Question:

What do you do with a child who dies without being baptized? What’s wrong with his soul? You said that it would be advisable for the child to be baptized when he strongly believes by himself.

The first thing we need to understand about baptism is that baptism does not save anyone. Being baptized does not guarantee salvation. Baptism is valid only when it is based on faith, the faith of the person who was baptized. I invite you to listen to the video explanation in which I answered this question:

Baptism is not valid when it is not based on the faith of the person who was baptized

All who are baptized in the New Testament are people who have had personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, have professed their faith, and it has been their personal choice to be baptized.

Here in chapter 8 of the book of Acts, he writes about the baptism of an Ethiopian eunuch. This Ethiopian man was returning from Jerusalem to Ethiopia in his chariot and reading the book of the prophet Isaiah. The Lord sent Philip to preach the gospel to him, and the man invited Philip in his chariot. The text of the scripture he was reading was a prophecy about the Lord Jesus Christ. Philip set out from there and spoke to the man, preaching the gospel to him. Of course, Philip also told him about the importance of baptism, because when they reached the water, the celebrity asked Philip:

As they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch said, “Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?” And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” (Acts 8:36-37 NASB)

After this discussion, they got out of the chariot and were baptized. If the celebrity had not personally confessed that he believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, this would not have been possible; lack of faith would have prevented him. So lack of faith invalidates baptism. Baptism is not valid when it is not based on the faith of the person who was baptized. Baptism itself without faith does not provide salvation for anyone. A baby cannot believe and if he is baptized, it does not change anything about his fate, his future in eternity.

What happens to children who die in infancy?

Baptized or unbaptized, what happens to a child’s soul if he dies in infancy? There is no clear text in the Bible that tells us what happens to children who die in infancy or until their conscience is awakened and they begin to act according to their conscience. However, we have some texts in the Bible that give us enough ground to believe that these children are saved, and I will now refer to those texts. The first text is from 1 Kings Chapter 14:

At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam became sick. And Jeroboam said to his wife, “Now arise and disguise yourself so that they will not know that you are the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Shiloh. Behold, Ahijah the prophet is there, who said regarding me that I would be king over these people. Take ten loaves with you, some pastries, and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what will happen to the boy.” (1 Kings 14:1-3 NASB)

Jeroboam is the one who rebelled against Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, and divided the people of Israel: the ten tribes of the North called Israel from the other two tribes of the South – Judah. Jeroboam feared that the people would return to the king of Jerusalem, the king of Judah, so he instituted a new religion so that the people would not go to Jerusalem to worship. Thus, this man led the people into an unimaginable apostasy.

When his son was sick, he sent his wife to the prophet Ahijah.

And Jeroboam’s wife did so, and set out and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. Now Ahijah could not see because his eyes were glossy from his old age. Now the Lord had said to Ahijah, “Behold, the wife of Jeroboam is coming to inquire of you about her son, because he is sick. You shall say such and such to her, for it will be when she arrives, that she is going to make herself unrecognizable.”So when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet coming in the doorway, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam; why do you make yourself unrecognizable? Nevertheless, I am sent to you with a harsh message. Go, say to Jeroboam, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: “Because I exalted you from among the people and made you leader over My people Israel, and tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you—yet you have not been like My servant David, who kept My commandments and followed Me with all his heart, to do only that which was right in My sight; you also have done more evil than all who were before you, and you have gone and made for yourself other gods and cast metal images to provoke Me to anger, and have thrown Me behind your back—therefore behold, I am bringing disaster on the house of Jeroboam, and I will eliminate from Jeroboam every male person, both bond and free in Israel, and I will make a clean sweep of the house of Jeroboam, just as one sweeps away dung until it is all gone. Anyone belonging to Jeroboam who dies in the city, the dogs will eat. And anyone who dies in the field, the birds of the sky will eat; for the Lord has spoken it.”’ Now you, arise, go to your house. When your feet enter the city the child will die.Then all Israel will mourn for him and bury him, for he alone of Jeroboam’s family will come to the grave, because in him something good was found toward the Lord God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam. (1 Kings 14:4-13 NASB)

This child, who is obviously a baby, is the only one who has not done harm, and the prophet says of him that “something good has been found before the Lord.” God made it possible for him to have a grave, not his parents.

Another text that gives us enough reason to believe that infants who die, people who die in infancy are saved, is in Romans chapter 2. In this chapter it is written that God put the law in our minds, in our conscience, and our conscience is in God’s Law to distinguish between good and evil. People who have not heard the gospel – the news of salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ, will be judged according to their conscience. An infant, who does not yet have a clear conscience, cannot yet distinguish good from evil, thus cannot be judged by God according to the criterion of his conscience. This is another reason to believe that babies are saved and go to God.

Parental responsibility

Parents have a responsibility from God. In Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians in chapter 6, he writes:

Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:4 NASB)

It is our responsibility as parents to raise our children in the rebuke and teaching of the Lord, in the discipline and teaching of the Lord. Many parents believe that they have secured the salvation of their children because they were baptized when they were babies. They think that’s all they have to do. It’s not like that. Parents need to teach their children the Bible. Parents cannot make decisions for them or force them into the Kingdom of Heaven. Parents can teach them from the Holy Scriptures, and they will choose whether or not they want to be disciples of Christ.

Most children do not receive Christian teaching from their parents and no Scriptural teachings because their parents do not know the Bible either. I also know children who have heard from their parents the teachings of the Holy Scriptures but have seen the opposite in the lives of their parents, because their parents did not set a worthy example for them to follow. So, if we want to save our children, we must teach them both by word and by example. From infancy we must teach them the Holy Scriptures.

I am so glad to see how the young couples in the church I lead teach their children. The first things learned, even before he knows how to speak, are prayer and about the Lord Jesus. They know how to put their hands in prayer and they can say a few words in prayer at the table. If you ask them about Jesus Christ, they know how to point to heaven and so on. I am glad that the parents teach them and I always urge them to teach their children the Holy Scriptures. This must be a daily discipline. Let’s never think that’s enough; we must continually speak to them from the Holy Scriptures and teach them the Holy Scriptures. So did Eunice, Timothy’s mother, and his grandmother, Lois, who taught Timothy the Holy Scriptures from infancy; and so he grew up into a great man. Not only did they teach him, but they showed him a sincere faith, an unadulterated faith. Thus Timothy grew up a special man who followed God, served in the gospel, left a beautiful mark on the history of the Church, and I am sure, he entered the Kingdom of God with great glory.

I recommend inductive Bible study materials to parents

I recommend inductive Bible study books for children. These are exceptional textbooks. What is unique about these textbooks is that they learn the very text of Scripture, not stories or anything simplified. They thus form a habit of studying the Holy Scriptures. I recommend that you get these manuals. We have a lot. The most recent translated textbook is “The Amazing Creation of God.” It is a study of the book of Genesis, about creationism and about the appearance of the universe. The textbook also presents scientific arguments that children need to know, because they are taught evolutionary theory at school, which is nothing more than a tool of Satan through which he wants to crush children’s faith.

So let us watch and teach the children from the Holy Scriptures so that they may want to follow God and the Lord Jesus Christ. Only by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ can one be saved. Jesus said:

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me. (John 14:6 NASB)

If you have any further questions, please feel free to ask. God bless!

Translated by Didina Vicliuc