If heaven is for those who give their lives to Christ, What does that mean for babies and young children? If you've suffered the heartbreak of losing a child, Take heart. Today, on Turning Point, Dr. David Jeremiah offers biblical assurance that children who pass away pass right into the arms of the Savior. from the promise of heaven.
Here's David to introduce his message. What about the children?
Well, folks, anytime you have children in your life, you want to know. What's going to happen to them in the future? Not just on this earth, but what about the future after life on this earth? What about heaven? Do children go to heaven?
And do all children go to heaven? Suppose you were born into a family that doesn't believe in God. Do you go to heaven? We're going to discuss that today. Just on this one day, and we're going to talk about what happens to children and do they go to heaven, and how do you know?
We'll get to it in just a moment. Let me tell you again that in just a few weeks we'll be heading out toward the Caribbean. Right after Christmas, we'll get aboard a Beautiful. Ship from Holland America. It's the Coningham.
And on December the 27th, we'll leave From Florida, and we'll be heading to the Caribbean and return on January the 3rd. We'll be there over the holiday. We'll be there over New Year's. And it's a wonderful way to close out the old year and begin the new. With a clear mind about what you believe God has for you as you go into the future, we sure would love to have you come with us.
We have a great group already registered, but there's room for you. You need to make your reservation as soon as possible. You can find out every detail at davidjeremiah.org. Right now, I want to talk with you about children. God's plan for them in the future.
One of the most frequent Ask questions that I get about heaven is also one of the hardest. What happens to children Who pass away? It's not a new issue. Both the nation of Israel in the Old Testament and the gospel story in the New Testament. open on that particular note.
The story of the Exodus begins when Pharaoh orders the deaths of all baby boys among Hebrew slaves in Egypt. And the Gospel of Matthew begins with King Herod sending his soldiers to kill the baby boys in Bethlehem. In an attempt to destroy the little one whom the Magi called the King of the Jews. The death of children. has been one of the world's greatest sorrows throughout history.
Both biblical and secular, and in the personal histories of millions, including probably some of you here today. Others have grieved miscarriages or stillbirths. Untold millions of preborn children have been lost through abortion.
Some children have been slain in wars or horrendous acts of violence. As a lifelong pastor, I've stood beside small caskets. trying to comfort others when my own heart was broken over the scene before me. But I praise the Lord because through the tears there's a sunbeam of hope. Scripture gives us reasons to trust that infants and young children are not lost forever.
Instead, they are given the gift of bypassing the sorrows of this world. and are instantly transported to heaven where we'll meet them and enjoy their fellowship throughout eternity.
So what exactly does the Bible say about this incredible hope? I'm going to give you several. truths that I think will help. First of all, Let's talk for a moment about the compassion of Jesus. When you read the stories of Jesus in the Gospels, We discovered that our Lord had an incredible love for children.
And he demonstrated that love on many occasions. One example is so important. that it is recorded by three of the Gospel writers, Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Here's Matthew's account. Then little children were brought to him that he might put his hands on them and pray.
But the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, Let the little children come to me and do not forbid them, for of such is the kingdom of heaven. We also have a wonderful passage in Matthew's Gospel. That is as definitive as any verse in the Bible on the eternal love that Jesus has for children. Here it is.
Matthew eighteen fourteen. Even so, it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish. Have you ever read that verse? There you have the strong, unambiguous statement. of the Saviour.
He's not willing that one of these little ones should perish. If that's all I had, if I didn't have anything else to tell you, that would be enough. And I could build my hope on all of this just on that one verse. The Lord Jesus has compassion for little children and infants, and he is not willing that even one of them should perish. What about babies that are never born because of miscarriages or abortions?
Here we must be very clear. I believe, as do all who accept the authority of God's word, that a child is a person from the moment of conception. Since that is true, all preborn babies who perish, whether through miscarriage, abortion, or tragic accidents. Go straight to heaven. If you had an abortion, I want to tell you that God knows how to pour His forgiveness and healing into your life.
through the merits of Christ. Abortion is not the unpardonable sin. God not only forgives you, He goes far beyond that. Because of His mercy, that little one now lost will be waiting for you in heaven, and you will enjoy an eternity of loving fellowship with that precious child. Jesus loves you, and He loves every child from conception.
In fact, He loves us. The Bible says from before time ever began.
