Tag Archives: What Does the Bible Say About Age

At What Age Are Children Responsible For Their Own Sins?

At What Age Are Children Responsible For Their Own Sins

At What Age Are Children Responsible For Their Own Sins? The concept of the “age of accountability” is that children are not held accountable by the Lord God for their sins until they reach a certain age and that, if a child happens to die before reaching the “age of accountability,” that child will, by the grace and mercy of the Lord God, be granted entrance into heaven. Is the age of accountability Biblical? Is there such a thing as an “age of innocence”? Does the Bible support any of these claims in any way? What are we as Christians supposed to know about these pertinent matters? Often omitted in most discussions regarding the age of accountability is the pertinent fact that children, no matter how young, are not “innocent” in the sense of being sinless. Inherited sin is that which is passed on from our parents.
The Bible explicitly tells us that, even if an infant or child has not committed a personal sin, all people, including infants and children, are guilty before God because of inherited and imputed sin.
Romans 3:23 says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

In Psalm 51:5, David wrote, “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” Notice that David recognized the fact that even at conception he was a sinner. The sad fact that infants sometimes die demonstrates that even infants are impacted by Adam’s sin (The Fall of Man), since physical and spiritual death were the results of Adam’s original sin. Everyone, infant or adult, stands guilty before God; each person has offended the holiness of the Lord God. And as such, the only way God can be just and at the same time declare a person righteous is for that person to have received forgiveness by faith in Christ (Matthew 9:6). Behold, Christ is the only way. In John 14:6, Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” In addition, Peter states in Acts 4:12, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

At What Age Are Children Responsible For Their Own Sins?

The Bible explicitly tells us that salvation comes through Jesus Christ. As such, one may ask, what about babies and young children who never attain the ability to make the personal choice to believe in Christ? Some believe that those who die before reaching the age of intellectual or moral accountability are “automatically” saved by God’s grace in Christ. The reasoning is that, if someone is truly incapable of making a decision for or against Christ, then the person in question is extended the Lord God’s mercy. Charles Spurgeon held this view: “I rejoice to know that the souls of all infants, as soon as they die, speed their way to Paradise. Think what a multitude there is of them!” (C. H. Spurgeon’s Autobiography, Vol. 1, ch. XVI, “A Defence of Calvinism,” Passmore and Alabaster, 1897, p. 175).

Brethren, the Bible does not directly address an age of accountability. And as such, we do not know at what age or at what point in one’s life God would deem them “old enough to know better.” But we can see clearly the evidence of God’s heart for children displayed in Jesus. Also, one verse that may indirectly be addressing this issue is Romans 1:20, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” According to this Scripture, mankind’s guilt before God is based partly on a rejection of what can be “clearly seen” of God’s existence, eternality, and power. So, what about children who have no mature faculty for “clear seeing” or reasoning about God – wouldn’t their natural incapacity to observe and reason excuse them from judgment?

At What Age Are We Accountable?

We’ll preface this discussion by stating that there is no definitive age explicitly written in Scripture. The ages that are commonly adopted are born out of verses that insinuate them and tradition. Most people will say that the age of accountability is at 12 or 13. Their reasoning for this is twofold. The first reason is that Jesus Christ was twelve (12) when he went to the Temple with his family at the Feast of Passover (Luke 2:41-42). While he was there, he began teaching and as such demonstrated his understanding of right and wrong. The second reason is that according to Jewish custom, at the age of 13, a male enters manhood. This is celebrated with a Bar Mitzvah. Other inquiries have led some to believe that twenty is the poignant number. At this age, males are enlisted in the Israeli army. Still, others believe that the age of accountability is when a child recognizes their own nakedness. This thought would refer to the Fall of Man in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3. Although the Bible does not state a specific age at which we become accountable, it clearly teaches us how we can come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. When we re

Having this in mind, we should also consider that Christ’s death is presented as sufficient for all of mankind. 1 John 2:2 says Jesus is “the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” This verse is clear that Jesus’ death was sufficient payment for all sins, not only the sins of those who come to him in faith. The fact that Christ’s death was sufficient for all sin would likely allow at least the possibility of God’s applying that payment to those who were never capable of believing. Some see a link between the age of accountability and the covenant relationship between the nation of Israel and the Lord. In that dispensation, a male child was brought into the covenant through circumcision, which was totally out of his control, being performed on the eighth day after birth. No other requirement was imposed on him (Exodus 12:48–50; Leviticus 12:3).

