I didn't say they never sinned either.
We know from Romans 9:11 that Esau and Jacob had done no evil. If they had died in this state (and millions of children have died in the womb) they would have been no sinners.
The SO, was of the kind of "so what that some children die before they actually sin?".
Well, for one thing, it proves physical death is not a result of sin. If sin causes physical death, then why did God need to bar Adam and Eve from the tree of life, they would have died anyway! Isn't that so?
Gen 3:22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil:
and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
So, it was not Adam and Eve's sin that caused their physical death, but God banning them from the tree of life and chasing them out of the garden.
However, they did die spiritually the very day they sinned, just as God had promised.
Gen 2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it:
for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
An apple tree is still an apple tree before it bears fruit winman.
Besides how is it that some infants do die before they actually sin?
Then why do saved parents give birth to children who become sinners?
All men die because we have been banned from the tree of life, not because we sinned in Adam.
Since death is the result of sin.
Spiritual death, not physical.
Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
Yes, and read the following verses, they are not speaking of physical death, but spiritual. They speak of condemnation, judgment, disobedience, etc...
These verses are clearly speaking of spiritual death, not physical.
I can't definitively prove it from scripture except possibly the one that you gave but I believe God regenerates children who have not the understanding and accountability of what they are which possibly is 6-7 (or more) years old.
HankD
Well, here is a HUGE problem for Original Sin. If everyone is born a sinner as you believe, then all children who die before they can understand the gospel and believe on Jesus would go to hell. Sad, but true.
And this is exactly why Augustine and the Catholic Church baptized babies, to wash away this Original Sin.
So, now you have folks being saved by baptism, and not faith in Jesus. Or else folks say God breaks his own rules and gives babies a break and saves them anyway, even though they are filthy sinners just like adults, they just haven't had a chance to grow into big sinners.
So, now you have folks being saved by other than trusting Jesus. Not good.
However, if you understand that babies are not sinners, you realize they are not lost.
Now, we all know scripture like Rom 3:23 that says all men have sinned and come short of the glory of God. But again, Rom 9:11 shows this is not speaking of unborn babies or very little children. It is speaking of men.
What is important, is there any scripture to support there are some men who have never sinned? I say yes, and I have shown the words of Jesus in Matthew 18 and Luke 15. In fact, it was Jesus himself who told the story of the elder son who never sinned.
Luk 15:29 And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee,
neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends:
30 But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.
31 And he said unto him,
Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.
32 It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.
Now, it was Jesus himself who tells us of this elder son who never transgressed his father's commandment at ANY TIME. I didn't say that, Jesus did.
Did the father correct the boy or call him a hypocrite? NO, the father confirmed what the elder son said was true, he called him SON, he said the boy was EVER with him (no separation by sin EVER), and ALL that he had was his.
The father also clearly contrasts the elder son to his younger brother who was both DEAD and LOST.
So, why in the world would Jesus tell us about some supposedly IMAGINARY person that could not possibly exist if Original Sin is true?
I think the answer is, is that Jesus was not speaking of some imaginary person that could not possibly exist, but speaking of very real persons that truly do exist.
And the only possible persons I can see that would fit this description are babies and very young children who died before they could sin. This matches up perfectly with Matthew 18 I showed before.
So, it is Jesus who speaks of persons who never sinned, what are you going to do with it?