Where Do Babies Go When They Die?

 Everyone wonders where babies go when they die. Those who believe the Bible regarding the Adamic nature question, “If we are born sinners, what happens to babies who die before they can believe the gospel? Are they condemned?” 

That is a good question, and it's especially important to parents who’ve lost young children.

First, I must note that a place called "limbo" does not exist. There is no reference to 'limbo' in the Bible. It is a made up Catholic tradition.

However, the Bible does have something to say regarding this matter. The Bible is clear that we are born in sin. 

King David said, “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.” (Psalms 51:5). Being conceived in sin, we are “by nature the children of wrath”, meaning that we are destined to face God and give an account of our lives.

Ephesians 2:2-3- Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

So, what happens when a baby dies? Does the baby go to hell, since he was too young to believe the gospel? No.

When a baby dies, that baby goes straight to heaven, and it’s all because of a beautiful word called IMPUTATION. You see, Jesus lived a righteous life for everyone, but His righteousness is not IMPUTED (credited) to us until we believe the gospel. The Bible says Jesus' righteousness “shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead”.

Romans 4:24-25- But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

Although Jesus lived a righteous life for us, His righteousness is not imputed to us until we understand that our sin is in violation of God's law and it is because of this violation that we need to face judgement. If a baby is too young to understand sin and judgment, then the baby is too young to understand the law. This is important, for as righteousness is not imputed without the gospel, so “sin is not imputed when there is no law” 

Romans 5:13-For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.

Jesus’s righteousness is not imputed to us until we know the price of sin and the gift of the gospel.  Adam’s unrighteousness is not imputed to us until we know the law (right and wrong).  

Romans 4:15-Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.

The purpose of the law is to show us that we are sinners who have a waiting judgment. This judgment doesn't have to end in a guilty verdict.

Gal 3:22,24- But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

A child that cannot understand the law is not held accountable to the condemnation brought about by breaking that law.

Because of the doctrine of imputation, King David (who said he was conceived in sin) also said of his baby boy, “he is dead…I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me” (2 Samuel 12:23). If David’s baby went to hell, then David (a believer) could not “go to him.” When David died, David went to paradise. And there, David was with his baby boy.

The fact of the matter is that we will all one day die. Your blood will cool. Your lungs will quit. But you won't just disappear. You are not just biology. You’re not a collection of carbon, nerves, and brainwaves. You are soul with a body; death tears the two apart, but it doesn’t end you. Your true self, the soul, will go somewhere.

When your body dies, your soul will be awake. Aware. Unmistakably conscious. Not in some floating mist, but in a state of full, terrifying clarity. You will stand…spiritually, then one day bodily… in the place where your life’s choices carried you.

You will either enter the presence of Christ or the horror of separation from Him.

Your body may be buried, burned, or lost at sea. It does not matter. The God who fashioned Adam from dust can call your atoms back with a word.

Scripture says our resurrection will be like the planting of a seed. The body you place in the ground is not the one that comes out. Just as a sunflower is not a carbon copy of the seed that birthed it, your resurrection body will be a glorified version, fit for an eternity somewhere.

The believer will rise with a body like Christ’s. Immortal. Incorruptible. Built for worship.

The unbeliever will rise too with a body not to behold glory, but to endure judgment. Every word you’ve spoken, every secret you’ve carried, every mask you’ve worn will be laid bare. Not before your therapist. Before your Creator.

The books will open.

And nothing will be missing.

You won’t get to defend yourself. You won’t be compared to someone worse. You won’t be able to lie or hide or charm your way out.

If you lived without Christ, you will die without Christ. And if you die without Christ, you will face the wrath of a holy God who offered you mercy and was ignored.

Let's talk about this gift of God. 

Romans 5:18-19- Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

John 3:16-17- For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

For those of us who understand the law, there is a judgment coming.

Hebrews 9:27- And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

The good news is that you don't have to appear guilty before the judge!

Hebrews 10:1- For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. 

Romans 3:20- Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

Hebrews 9:11-12- But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

If you are in Christ, if His blood has covered your guilt, if His name is written over your story…then the judgment will not break you. It will crown you.

Not because you lived well.

But because He died well.

The price has already been paid by Christ's death, burial, and resurrection. You just have to acknowledge and accept.

Romans 10:9,10,13- That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Your sin debt can be forgiven, and when you stand before God in judgment you will be declared innocent because of the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ.

Leviticus 17:11- For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.

Romans 5:21- That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

Ephesians 1:17- In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

If you've lost a young child you can rest assured that they are with the Lord in heaven. The Lord is very merciful and gracious, and He is offering you the chance to be with that child for eternity if you'll just accept His sacrifice for the payment of your sins.

Heaven is not a feeling. It is a place. A place where God is not just worshipped, but enjoyed.

Hell is not a metaphor. It is a prison. A place where mercy has ceased to be offered and every moment burns with regret.

Some will read this and roll their eyes. Others will scroll past and go back to their lives. But someone—maybe you—feels the weight. You know this is true.

You have pushed God off long enough. You have numbed yourself with distractions and convinced yourself that judgment is for other people. Not for you.

But you’re wrong.

The road ends. Every life ends. And only one name saves.

So ask yourself: if the curtain fell tonight, would you be ready?

Do not play games with your soul. Do not wait to become a better version of yourself. Do not pretend that God is still deciding what to do with you.

He already has. He sent His Son. He paid the price. And He is calling for you to turn to Him and accept the payment that has already been made.

And He promised…if you will repent and believe…you will be saved.

I John 5:13- These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

Not improved.

Not reformed.

Saved.

You will still die. But death will lose its power. It will become a doorway, not a sentence. And when the trumpet sounds, and your body rises, you will see Him—Christ—and He will not be your Judge. He will be your Joy.

There are no encore performances in the afterlife.

When the heart stops, the truth becomes clear. Not your truth. The truth.

And the only death worth dying is the one where you rise again.

I John 5:12- He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.