What Happens to Children Who Never Get the Chance to Accept Christ?

Some Christians believe that children who are taken at an early age go straight to heaven while others believe God judges them. The passage cited most often in support of an age of accountability is 2 Samuel 12:21–23. The context is that King David committed adultery with Bathsheba, with a resulting pregnancy. The prophet Nathan was sent by the Lord to inform David that, because of his sin, the child born to him will die. David responded by grieving and praying for the child. But once the child was taken, David’s mourning ended. David’s servants were surprised to hear this. They said to kind David, “What is this thing that you have done? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept; but when the child died, you arose and ate food.” David’s response was, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘Who knows, the Lord may be gracious to me, that the child may live.’ But now he has died; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.” Notice that David’s words might indicate that infants who die are safe in the Lord. David could have simply been referring to the fact that his child was in the grave, but he seemed to be comforted by the knowledge. The peace he felt suggests that he believed he would see his son again (probably in heaven).

In Matthew 19:26, Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Conclusively, it is possible that the Lord God applies Christ’s payment for sin to young children and others incapable of faith, but the Bible does not specifically say that He does this. Therefore, this is a subject about which we should not be dogmatic. Behold, God’s extending grace to children who do not get the chance to accept Christ whether through death or physical and mental disabilities would seem consistent with His character. As such, we are more likely to support the position that God does apply Christ’s payment for sin to babies and those who are mentally handicapped since they are incapable of understanding their sinful state and their need for the Savior. Again, we cannot be dogmatic. What we are certain of is the fact that the Lord God is loving, merciful, holy, just, and gracious. As such, whatever the Lord God does is good and right, and He loves children. In Matthew 19:14, Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
Matthew 21:15-16 says, But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant. “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him. “Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read, “‘From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise’?”
Matthew 18:3-5 says, And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.
Matthew 18:10 says, “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven”

At What Age Are Children Responsible For Their Own Sins?

James 4:17 – “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.”

Deuteronomy 1:39 – “And as for your little ones, who you said would become a prey, and your children, who today have no knowledge of good or evil, they shall go in there. And to them I will give it, and they shall possess it.

Matthew 19:14But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”

Isaiah 7:16 – “For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be deserted.

Romans 14:12 – “So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.

Proverbs 20:11 – “Even a child makes himself known by his acts, by whether his conduct is pure and upright.

Matthew 18:3And said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Ezekiel 18:20 – “The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.

Group 1 – At What Age Are Children Responsible For Their Own Sins

Romans 3:23 – “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Luke 2:42-46 – “And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom. And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, but supposing him to be in the group they went a day’s journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances, and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.

Psalm 51:5 – “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.

2 Samuel 12:23 – “But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.”

Psalm 58:3 – “The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray from birth, speaking lies.”

1 Corinthians 7:14 – “For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.

Group 2 – At What Age Are Children Responsible For Their Own Sins

Romans 6:23 – “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 7:9-11 – “I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.

2 Samuel 12:22-23He said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.”

Exodus 30:14 – “Everyone who is numbered in the census, from twenty years old and upward, shall give the Lord’s offering.

Numbers 14:28-30 – “Say to them, ‘As I live, declares the Lord, what you have said in my hearing I will do to you: your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and of all your number, listed in the census from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against me, not one shall come into the land where I swore that I would make you dwell, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.

Group 3 – At What Age Are Children Responsible For Their Own Sins

Romans 7:9 – “I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died.

1 John 2:2 – “He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

2 Samuel 12:21-23Then his servants said to him, “What is this thing that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive; but when the child died, you arose and ate food.” He said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.”

John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Numbers 14:29 – “Your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and of all your number, listed in the census from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against me,

Matthew 18:10 – “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.

Romans 2:12 – “For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law.

Group 4 – At What Age Are Children Responsible For Their Own Sins

Mark 10:14But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.

