God's Plan for Children and the Mentally Disabled

[KingJ]

What are God's plans for children and the mentally disabled?

I have been thinking about this subject quite a bit recently. It has also been raised in a few recent discussions. I would be interested to hear how other Christians understand it.

I personally believe that children and the mentally disabled who die are presently with the Lord. While I do not believe Scripture states this explicitly, passages such as 2 Samuel 12:23, Matthew 19:14, and Deuteronomy 1:39 lead me to conclude that God graciously receives those who die without the capacity to make an informed moral decision. I further believe that, because God is impartial, they will one day be given the same opportunity to make an informed choice and be tested before the final judgment.

God, being perfectly just Job 34:12, good Psalm 136:1, and impartial Rom 2:11, will provide a fair opportunity for children and those who are mentally incapable of making an informed decision regarding Christ. Passages such as Deuteronomy 1:39 and Numbers 14:29 suggest that God distinguishes between those who are accountable and those who are not. Interestingly, Numbers 14:29 is the only passage in all of Scripture that appears to place a specific age boundary on accountability, as God judged those twenty years old and upward while sparing the younger generation.

I believe the Millennium is the perfect time and setting for children and the mentally disabled who died without the capacity to make an informed decision regarding Christ.

I do not believe those who survive the Tribulation will continue into the Millennium unless they are children and mentally disabled. Jesus described the Tribulation as the most severe period of judgment the world has ever seen or ever will see (Matthew 24:21), which leads me to view it as one of God's greatest separations of the wicked from the righteous in all of history. Nobody will be on the fence at the end of it.

Because of that, I believe the Millennium is the perfect time and setting. Under Christ's righteous rule they would have the opportunity to learn, grow, and become accountable. Revelation 20:3 and 20:7-9 teach that Satan will be released at the end of the thousand years for a final testing of mankind. Since God allowed Adam and Eve to make a genuine choice in the presence of temptation, it seems consistent with His impartial character that these individuals would also receive their opportunity before the final judgment.

I realize this view is inferential and that Scripture does not explicitly lay out every detail. Nevertheless, I find it difficult to reconcile God's impartiality with the idea that some people would never receive an opportunity to make a conscious and informed choice regarding Him.

What do you think? Are there other Scriptures that shed light on the fate of children and the mentally disabled?

 

[Bill]

What are God's plans for children and the mentally disabled?

I have been thinking about this subject quite a bit recently. It has also been raised in a few recent discussions. I would be interested to hear how other Christians understand it.

I personally believe that children and the mentally disabled who die are presently with the Lord. While I do not believe Scripture states this explicitly, passages such as 2 Samuel 12:23, Matthew 19:14, and Deuteronomy 1:39 lead me to conclude that God graciously receives those who die without the capacity to make an informed moral decision. I further believe that, because God is impartial, they will one day be given the same opportunity to make an informed choice and be tested before the final judgment.

God, being perfectly just Job 34:12, good Psalm 136:1, and impartial Rom 2:11, will provide a fair opportunity for children and those who are mentally incapable of making an informed decision regarding Christ. Passages such as Deuteronomy 1:39 and Numbers 14:29 suggest that God distinguishes between those who are accountable and those who are not. Interestingly, Numbers 14:29 is the only passage in all of Scripture that appears to place a specific age boundary on accountability, as God judged those twenty years old and upward while sparing the younger generation.

I believe the Millennium is the perfect time and setting for children and the mentally disabled who died without the capacity to make an informed decision regarding Christ.

I do not believe those who survive the Tribulation will continue into the Millennium unless they are children and mentally disabled. Jesus described the Tribulation as the most severe period of judgment the world has ever seen or ever will see (Matthew 24:21), which leads me to view it as one of God's greatest separations of the wicked from the righteous in all of history. Nobody will be on the fence at the end of it.

Because of that, I believe the Millennium is the perfect time and setting. Under Christ's righteous rule they would have the opportunity to learn, grow, and become accountable. Revelation 20:3 and 20:7-9 teach that Satan will be released at the end of the thousand years for a final testing of mankind. Since God allowed Adam and Eve to make a genuine choice in the presence of temptation, it seems consistent with His impartial character that these individuals would also receive their opportunity before the final judgment.

I realize this view is inferential and that Scripture does not explicitly lay out every detail. Nevertheless, I find it difficult to reconcile God's impartiality with the idea that some people would never receive an opportunity to make a conscious and informed choice regarding Him.

What do you think? Are there other Scriptures that shed light on the fate of children and the mentally disabled?

May Jesus fill us with his love and wisdom.

Many years ago, the Lord led me to learn about my brothers and sisters in the Protestant churches. Now I didn't know if it was all right by Catholic standards not to go to Catholic mass too, so I ended up going to the Saturday mass which is reserved for people who are working on Sundays. And in a sense I was working for the Lord because he wanted me to get to know the other churches. So every Sunday for years I would go to something else. I went to numerous Baptist, Church of God, Assembly of God, you name it I probably want to it

And over the years I saw that there were many different ways in which everyone views things, for instance, there are some groups that feel that children have the devil in them until they receive Christ. ( personally I don't agree with that because of what Jesus says in the scripture about children)

I do believe personally that children are considered innocent until they are not innocent. And I know in the Jewish culture I believe that the child becomes a man at a certain age I can't remember the name for this change but I think they're like 12 years old or something. And we can see this also in the judicial system in America. Because they also charge children that are about 13 years older more as adults depending on the crimes they commit. And so it's not really a thing about ages it is about mental capacity. For a child to do something heinous as murdering who is maybe 13 or 14 years old and you see that they have well planned out method of killing.

I understand this is a rough example but it is good example as far as trying to understand that just because a person is in their early teens, does not mean they should not be held accountable for thier actions.

Going back to the way that God judges children. I think for the fact that God has us raise our children the way that he teaches us to do this, is also the way in which he judges children. And I have to believe that it's based on comprehension of a child, knowing what is right and wrong. Just like I described above about early teens.

Of course it's all speculation but it's just my thoughts.

As for people who are mentally handicapped. For the vast majority of those who are mentally happy I find that their sense of Love is beyond virtually everyone else. And I think the suffering that they experience in their lifetime from people around them the way they're treated they may not even know that they're treated harshly but it doesn't really matter. I think that they are God's gift to humanity, that they suffer for us for our sins. Even though they themselves may never have volunteered for it, but God calls them to be this way. They are actually not there for themselves, but they are there for us to find humility, to find compassion and to deepen our own love for God