Born Liars or Kingdom Heirs: What Does the Bible Teach About the Spiritual Condition of Young Children?

As a father of four beautiful, growing children, I know that my children aren’t perfect, and, honestly, I don’t expect them to be. They’re subject to the same process of trial, error, and growth that we all are as we come to know God and His “perfect law of liberty,” the Bible (James 1:25). At the same time, you will never convince me that any of my children were anything but perfect in the days, weeks, and even months after they were born. The Bible says that the same God “who stretches out the heavens” and “lays the foundation of the earth” is the One who “forms the spirit of man within him” (Zechariah 12:1). I’m a firm believer in the simple Bible truth that all souls, regardless of the circumstances surrounding their conception and birth, are formed by God and thus are created sinless and pure. As Solomon said, “Truly, this only I have found: That God made man upright, But they have sought out many schemes” (Ecclesiastes 7:29).

There are many in the religious world who would deny the above statements though. They would say that children are in fact born sinful because of one or all of the following: 1) their relation to Adam, 2) the sin of their parents; 3) the imperfection and sinfulness of humanity. As far as the first two thoughts are concerned, the Bible emphatically denies that sin is inherited; Ezekiel said, “The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son” (Ezekiel 18:20 KJV). Some translators attempt to soften the impact of this passage to match their theology (the ESV for example says “suffer for” while the NASB adds to the text and says “bear the punishment for”), but these translations add to the Hebrew text,  unnecessarily create contradictions with other texts (children do suffer the consequences of their parents sin – e.g. Exodus 20:5), and deny the clear teaching of the context. No, Paul did not say that people inherited sin because of Adam; he said that they inherited death: “through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12).

The reality that children are innocent from birth squares perfectly with the way Jesus views children. Three of the Gospel accounts give testament to a statement Jesus once made in response to His disciples who were attempting to send away some children who had been brought to Him for a blessing. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God” (Luke 18:16; cf. Matthew 19:14; Mark 10:14). Jesus did not speak discriminately about these children; it was not that only a select few or only the best ones were kingdom material. They were all heirs of His father’s kingdom. In fact, in Luke’s account of this event, Jesus added, “Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it” (Luke 18:17). The new birth Jesus envisioned as an entrance to His kingdom is not a return to the sinfulness of birth but instead is a return to the innocence of birth  (John 3:3-5).

What about the third reason that people give for believing in the sinfulness of children though? Aren’t children born sinful because humankind is sinful? While this thought does not agree with the above passages, it certainly seems to agree with what the Psalmist says: “The wicked are estranged from the womb; They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies” (Psalm 58:3). Pause and reflect on these words though. How many children do you know who spoke lies “as soon as they [were] born”? For that matter, how many children do you know who were able to say anything when they are born? The Psalms are full of poetic elements and figures of speech. This statement is an example of what is called hyperbole, a figure of speech in which an author or speaker exaggerates for the sake of emphasis. No, the wicked described by the Psalmist weren’t “born, speaking lies”; they simply had been lying for a long time.  

Sometimes people defend a belief in the sinfulness of infants with another statement in the Psalms: “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me” (Psalm 51:5). As this is yet another poetic statement, it too might be an example of hyperbole. However, it’s also possible that the Psalmist, convicted of his sin, is lamenting being born in an environment steeped in sin. If we changed the second part of the verse to, “in anger my mother slapped me,” would the statement be about the Psalmist or about his mother? While a parent’s sin cannot make a child sinful, it certainly can contribute to a child growing up to make sinful choices.

The fact is that Jesus was born as a human being, “coming in the likeness of men” and participating fully in the experience “of flesh and blood” (Philippians 2:7; Hebrews 2:14). The Bible says, “in all things He had to be made like His brethren” in order to 1) “be a merciful and faithful High Priest” and 2) “make propitiation for the sins of the people” (Hebrews 2:17). Whether by heredity or by nature, if it were true that children are born with built-in sinfulness, how could these statements about Jesus possibly be true? How could the Bible say “He Himself has suffered, being tempted,” and again that He “was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin,” if He were not tempted in this crucial, life-changing way (Hebrews 2:18; Hebrews 4:15)? Jesus’ human birth and sinless life demonstrates both that children are not born inherently sinful and that sin represents nothing more than a choice to fall short of or go beyond God’s law. As John says, “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4).

It is very hard to say exactly when children cross the line from innocence into sin. Though the Bible does ascribe sin to personal choice, it doesn’t talk in detail about when children become accountable for their choices and go from the reality described by “of such is the kingdom of God” to being sinners in need of salvation. A couple of passages allude to a transition period of learning and growth. Isaiah for example talks about a child being born and learning “to refuse the evil and choose the good” (Isaiah 7:16). Paul also speaks about being “alive once without the law” and a process by which “the commandment came,” which brought sin and its consequences to life (Romans 7:7-11). Really, until a child can emotionally and intellectually engage the Gospel message as “an unbeliever or an uninformed person” and be “convicted” as “the secrets of his [or her] heart are revealed,” there is every reason to believe that he or she is totally safe in the kingdom of Jesus (1 Corinthians 14:24-25).

It is disappointing that people view some or all children as being full of sin from birth in light of the above teaching. That is not how God creates children, and it is certainly not how Jesus views children. May God bless us to “become as little children,” kingdom heirs and not born liars (Matthew 18:3).

-Patrick Swayne  
patrick@tftw.org