So that's the compassion of Jesus. Let me talk to you for a moment about the character of the Father. The Bible is full of information about the nature of God, His personality, and His attributes. Scripture calls him father, and that ought to tell you something. I always love to remind people of that on Father's Day.
And I like to repeat what Jesus heard from his father when the father said, this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. We should repeat that as often as we can to our children any way we know how. He isn't simply a distant force in the universe. He is, as Jesus put it, Our Father in heaven. There's a passage describing God's fathering love in the book of Deuteronomy.
Deuteronomy 1, 29 to 31. Do not be terrified or afraid of them. The Lord your God who goes before you, he will fight for you according to all he did for you in Egypt before your eyes and in the wilderness, where you saw how the Lord your God carried you as a man carries his son in all the way that you went until you came to this place. Isn't that a great picture? The Lord God carries us like a father carries his son.
Because God is full of compassion, he's full of tenderness and mercy, and he carries us. carries us through the tough patches like a father carrying his son. This is a consistent theme, especially in the Psalms. Psalm 86, 15, for instance, says, But you, O Lord, are a God full of compassion. and gracious, long suffering, and abundant in mercy and truth.
Psalm 145 verse 9 says, The Lord is good to all. and His tender mercies are over all His works.
So let me say this out loud today in front of all of you and all who are watching and listening: God is a good God. She is good. He is good to all and he certainly is Good to children. He knows that little children cannot comprehend the truth of the gospel. Yet God loves them deeply.
He loves the preborn and the newborn. He loves the infant and the toddler. There are some incidents in the Old Testament that help us wrap our minds around all of this. For instance, When the children of Israel We were denied entrance into the promised land because of the unbelief of the people. The children were not held responsible, and God allowed them to enter.
Here you see the principle of God applying his grace to those who cannot believe. Here you see God treating children in a unique manner. Deuteronomy 1:39. Moreover, your little ones and your children, who you say will be victims, who today have no knowledge of good and evil. they shall go in there, to them I will give it, and they shall possess it.
One of the reasons God gave to Jonah for having pity on Nineveh was the huge number of children who lived in the city. who couldn't discern between right and left. That whole story of Jonah rests upon the understanding of that particular section of the scripture. Jonah 4.11 says, and should I not pity Nineveh? That great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left and much livestock.
The word children appears nearly 100 times just in the Gospels alone. The Bible teaches that God knows children. He loves children with special tender care. Our Heavenly Father, in His justice, Provides for children who are not old enough to comprehend the gospel. In fact, Ezekiel tells us that Almighty God considers all children His children.
Moreover, you took your sons and your daughters, whom you bore to me. And these you sacrifice to them to be devoured. Ezekiel 16, 20. No, my friends, the character of God provides a special grace for those who cannot believe. On a number of occasions, God refers to these little ones as innocents.
I N N O C E M T S, Innocence. Jeremiah 2.34, also on your skirts is found the blood of the lives of the poor innocents. Jeremiah 19, 4, and have filled this place with the blood of the innocents. although they are sinful creatures just like all of us. They are not responsible in the same way as those sins.
which are committed in a willful and premeditated way, because God understands the difference. The character of God lays the foundation for the realization that children who cannot understand the gospel are enveloped within the grace and mercy of the Lord. And on them, God has a tender heart. On them, His compassion reigns.
So reason number one is the compassion of Jesus. And reason number two is the character of the Father. And reason number three is the condition of death. There's another observation we can make based on the story of a 12-year-old child mentioned in the Gospels. She's known as the daughter of Jairus.
This little girl had died and her family and friends were inconsolable.
So Jesus visited the home and heard mourners wailing loudly, and he told them. Do not weep she is not dead, but she is sleeping. They jeered him, but he took the parents to the room where the girl's body was residing. He took her hand and he said, Little girl, Arise. Her spirit returned, she rose at once, and Jesus told them to give her something to eat.
Those words of Jesus She is not dead, she is sleeping. They weren't just spoken to Jairus. They are for every mom and dad or grandparent. who has ever lost a little one. The miscarried child, the stillborn baby, the aborted infant, the child who dies of SIDS.
or perished in a car accident or in a natural disaster, they're not dead. They're just sleeping. This is biblical terminology. When we die in Christ, our spirits go at once to be with the Lord, and our bodies go to sleep. until awakened and glorified at the rapture.
