People ask, "Do babies go to heaven when they die?" This applies to people who have lost babies, but all believers should be able to answer this question to be equipped to minister to others. In 2 Samuel 12:23, when David lost his child, he said, "I will go to him, but he will not return to me." There are Bible verses about unborn babies going to heaven. Read on, watch, or listen if you want to know, "Do unborn babies go to heaven?"

Table of contentsThere Are Babies Who Were Going to Go to HeavenDavid Was Going to Go to Heaven as a BabyThe Prophet Jeremiah Was Going to Go to Heaven as a BabyJohn the Baptist Was Going to Go to Heaven as a BabyDavid's Child of Adultery Was Going to Go to Heaven as a BabyDavid Knew His Baby Would Be in HeavenFour Reasons It Is Wrong to Think David Was Only Saying He Would Die tooFirst, David Wouldn't Simply Acknowledge His DeathSecond, David Knew He Was Going to HeavenThird, David Comforted Himself with His WordsFourth, David Responded Differently to Absalom's DeathDavid Never Said He Would Go to AbsalomDavid Wanted to Die in Absalom's PlaceBabies Can Go to Heaven Without Exercising Personal FaithStriving to Understand How Babies Go to Heaven Without Saving FaithWayne Grudem Supports Babies Going to Heaven without Saving FaithGotquestions.org Supports Babies Going to Heaven without Saving FaithJohn Calvin Supports Babies Going to Heaven without Saving FaithGod Can Save Those Unable to BelieveJesus’s Sacrifice Is Sufficient for All to Be SavedUnderstanding a Wonderful but Confusing TruthThose Who Can Exercise Saving Faith Must Do So

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People ask, "Do babies go to heaven when they die?" In 2 Samuel 12:23, King David said, "I will go to him, but he will not return to me."

There Are Babies Who Were Going to Go to Heaven

This post answers the question, "Do babies go to heaven when they die?" by building off the previous posts:

Are Children Innocent?

The Biblical Age of Accountability

Sin Is Not Imputed Where There Is No Law

Because babies are innocent, they haven’t reached the age of accountability, and sin is not imputed to them, we see examples of saved babies in the Bible. Don’t focus on the fact that there are few saved babies in the Bible. Instead, focus on the fact that there ARE saved babies in the Bible. If there was only one saved baby in the Bible, that would be significant, because it demonstrates that a baby can be saved.

David Was Going to Go to Heaven as a Baby

Psalm 22:10 On you was I cast from my birth, and from my mother's womb you have been my God.

David didn’t say he knew God or had faith in God, as those are impossibilities for babies. But he did make two points. First, he said he was cast on God from his birth. This sounds like he was saved when he was born. Then he backed up even further and said God had been his God when was in the womb. To say God is someone’s God is Old Testament salvific language. David said he was saved before he was born.

The Prophet Jeremiah Was Going to Go to Heaven as a Baby

Jeremiah 1:5 [God said,] “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

God said two things to Jeremiah and the second doesn’t necessarily mean he was saved. God said he "consecrated," or some translations say "sanctified" (KJV and NKJV), which means "set apart." That’s how it’s translated in the NIV. This can simply mean that God set Jeremiah apart as a prophet as it said right after that.

But at the beginning of the verse God said he knew Jeremiah. Again, this is Old Testament salvation language. This language is carried forward in the New Testament. Speaking to believers Paul said:

Galatians 4:9 Now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God,

When people are unbelievers, on the day of judgment Jesus will say to them:

Matthew 7:23 “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.”

Also, God said he knew Jeremiah BEFORE forming him in the womb. This is foreknowledge, which we also see in the New Testament:

Ephesians 1:4 [God] chose us in [Christ] BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD, that we should be holy and blameless before him.

Or…

1 Peter 1:2 Those who are elect…2 according to THE FOREKNOWLEDGE OF GOD the Father,

The idea is just like God foreknew and chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, he foreknew and chose Jeremiah unto salvation before he was even in the womb.

John the Baptist Was Going to Go to Heaven as a Baby

Luke 1:15 [The angel Gabriel said, “John] will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and HE WILL BE FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT, EVEN FROM HIS MOTHER'S WOMB.

If you’re filled with the Holy Spirit, you’re saved, and John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit before he was born:

We might say that John the Baptist was ‘born again’ before he was born!

Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine, page 500.

We are not saved by works, but works are evidence of salvation, and we are given evidence of John’s salvation:

Luke 1:41 When Elizabeth [John’s mother] heard the greeting of Mary, the baby [referring to John] leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Salvation always produces fruit, and John’s leaping was evidence of his regeneration.

David's Child of Adultery Was Going to Go to Heaven as a Baby

More people cling to this account when they have lost a child to be encouraged they will see their child again, than any other in Scripture. David committed adultery with Bathsheba and tried to hide his sin by murdering her husband, Uriah. Bathsheba became pregnant and God told David the child would die:

2 Samuel 12:16 David therefore sought God on behalf of the child. And David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. 17 And the elders of his house stood beside him, to raise him from the ground, but he would not, nor did he eat food with them. 18 On the seventh day the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spoke to him, and he did not listen to us. How then can we say to him the child is dead? He may do himself some harm.”

When the child was alive David fasted and spent all day and night on the ground praying. His servants were thinking: “If David was that upset about the possibility of the child dying, he might really do something drastic if he finds out the child is dead.” It doesn’t mean David was suicidal, but his servants thought he might be! But when David received the news:

2 Samuel 12:19 But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David understood that the child was dead. And David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” They said, “He is dead.” 20 Then David arose from the earth and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes. And he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. He then went to his own house. And when he asked, they set food before him, and he ate.

A child’s death might be the most painful experience for anyone to go through. I remember when my brother died, my assistant principal said it’s a parent’s worst nightmare to have to bury a child. That’s what David had to do, but interestingly if I had to use one word to describe David it wouldn’t be anguished, suffering, or afflicted. Instead, it would be the word peace. David looks like he is at peace. He did the opposite of what his servants expected. Instead of doing himself harm he cleaned himself up, ceased fasting, and had something to eat. 2 Samuel 12:20 even says David worshipped. This confused the servants…

2 Samuel 12:21 Then his servants said to him, “What is this thing that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive; but when the child died, you arose and ate food.” 22 He said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ 23 But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? "I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”

David Knew His Baby Would Be in Heaven

Look at the certainty with which David spoke: "I will go to him." He didn’t encourage himself with these words as though they were a possibility. To him they were a certainty.

Four Reasons It Is Wrong to Think David Was Only Saying He Would Die too

Instead of thinking David would go to be with the child in heaven, some people think David meant, “I shall go to the grave, like he went to the grave” or, "I will join the child in death." There are four reasons that this argument is wrong, and I want to go through them so we can be confident if we are ever in David’s place and lose a child, or we must counsel someone who has lost a child. This way we will be equipped to do so.

First, David Wouldn't Simply Acknowledge His Death

It doesn’t make sense that David only meant that he would die someday, like his son. There’s no reason for him to say something so blatantly obvious. Of course, he’s going to die someday too.

Second, David Knew He Was Going to Heaven

One of the main reasons some people think David was only saying he would join his son in the grave is the next life was veiled or shadowy in the Old Testament. People commonly said they were going to the grave or Sheol, without saying that they were going to heaven or hell. But few people in the Old Testament, if any, had as much revelation as David. He understood that for him the next life meant going to heaven:

Psalm 23:6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I SHALL DWELL IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD FOREVER.

David knew death wasn’t simply going to the grave. For him, it was going to heaven,