“Is a baby a sinner?”

Question: “Is a baby a sinner?”

Here is the question that stumps many Christians. If I say “no” then I have to admit that there are many “good” people in the world (all the babies) and that our problem is a social problem of learned sin. If sin is learned then it can be unlearned through behavioral psychology, social reform, and education.

If I say “Yes, all babies are sinners...” then I will be accused of being insensitive and judgmental. After all, what have babies done that they would be judged a sinner? They haven’t lived long enough to have done anything wrong. At worst I would be seen as a baby hater and a religious nut.

So, let me risk my answer and then beg your patience with my response...


Answer: “All babies are sinful.”

Stick around long enough to find out why I would say such an offensive thing and see if I can manage a little bit of truth that you might consider.

They key in this issue is the definition of the terms “sinful” and “righteous or holy.” Most people who look at a cute baby, like I do at Church every Sunday, say things like, “She’s so cute.” We look at that baby face and we want to pinch it or get the kid to smile. If we manage that, our day is made. I have often been caught on the floor with toddlers in my church, but I still claim they are sinful, just like me.

Most of us think of a sinful person as being a drug addict, a murder, or politician. How can I put a baby in that category? The Bible is clear on what sin is, and simply put, one of the main sins from the dawn of time is being self centered. No matter how cute a baby is, or how sweet they can be at times, they are basically self absorbed little people and will be that way for many years until a loving parent fights the battle in the terrible two’s. That is when they learn they are not the center of the universe.

What is a holy, righteous and innocent person then? The Bible defines this kind of person in the opposite way. They are God centered. They believe and act as if God is at the center of the universe. No baby is able to do this. They have to grow up to even approach this great truth. Most adults are not able to do this, because we must die to our selves and let Christ live in us through His Holy Spirit. As one famous author put it, He must sit on the throne of our heart instead of us.

Question: “Will a baby go to hell if it dies?”

This is the one reason people don’t want to say babies are sinful because then we are accused of saying they will go to hell.

Answer: "No, they won't go to hell because they are not accountable."

The Bible tells us that we are held accountable not for everyone sin we commit or for being sinful. We are only accountable for the sins we KNOWINGLY commit. The Christian church has taught for thousands of years that babies go to heaven and are not judged because they don’t know they should be God centered rather than self centered. They are innocent by ignorance and not be nature. When do they cross the line and knowingly choose sin? I don’t know. The church has called this the age of accountability and for many years thought it occurred around the teenage development. There are many who know think that the ability to know right from wrong comes much sooner because of exposure of media and accelerated society.

What we do know is this, all of us come to a point in our life when we know that we shouldn’t do something, but we do it anyway. That is when God hold’s you accountable and judges you for the sin in your life.

Hey! If you think I’m being tough, remember this. The more you know about God the more accountable you are. I’m a Pastor and the Bible says I have to give an accounting more than most because I suppose to know better than most. What I have just argued goes double for my future date with God.

These two questions were born of out of the last blog and I am sure there are more that will come from this blog. Give me a chance! Thanks for reading all the way through. Now click below and leave your thought. Read the previous blogs!