At what age is it determined that a child will go to heaven or hell?

Sincerely, Thinking of the Children

Dear Thinking of the Children,

That is an excellent question… that I can’t answer. I could leave it at that, but I have a feeling you were looking for a little more in-depth of an answer. I’ll tell you what the Bible says on the subject, but it doesn’t say much.

We know any babies that die all go to heaven. David’s son died, and David made it clear that his son was in heaven (2 Sam 12:23). Also, Paul uses the immaturity of children as an example (1 Cor 13:11). This tells us God doesn’t have the same expectation of a child’s behavior as He does of an adult’s. Children are not bound by the same rules as adults. A child doesn’t have the mental capacity or maturity to be held accountable for their mistakes like adults are.

In order to become a christian, there are several things God expects you to be capable of doing:

1. Take responsibility for your sins (Acts 3:19).
2. Hear and understand the Word of God (Rom 10:17).
3. Be responsible for your own spiritual growth (1 Pet 2:1-2).

If a child is not capable of doing those things, they cannot be held accountable for their eternal future.

This still doesn’t answer the question though because every child matures at a different rate. Everyone agrees that a five-year-old can’t be held accountable, and that a twenty-year-old can. It is the age spectrum in between where our judgment gets fuzzy. Only God, who knows our hearts (Lk 16:15), can accurately judge the hour in which a child makes that transition into accountability.

Does everyone who goes to Heaven get the same reward, or will some people have a bigger or better reward based on how good their works are in this life?

Sincerely, Preparing For Eternity

Dear Preparing For Eternity,

Yes, some will have a greater reward in heaven than others – though I don’t want you to misconstrue this as meaning heaven won’t be entirely perfect for everyone there. The most important verse on this topic is Matt 6:20. The implication is that heaven uses more than just a pass/fail entry system, but that there is a way to ‘invest’ in heavenly rewards. Jesus reiterates this idea of storing treasures for yourself in heaven when He talks to the rich young ruler (Mk 10:21).

The idea of heaven having various rewards shouldn’t be too foreign to us because God is clear that its counterpart, hell, certainly does. Heb 10:28-29 makes it plain that there is an especially dark corner of hell for those who were christians and rejected Christ later. False teachers also are condemned under a stricter judgment than the average unbeliever (Jas 3:1).

It is easy to see that verses do say that heaven and hell have varying degrees of reward and punishment, but the problem is envisioning how that works. If everyone will be completely happy in heaven (Rev 21:4), how can some have more rewards than others? At this point, we must accept our weakness in envisioning spiritual concepts. Any analogy we make is purely an attempt in our feeble minds to explain a realm too glorious for us to grasp. So take the following analogy with a grain of salt.

The example I use to explain the varying degrees of heaven uses two men with buckets. Two men go down to a river with buckets; one man has a five gallon bucket, and the other has a one gallon bucket. They both dipped their buckets in the river… whose bucket is fuller? Both buckets are equally full, are they not? I liken heaven to filling our buckets. Everyone’s bucket will be full. The only question is -how big will your bucket be?

If God loves everyone, why does He send people to hell?

Sincerely, Concerned For Souls

Dear Concerned For Souls,

God doesn’t want anyone to go to hell (Eze 33:11), but He gave us free will, and He respects our choices. Heaven and hell are the two eternal destinations of the human soul. Every human being gets to choose which path they wish to take (Matt 7:13-14). God gives you an entire lifetime to decide which place to live. During this life we choose to submit to Him (Jas 4:10) and wait for Him to exalt us, or we live for ourselves and must depend on ourselves on the day of judgment (Lk 13:25-27).

Heaven and hell are about choices. By the way we live, we choose to be with God forever or to live for ourselves. God desperately wants all to choose Him, but when people don’t, He respects their wishes. Even if it means by respecting them, they become separated from Him eternally. God respects your freedom to choose… so choose wisely (Heb 9:27).

     I know the Holy Spirit was responsible for getting the Bible (Jhn 14:26) to us via gifts of the Spirit (Heb 2:4), and I know He intercedes for us when we pray (Rom 8:26), but what other roles does the Holy Spirit actively play in our lives? 

Sincerely, I've Got Spirit, Yes I Do?

Dear I've Got Spirit, Yes I Do?,

     Since the Holy Spirit is God (1 Cor 2:11, Gen 1:2) just as much as Jesus and the Father are, He is capable of being involved in our lives in a variety of ways.  The Holy Spirit’s primary task was to bring the gospel to mankind.  As you mentioned, He is why we have the Bible, and that is how the majority of His impact is made upon mankind.  Here are some examples of things that the Holy Spirit does through the Word:

1. He shows us God’s love for us (Rom 5:5).
2. He teaches us how to be born again (Jhn 3:5).
3. He dwells in our hearts (Rom 8:9) as we allow His words to lead us (Rom 8:14).
4. He bears witness for the saved before men (Rom 8:16).
5. He tells us what is on God’s mind (1 Cor 2:10).

     By inspiring the writers of the Bible, testifying of their divine authority by miracles, and preserving their words through all history, the Holy Spirit has made Christ’s sacrifice available to all of mankind.

     The Holy Spirit also actively does a few things that don’t directly relate to the Bible.

1. He makes sure our prayers are understood (Rom 8:26).
2. He intercedes for us with God (Rom 8:27).
3. He acts as our guarantee from God of eternal blessings (2 Cor 5:5).  One way to think of this is that God sent Him to be with us- sort of like a downpayment on His promise to spend eternity with us in heaven.
4. He grieves when we sin (Eph 4:30).

     There can be no doubt that the Holy Spirit is actively preserving and distributing God’s Word, watching over our lives with providential care, and intimately caring about how you live and where you will spend eternity.

Can a woman continue to teach a baptized christian boy after he is baptized?

Sincerely, Age Appropriate

Dear Age Appropriate,

Baptism doesn’t make you a man; it makes you a christian. The Scriptures are clear about a woman teaching a man – she can’t do it (1 Tim. 2:12). Your question doesn’t deal with a woman teaching a man. Instead, it is addressing when a male becomes a man. That issue is a much more difficult one because there is no exact answer. There are two parts to your question:

1. When do we recognize a boy as a man?
2. What should a congregation do in order to have harmony when a boy is baptized?

The first question is easily answered – I don’t know. The Scriptures never say. Society recognizes 18 as adult enough to be considered completely responsible for oneself. Even that is just an arbitrary number. In reality, every child matures at a different rate, and there is no magic moment of transition from childhood to adulthood. Everyone agrees a 10 year old is a child and a 20 year old is an adult, but it is the ages in between that leave us scratching our heads.

The second question is an issue of dealing with opinions. Realistically, when a young person is baptized, some will consider him or her an instant adult; others will recognize it as a decision that shows maturity but not adulthood. Consequently, in the case of a boy, a congregation will have some that feel he can no longer have a woman Bible class teacher, and others will think it is still appropriate. Both views are an opinion, and we can’t stand hard and fast on either view. Rom 14:13 says that in such cases, we should do whatever will not cause division or hurt anyone’s conscience. If the congregation is being torn apart by a woman teaching a newly baptized boy, put him in a different class with a male teacher. If a woman has been teaching him and no longer feels she can do it in clear conscience, she should be allowed to recuse herself as his teacher. No matter what, in issues of opinion, peace and edification should be sought above all else (Rom 14:19). Wisdom will have to be used to decide what is the best course in each circumstance.