Suicide, Sin, and Eternity

Suicide, Sin, and Eternity

Few subjects require more compassion, wisdom, and biblical clarity than suicide. For families who have experienced such a loss, the pain can be almost indescribable. There are questions that may never be completely answered in this life. There can be grief, confusion, anger, guilt, and an endless wondering about what might have been done differently.

Because of that pain, this subject should never be approached coldly or carelessly. We should never use Scripture as a weapon against a grieving family. We should never pretend to know everything that was happening in another person’s mind. And we should never assume the position that belongs to God alone.

At the same time, compassion cannot require us to change what Scripture teaches.

There is a difference between being compassionate and giving assurance that the Bible itself does not give.

I believe we must hold two truths simultaneously: God alone is the final Judge of every human soul, and suicide is nevertheless a serious sin against God for which Scripture gives us no assurance of salvation.

Life Belongs to God

The biblical discussion must begin with the value and ownership of human life.

Genesis 1:27 tells us that mankind was created in the image of God. Human life therefore possesses a sacredness that does not come merely from our desires, accomplishments, happiness, health, or circumstances. Human life is sacred because God created it.

Job understood something important when he said:

“The LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”
Job 1:21 KJV

Life is something God gives.

Ultimately, life is also something God has the authority to take.

This means that my life does not belong exclusively to me.

Paul wrote:

“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you…and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.”
1 Corinthians 6:19–20 KJV

Those words are important.

Ye are not your own.

The world often speaks of life as though personal autonomy is absolute: “It is my body. It is my life. Therefore I can decide what happens to it.”

Scripture presents something very different.

My body belongs to God. My life belongs to God. My days belong to God.

Therefore, I do not believe a person possesses the biblical authority to intentionally end his or her own life.

Suicide Is the Taking of a Human Life

The sixth commandment says:

“Thou shalt not kill.”
Exodus 20:13 KJV

The commandment prohibits murder, the unlawful and intentional taking of human life.

We readily understand why deliberately taking another person’s innocent life is sinful. But changing the identity of the victim does not suddenly make human life less sacred.

If it is wrong for me intentionally to destroy another innocent human life, I cannot reasonably conclude that it becomes morally acceptable simply because the life I destroy is my own.

Suicide is self murder.

The victim and the perpetrator are the same individual, but a human life created in God’s image has nevertheless been intentionally destroyed.

This is one reason Christians must be extremely careful about language that unintentionally romanticizes suicide.

Suicide is not God’s prescribed escape from suffering.

It is not God’s answer to depression.

It is not God’s answer to shame.

It is not God’s answer to failure.

It is not God’s answer to loneliness.

It is not God’s answer when someone believes his or her circumstances cannot possibly improve.

God’s answer is always to keep turning toward Him.

Sin Cannot Be Treated Lightly

Scripture speaks plainly concerning sin.

“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Romans 6:23 KJV

And James describes the progression:

“Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.”
James 1:15 KJV

The gospel certainly offers forgiveness. None of us are saved because we have lived perfectly.

But the biblical response to sin is repentance.

Jesus said:

“Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”
Luke 13:3 KJV

Peter preached:

“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out.”
Acts 3:19 KJV

John wrote to believers:

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
1 John 1:9 KJV

The wonderful message of Scripture is not that sin does not matter.

The message is that there is forgiveness when we turn to God.

That distinction matters greatly when discussing suicide.

The Unique Finality of Suicide

There is something about suicide that distinguishes it from most other sinful actions.

If I become angry and sin, I can repent.

If I tell a lie, conviction can grip my heart afterward and I can repent.

If I mistreat someone, I can recognize my wrongdoing and seek God’s forgiveness.

If I fall morally, I can turn back toward God.

This does not make those sins insignificant. It simply means that while life remains, there remains an opportunity to respond to conviction.

But suicide contains a terrifying finality.

The act itself intentionally ends the person’s earthly life.

If the taking of one’s own life is sin, then successfully completing that act removes the opportunity to afterward say, “God, forgive me for what I have just done.”

That is why I cannot tell someone, “You can take your own life and still know that everything will be all right between you and God.”

I do not find biblical authority to give anyone that assurance.

Quite the opposite.

Hebrews 9:27 says:

“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.”

Death is not followed by another earthly opportunity to repent. Death is followed by judgment.

That makes suicide spiritually dangerous in a way that should never be minimized.

Judas and Peter Show Us Two Different Responses to Failure

Perhaps one of Scripture’s most sobering contrasts is found in Judas and Peter.

Both men failed Jesus terribly.

Judas betrayed Him.

Peter denied Him.

Both experienced profound sorrow afterward.

But their responses were dramatically different.

Matthew tells us concerning Judas:

“And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.”
Matthew 27:5 KJV

Judas allowed despair to drive him toward self destruction.

Peter also experienced crushing failure. He denied Jesus three times, exactly as Jesus had warned him that he would.

Luke tells us:

“And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.”
Luke 22:62 KJV

But Peter did something Judas did not do.

Peter kept living.

And because Peter kept living, there was another chapter.

There was a resurrection morning.

There was a conversation beside the Sea of Galilee.

There was restoration.

There was Pentecost.

There was Acts 2.

There was a lifetime of ministry that Peter could not possibly have imagined during the darkest night of his failure.

What if Peter had decided that his worst night would be his final night?

He would never have discovered what Jesus could do with his tomorrow.

That is one of the great dangers of suicide: it makes a permanent decision while standing inside a temporary moment.

You do not know what God can do tomorrow.

Enduring to the End Matters

Christianity is not simply about beginning a journey with God. Scripture repeatedly emphasizes continuing faithfully.

