Babies do not sin. And even if they did, people who sin unknowingly are automatically forgiven by the Father through Jesus. In the Old Testament, sins of ignorance were forgiven (or cleansed) by the morning and evening sacrifice. (Leviticus 5:22-24).
The Old Testament imagery of the sacrifices was to show us what Jesus is doing now in Heaven. He is our “high priest.” He has offered Himself as the ultimate sacrifice forever. The book of Hebrews in the New Testament tells all about this.
Just as ignorant sin was covered by the daily sacrifice of the lambs in the Old Testament Sanctuary, so ignorant sin is covered now by Jesus blood offered for us. Of course willful ignorance IS sin, so one cannot avoid guilt, just by staying ignorant.
JOHN 9:41: Jesus said, “If you were blind (meaning ignorant), you would have no sin...”
(See also John 15:22-24).
JAMES 4:17: “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.”
Little babies are certainly ignorant of what is sin and what is not. They do not know right from wrong. And babies are not born sinners. There is no such thing as “original sin.” That’s a made up idea that is not in the Bible.
In Jewish tradition a child was held responsible to God for his sin, only when He was old enough to know that there is a God in Heaven, and to know that sin is rebellion against God. Sin is doing something that God told us not to do. A three year old may disobey mommy, but she does not understand that she has also disobeyed God.
Concerning the doctrine of purgatory: This was something that the Catholic Church made up in order to get money from the people. They would take money for prayers for the dead, telling the people that this money and the prayers bought with it would speed their loved one’s release from purgatory to heaven.
There is a study at ww.aggelia.com which explains that death is only a sleep. It will seem like only an instant and we will be awake on the resurrection morning, reunited with our loved ones who have died in Christ. I think your friend would be comforted knowing that her baby will simply be sleeping until Jesus comes to awaken her. You friend will receive her baby on that morning, just as she was, and can raise her up in a better place than we have here now.
Here I’m going to paste in a section from the Aggelia site called “What I Believe.”
Baptism (The word means “immersion.”) is the symbol given by Christ to represent our death to sin and our resurrection to a new life. In baptism, we are buried with Christ, and as He was raised from the dead, so we are raised to a new life. (Romans 6:4). Only those capable of making a free will choice can enter into the experience of baptism.
Peter said repent and be baptized. Infants cannot repent. They cannot receive His word , or believe with all their hearts (Matthew 3:13-17; Mark 1:1-9; Acts 2:38, 41-47; Acts 8:35-38; Acts 16:32,33; Acts 22:16; Romans 6:1-11; Galatians 3:27; Colossians 3:1-3). Infant baptism is based upon a belief in something call “original sin.” (The expression is not in the Bible.) This doctrine says that sin is inherited. Because Adam sinned, he passed this sin on to his descendants. I do not agree with this doctrine. I do not believe that sin is something which can be inherited. I believe that we inherit a strong tendency to sin, but not the sin itself.
Love In HIM
Aggelia Bible Studies
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