The daughter of Jairus is a prototype of every child who dies. who falls asleep in Jesus, and whom the Lord will raise up with resurrection glory. Pastor Richard Hipps and his wife Patricia faced the serious illness and death of their little girl Alex. Their dear friend John H. Hewitt walked through the sorrow with them, and he later applied the words of Jesus a bit differently but meaningfully.
He said, I live in the confidence that shortly after five that winter morning, Alex Heard The Jesus she had already spied in her hospital room say, Little girl arrives. And what a welcome that must have been. Heavenly hosts flocking to greet a new saint of God. With a white robe. And a lot of laughter.
So you have the compassion of Jesus. the character of the father, the condition of death, My favorite reason, because I think it's the most powerful, is what I have called the confidence of David. There is a story in the life of King David that is fundamental to the question we're answering today. If you had your Bibles, I'd have you turn to 2 Samuel chapter 12. This section of Scripture records the events.
That happened in the life of David immediately after he was confronted by the prophet Nathan. As you will remember, Nathan was appointed by God to go and confront David because of his adultery with Bathsheba. and the murder of her husband Uriah the Hittite. Among other things, Nathan told David. That the child that he and Bathsheba had brought into the world would be taken away in death.
So we pick up this story from 2 Samuel 12, verse 14, and I'm going to read it right from the Bible. Here we go.
However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, The child also who is born to you will surely die. And Nathan departed to his house. And the Lord struck the child that Uriah's wife bore to David, and it became ill. And David therefore pleaded with God for the child. And he fasted and he went in and lay all night on the ground.
So the elders of his house arose and went to him to raise him up from the ground, but he would not. nor did he eat food with them. And on the seventh day it came to pass that the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, While the child was alive, we spoke to him. He wouldn't even heed our voice.
How can we tell him that the child is dead? He may do some harm. When David saw that his servants were whispering, he perceived that the child was dead, therefore he said to his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, he is dead.
So David rose from the ground, washed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes. And he went into the house of the Lord and worshipped. Then he went to his own house. And when he requested, They set food before him and he ate. And I want to put in here my own translation and it freaked his servants out.
I mean, then his servant said to him, What is this that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive. And when the child died, you arose and he ate food. And he said, While the child was alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, Who can tell whether the Lord will be gracious to me? that the child may live.
But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Here's the key phrase. Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him.
But he shall not return to me. That last sentence in that passage in 2 Samuel 12, 23 is arguably. the greatest sentence in the Bible on the subject of what happens to a child When they die. or when the rapture happens. It was this thought of a reunion with his dead child which cheered David.
But where did he think the reunion would be? In the grave? In hell, in heaven? He believed that he himself would go to heaven after death and consequently meant to express the belief that his child had but gone on before him to that blessed place. The idea of meeting his child in the unconscious grave could not have rationally comforted him at all.
Nor could the thought of meeting him in hell have cheered his spirit. but the thought of meeting his child in heaven had in itself the power of turning his weeping into joy. David knew what I've been trying to tell you throughout this message. When little ones die, or the rapture happens before they understand the gospel. They go straight to heaven.
Now I know I haven't answered all the questions. In fact, I am pretty sure I've created some new ones you never had before you came to this session.
So let me grab hold of a couple of them that have come to me. as I have preached this message. One of them is, what about the age of accountability? Are little children innocent until they reach a certain age? In our attempt to bring comfort to those who mourn, we must not deny the truth of God's word.
No one is truly innocent. Jesus' statements about children being innocents do not mean they are without sin. It means that they were not responsible for their sin. The Bible teaches that all of us are sinners. And from the very beginning, Psalm 51:5, Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.
Or Psalm 58, 3. The wicked are estranged from the womb, they go astray as soon as they are born. Speaking lies. No, innocence doesn't mean Sinless. There are no sinless people.
All of us are born with a sin nature, even though we have not yet done anything wrong. Our nature is sinful. Every baby needs a Savior just like every adult does. But at what age does the child become responsible for his relationship with God? Is there an age of accountability?
Isaiah refers to such a time in the life of a child. He says, For before the child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, The important thing to remember here is that the Bible does not make any reference to a particular age of accountability. But there is a time in the life of every child When they are able to understand God's love and when they comprehend what it means to be a sinner. For some children, that knowledge comes at a very early age. For others, it may take more time.
Because the age of accountability is not a chronological measurement. It's a reckoning of spiritual understanding. How old is this child when he comprehends the gospel? And that would be different. perhaps for every child.
