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This is a question commonly asked by non-believers and also believers. When an infant or an unborn baby dies, the parents would undoubtably be concerned with the final whereabouts of their child, whether their child is now in heaven or hell?

In the bible, children were often used by Jesus as examples to teach His disciples. Once, His disciples were rebuking the people against bringing children to be blessed by Him, and He stopped His disciples saying, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” On another occasion, He called a child to stand among His disciples and told them, “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” From what Jesus had taught, He seemed to suggest that all children alike would enter heaven, because Jesus had told His disciples on various occasions that they needed to become like children to enter heaven. However, those familiar with the bible will understand that Jesus’ true intention was to teach His disciples to become pure and innocent like a child with regard to sin. And the only way which can transform us to become as innocent as a child, is by accepting Jesus as our personal Saviour and allowing His blood to wash away all our sins. We know for a fact that even a child sins, and Jesus was merely using the innocence of a child to bring out the truth that only someone without sin could enter the kingdom of heaven. With this, we can be sure that Jesus was not implying that children were without sin and could as a result enter heaven. Thus, the passages we have discussed so far cannot be used to prove that all dead babies go to heaven. 

The determining factor to whether a person enters heaven or hell still remains in whether that person is with or without sin. Let us proceed to explore the bible to find out whether a baby is with or without sin.

The Book of Romans in the bible tells us that sin entered the world through the first man, Adam; and death came through sin, and in this way, death came to all men, because all humans were the descendants of Adam. This “death” does not refer only to a physical death but also a spiritual one. Babies are also the descendants of Adam; therefore, they have inherited his sin nature as well. When they are still in their mother’s womb, they have already possessed this “original” sin. However, when we look at babies, they are so cute and innocent, it would never cross our minds to think that these babies are evil and deserving of hell. Yet no matter how adorable a baby looks, we should know that even a merciless serial killer was at one point in time, a cute and adorable baby. Although babies look innocent and pure and have yet to commit any sin, we know for sure that once they grow into adulthood, they will inevitably sin. This is because the sinful nature of Adam already resides within them, sinning is an unavoidable path that these babies will eventually come to take. Although these babies died before they could commit any sin, it is a reality that they will all become sinners in the end. Therefore, looking at it from the perspective of original sin, an infant is with sin.

However, if we were to adopt a legal approach, the babies are truly without sin. Most of us are familiar with how a trial is conducted in court; unless there is sufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt, a judge will not pronounce a person guilty. In the Gospel of Matthew, the Lord spoke concerning the laws of God, He made it clear to us that God judged a person based on his deeds, words, and thoughts. God is righteous, unless a person has truly committed a sin, He will in no way condemn that person. Let us consider a baby who dies at birth, not only is he unable to sin in word and deed, he is not even capable of sinning in thought. In his “lifetime,” we can conclude that he has neither harmed anyone nor has he sinned against God. So, how is God going to convict this baby of his sins? Will God condemn the baby just because he is a descendant of Adam? Would it be fair to the baby, since he has not even been given a chance to repent and believe in Jesus, yet has already ended up in hell? Needless to say, even sinners like us would not pass such a judgement, what more God.

Of course, the bible is not silent on this matter. Although there are no specific passages written regarding the judgement of unborn babies, from various incidences in the bible, we are able to draw inferences and find out where these babies will finally go.

David was one of the kings during the ancient Israel monarchy, and he was someone after the heart of God. It happened that his son died on the seventh day after birth. After which, David arose and said, “But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.” Now David’s understanding of God far surpassed the people of his time. He clearly understood the extent of God’s love and mercy; he knew that he would surely see his dead child again in heaven. Although this child was born out of an adulterous relationship, David understood God’s justice and knew that God would not bring about His wrath upon this innocent baby. The death of the child was to punish David, but the child was now in heaven.

To understand how God judges unborn babies, we can look at how He judges people under similar circumstances. In the Ten Commandments, the Lord said:

“I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.”

We know that the sins or the righteous deeds of the forefathers have nothing to do with their descendants, because they have not even been born yet. How God will deal with them is solely dependent on Himself, and He makes His decision according to His divine nature. What kind of approach would God take towards these people who have yet to do anything good or bad at all? God said that should their forefathers sin, He would pursue their sins down to the third and fourth generation; however, should their forefathers keep His commandments, God would extend His love to them for a thousand generations. By making a simple comparison between three to four generations versus a thousand generations, we can easily recognise how great is the magnitude of God’s love and mercy. How willing is He to forgive and to show mercy to His people! Unborn babies that died are very similar to this group of people. Though they are all descendants of Adam, they have nothing to do with the sin of Adam because they are not the one who committed the sin. Unborn babies are dead even before they are born into this world and they too have yet to do anything good or evil. Would God then judge and sentence them to hell just because they have inherited Adam’s sinful nature or would He pronounce them innocent and permit them to enter heaven because they have yet to commit any sins? Since a thousand generations far surpass three to four generations, I believe God will surely bestow His boundless mercy upon these babies and grant them entry into the most glorious heaven.