A Few Things On My Mind

Here's a link to things that I have been learning and thinking about lately. This is in the place of about 5 blog posts. Sorry, school really hurts the blog time I have.

Suicide Medicine: The Gospel

In reading and talking to different pastors I’ve learned one of the most asked questions about suicide is whether those who commit suicide go to hell. Is suicide really an unforgivable sin? Let’s go where we go for all answers pertaining to life; God’s word, the Bible. There are seven recorded suicides in the Bible: Abimelech (Judges 9:52-54), Samson (Judges 16:25-30), Saul (1 Samuel 31:5), Saul’s armor-bearer (same), Ahithophel (2 Sam 17:23), Zimri (1 Kings 16:15-20), and Judas (Matthew 27:3-5). Notably, all but one of these are considered villains. Samson would be the only exception, as he killed himself along with 1,000 Philistines. Still, Samson’s life was hardly what you would call an example of godliness. If we consider suicide as murder of self, which most protestants do, we can see this is clearly forbade throughout scripture; most notably in the sixth of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:13). Besides this John Piper gives two other reasons suicide is a sin. First, “it is presumption upon God’s sovereign prerogatives to give and take life” (Piper “Funeral Meditation for A Christian who committed Suicide (1988)”); in other words, to assume that taking your own life is your decision, you are taking upon yourself authority that only belongs to God. The other reason Piper gives is that suicide is a failure to trust God and rely on him to provide for you in such an emotional time. All things that do not come from faith are sin (Romans 14:23). The first thing we can say with confidence about suicide is that it is a sin.
While suicide is a sin, we must not assume that Christians do not struggle with this sin. There are plenty of example in the Bible of godly men who find themselves begging for death. The pressures of leading God’s stubborn, chosen people finally got to Moses in Numbers 11:14-15 when he says: “I am not able to carry all this people alone; the burden is too heavy for me. If you will treat me like this, kill me at once, if I find favor in your sight, that I may not see my wretchedness”. Elijah experiences much the same thing after fleeing Queen Jezebel’s persecution in 1 Kings 19:4: “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am no better than my fathers”. Still another of God’s prophets in Jonah had a similar feeling in Jonah 4:8: “When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. And he asked that he might die and said, ‘It is better for me to die than to live’”. So it is not an odd thing for God’s people to struggle with depression and even wish to die.
The temptation of suicide, then, is not immune from Christians; and we have already explored that the end of this temptation is sin. What then shall we say to the loved ones of one who has committed suicide? We give them the gospel. Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection is sufficient for all sins, including suicide. “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and are justified by his grace, as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:23-24). All of a believer's sins, whether past, present, or future, are forgiven by what Christ did on the cross: “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross” (Colossians 2:14-15). Romans 8:35-39 says that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord; that includes suicide. If a true believer in Christ commits suicide, while this is a grievous sin, he will be forgiven and welcomed into heaven.

These areticles by
John Piper and John MacArthur were very helpful to me in this study. I encourage you to read them.