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Will All Teenagers 19 And Below Go To Heaven?

iLOVE

iLOVE

Member
Now here is where we sometimes get a little heated, because of what we have been taught previously. We tend to rationalize beyond the word of God and say things like, “Your not going to tell me that a teenager does not know right from wrong.” No, I am not, but what does God say on this subject?
 
For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. 1 Corinthians 7:14 NIV
 
The one who sins is the one who will die. The child will not share the guilt of the parent, nor will the parent share the guilt of the child. The righteousness of the righteous will be credited to them, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against them. Ezekiel 18:20 NIV
 
Jewish practice is for a 13 year old male to become responsible for obeying the commandments, and a 12 year old female. Bar mitzvah means son of the commandment. Although, age is not specified in the Bible itself.
 
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The Bible never specifies age accountability when it comes to this subject. However, I assume we become accountable when we have guilt.

Ezekiel18:14 But suppose he has a child who sees all the sins that his father committed. He becomes alarmed and doesn’t do them.15 He doesn’t eat on the mountains or pay attention to the idols of the house of Israel. He doesn’t defile his neighbor’s wife.16 He doesn’t cheat anyone, either by seizing collateral for loans or committing robbery. He gives his food to the hungry and clothes to the naked.17 He refrains from oppressing the poor by taking neither interest nor profit. He observes my case laws and follows my regulations. He won’t die because of his father’s guilt. He will surely live.18 As for his father: If he exploited the weak or committed robbery, or did anything else that wasn’t good for the people, he will die because of his own guilt.
 
I think the clearest scripture, to me anyway, on how sin causes spiritual death is Romans 7:7-13.

I believe it is a mistake to place specific ages for things when the Scriptures do not. Basically, Paul states that once he understood the Law of Coveting, it then became the means of his spiritual death. So, the so-called "age of accountability" would seem to come once one is capable of understanding God's laws and then going against it.

So, what do we do about Numbers 14:29 here then? Is this God telling us that no one under the age of 20 is ever held accountable or even more to the point never spiritually dies and is in need of a Savior until the age of 20?

I don't think so. I think that Numbers 14, which chronicles the sin of the Children of Israel rebelling against God when they found out that taking back of the Promised Land wasn't going to be a walk in the part, is specific to that particular rebellion.
Back tracking from verse 29, we see in Numbers 14:3 the people crying out: Why did the Lord bring us here just to be killed? Our wives and little ones are going to become plunder... ahhhhhhgggghhhh, Let's go back to Egypt!!!!

God is ready to smite the lot of them and instead of Father Abraham make it Father Moses (this reaches back to the promises made to Abraham and also that Israel would become the line of promise) but Moses intercedes and God, making the point crystal clear that He did NOT lead the people to the Promised Land just so their "little ones" would be destroyed, placed the punishment for the rebellion on all who were old enough to serve as soldiers in the fight but acted like cowards instead.

To spin this out that this means that no one under the age of 20 is held accountable for sin is adding a lot more to the text than should be, in my opinion. 20 was the age of the fighting men of Israel, and I've always been taught that was so that young men could marry and have children prior to facing death in wars.

The Romans 7 passage seems much clearer as to when we become old enough to spiritually die.... It's when we are old enough to understand God's laws...but break them anyway.
 
Michael74 said:
Jewish practice is for a 13 year old male to become responsible for obeying the commandments, and a 12 year old female. Bar mitzvah means son of the commandment. Although, age is not specified in the Bible itself.
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bar and bat. both are done. mitzvot is the word for command it relates to doing torah particully one command or in the case of the bar mitzvah the commands plural.they recite the torah in Hebrew.
 
jasonc said:
bar and bat. both are done. mitzvot is the word for command it relates to doing torah particully one command or in the case of the bar mitzvah the commands plural.they recite the torah in Hebrew.
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Jason, you are so much more knowledgeable about Jewish history and the Torah, etc... Is it true, as I've been taught in the past, that the reason the minimum age for a soldier was 20 was so that a young man could marry and have time to impregnate a wife prior to facing death in battle? Is there any scriptural support for this idea?

Not trying to derail the thread, but that makes more sense to me than a person being innocent and unaccountable for sin until 20 then "bam" sinner!
 
Michael74 said:
For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. 1 Corinthians 7:14 NIV
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What if both parents are not Christians...will any child in the household 19 and below go to heaven?
 
If a man has recently married, he must not be sent to war or have any other duty laid on him. For one year he is to be free to stay at home and bring happiness to the wife he has married. Deuteronomy 24:5 NIV
 
handy said:
Jason, you are so much more knowledgeable about Jewish history and the Torah, etc... Is it true, as I've been taught in the past, that the reason the minimum age for a soldier was 20 was so that a young man could marry and have time to impregnate a wife prior to facing death in battle? Is there any scriptural support for this idea?

Not trying to derail the thread, but that makes more sense to me than a person being innocent and unaccountable for sin until 20 then "bam" sinner!
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I recall reading that if they were married. nothing because of that age. however the bar and bat mitzvah is an oral tradition in the mishna.

I think it was due to the strength of that body in a male at that age. quick search nothing on being married first then serving. they were to stay home for a year if married.
 
iLOVE said:
What if both parents are not Christians...will any child in the household 19 and below go to heaven?
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1) I would guess that the age of accountability is quite a bit lower than age 19 for most people. That is, a 19 year old who accepts the Lord will go to heaven regardless of parental beliefs.

2) The Bible is not all that clear about what happens to infants below the age of accountability. Opinions vary from all infants will be saved, to those with Christian parents will be redeemed, the soul will mature in heaven and decide, God has the ability to knows what the person would have chosen had they become an adult, some baptize infants, etc...

God is good. He will do whatever is right. We will know the details later.
 
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