John 14:6Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Ephesians 2:8-9 – “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Romans 5:12-14 – “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.

Luke 1:15 – “For he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 – “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. …

Group 5 – At What Age Are Children Responsible For Their Own Sins

Proverbs 27:17 – “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.

Psalm 51:1-19 – “To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. …

Ephesians 2:3 – “Among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”

Romans 7:7 – “What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”

James 5:16 – “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

Group 6 – At What Age Are Children Responsible For Their Own Sins

Romans 9:15For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”

Romans 10:14 – “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?

John 3:16-17 – “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

John 3:3Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Romans 8:7 – “For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.”

Romans 5:8 – “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 7:2 – “For a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage.”

Group 7 – At What Age Are Children Responsible For Their Own Sins

Romans 7:10 – “The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me.

Revelation 1:1-20 – “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near. John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood …

John 9:41Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.”

Isaiah 3:1-26 – “For behold, the Lord God of hosts is taking away from Jerusalem and from Judah support and supply, all support of bread, and all support of water; the mighty man and the soldier, the judge and the prophet, the diviner and the elder, the captain of fifty and the man of rank, the counselor and the skillful magician and the expert in charms. And I will make boys their princes, and infants shall rule over them. And the people will oppress one another, every one his fellow and every one his neighbor; the youth will be insolent to the elder, and the despised to the honorable. …

Group 8 – At What Age Are Children Responsible For Their Own Sins

Luke 2:41-42 – “Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom.”

Revelation 21:27 – “But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”

Psalm 51:4 – “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.”

Genesis 1:1 – “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

Genesis 18:25 – “Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?

Revelation 20:12 – “And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.”

Ephesians 2:2 – “In which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—

Group 9 – At What Age Are Children Responsible For Their Own Sins

Matthew 18:4 – “Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Romans 9:2 – “That I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.

Romans 7:11 – “For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.”

Isaiah 3:2 – “The mighty man and the soldier, the judge and the prophet, the diviner and the elder,

Ephesians 1:5 – “He predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,

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

Ephesians 1:4 – “Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love

Ezekiel 18:1-32 – “The word of the Lord came to me: “What do you mean by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’? As I live, declares the Lord God, this proverb shall no more be used by you in Israel. Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul who sins shall die. “If a man is righteous and does what is just and right— …

Group 10 – At What Age Are Children Responsible For Their Own Sins

1 Thessalonians 4:2 – “For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus.”

Romans 5:2 – “Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Romans 1:19-20 – “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

Romans 7:4 – “Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God.

John 3:2This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.”

2 Samuel 12:13-23 – “David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child who is born to you shall die.” Then Nathan went to his house. And the Lord afflicted the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and he became sick. David therefore sought God on behalf of the child. And David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. And the elders of his house stood beside him, to raise him from the ground, but he would not, nor did he eat food with them. …

Group 11 – At What Age Are Children Responsible For Their Own Sins

Psalm 51:2 – “Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!

2 Samuel 12:22 He said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’

Jonah 4:11 – “And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?

Luke 1:3 – “It seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus,”

John 1:9 – “The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

John 1:9 – “The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

Colossians 3:1-25 – “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. …

Group 12 – At What Age Are Children Responsible For Their Own Sins

Romans 9:5 – “To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.”

Matthew 20:8-16 – “And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ …

Romans 7:5 – “For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death.

1 Kings 14:1-31 – “At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick. And Jeroboam said to his wife, “Arise, and disguise yourself, that it not be known that you are the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Shiloh. Behold, Ahijah the prophet is there, who said of me that I should be king over this people. Take with you ten loaves, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what shall happen to the child.” Jeroboam’s wife did so. She arose and went to Shiloh and came to the house of Ahijah. Now Ahijah could not see, for his eyes were dim because of his age. And the Lord said to Ahijah, “Behold, the wife of Jeroboam is coming to inquire of you concerning her son, for he is sick. Thus and thus shall you say to her.” When she came, she pretended to be another woman. …

Group 13 – At What Age Are Children Responsible For Their Own Sins

Genesis 1:5 – “God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.”

Mark 10:5And Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment.

Romans 1:20 – “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.”

Matthew 16:1-28 – “And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” …

Romans 7:5 – “For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death.”

