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Is there an age of accountability?

J

JustWondering

Member
For my entire life, I have always heard people talk about the "age of accountability", and the fact that kids below that age will not be held accountable for their sins. I've looked long and hard for scripture to support this doctrine, but have never found any. Is there such a thing? If so, where does the Bible talk about it? What is that age? If anyone has insights, I'd love to hear them. Thanks.
 
I think Romans 7:9-11 is a very strong passage to consider for the "age of accountability" idea...

"I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died; and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me; for sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me."

Paul stated that he "was once alive apart from the Law". He was born and raised a Jew, he grew up in the Law...yet he states that he was once alive apart from it.

I can see no other interpretation of this passage making sense, except that Paul is speaking of when he was a baby/toddler who was too little to understand the Law, but as he grew and gained understanding...he consciously sinned and therefore died.

I don't think there is any set "age"...just when an individual is old enough to understand what God expects of him...then refuses to obey out of sinful rebellion.
 
Hi Dora,
I'm not sure that Paul was talking about the age of accountability there. NT Wright has a great exposition on that passage that if we wait long enough, I'm sure Drew would love to expound upon :lol

Anyway, Check out these verses from Exodus.

Exodus 30 11 Then the LORD said to Moses, 12 “When you take a census of the Israelites to count them, each one must pay the LORD a ransom for his life at the time he is counted. Then no plague will come on them when you number them. 13 Each one who crosses over to those already counted is to give a half shekel,[c] according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs. This half shekel is an offering to the LORD. 14 All who cross over, those twenty years old or more, are to give an offering to the LORD. 15 The rich are not to give more than a half shekel and the poor are not to give less when you make the offering to the LORD to atone for your lives. 16 Receive the atonement money from the Israelites and use it for the service of the tent of meeting. It will be a memorial for the Israelites before the LORD, making atonement for your lives.â€

We see from the above verse that when a census was taken, those above 20 were to pay a half shekel as an atonement for their lives. (Peter echo's this in 1 Peter 1:18)

We also see in Numbers 1 that one had to be at least 20 to go to war.

We also have these verses found in the book of Numbers 14 29 In this wilderness your bodies will fall—every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me. 30 Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. 31 As for your children that you said would be taken as plunder, I will bring them in to enjoy the land you have rejected.

We see from above that anyone under 20 was still considered a child and was allowed passage into the promised land.

If I were to push a doctrine on the age of accountability, these would probably be my starting verses. :yes
 
StoveBolts said:
Hi Dora,
I'm not sure that Paul was talking about the age of accountability there. NT Wright has a great exposition on that passage that if we wait long enough, I'm sure Drew would love to expound upon :lol

Anyway, Check out these verses from Exodus.

Exodus 30 11 Then the LORD said to Moses, 12 “When you take a census of the Israelites to count them, each one must pay the LORD a ransom for his life at the time he is counted. Then no plague will come on them when you number them. 13 Each one who crosses over to those already counted is to give a half shekel,[c] according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs. This half shekel is an offering to the LORD. 14 All who cross over, those twenty years old or more, are to give an offering to the LORD. 15 The rich are not to give more than a half shekel and the poor are not to give less when you make the offering to the LORD to atone for your lives. 16 Receive the atonement money from the Israelites and use it for the service of the tent of meeting. It will be a memorial for the Israelites before the LORD, making atonement for your lives.â€

We see from the above verse that when a census was taken, those above 20 were to pay a half shekel as an atonement for their lives. (Peter echo's this in 1 Peter 1:18)

We also see in Numbers 1 that one had to be at least 20 to go to war.

We also have these verses found in the book of Numbers 14 29 In this wilderness your bodies will fall—every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me. 30 Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. 31 As for your children that you said would be taken as plunder, I will bring them in to enjoy the land you have rejected.

We see from above that anyone under 20 was still considered a child and was allowed passage into the promised land.

If I were to push a doctrine on the age of accountability, these would probably be my starting verses. :yes
Click to expand...