Jesus said:

“But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”
Matthew 24:13 KJV

Paul could say near the conclusion of his life:

“I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.”
2 Timothy 4:7 KJV

Notice his language.

I fought.

I finished.

I kept the faith.

There were undoubtedly moments when Paul was exhausted. He experienced rejection, beatings, imprisonment, betrayal, physical suffering, and tremendous emotional pressure.

Yet he continued.

That is the biblical pattern.

When life becomes unbearable, we do not surrender our lives. We surrender our pain to God.

When darkness overwhelms us, we do not determine that our story is finished. We trust the One who already sees the next chapter.

What About Mental Illness and Extreme Distress?

This is where compassion and humility become especially important.

People sometimes ask, “But what if the person was severely depressed? What if they were experiencing mental illness? What if they were not thinking rationally?”

Those are legitimate questions.

Human beings cannot perfectly measure another person’s mental capacity, understanding, intent, or responsibility.

God can.

Genesis 18:25 asks:

“Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”

Yes. He will.

God knows what we do not know.

He knows the mind.

He knows the heart.

He knows a person’s understanding.

He knows every circumstance surrounding the final moments of someone’s life.

Therefore, I will never presume to sit upon God’s throne and announce the eternal destination of a particular person who has died by suicide.

That judgment belongs to God.

But acknowledging God’s perfect knowledge does not require me to weaken what Scripture teaches about sin.

There is a significant difference between saying:

“I cannot know everything God knows about this individual.”

and saying:

“Therefore suicide should not be considered sin.”

Those are not the same statement.

I can leave an individual in the hands of a perfectly just and merciful God while still warning the living that suicide is a sin and that deliberately ending one’s own life is an extraordinarily dangerous spiritual decision.

We Must Not Create a Doctrine That Makes Suicide Safe

This is perhaps my greatest concern.

Imagine someone sitting alone in unbearable emotional pain. That individual believes in God but is considering ending his or her life.

What should the Church tell that person?

Certainly not:

“Don’t worry. If you are already saved, suicide cannot affect your eternity.”

I cannot imagine a more dangerous assurance to give someone standing at the edge of that decision.

The message of Scripture is:

Stay.

Stay another hour.

Stay another day.

Call someone.

Tell someone what you are thinking.

Get around people who love you.

Pray even if you cannot find beautiful words.

Let somebody pray for you when you cannot pray for yourself.

Get appropriate professional help.

Do not make an eternal decision because of today’s pain.

There is still hope while there is life.

Ecclesiastes 9:4 says:

“For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope.”

As long as there is breath, there is hope.

As long as there is life, there can be repentance.

There can be restoration.

There can be healing.

There can be another morning.

Grace Is Not Permission to Sin

Sometimes the objection is made that because salvation is by God’s grace, suicide cannot jeopardize a person’s relationship with God.

But Paul anticipated the broader argument:

“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid.”
Romans 6:1–2 KJV

Grace is not God’s permission for us deliberately to commit sin.

Grace teaches us to reject sin.

Titus 2:11–12 says that the grace of God teaches us that, “denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly.”

Biblical grace never says, “Commit the sin because grace will cover what you are about to do.”

Biblical grace says, “You do not have to surrender to sin. God will help you live.”

This is especially important when suicide is being contemplated.

We should never turn the grace of God into theological permission for someone to intentionally end his or her life.

A Word to Those Who Have Lost Someone

None of this should be used cruelly against someone who has buried a loved one after suicide.

Grief is not the moment for theological arrogance.

If someone asks me where their loved one is eternally, I am not God.

I did not see that person’s final moments.

I cannot see inside the human mind.

I cannot know everything God knew.

So I place that individual into the hands of the Judge of all the earth, knowing that He will always do what is right.

But when speaking to the living, my responsibility is different.

To the living I must say:

Do not take your life.

Your life belongs to God.

Your present suffering is not proof that your future is hopeless.

You cannot see tomorrow from where you are standing today.

You cannot know what God may restore.

You cannot know who God may send.

You cannot know what prayer may be answered.

You cannot know what ministry may still come from your pain.

You cannot know what your life may look like one year from now.

So do not end the story while God is still writing it.

The Safest Biblical Position

I believe the safest and most faithful biblical position is therefore neither cruel nor ambiguous.

Suicide is sin.

It intentionally destroys a human life created in the image of God.

Our lives belong to God and are not ours to intentionally terminate.

Scripture commands repentance from sin.

Successful suicide, by its very nature, brings earthly life to an end and therefore provides no subsequent opportunity for the individual to repent of the act.

For that reason, I cannot biblically assure anyone that they can deliberately take their own life and remain secure in salvation. I believe Scripture gives us every reason to warn that the eternal consequences of such an act are grave.

At the same time, I will not declare myself the judge of a particular deceased person’s soul.

God knows things I do not know.

God understands things I cannot understand.

God judges perfectly.

That individual must be left in His hands.

There is nothing contradictory about those two positions.

We can preach the seriousness of suicide to the living while extending compassion to the grieving.

We can warn without condemning individuals whose final judgment belongs to God.

We can believe strongly in repentance without pretending that we possess God’s complete knowledge.

And above all, we can tell anyone walking through a dark season:

Keep living.

Your worst day does not have to become your last day.

Peter’s failure was not the end of Peter’s story.

Elijah’s despair was not the end of Elijah’s story.

Job’s suffering was not the end of Job’s story.

Your darkness does not have to be the end of yours.

Give God another day.

Give prayer another chance.

Let somebody walk beside you.

Let the Church carry you when you cannot carry yourself.

Let God write the chapter you cannot yet see.

Because as long as God has given you breath, there is still hope.

And your life is far too sacred to place the final period where God may only have written a comma.