Romans 9:5 – “To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.

Acts 14:17 – “Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.

Romans 5:12 – “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—

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What Does the Bible Say About Age?

What Does the Bible Say About Age

What Does the Bible Say About Age? The Bible teaches us that aging is a normal and natural part of life in this world. Brethren, there is honor involved in the aging process, because growing old is normally accompanied by increased wisdom and experience. “Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained by a righteous life” (Proverbs 16:31; Cf. Proverbs 20:29). The Lord God Almighty wants us to remember that life is short (James 4:14) and that the beauty of youth is soon gone (Proverbs 31:30; 1 Peter 1:24). And as such, the question of growing old cannot be separated from the question of the meaning of life and the concept of the legacy we leave. In the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon provides a Sagacious look at aging as well as the issues related to it.

We are born with a natural tendency to “live for the moment,” but the ultimate futility of that approach is the subject of Ecclesiastes 1:2-3: “Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun?” As people grow older and begin to feel the increasing impact of their mortality, they typically try to invest their waning resources in projects that to them seem to hold more promise of lasting meaning in life, especially the hope of perpetuating their “name” in a lasting legacy (Ecclesiastes 2). Unfortunately, no one can predict what projects will have lasting value and significance (Ecclesiastes 3:1-15), and this usually leads to varying levels of disillusionment and even despair over life’s brevity and evident injustice  “under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 3:16–7:29).

What Does the Bible Say About Age?

Following the growing realization that satisfaction in most of life’s activities is invariably fleeting, Solomon’s hope is that people will grow wiser in the use of their God-given “portion” or allotment before they die (Ecclesiastes 8–12; Cf. Psalm 90:12). This wisdom increases in relation to our awareness of “time and judgment.” As such, we need a divine perspective in the face of life’s brevity and apparent injustice (Ecclesiastes 3:15c–17; 8:5b–8, 12b–15; 9:11–12; 11:9; 12:14). Notice that in these passages, the Hebrew notion of time combines the concepts of opportunity (the right time to act expediently when the occasion arises) and limited lifespan (only so much time before all opportunity is gone).

Furthermore, the Hebrew notion of Judgment in these same texts presupposes complete freedom in the use of our God-given “portion” in life as our desires lead us, yet with concomitant accountability to the One who distributed our allotted “portions.” Notice that the New Testament counterpart to these concepts can be found portrayed vividly by Jesus’ parables of the ten virgins and the talents (Matthew 25), the two sons (Matthew 21:28–32), and the unjust steward (Luke 16:1–13). Among the most disturbing aspects of growing old – especially in cultures that set a high value on rugged individualism – is the increasing frequency of senile dementia as the human lifespan increases.
It seems highly unfair that people so afflicted should be robbed of their intellectual, social, and emotional vitality while their physical bodies continue to survive. Sadly, the cause of Alzheimer’s disease is unknown and it doesn’t seem to be related to any particular bad health habits. While its progression can be stalled, in part, by continued active involvement in physical and mind-stimulating activities, the progression of the disease is nevertheless inexorable.

More Scriptural Facts About Aging

The author of Ecclesiastes acknowledges the vexing unfairness of life from a human perspective (Ecclesiastes 7:15-18; 8:14–9:3), yet he offers us wisdom to help us deal with it from God’s perspective, entailing the notions of “time and judgment.” With our inevitable disillusionment over the human condition – our universal depravity, mortality, and uncertainty – it is wise to remember that “for all the living there is hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know that they will die; but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, their hatred, and their envy have now perished; nevermore will they have a share in anything done under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 9:4-6).
With the understanding that they are accountable for their God-given “portion,” people should take joyful advantage of all their gifts, wisdom, talents, and opportunities in life sooner rather than later – before all opportunity to do so has ceased, before inevitable debilitation foreclose all opportunity (Ecclesiastes 9:7-10; Ecclesiastes 11:9-10; Ecclesiastes 12:1-7).

