3461 - The Salvation of Children by John Norton Loughborough

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Jun 13, 1911

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 38, No. 23.

3461 — The Salvation of Children

By John Norton Loughborough

Will the children of the unrighteous who die in infancy be destroyed? H. N. L.

This question is asked to settle an argument; one holding from Job 14:4 that as unrighteous parents were unclean, their offspring must be; and the other that as Christ saves from Adamic sin, the children, being innocent, having committed no sins of their own, would be saved. We know little of the argument, and care less. Neither is it our desire to settle arguments of any sort. A bad argument with a good arguer sometimes wins, and vice versa.

Now in the first place, the Bible is not given to settle questions of mere curiosity, but to reveal God to responsible souls. He has not spoken explicitly regarding children. They are safe in His hands. We do not see that Job 14:4 has any bearing on the salvation of children. Of course man can not bring a clean thing out of an unclean. He can cleanse neither the scarlet nor the crimson stain of sin. None of them can redeem a brother. Ps. 49:7. But Christ can do all these. Every soul saved is saved out of the unclean.

In a general way Christ saves all from the Adamic sin irrespective of character, because it is not the fault of the human that he was born in sin; and where sin abounds, grace does much more abound to save every soul from his own sins. The children are therefore saved from Adamic sin. They therefore stand innocent before God. No sin is recorded against them. Are they not of that class of which Jesus said, "Suffer the little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God"? Such would receive instruction in that realm of truth without question. Of course, there are monstrosities and perversions of even the normal fallen human, begotten in lust and conceived in iniquity, stamped with perversity. These God in His mercy may let sleep the "perpetual sleep." We do not know. We are willing to leave all with Him. It behooves parents to live for God, that right characters may be formed in their children. Deut. 30:19, 20.