So I somewhat answered that question, and then somebody says, Okay, Jeremiah. How old are children going to be in heaven?
Well, there are differing views about that question, and there's no absolute answer in Scripture.
Some people believe that when we are in heaven, we will all be mature in body, mind, and spirit. The thought is this, if babies cannot fully enjoy this life, How could we expect them to fully enjoy eternal life with God? One proponent of this view argues that the book of Revelation describes worship in heaven. As involving every single person. Therefore, whoever is in heaven will have to be of such an age as to be able to participate in the eternal worship of Almighty God.
Alastair McGrath supports this view. He says, as each person reaches their peak of perfection around the age of 30, they will be resurrected as they would have appeared at that time, even if they had never lived to reach that age. The New Jerusalem will thus be populated by men and women as they would appear at the age of 30. but with every blemish removed.
Now that's one idea.
Some have increased the age to 33 because that's how old Christ was when he was crucified. Others hold that children will be allowed to grow up in heaven. In support of this view is the reference to the condition in the millennium. If the millennium is the prelude to heaven. Then there must be children in heaven, for Isaiah describes this period of the millennium like this.
and a little child shall lead them. and the nursing child shall play by the cobra's hole, and the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper's den. You know, if I have the Put my emphasis on one or another. I believe there'll be children in heaven. I don't know all the answers to how that works out.
There will not be any procreation in heaven. Children won't be born in heaven, but children in heaven. will mature. old friends who's in heaven now, he said. I believe with all my heart that God will raise the little ones such.
that the mother's arms who have ached for them will have the opportunity of holding them. The father's hand, which never held the little hand, will be given the privilege. I believe that little ones will grow up in heaven in the care of their earthly parents if they are saved. On the basis of the compassion of Jesus, the character of God. The condition of death and the confidence of David.
I can say with authority that the unborn and little children, when they die, Go straight into the arms of Jesus in heaven. There was a family. whose baby boy had died. The little girl came to the mother and asked, where her brother was. And her mother said, he's gone to be with Jesus.
Which, by the way, is the best answer you can ever give to that question. A few days later, the mother was visiting a friend and said, I am so grieved to have lost my baby. And the little girl, overhearing that remark, came to her mother and said, Mamma, is something lost when you know where it is? Isn't that a wonderful truth to remember? If we know where they are, they're not lost.
We're just waiting for the time when we will be reunited in the future.
So if you've lost a little one, let your heart and mind turn upward. Put your head on a heavenly swivel. Let the soon-approaching joys of your coming reunion Lift your mind to Jesus. who never saw a child he didn't love enough to die for. They are all safe and happy in his heavenly home.
And to that we can all say hallelujah. Amen. Amen. I hope I've brought some information. then encourages you.
especially young parents and Parents of those who do not yet have the opportunity to understand the gospel and receive it or reject it. The Bible is very clear, and I hope the information we've shared with you gives you some. strength of conviction about this whole subject. We'll take time out for the weekend. When we come back, we're going to talk about what it means to be tough-minded about heaven from 2 Peter 3.
And I hope you will join us then. All of this information about heaven is of no value to us unless we put it into operation, not in the future sometime, but right now. What we believe about heaven has a lot to do with how we live our lives today. And we'll talk about that on Monday and Tuesday of next week. We have some more information about heaven coming up in this final week of.
October and that means if you haven't already ordered your copy of the book, The Promise of Heaven, time is running out and we want to send it to you when you send your gift of any size to Turning Point. Just ask for your copy of the book and it will be sent to you. right to your home. immediately. Our saying thank you is this book.
Thank you for listening. We'll see you next time. Today's message from Dr. Jeremiah came to you from the Appell Room at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City. Turning Point is also on radio and TV this weekend.
To learn where to find it, visit our website davidjeremiah.org/slash radio. That's davidjeremiah.org slash radio or call 800-947-1993. Ask for your copy of David's new book, The Promise of Heaven: 31 Reasons to Get Excited About Your Eternal Home. It's yours for a gift of any amount. You can also purchase the Jeremiah Study Bible in the English Standard, New International and New King James Versions.
complete with notes and articles from Dr. Jeremiah's decades of study. We welcome your notes of encouragement, so please write us at Turning Point, P.O. Box 3838, San Diego, California, 92163. This is David Michael Jeremiah.
Join us Monday as we continue the series The Promise of Heaven on Turning Point with Dr. David Jeremiah.
