A recent conversation with a friend of mine raised a very controversial topic that I felt I need to address. This topic concerns whether or not God reserves a special grace for those who are severely mentally handicapped. My friend asked me if I believe that those who literally have no comprehension will be saved and that question is something that I have had to wrestle with for many years. I will like to admit that I understand that this topic is very emotionally-charged and for good reason. No one wants to think that God will send their loved one with Down syndrome to hell for eternity. However, our concern should be with what the Bible says concerning this topic and not what our emotions say. I understand that it feels emotionally good to say that God will have special grace for someone who is severely mentally handicapped, but then again our emotions are not the final authority. God's word is the final authority. So, what exactly does the Bible say concerning this topic? Unfortunately, there is nothing explicit in the Bible that says one or another about what happens to severely mentally handicapped people when they die, but we can make some logical inferences from key texts of the Bible though. Before I get into those key texts, however, I would like to freely admit that I am most likely going to be in the minority concerning this topic because most people would probably disagree with my assessment. That is fine because I am open to dialogue concerning this topic. My main concern is being faithful to Scripture and I am not beholden to the majority opinion. Many people will answer in the affirmative that God does have special grace for those who are severely mentally handicapped. I think this view has two fundamental errors to it: one is that it denies Scripture and the other is that it does not understand the human mind. I will elaborate on these points and then I will discuss what the biblical answer is for those who are severely mentally handicapped.
The View Denies Scripture
Many people who hold to the view that says God has a special grace for those who are mentally handicapped do so because they think that God will not hold someone who cannot comprehend the Gospel accountable. These people believe that someone who has a severe case of Down syndrome will freely be let into the Kingdom even if they never profess faith in Christ. This view is dangerous because it says that there is more than one way to salvation. These people are saying that one can be saved by either faith in Christ or by being born severely mentally handicapped. This is a fundamental denial of Acts 4:12 which says,
"And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved"
According to this text, everyone is saved the same way and that is through faith in Jesus Christ. God does not make a distinction between persons. The mentally handicapped person is in no better position than we are. As Romans 11:12 says,
"For there is no distinction between Jew or Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him"
Notice how that text says there is no distinction between Jew and Greek? This means every one of us is in the same boat regardless of our mental or physical infirmities. God is the God of all people no matter their race, gender, socioeconomic status, or disability. If that is not enough to convince you, I will now turn your attention to Acts 10:34-35 which says,
"So Peter opened his mouth and said: 'Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation, anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him"
As we can see from this text, God does not show partiality amongst His creation but treats us all as equals regardless of our race, sex, or disability status. However, the people who promote the view that God shows the mentally handicapped a special grace are saying that God does indeed show partiality towards some people. These people are calling the Lord a liar!
As we can see clearly from the Bible, there is only one way for anyone to be saved and that is through faith in Jesus Christ. But this leads one to wonder about the mental capacity of someone who is mentally handicapped. Can they comprehend enough to know to put their faith in Christ? Those who hold to this view will answer in the negative. I would disagree with them and that leads me to my next point.
This View Misunderstands The Human Mind
The people who hold to the view that God has a special grace for those who are severely mentally handicapped do so because they believe that the person in question cannot comprehend the Gospel. I submit that these people are merely looking at outward appearance when they make that claim. However, 1 Samuel 16:7 tells us,
"But the Lord said to Samuel, 'Do not look on his appearance or the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart"
What does God see when He looks at the human heart exactly? Jeremiah 17:9 tells us that the human heart is "deceitfully wicked above all things". This means that even the severely mentally handicapped person is wicked in his heart. The human mind can comprehend much more than we give it credit even when the human body is weak and failing. The evidence of this is coma patients. When someone is in a coma they are still able to hear and comprehend everything that is said and going on around them. This is why doctors encourage family members to speak to their loved ones who are comatose. My question to you is this: If a coma patient can comprehend what is going on around them, then what makes you think that a severely mentally handicapped individual, who is not comatose, cannot comprehend things? We must avoid the fallacy of judging these people based off of physical appearance and understand that the Lord can and does work within their minds. So, even when these people appear to not comprehend much, their mind is still very active. You may be wondering now, what is the biblical solution for reaching someone who is severely mentally handicapped with the Gospel and that leads me to my final point.
"So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ" -Romans 10:17
The biblical solution for reaching someone who is severely mentally handicapped with the Gospel is surprisingly the same method God uses to reach anyone else: preaching! This may seem like a trite statement to make but as we have seen God shows no partiality. This means that His way of reaching one person is going to be the same way He reaches another person regardless of their infirmities. However, for certain types of people (specifically, those who are severely mentally handicapped) you may have to get very creative with how you preach the Gospel to them. Sometimes you may have to pick up special training to learn how to effectively communicate with the mentally handicapped loved one. Regardless of whatever form the preaching takes, the word of God tells us that faith comes by hearing the preached word of God. You can take great encouragement with this because you understand that there is hope in Christ for your mentally handicapped loved one to be saved. You can also be encouraged by the fact that your loved one is not a vegetable like proponents of the "special grace" view seem to think they are.
