I am a 48 year old, happily married man with four bright children. I like to preach and teach the Word. The Lord has been really good to me.
View my complete profile
. . . if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (1 John 1:7)
excellent question that has generated some very lively conversation in our home with words like accept, reject and accountability flying about.
we have a daughter with diminished mental capacity...does she have the capacity to accept that Jesus died for her? we would say absolutely yes..but beyond that she would not be able to understand.
does she have the capacity to reject Christ? No, on the basis that she cannot possibly understand what must be rejected.
she cannot reason, she cannot assent,
she can, because of God's amazing graciousness and mercy, sit at the piano and play beautiful songs of praise and worship about Him
Can she be saved? Is she saved? Will she go to heaven?
Hey, John. Welcome back!Absolutely they can be saved. God requires no more of us than we are able to give. We have a bunch of mentally challenged people in our church who are a delight in their walk with God.
NASB Deuteronomy 1:39 'Moreover, your little ones who you said would become a prey, and your sons, who this day have no knowledge of good or evil, shall enter there, and I will give it to them and they shall possess it.
"For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations." Psalm 105:5
Thank you for reading here! I appreciate hearing from you.
Hi Aletheia, may God continue to bless you with His peace. Thank you, for your honesty and transparency in your answer. I do not find that simple but powerful truth hard to understand at all.
Hi Matthew, you’re right! I meant to be as broad and general as I could. I enjoyed your comment, and sound logic.
Hi Joe, you have some good thoughts on this. Thanks for your welcoming me back.
Hi KC, thank you for welcoming me back. Christ in you! Now I’m gonna get preachy if I’m not careful. Is there any topic more wonderful than this?
Hi Anton, I think you are trying to say that as the children of disobedient Israel were granted the privilege of entering in to the promised land, “who… have no knowledge of good or evil” so those with diminished mental capacity will have the privilege of entering heaven. Again thank you all for reading here and thank you for sharing your thoughts. God is good.
Since I think it is God who grants faith, it is not really based on the mental capacity but on God's power and grace. I think there no lower limit in the mental capacity of someone to be saved.
Also, in a somewhat related question, our church elders considered the issue of the mentally disabled and communion. Some of the results of that are published here.
8 Comments:
hello j
excellent question that has generated some very lively conversation in our home with words like accept, reject and accountability flying about.
we have a daughter with diminished mental capacity...does she have the capacity to accept that Jesus died for her? we would say absolutely yes..but beyond that she would not be able to understand.
does she have the capacity to reject Christ? No, on the basis that she cannot possibly understand what must be rejected.
she cannot reason, she cannot assent,
she can, because of God's amazing graciousness and mercy, sit at the piano and play beautiful songs of praise and worship about Him
Can she be saved? Is she saved?
Will she go to heaven?
John 3:17, 18, 36
By
Aletheia, at 8/10/08 10:57 PM
Diminished mental capacity covers a lot of ground. Hence, undeniably yes.
I find it hard to understand why Christians get engaged in questions like this.
Does God love everybody? Yes.
Did Christ suffer and die for everybody? Yes.
Those two positive answers give us quite a bit to go on.
Every Blessing in Christ
Matthew
By
Matthew Celestine, at 9/10/08 5:17 AM
Hey, John. Welcome back!Absolutely they can be saved. God requires no more of us than we are able to give. We have a bunch of mentally challenged people in our church who are a delight in their walk with God.
By
Joe, at 9/10/08 7:46 AM
I would say that if a person possesses the mental capacity to sin they also possess the mental capacity to believe when God reveals Christ in them.
I also agree with Joe that it's good to see you posting. ;-)
By
Kc, at 9/10/08 11:45 AM
NASB Deuteronomy 1:39
'Moreover, your little ones who you said would become a prey, and your sons, who this day have no knowledge of good or evil, shall enter there, and I will give it to them and they shall possess it.
By
anton, at 10/10/08 3:24 AM
"For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations." Psalm 105:5
Thank you for reading here! I appreciate hearing from you.
Hi Aletheia, may God continue to bless you with His peace. Thank you, for your honesty and transparency in your answer. I do not find that simple but powerful truth hard to understand at all.
Hi Matthew, you’re right! I meant to be as broad and general as I could. I enjoyed your comment, and sound logic.
Hi Joe, you have some good thoughts on this. Thanks for your welcoming me back.
Hi KC, thank you for welcoming me back. Christ in you! Now I’m gonna get preachy if I’m not careful. Is there any topic more wonderful than this?
Hi Anton, I think you are trying to say that as the children of disobedient Israel were granted the privilege of entering in to the promised land, “who… have no knowledge of good or evil” so those with diminished mental capacity will have the privilege of entering heaven.
Again thank you all for reading here and thank you for sharing your thoughts. God is good.
By
J. Wendell, at 10/10/08 6:51 AM
Since I think it is God who grants faith, it is not really based on the mental capacity but on God's power and grace. I think there no lower limit in the mental capacity of someone to be saved.
Also, in a somewhat related question, our church elders considered the issue of the mentally disabled and communion. Some of the results of that are published here.
By
Earl Flask, at 14/10/08 4:40 PM
Hi Earl,
Good to see you again! Thanks for your comment.
In Christ,
John
By
J. Wendell, at 15/10/08 8:20 PM
Post a Comment
<< Home