The Age of Accountability

                                     

Unless you believe that a newborn infant must be baptized in order to be saved, then you must believe that a child is not responsible for the sin it is born into. There is nothing in the Bible to support infant baptism or baptism at any age until a person accepts the Gospel of Jesus Christ to be the truth of God’s Word for the people of the world. There is no age limit put on it by the scriptures, as to when a person should or could be baptized. The only requirement is to first believe that the Gospel of Jesus Christ, being the Son of God, is the complete truth of God’s Word.

So the age of accountability or the age of a person when God will hold them responsible for their actions or inactions must be determined—not by the number of years old that a person is, as it would seem— but by the ability of an individual to decide for themselves whether to believe that the Gospel of Christ is the truth. Now it is obvious that a newborn baby is not knowledgeable enough to have the understanding necessary to make this decision, neither is a child of a few years. So at about what age does a child reach before they can rationally understand the gospel and the consequences for believing or not believing it? Can a certain age be set and accepted as being the age of accountability?

In the Old Testament, it would appear that God recognized a certain age of a person, when they were recognized to be an adult and could be expected to be responsible for their own actions. In the beginning of the wilderness journey, when Moses was on the Mount receiving the commandments and ordinances of God, God first passed on to Moses the age when a person was accountable for his own self. God said that a person that was twenty years old and above should give an offering for the ransom of his soul, but those under twenty years old were excused or not required to (Exodus 30:12-14).

After that, when the Israelites were about to leave Mount Sinai to begin their journey, God commanded Moses to number, or count, the people who were able to go to war. But God told Moses not to count those who were under twenty years old (Numbers 1:3). So it appears that God determined that only those men who were twenty years old and upward were responsible for the protection of the nation. Throughout the process of numbering the people, God made it clear that those who were under twenty years old should not be counted (Numbers 1:18).

Later on, after they had sent spies into the land of Canaan, the people rebelled against Moses and failed to believe the Word of the Lord that they were able to take control of the land. Then God said that they all would die in the wilderness and would not set foot in that land since they did not believe Him. But God excluded some from that judgment, saying that those who were under twenty years old would not be held responsible for the rebellion of the people (Numbers 14:29, 32:10-11).

Again, when David was determining who should do service in the Temple, he said that those of the Tribe of Levi under twenty years old would be excused from this service (1 Chron 23:24-27).

Then lastly, after the people had left Babylon ending their seventy years of bondage, only those who were twenty years old and upward were assigned to work on rebuilding the Temple at Jerusalem (Ezra 3:8).

So in all of these cases in the Old Testament, those who were under twenty years old were excluded from all responsibility, from fighting wars, from making an atonement for sin, and even from working on the Temple. These young men were not held accountable or responsible for anything that the rest of the people were expected to do.

So did God set the standard in the beginning that the age of accountability was twenty years old? Or were there other factors that were considered to make this determination at that time? It could be that young men were not allowed to start lives of their own and take responsibility for their own lives until they became twenty years old. Until then, their parents were solely responsible for their actions.

What about children today? Are they not to be held responsible or accountable for their own actions until they reach that age? Do the children of today submit to the authority of their parents until they are twenty years old? Not at all!

So what is the age of accountability? When does a young person become responsible for their own actions and even the fate of their own souls? Can a certain age be set on it? Do all children become held accountable for their own lives at the same age? How can we determine this?

Not much is said about young people being held accountable for their own lives in the New Testament. There was one incident in the Gospel of John where a man was healed of his blindness, and when his parents were questioned about it, they said, “He is of age, he can speak for himself.” John did not tell us how old this man was, but he may have been rather young since the authorities went to his parents to ask questions about him (John 9:21). So how old must you be, to be referred to as “being of age,” and be answerable for your own actions?

Even in the Gospel of Luke, it tells about Jesus remaining at Jerusalem after his parents had started back home, and when they returned for him, he returned with them and was subject unto them for some time after that. Jesus was a boy at that time, being twelve years of age, but still subject to and submitted to the authority and responsibility of His parents (Luke 2:42-51).

Some say today that a young person reaches the age of accountability when they are about twelve years old, but they are not allowed to go out on their own and make their own decisions about their lives. So how can we say they have reached the age of accountability? If they are not old enough to be held accountable for the temporary part of their physical lives, how can they be considered to be responsible enough to be held accountable for their eternal souls?

If a young person, say about seven to twelve years old, says they want to be baptized, does that mean that they completely understand what they are doing, or does it mean they are being influenced by and trying to please their parents? Would God consider that to be a true conversion? Some would say that it does not do any harm. But if that young person really did not fully understand or believe the gospel, when he got older and was able to comprehend the truth, but failed to be baptized over again, would God consider that a complete conversion? Only God knows. Maybe that was why they excluded those under twenty years old in the Old Testament from being held accountable. So then what is the age of accountability? Can anyone really determine it? Would it not be when a person is able to fully understand the consequences of their choice between believing the gospel and not believing it? I think so. So who can know what that age would be? I am sure it would vary somewhat between individuals, but certainly, it would not be at a very early age in life.

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