I hope that this blog has cleared up this issue for your once and for all. I understand that the view I am proposing is not a popular view and it does not feel right but as Christians, we should stand on the authority of God's word above how we may feel about it. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog and may the grace of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ richly bless you all!
-David Lee Chu Sarchet
Christian Mental Health Advocate
Check out the Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website
Check out the other Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website
The View Denies Scripture
Many people who hold to the view that says God has a special grace for those who are mentally handicapped do so because they think that God will not hold someone who cannot comprehend the Gospel accountable. These people believe that someone who has a severe case of Down syndrome will freely be let into the Kingdom even if they never profess faith in Christ. This view is dangerous because it says that there is more than one way to salvation. These people are saying that one can be saved by either faith in Christ or by being born severely mentally handicapped. This is a fundamental denial of Acts 4:12 which says,
"And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved"
According to this text, everyone is saved the same way and that is through faith in Jesus Christ. God does not make a distinction between persons. The mentally handicapped person is in no better position than we are. As Romans 11:12 says,
"For there is no distinction between Jew or Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him"
Notice how that text says there is no distinction between Jew and Greek? This means every one of us is in the same boat regardless of our mental or physical infirmities. God is the God of all people no matter their race, gender, socioeconomic status, or disability. If that is not enough to convince you, I will now turn your attention to Acts 10:34-35 which says,
"So Peter opened his mouth and said: 'Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation, anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him"
As we can see from this text, God does not show partiality amongst His creation but treats us all as equals regardless of our race, sex, or disability status. However, the people who promote the view that God shows the mentally handicapped a special grace are saying that God does indeed show partiality towards some people. These people are calling the Lord a liar!
As we can see clearly from the Bible, there is only one way for anyone to be saved and that is through faith in Jesus Christ. But this leads one to wonder about the mental capacity of someone who is mentally handicapped. Can they comprehend enough to know to put their faith in Christ? Those who hold to this view will answer in the negative. I would disagree with them and that leads me to my next point.
This View Misunderstands The Human Mind
The people who hold to the view that God has a special grace for those who are severely mentally handicapped do so because they believe that the person in question cannot comprehend the Gospel. I submit that these people are merely looking at outward appearance when they make that claim. However, 1 Samuel 16:7 tells us,
"But the Lord said to Samuel, 'Do not look on his appearance or the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart"
What does God see when He looks at the human heart exactly? Jeremiah 17:9 tells us that the human heart is "deceitfully wicked above all things". This means that even the severely mentally handicapped person is wicked in his heart. The human mind can comprehend much more than we give it credit even when the human body is weak and failing. The evidence of this is coma patients. When someone is in a coma they are still able to hear and comprehend everything that is said and going on around them. This is why doctors encourage family members to speak to their loved ones who are comatose. My question to you is this: If a coma patient can comprehend what is going on around them, then what makes you think that a severely mentally handicapped individual, who is not comatose, cannot comprehend things? We must avoid the fallacy of judging these people based off of physical appearance and understand that the Lord can and does work within their minds. So, even when these people appear to not comprehend much, their mind is still very active. You may be wondering now, what is the biblical solution for reaching someone who is severely mentally handicapped with the Gospel and that leads me to my final point.
"So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ" -Romans 10:17
The biblical solution for reaching someone who is severely mentally handicapped with the Gospel is surprisingly the same method God uses to reach anyone else: preaching! This may seem like a trite statement to make but as we have seen God shows no partiality. This means that His way of reaching one person is going to be the same way He reaches another person regardless of their infirmities. However, for certain types of people (specifically, those who are severely mentally handicapped) you may have to get very creative with how you preach the Gospel to them. Sometimes you may have to pick up special training to learn how to effectively communicate with the mentally handicapped loved one. Regardless of whatever form the preaching takes, the word of God tells us that faith comes by hearing the preached word of God. You can take great encouragement with this because you understand that there is hope in Christ for your mentally handicapped loved one to be saved. You can also be encouraged by the fact that your loved one is not a vegetable like proponents of the "special grace" view seem to think they are.
I hope that this blog has cleared up this issue for your once and for all. I understand that the view I am proposing is not a popular view and it does not feel right but as Christians, we should stand on the authority of God's word above how we may feel about it. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog and may the grace of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ richly bless you all!
-David Lee Chu Sarchet
Christian Mental Health Advocate
Check out the Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website
Check out the other Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website
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