This is very interesting! I've often heard it said that the age of accountability was from 13-20. 13 because this is when a Jewish child became a man/women and 20 because our brains weren't fully developed until about this age.

Now, I don't stand behind this information because it's something that I've heard in passing, but it's neat nonetheless.
 
JustWondering said:
For my entire life, I have always heard people talk about the "age of accountability", and the fact that kids below that age will not be held accountable for their sins. I've looked long and hard for scripture to support this doctrine, but have never found any. Is there such a thing? If so, where does the Bible talk about it? What is that age? If anyone has insights, I'd love to hear them. Thanks.
Click to expand...

You wont find any scriptures to clearly support the idea.
 
I have always liked Deut. 1:39 for the salvation of infants "Moreover your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it." (KJV)

How old are you when you know the difference between good and evil?:shrug
Westtexas
 
Here’s my two cents worth (which isn’t much in today’s economy! lol)

Maybe it’s just me but I like to keep things simple. I believe the age of accountability is not so much a number in years, but more so taking into account an individual’s intellect. Meaning, ‘when a person makes a choice and knows (somewhat) the consequences of that decision’.

Having said that (and differentiating) from a ‘legal’ age (i.e. in the USA, at the stroke of midnight on your 18th birthday, you are now considered an adult), I believe the ‘age of accountability’ can vary from person to person. (and in some cases the situation at hand). Some are aware of their actions (and consequences) at an early age thereby making them accountable.

For what it’s worth . . .


Be blessed, Stay blessed!
 
reba said:
You wont find any scriptures to clearly support the idea.
Click to expand...

Hi Reba,
What do you mean when you say clearly?

I thought it was pretty clear that anyone under 20 did not have to pay a ransom as atonement for their lives according to the verses I posted earlier. That being said, I think that there are good odds that there were those under 20 desired to worship the golden calf. Why then were they not held accountable by way of the atonement money?
 
Obviously there is no strict number of years, each one is different. But what does it matter? We are all born in sin .
 
Stovebolts.

I will not dispute what you posted yes they had to pay the ransom. Christ is our ransom ,but you know that.

Using a 20 year old standard wow one could party like ____ ! And it is not sin? Breaking the 'Ten" is not sin? Teenage sex is not sin?

We are born in sin or into sin. Because of the fall of man. I trust God and His mercy for the salvation of the young.

The 4 year old who knows how to be sneaky knows right from wrong. The 19 year old is suddenly accountable the next day?
 
Hi Reba, I understand what you're saying, but the issue isn't about sin, it's about being accountable for that sin as one matures into a particular lifestyle.

Deuteronomy 6:5-7 And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words, which I command you this day, shall be in your heart: And you shall teach them diligently unto your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up.

As adults, we are accountable to how we raise our children. It is our job to do the best we can in teaching them "the way". But there comes a point where they choose their own way of life and come under another's "yoke". This can be clearly seen in teenagers as they all rebel against their parents at one point or another. The only real difference is how brutally they rebel.

But something almost magical happens around 20, or shortly after because they suddenly realize that mom and dad weren't as stupid as they originally thought... Perhaps it's at this point where they not only know what's right and what's wrong, but they actually begin to understand the difference and we both know there is a drastic difference between knowing something, and understanding it.
 
Hitch said:
Obviously there is no strict number of years, each one is different. But what does it matter? We are all born in sin .
Click to expand...

I guess that's why I'm so confused about the whole idea of age of accountability, and why I posted the original question. I'm sure we can all agree that it seems incomprehinsible that God would send a very young child to hell (although I have heard some Christians argue that this is in fact the case.) At the same time, the entire doctrine of hell is based upon the fact that God is perfect and just and can't be in the presence of sin. If everyone is born into sin, then even young children have sin in them, so how is it that God can give them a free "pass" and allow them into Heaven? Know what I mean? If God actually can be in the presence of sin (by allowing kids), then that would open up the idea that He could give a free "pass" to others, even those who are not kids. The whole idea seems confusing to me...
 
