In Loving Memory
April 29, 1947 - September 5, 2020
Update: On Saturday, September 5th, 2020, the founder, administrator, and head moderator of this forum, Valerie S., went Home to be with the Lord. Her obituary can be found on https://memorials.demarcofuneralhomes.com/valerie-skrzyniak/4321619/index.php.
1 Thessalonians 4:15-18
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
2 Timothy 4:7-8
For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing .
Age of Accountability
It is well thought in my denomination at least, that the age of accountability is probably around 12 or 13 years old. I have always accepted that but after reading the first volume of Thru The Bible With J. Vernon McGee I think it may be older. He thinks a hint to the age of accountability might be in this verse:
“In this wilderness your bodies will fall—every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me.” (Numbers 14:29, NIV)
All of the children of Israel who murmured or grumbled against God were to die in the wilderness and be kept from the Promised Land if they were 20 years or older. So if you were 19 or younger, you were spared from this judgment. In this particular incident, the age of accountability was 20 years old.
I think it is important to reveal that the age of accountability might be older for several reasons. I am already worried about my own children growing up in this sin-filled world. I feel like at 12 or 13, it is a very hard time for a lot of kids and many make mistakes during their teens. It makes me feel a lot better that God may allow more time than we think for these teens to realize their mistakes, repent, and decide where they’re going in life on a spiritual scale.
So this can give parents of troubled teens hope. Also, if anyone has lost a child under 20 that didn’t bear the fruit of a saved individual, there may be hope they fell under God’s mercy because their life was cut short. I think a lot of factors come into play in determining the age of accountability and I believe it is different for each person. I think factors such as how they were raised, their mental development, health, knowledge, and other circumstances determine when the child/teen becomes responsible for accepting or rejecting Jesus. However, as an adult, it is easy to know who are true followers of Christ because of this verse:
“Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.” (Matthew 7:20, NIV)
If you applied this verse to the average teen in America, things wouldn’t look good would they? You also have to think that when the book of Numbers was written, it was during the Age of the Law, before Jesus. Now we are in the Age of Grace but in that day if you broke pretty much any of the 10 commandments you were stoned to death. If there was a disobedient child, the mother and father could bring him/her to the priest and they would be stoned to death. No wonder their crime rates were low!! And lots of people today would think that was harsh or an unfair punishment. But guess what? He’s God and we’re not so we have no place to judge Him; He makes the rules and we should obey. If he created us with morals, how much more of a moral conscience does God have!
“Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.” (Proverbs 22:6)
In conclusion, we know from the above verse that if we raise our children right, we should have nothing to worry about. But the way this world is heading (by the way, the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah are being committed today!), it makes it harder to raise your child in a Christian home. It’s not just teaching them right and wrong, it “showing” them right and wrong through the parents’ way of life and obeying the Bible and repenting daily. Who knows, maybe the rapture will happen before my kids reach the age of accountability, especially with all the prophecies and signs from the Bible happening in our world today! I can hope, wish and pray!
