Do children and babies who die go to heaven? Mark 10:14

At the memorial service for the victims of the Oklahoma bombing some years ago, Billy Graham clearly stated that he believed the babies and young children who died were now in heaven. R.C. Sproul immediately spoke out against this as bad theology. All this forced me to go back to Scripture to see what it really teaches about children and heaven.

In Mark 10:14, Jesus told His disciples, "Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." (NASV) The King James Version translates the last part of this verse this way  "...for of such is the kingdom of God."

The King James translation makes it seem as if Jesus is saying that some children are a part of God's kingdom, but some are not. The NASV, I believe after considerable research, is the best translation, and it clearly indicates that "children", meaning babies and young children, do belong to the kingdom of heaven.

What I believe Jesus is saying is that children and all those who "receive the kingdom of God like a child" i.e., with child-like trust in Jesus as Savior (v. 15) are going to be in heaven.

Therefore, I would agree with Billy Graham on this, and disagree with R.C. Sproul. Babies and young children who die are in heaven. I base this not on theological constructs or emotional bias but on the clear statement of our Lord when properly understood in context.

Now I realize this raises other significant questions, and I will attempt to answer them as best as possible.

First, does the Bible teach an "age of accountability"? No and yes. I do not believe that there is a particular age at which children become accountable. The Bible does not speak explicitedly an "age of accountability", let alone give us a specific age . But I believe that until a particular child is constitutionally able to make a decision about Jesus Christ, that child, though a sinner (see Psalm 51:5), has grace imputed to him or her by God based on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for the entire world (see post on II Corinthians 5:19). I do not believe that God will condemn a baby or small child that has no ability to interact with the truth about Jesus Christ. I base this on the belief that the true God is a fair God who gives every person in the world an opportunity to know the truth and believe (see my upcoming posts on Romans 1:18-20 and John 16:8-11).

This brings me to another crucial question, that is, how does my belief fit with unconditional election?

My answer is that God in eternity past unconditionally elected those He would save based on His good pleasure and absolutely no merit on the part of the recipient (see Ephesians 1:3-6). I believe that He elected all babies and small children who would die before they obtained the ability to believe in Christ. This is still unconditional election because it is not based on any merit on their part, rather the issue is lack of any ability to exercise saving faith. This belief reconciles nicely the truth that children belong to the kingdom of heaven, and that God also unconditionally chooses those who He will save.

So in the end, I agree with Billy Graham that babies and small children go to heaven when they die, and I also agree with R.C. Sproul that everyone is born a sinner and that God unconditionally elects those He will save. But most importantly I agree with Jesus and His Word.