Boys and Girls are Born Innocent?

___There is an old joke about a pastor counseling a happy couple as they look forward to parenthood that children are born with Adam's sin nature. The husband was dismissive of the notion. Years later the pastor asked what the husband thought now that the kids were teenagers. The husband replied that not only did he believe in total depravity of the teens, he also believed in demon possession!

___I was surprised to hear in a sermon Sunday morning that “boys and girls are born innocent.” I asked the speaker afterwards when exactly did “there is none righteous” (Ps14; Rom3) kick in? He said innocent in the worldly sense, not righteous before a holy God.

___Having been an imperfect parent to three imperfect children, I can testify that one of the first words spoken is “No!” I believe this to be the natural state of children. I do not believe that my children were any worse or any better that other children.

___Since Katie died after only 23 months of life, I have thought about the “age of accountability” many times. The white throne judgement is that those who have rejected Jesus as Savior and Lord are thrown into the lake of fire. Katie enjoyed spiritual things and appears charismatic (arms lifted in praise) on her memorial program. Tim LaHaye, Left Behind author, agrees with an age of accountability since no children were “left behind” after the “rapture.” There is no specific age since the age when a child becomes aware of God will vary. A child becomes “lost” (Rev20:15) when they are aware but they reject Jesus.