Apparently, the latest dispute to occupy people’s head space and get a thousand fingers tapping passionately at their keyboards, is the question about whether or not it is possible for babies to sin. The big claim has been that if you are reformed, then you should recognise that babies sin. The practical focus seems to be around whether or not a baby crying at night is sinful and therefore how a parent should respond.
The immediate response of some people has been to throw their hands up in horror. How can anyone say something like that about sweet innocent cherubs. Others have argued that it is not possible to talk about a baby sinning because they are not capable of being held morally responsible.
I think that a big part of the problem here is that a number of distinct but related issues have been conflated together. We might find it helpful to identify these through the following questions.
- What exactly is sin?
- What is sinfulness?
- Who is a sinner?
- What does it mean to sin?
- What responsibility do we have for our actions and to whom?
- What are the consequences of sin?
- What is the remedy for sin and what is the right response?
Let’s take these in turn. First, sin, from what we can see in the Bible is to do with humanity going against God’s will. It is to do with placing ourselves on the throne instead of God, wanting to be like God and replace him. That’s what we see happening in Genesis 3. In Romas 5, we discover that as a result of this, Adam’s sin brought consequences upon us all. We were all in Adam. So, theologically, this means that we share in Adam’s fall. We are under the penalty of death. Augustine described this in terms of original sin. Reformed theologians talk in term of Total Depravity and this is perhaps the more helpful term because it tells us about the consequences of Adam’s sin for all of us. Paul says that through Adam’s sin, death came into the world. We are fallen, we inherit Adam’s corrupted nature. This can be thought of in terms of spiritual death and in terms of a sinful nature.
This is important because, first of all, it means that when we talk about sin, then biblically it is about more than intentionally doing things. In fact, the Old Testament Law distinguished high handed, intentional sin from trespasses, or sins of ignorance. Both needed to be atoned for.
We are responsible for our sin and accountable to God. In fact, Scripture is clear that God is the only oen who can truly forgive sin. However, we also know that there is accountability to one another because sin means that we fail to love God with our whole hearts and our neighbours as ourselves. This is where the question of human moral responsibility comes from. We want to hold people accountable to one another but we also recognise in both moral legal terms that a level of maturity is required before we hold people responsible for what they do. However, it is not a simple binary matter. We recognise that people grow in responsibility and so the things you hold a child or younger person accountable for are different to how you deal with a mature adult.
This also means that there are two types of consequence for sin. The consequence before God is death. We are not just going to die but spiritually are already dead because of sin. However, the consequences before other human beings will depend on context and levels of responsibility. And, we know the obvious answer to the final big question. The remedy for our sin was the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus.
All of this should protect us from rosy eyed naivety. “All have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory” says Paul. This means that we are sinful and so cannot help sinning, that’s what our nature is like. There isn’t a magical age when the problem of sin kicks in. Not, contra Pelagius do we start as blank canvases until we make our own choices. It is of course Pelagianism which expects every human being to be perfect by themselves which results in harsh, unloving legalism. But it also protects us from harshness. Our children, of whatever age need God’s love and grace, just as we do. The Gospel message is good news for all.
So, the theological question “do babies and toddlers’ sin” may be a great way to create heat and light on the internet. However, the practical question is really “What does your child need?” And the answer is that your child needs the good news of the Gospel. This is true for them even before they begin to rationally understand and respond. The best thing a parent can be doing for their child is praying for them. A parent can also keep showing love and modelling grace to a little one even before the child is old enough to reason, they can begin to experience the goodness of the Gospel.
This also means that what a parent needs, most of all, in the middle of the frustrations and challenges they face, whether from a toddler’s meltdown or a defiant teen; is the same as what the child needs. They need the Gospel, reapplied, again and again. They need to be reminded that their only certain hope is in Christ. They need to be reminded of God’s love and grace pured out for them and they need to be reminded that God’s love and grace to them in the midst of this particular storm is sufficient and inexhaustible.
Faithroots 