What happens to infants when they die?

Question

What happens to babies when they die—do they go to hell? Similarly, how does salvation apply to people with severe mental disabilities who may not be able to consciously confess Jesus as Lord? Are they held accountable for what they cannot understand? David’s words in 2 Samuel 12:23 suggest confidence in being reunited with his deceased child after death.

Answer

Many people have wrestled with this question, including myself. The Bible does not address this directly, so let me tell you where I have landed on it.

David’s comment in 2 Samuel 12:23 is not as helpful as most people want it to be. There was no firm teaching on resurrection at that point (although Job had some concept of an afterlife, Job 19:25-27), as we understand it. David was not expressing joy that he would reunite with his child in heaven but that, while there was no longer a chance that his child would be healed and returned to him, he would one day die and go to the grave as his child did. If anything, this is an excellent passage showing that prayers for the dead are useless and unbiblical.

So what does the Bible say about infants and the mentally challenged? The best approach is to consider the requirements for salvation for all people. The Scriptures are clear that the only way to be saved is to “believe in the Lord Jesus” (Acts 16:30-31) because “the gospel…is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16). What is the gospel? It is the truth of who Jesus is and what he did. He is the eternal Son of God who came to earth and took on humanity in addition to his deity (John 1:14; Philippians 2:5-8). He is and will always be both God and man (1 Timothy 1:5-6). After living a perfect, sinless life, Jesus died on the cross to take the punishment for the sins of all humanity. Because sin demands death (Romans 6:23), Jesus did that on our behalf (1 Corinthians 15:3-5; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 3:21-26; 1 Peter 3:18). Then, he was resurrected from death, showing his power over death and his authority to offer us true life (1 Corinthians 15:16-17). Each person must believe these things and accept that this is the only way God will forgive their sins so they can be right with him forever.

The question, then, is, “Can infants and mentally disabled persons understand this truth and willingly embrace it for themselves?” Of course, the answer is no (depending on the mental disability). The issue is not that they reject the truth but that they do not have the capacity to understand it, much less respond to it.

Thus, the real question is whether God will condemn to eternal hell someone who, through no fault of their own, cannot believe the gospel. Some theological systems say, yes, God will send them all to hell. In some cases, they think God even decided before time began that they must go there.

However, that is not the biblical God. The Scriptures describe him as abounding in compassion, grace, and patience (Exodus 34:6-7; Numbers 14:18; Jonah 4:2). In these passages and many others, he reveals his love for children and hatred against those who kill infants and children, who are sometimes called “innocent blood” (Psalm 106:38; Jeremiah 19:4). Can we imagine a God like that doing the same thing that he condemns others for doing? Not at all.

Now, it is true that whatever God does is good and right, even when we do not understand it and even if all infants are condemned to hell. When confronted with the news that God would destroy Sodom, potentially including his family in the area, Abraham asked, “Will not the judge of the whole earth do what is right?” (Genesis 18:25). However, Abraham’s question had to do with the unjust condemnation of innocent people, which is our question as well. Because of Jesus’ death on the cross for all humanity (1 John 2:2) and because some people cannot understand and accept the gospel, we believe that Jesus’ death has paid for their sins. They will be saved forever since they did not have the opportunity to believe or reject the gospel. We believe that this is consistent with God’s super-gracious nature and is, in fact, what the righteous judge of the whole earth will do.