out.

 

"She "knew the words," and "intellectually knew," what she was doing"

Intellectual...that's what I've been trying to say. There's a big difference between knowing in your head and knowing in your heart.

In several churches we've visited we've noticed that many churches perform a "group in-the-pew salvation" that occurs at the end of an invitation. After giving people a chance to come forward, the pastor says something to the effect of "if you were afraid to come forward but want to accept Christ, please pray these words in your heart:..."

I can understand people can be afraid or intimidated and therefore don't want to come forward...especially if they're visitors. But, I'm always afraid that some may just be repeating words. I strongly believe this should be done on a one-on-one basis.

They did ask how many had received Christ at that time, and a lot of people raise their hands. Then the pastor encourages them to see him afterward, but how many actually see him?

But then you have to wonder if this is yet a more effective way of "leading people to Christ" if they are sincere in their prayers. After all, walking down the aisle doesn't save people, nor does talking to them.

As much as I like hanging on to old traditions, this particular modern style of "winning others" is not about change in this case. It's not about "we never did it this way BEFORE!". I'm concerned for those (both children and adults) who might be "riding a false salvation" to Heaven, because they didn't know what was going on.

People don't always die old. We don't "always have tomorrow" to talk to these people to make sure they knew what they were doing.

 

Hm, we had a sermon that contained this a few times. I've been taught that the Bible teaches that the age of accountability is when a someone is old enough to understand what is right and what is wrong, and know the consequences.

 

In order to be saved we accept Christ
The age of accountability occurs when one accepts their humanity.
By "accepts" I mean consciously knows that they are a sinful human.

 

"But now is he dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me," 2Sam 12:23.

It seems that David had confidence that God would save his child.

 

You are selling it short, sir. David, quoted by the Holy Spirit through the hand of man, is verified by God as speaking under inspiration, when he states for THE record, "I shall go unto him." THEREFORE WE KNOW that little children are protected up to SOME point, we just cannot be sure where that point is. Given Jesus words in the NT, it is evident that for some it is long after they can walk and talk, because they were able to tag along with the Lord as he ministered.

 

Off course Adam and Eve were accountable, just as we are accountable whether we recognize God is God, or not.

Romans 1:20 says, "For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse."

Although the Bible does not speak of an age of accountability, I believe everyone has one. It is the age when one realizes the difference between right and wrong. For one person it might be 10, another 6. Some who are mentallly challenged may never come to that age. I believe those people are covered, like infants, by the grace of God.

 

Age of Accountability.

The book of James tells us, 'Therefore, to him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not; to him it is sin'

There is no set age. It is as soon as that child learns right from wrong and chooses wrong, that child is accountable. One must train up the child in the way he should go. There will be many falls, many times for discipline; but in all discipline, discipline with love.