This reflection on growing old teaches us that meaning in life is fulfilled in our God-given purpose, and our purpose is only fulfilled when we take advantage of our God-given portion in Christ, God’s beloved Son and Promised Savior of the world (John 3:16). While this portion may seem less fair for some than for others, life’s meaning will be consummated only at the final judgment when we receive our inheritance (Ecclesiastes 7:11) for the way we invest our portion, be it good or bad (Ecclesiastes 12:14; cp. 2 Corinthians 5:10). Brethren, on that day, we will see the Lord God as eminently fair in His rewards, regardless of how unfair or unevenly distributed our portion may seem in this present life.

What Does the Bible Say About Age?

2 Corinthians 4:16 – “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.

Job 12:12 – “Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding in length of days.

1 Timothy 4:12 – “Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.

Proverbs 20:29 – “The glory of young men is their strength, but the splendor of old men is their gray hair.

Proverbs 16:31 – “Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life.

Job 32:7 – “I said, ‘Let days speak, and many years teach wisdom.’

Proverbs 1:7 – “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 19:20 – “Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future.

James 3:17 – “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.”

Psalm 71:18 – “So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come.

Psalm 71:9 – “Do not cast me off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength is spent.”

Group 1 – What Does the Bible Say About Age

1 Timothy 5:8 – “But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”

Psalm 37:25 – “I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread.”

Psalm 92:12-14 – “The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God. They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green,

Leviticus 19:32 – “You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God: I am the Lord.”

Isaiah 46:4 – “Even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.

Titus 2:3 – “Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good,

Psalm 92:12-15 – “The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God. They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green, to declare that the Lord is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.”

Group 2 – What Does the Bible Say About Age

Proverbs 17:6 – “Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of children is their fathers.”

Psalm 92:14 – “They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green,

Psalm 103:5 – “Who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”

Isaiah 46:3-4 – “Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been borne by me from before your birth, carried from the womb; even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.

Job 32:7 – “I said, ‘Let days speak, and many years teach wisdom.’

Ecclesiastes 12:1-7 – “Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”; before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain, in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those who look through the windows are dimmed, and the doors on the street are shut—when the sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low— they are afraid also of what is high, and terrors are in the way; the almond tree blossoms, …

Group 3 – What Does the Bible Say About Age

Psalm 90:10 – “The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away.

Philippians 3:20-21 – “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

Philippians 1:6 – “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Joel 2:28 – “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.

Proverbs 23:22 – “Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.”

Psalm 73:26 – “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Genesis 6:3Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.”

Deuteronomy 34:7 – “Moses was 120 years old when he died. His eye was undimmed, and his vigor unabated.”

Isaiah 40:31 – “But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

Group 4 – What Does the Bible Say About Age

Job 5:26 – “You shall come to your grave in ripe old age, like a sheaf gathered up in its season.

1 Timothy 5:1-2 – “Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity.

Genesis 25:8 – “Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people.

Psalm 71:8-9 – “My mouth is filled with your praise, and with your glory all the day. Do not cast me off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength is spent.

Psalm 90:12 – “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.”

Psalm 91:16 – “With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.

Ecclesiastes 7:10Say not, “Why were the former days better than these?” For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.

Deuteronomy 32:7 – “Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations; ask your father, and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you.

Group 5 – What Does the Bible Say About Age

Philemon 1:9 – “Yet for love’s sake I prefer to appeal to you—I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus—

1 Timothy 5:1 – “Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers,

1 Chronicles 29:28 – “Then he died at a good age, full of days, riches, and honor. And Solomon his son reigned in his place.

Psalm 71:18-19 – “So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come. Your righteousness, O God, reaches the high heavens. You who have done great things, O God, who is like you?

Exodus 20:12 – “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.”

Titus 2:2-3 – “Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good,

Isaiah 40:29 – “He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.”

Job 12:20 – “He deprives of speech those who are trusted and takes away the discernment of the elders.

Group 6 – What Does the Bible Say About Age

Genesis 24:1 – “Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years. And the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things.

Genesis 15:15 – “As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age.”

Psalm 143:5 – “I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands.

1 Timothy 5:17 – “Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.”

1 Kings 3:14 – “And if you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.”

Ruth 4:15 – “He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.”

Ephesians 6:1-3Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.”

1 Kings 12:6Then King Rehoboam took counsel with the old men, who had stood before Solomon his father while he was yet alive, saying, “How do you advise me to answer this people?”

