In an attempt to explain the fate of those who die in infancy, Reformed theologian John Piper ultimately ends up arguing that “everyone is Totally Depraved, but some are more Totally Depraved than others”:
Will Infants Who Die
Inherit Eternal Joy?
How will the
suffering and death of children be set right? When I consider the final display
of God’s justice at the day of judgment, I see God exercising a standard of
judgment that opens the door for infants who die in this world to be saved from
condemnation. I do not deny the sinfulness of every human from the moment of
conception. “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive
me” (Ps. 51:5). I believe that all humans are “appointed sinners” by Adam’s
disobedience (Rom. 5:19, my translation). I believe God does no wrong when he takes
the life of any child (Job 1:21-22). He owns it (Ps. 100:3) and may take it
when he pleases (Dan. 5:23).
Nevertheless, there
is a standard of judgment that Paul expresses that causes me to think that God
has chosen, and will save, those who die in infancy. The standard is expressed
in Romans 1:19-20:
What can be known
about God is plain to them [all people], because God has shown it to them. For
his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have
been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things
that have been made. So they are without excuse.
The words “so
they are without excuse” show that God’s principle of judgment is that someone
who does not have access to the knowledge Paul speaks of will indeed “have an
excuse.” That access involves both the objective revelation in nature (which he
says is fully adequate), and the natural ability in the observer to see and
construe what God has revealed. The words “have been clearly perceived” in
verse 20 imply that the natural ability involves a perception through mental
reflection (νοουμενα καθαραται).
What I am arguing is
that infants don’t have this perception through mental reflection, and
therefore do not have access to the revelation of God, and therefore will be treated
by God as having an excuse at the judgment day. Not in the sense of being guiltless
(because of original sin), but in the sense that God has established a
principle of judgment by which he will not condemn those who in this life
lacked access to general revelation. How he will save these infants is a
matter of speculation. But it will be in a way that glorifies Jesus’ blood and
righteousness at the only grounds of acceptance with God (Rom. 3:24-25), and in
a way that honors faith as the only means of enjoying this provision (Rom.
3:28; 5:1). (John Piper, Providence [Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 2020], 507-8)
Further Reading
An
Examination and Critique of the Theological Presuppositions Underlying Reformed
Theology
