Age of accountability

[Anonymous]

I am not trying to provoke anyone with this topic. I truly want to know the answer to this. After reading Ezekiel 9. I started thinking about the age of accountability as it pertains to escaping God's judgment.
In Ezekiel 9:6 Slay utterly old [and] young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom [is] the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which [were] before the house.

I have always thought that there wasn't a particular age but a mental maturity that made you accountable to God. Those that have not reached that point will go to heaven regardless of their salvation status.

I would like to hear both sides of the argument. Please use scripture and not just presupposition, to prove your point. I only want the argument for or against "Age of Accountability" as it pertains to escaping God's judgment. I know this a hard subject to talk about. If there is a group of people that is not afraid to tackle hard subjects it is this group.

Robert

 

[Hugh McBryde]

There seems no age of accountability in scripture, save that someone has become sexually experienced. That is a touchy subject. I can't offer scriptures though for something that is not there, only to note that when a woman is not yet given in marriage she is most frequently refered to as a "bath," and after that an " 'ishshah." As far as men go, it would seem that when he first takes a wife, and as a result, he leaves the house. (Genesis 2:24).

 

[Paul not the apostle]

I have always thought that there wasn't a particular age but a mental maturity that made you accountable to God. Those that have not reached that point will go to heaven regardless of their salvation status.

Robert

I have never heard that those that have not reached the "age of accountability" will go to heaven regardless of salvation, where is the "age of accountability" found in scripture BTW?

What about "for all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God" and where do those sinners get to enter into glory without repentence and ......maybe those that are killed before this "age of accountability" are judged by God, who would know what life they would have lead, being able to tell if they would choose His righteousness and therefore be able to accept or deny them into His presence due to His omniscience?

Is "age of accountability" a man made idea to ease minds regarding the deaths of what we perceive to the the innocent, in order to justify the ways of God to man's limited mind?

 

[Anonymous]

If there is no scripture to support this doctrine, then why is it taught in most main stream church's. Is it easier to preach? If this is a false doctrine. Then where did it come from? It would seem if its false that it would have satans fingerprints all over it. It sounds like something he would do. I know for me that this is important to know the answer to this question, because if there is no "Age of Accountability" I am going to put more of an urgency on trianing up my child in the ways of the Lord at a younger age. Also if this doctrine is false. Wouldn't that put more proof in the idea of the " Sovereignty of God"?

I would really like to see an argument for this idea of "Age of Accountability".

Robert

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Robert,

After reading Ezekiel 9. I started thinking about the age of accountability as it pertains to escaping God's judgment.

Regarding an age of accountability, from what I've read in Scripture, it appears that puberty was the demarcation point for being "under the law". The requirements of the Mosaic law spoke to men and women, but not generally to children. It seems parents were expected to raise their children to understand the requirements of the law and learn how to obey it PRIOR to becoming subject to it. If a boy was not circumcised, the father was at fault for disobeying the law.

However, this initial supposition is not supported in Scripture:

Those that have not reached that point will go to heaven regardless of their salvation status.

In terms of escaping God's judgment against sin, the age of the person is irrelevant. The only way that anyone could escape the sin which brings death is through Jesus Himself. It can't be escaped through non-accountability, since we are all accountable. It can't be escaped by good works, since none of us are good. It can't be escaped by obedience, since we have all broken the law. Our Master provides the ONLY escape from the righteous judgment of God.

Psalm 51:5-7: "See, I was brought forth in crookedness, and in sin my mother conceived me. See, You have desired truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You make me know wisdom. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I am clean; wash me, and I am whiter than snow."

Psalm 58:3: "The wrong have been estranged from the womb; these who speak lies go astray from birth."

Proverbs 20:11: "Even a child is known by his deeds, whether his work is clear and right."

2 Kings 2:23-24: "And he went up from there to Beyth El. And as he was going up the way, some youths came from the city and mocked him, and said to him, "Go up, baldhead! Go up, baldhead!" And he turned around and looked at them, and pronounced a curse on them in the Name of Yahweh. And two female bears came out of the forest and tore to pieces forty-two of the youths."

Romans 5:12-14: "For this reason, even as through one man sin did enter into the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned -- for until the Torah, sin was in the world, but sin is not reckoned when there is no Torah."

1 Corinthians 7:14: "For the unbelieving husband has been set-apart in the wife, and the unbelieving wife has been set-apart in the husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are set-apart."

This final passage confirms that a child's status is determined by the status of the parents. For the children to OTHERWISE be unclean means that being set-apart (holy) is NOT the default state of the child. This is yet another reason a Believer should not separate from an unbelieving spouse, because the unbeliever remains set-apart (holy) by virtue of the marriage relationship. I wish more Believers understood this simple fact.

Scripture demonstrates that a child is born sinful, because the child inherits both sin and death going back to Adam. So if you're looking for an age of accountability, Scripture demonstrates that age is the age of conception.

In His love,
David