JustWondering said:
I guess that's why I'm so confused about the whole idea of age of accountability, and why I posted the original question. I'm sure we can all agree that it seems incomprehinsible that God would send a very young child to hell (although I have heard some Christians argue that this is in fact the case.) At the same time, the entire doctrine of hell is based upon the fact that God is perfect and just and can't be in the presence of sin. If everyone is born into sin, then even young children have sin in them, so how is it that God can give them a free "pass" and allow them into Heaven? Know what I mean? If God actually can be in the presence of sin (by allowing kids), then that would open up the idea that He could give a free "pass" to others, even those who are not kids. The whole idea seems confusing to me...
Click to expand...
[FONT=&quot]Calvinists, of course, hold that the doctrine of original sin applies to infants as well as to adults. Like all other sons of Adam, infants are truly culpable because of race sin and might be justly punished for it. Their "salvation" is real. It is possible only through the grace of Christ and is as truly unmerited as is that of adults. Instead of minimizing the demerit and punishment due to them for original sin, Calvinism magnifies the mercy of God in their salvation. [/FONT]


Reformed Theology and Infant Salvation​
excerpted from The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination, by Loraine Boettner, The Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, Philadelphia, PA 1963


Bold emphasis added.



Boettner was quite a thinker.
​
 
And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

...

But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.

I think that Stovebolts has already used the most important portions of scripture to show accountability.. I would also add the story about David losing the son he had with Bathsheba.. and I think that it should be obvious to any human being (Christian or not) that children are innocent, and imo, a wonderous representation of Adam before the fall.
 
Deception and Disobedience..

When we look at the story in Genesis of the fall of man (Adam), I think that it's important to remember what Paul writes in the NT..

And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.

At first glance here it might appear that Paul is slamming the woman.. but that's not the case.. he tells us that Adam was NOT deceived.. iow, he deliberately disobeyed God.

Disobedience is worse than Deception isn't it.. ?

I think that there's a difference between men and women (lol, no really) when it comes to many of these issues.. but the point is that the two main ingredients in the fall seem to be deception, and then outright disobedience..

This may not be completely relative to 'accountability' although I thought that I'd add a few more .02 to it.
 
1 Corinthians 13:11 NLT
When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things.


Our spiritual blindness and childhood ends when we receive the revelation of Christ, that we are indeed sinners in need of a Saviour---that is a personally appointed time between God and you.
 
StoveBolts said:
Hi Dora,
I'm not sure that Paul was talking about the age of accountability there. NT Wright has a great exposition on that passage that if we wait long enough, I'm sure Drew would love to expound upon :lol
Click to expand...

Jeff, could you link me up to Wright's exposition...or at least give me an insight to what he says? I would like to study it. I've studied other commentators, generally Calvinistic ones, who go through convoluted hoops and twists to make this passage say other than what it clearly says...If Wright has a concise and straightforward interpretation, I'm open to learning from it.

Meanwhile, I've yet to see any reason to believe this passage means anything other than what it says...Paul was once alive apart from the Law, but when the commandment came sin awakened and he died. Naturally, this is speaking spiritual life and death.

And, if the passage means pretty much what it says, then it clearly shows that we are born in spiritual innocence and spiritually alive...but when we understand God's law, and rebel against it...we spiritually die.
 
Hi Dora,
Here is Wright's theology on Romans that you may find as interesting. Take your time to dig through it :study
http://www.ntwrightpage.com/Wright_Romans_Theology_Paul.pdf

A more straightforward commentary can be found in his series "Paul for everyone"
There is a Romans 1 and Romans 2 that make up the complete commentary on Romans. Note: Paul for everyone, although theological in nature is very friendly in terms of introduction as N.T. Wright mixes in relevant stories of today which makes reading his commentary fresh and vibrant.
Amazon.com: Paul for Everyone: Romans, Part One (For Everyone) (9780664227999): Tom Wright: Books
 
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