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Bible Question:
I have a thirty-five year old mentally challenged and autistic
son. He has a mind of say less than a seven year old. We
never went to church, but we believe in Jesus Christ. My
question is, since my son is incapable of believing because
of his condition, how will God judge him? I worry about this.
I am convinced that God does not send the mentally challenged
or mentally ill to hell because they cannot understand the
gospel. Does He take them to heaven when they die even if
they are incapable of believing?
Bible Answer:
You have a wonderful burden to bear. God must have given you
great patience and love because that is needed to care for
your son. Before, we answer your question, you might want
to start with a previous question and answer entitled, "What
happens to the souls of born babies who die unbaptized?"
It is related to your concern, and it establishes a principle
that we will refer to next.
Principle.
From the above principle, we can infer that God will take those
who have not had a moral sense of
right and wrong (good or evil) to heaven. Since we do not have
complete knowledge of your son's learning abilities, it is
impossible for us to know how much you can teach him about
God. It also depends on your son's sense of right and wrong.
If he understands right and wrong, then you need to help
him understand as much as he can about Jesus. It
is important to remember that many young children understand
that Jesus is God. Many pre-school and elementary children
have been taught about Jesus in their Sunday Schools, Christian
Schools, and by their parents, and as a result they have
asked Jesus to forgive their sins. But not every child believes
or trusts in Jesus before he or she is seven years of age.
Encouragement.
May I encourage you to start taking your son to Sunday School.
I would encourage you to also start attending church, specially
if you believe in Jesus. If you need help locating a church
in your area, we would be glad to help you locate one, if
you want. In this setting, both of you will learn more about
Jesus and he might decide to believe in Jesus. There is much
to learn about Jesus.
Conclusion:
I would also encourage you to start studying the following
Bible study series with your son: Solid
Roots
. It takes you through the essential truths of the Christian
faith. We will be completing the series in the early part of
next year. This will enable you to teach him about Jesus and
learn at the same time. You
could also explain to him what it means to believe in Jesus
Christ.
However, I would recommend that you teach him about Jesus Christ
first. Please let us know how we can help.
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