Group 7 – What Does the Bible Say About Age

Luke 1:36 – “And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.

Luke 2:36-38 – “And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.”

James 4:14 – “Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.

Psalm 23:1-6 – “A Psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. …

Group 8 – What Does the Bible Say About Age

Job 42:17 – “And Job died, an old man, and full of days.”

Joshua 14:10 – “And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, just as he said, these forty-five years since the time that the Lord spoke this word to Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness. And now, behold, I am this day eighty-five years old.

Deuteronomy 5:16 – “‘Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.”

Job 32:4 – “Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because they were older than he.

Ecclesiastes 12:1-14 – “Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”; before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain, in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those who look through the windows are dimmed, and the doors on the street are shut—when the sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low— they are afraid also of what is high, and terrors are in the way; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along, and desire fails, …

Group 9 – What Does the Bible Say About Age

Genesis 25:7-8 – “These are the days of the years of Abraham’s life, 175 years. Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people.

Ecclesiastes 12:1-3 – “Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”; before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain, in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those who look through the windows are dimmed,

1 Peter 1:24For “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls,

Revelation 1:1-20 – “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near. John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. …

Group 10 – What Does the Bible Say About Age

Titus 2:2 – “Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness.

Proverbs 10:27 – “The fear of the Lord prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be short.

Proverbs 10:27 – “The fear of the Lord prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be short.”

Psalm 71:17-18 – “O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come.”

Proverbs 3:13 – “Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding,

Jeremiah 29:11 – “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Luke 2:37 – “And then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day.

Isaiah 38:12 – “My dwelling is plucked up and removed from me like a shepherd’s tent; like a weaver I have rolled up my life; he cuts me off from the loom; from day to night you bring me to an end;

Group 11 – What Does the Bible Say About Age

Job 32:9 – “It is not the old who are wise, nor the aged who understand what is right.”

Ecclesiastes 5:20 – “For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart.

Ecclesiastes 9:10 – “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.”

Deuteronomy 5:33 – “You shall walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you shall possess.”

Psalm 71:17 – “O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.”

Psalm 90:5 – “You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning:

Psalm 71:1-24 – “In you, O Lord, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame! In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me; incline your ear to me, and save me! Be to me a rock of refuge, to which I may continually come; you have given the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress. Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of the unjust and cruel man. For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O Lord, from my youth. …

Group 12 – What Does the Bible Say About Age

Job 11:17 – “And your life will be brighter than the noonday; its darkness will be like the morning.”

Psalm 39:5 – “Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah

Exodus 7:7 – “Now Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh.”

John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Deuteronomy 33:25 – “Your bars shall be iron and bronze, and as your days, so shall your strength be.

Psalm 103:1-5 – “Of David. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Psalm 139:1-24 – “To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. …

Group 13 – What Does the Bible Say About Age

Psalm 119:100 – “I understand more than the aged, for I keep your precepts.

Proverbs 12:28 – “In the path of righteousness is life, and in its pathway there is no death.

Leviticus 19:1-37 – “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and you shall keep my Sabbaths: I am the Lord your God. Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves any gods of cast metal: I am the Lord your God. “When you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord, you shall offer it so that you may be accepted. …

1 Kings 12:8 – “But he abandoned the counsel that the old men gave him and took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him and stood before him.”

Genesis 47:9 And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my sojourning are 130 years. Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their sojourning.”

Genesis 37:3 – “Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colors.”

Group 14 – What Does the Bible Say About Age

Luke 1:37 – “For nothing will be impossible with God.”

Isaiah 47:6 – “I was angry with my people; I profaned my heritage; I gave them into your hand; you showed them no mercy; on the aged you made your yoke exceedingly heavy.”

Ecclesiastes 2:24 – “There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God,”

Leviticus 19:3 – “Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and you shall keep my Sabbaths: I am the Lord your God.”

Proverbs 30:17 – “The eye that mocks a father and scorns to obey a mother will be picked out by the ravens of the valley and eaten by the vultures.

Lamentations 5:12 – “Princes are hung up by their hands; no respect is shown to the elders.

James 4:4 – “You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

John 3:16-17 – “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

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