How old should a child be before becoming a Christian? Topic(s): Children, Baptism, Youth, Christian Living

How old should a child be before becoming a Christian?
Topic(s): Children, Baptism, Youth, Christian Living

Bob Prichard

The most important decision that a person will ever make is whether or not to become a Christian. Thus it is very important that a young person be sure that he or she knows exactly what it means to become a Christian. We cannot give an exact age when a person knows this, and is accountable before God. Each person matures physically, socially, mentally, and spiritually at a different rate. Parents should teach their children the way of the Lord from the earliest age, but they also should take care that they do not pressure their children to make a decision to commit their lives to Christ when the children do not really understand the seriousness of that commitment. The decision to obey the gospel of Christ is an individual decision, and cannot be made by the parent for the child.

Several factors enter into when a person has reached the “age of accountability.” First, a person does not need to be baptized into Christ for the remission of sins until he has committed sins, and is thus subject to being lost in hell. As Peter said to the multitude at Jerusalem on Pentecost, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38). Since baptism is “for the remission of sins,” a small child, innocent before God, is not a candidate for baptism, being already sinless in God’s sight.

Second, those who come to obey Christ must be able to make the necessary commitment to Christ, and assume the responsibilities that come with becoming a Christian. Jesus said that the one who follows Him must make a real commitment. “For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:35-38). A child needs to be mature enough to understand and comply with the Lord’s instructions.

Although the scriptures reveal no particular age that would apply to every individual, most children are ready to make an informed decision to obey Christ as they reach the early teen years. Jesus made a trip to Jerusalem for the Passover at the age of twelve. When Mary and Joseph discovered that they had left Jesus in Jerusalem, they returned to find Him in the temple conversing with the doctors, Jesus said, “How is it that ye sought me? wist [know] ye not that I must be about my Father's business?” (Luke 2:49). Then “Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man” (Luke 2:52). He knew that He was accountable to the heavenly Father. The child who reaches the age of accountability will still have years of maturing before becoming an adult. Ideally, the accountable child will obey the gospel of Christ, and then live a life of faithfulness to the Lord.