Can a Christian commit suicide and still go to heaven?
This is the follow up article to the nurse who committed suicide. (read more)
As it turns out, she was a devout roman catholic, at least, that's what was said about her.
Now, if she is a roman catholic, then her way into heaven is different from those who actually
follow what the bible says.
This question also came up when Whitney Houston committed suicide. After all, many said she was a believer.
And so there was confusion as to where she ended up, heaven or hell.
What Does the Bible Say About Suicide?
Very little actually. So little that I can't even think of any scripture that talks about it.
When we have a situation where the bible doesn't specifically deals with an issue, we need to think through all the various aspects that the issue relates to, and what the bible says about those.
Then we need to make a decision based on what we understand.
---
I would say that a majority of believers would actually say that a Christian that commits suicide will not go to heaven.
A lot of times this is based on two things that the bible says.
1. Thou Shalt Not Murder (unlawful taking of a life... including your own)
2. There is no repentance in the grave
There reasoning continues stating that basically when you commit suicide, you're taking the life that God gave you and throwing back in His face.
It's basically the ultimate rejection of God in their eyes.
---
Now, I don't agree with that train of thought.
My immediate reaction to someone who claims to be a Christian and yet commits suicide, is to question their faith.
In my eyes, committing suicide (barring mental health issues), seems to indicate that you're not a Christian - its not a case of you losing your salvation, but rather the evidence of you not having salvation to begin with.
But that doesn't answer the question of whether a Christian can commit suicide and still have entrance into heaven.
So let's have a look into this from a biblical perspective.
---
Starting from the initial thought process of suicide being the "ultimate rejection of God", the bible declares that this is false.
The ultimate rejection of God is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 12:22-32
Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?
But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, 'This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils'.
And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, 'Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast [them] out? therefore they shall be your judges.
But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.
He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.
Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.'
Jesus tells us in no uncertain terms that there is one sin that is unforgiveable, and that is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. That, and that alone, is the ultimate rejection of God.
So, if suicide is a sin, and it does look like it is (Thou Shalt Not Murder), it can still be forgiven.
But how is this possible? Doesn't the bible say that there is no repentance in the grave?
Well no, the bible doesn't actually say that.
What the bible does do is imply, very strongly I might add, that there is no repentance in the grave.
For one, we have the true story of Lazarus and the rich man. Furthermore, we have Jesus' many sayings about repenting now, because when we do there is judgement.
No indication is given that those who go to hell will actually exit and go to heaven.
And here's the issue, even if there was repentance in the grave, God wouldn't accept it because it's not repentance based on a desire to love Him, but a repentance based on a desire to escape hell.
After all, one can be sorrowful of the punishment for the wrong they did, but not actually be sorrowful for the wrong itself.
But I digress. This isn't about the nature of repentance. We can do that some other time.
---
Now that we know that blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is the only unforgiveable sin, and no repentance is accepted in the grave, we should have a look at what suicide is.
When someone attempts suicide (whether or not they are successful), they are in a very dark frame of mind.
The entire reasoning behind the suicide is that there is ultimately no hope.
There may even by a belief that things might get a little better, but ultimately, it's just a precursor to things getting even worse or even things not getting better to a point they feel they can be bothered to live/endure through.
A Christian, by definition, is someone who is never hopeless. We are the only ones in the world who have an actual hope. It's not even a hope that the current situation will get better, but that we have a God that truly cares and loves us - so much so that He gave His life for us.
This is why I would question the person's faith. How do we know that the person is actually saved? The answer is that we do not know. And the bible is clear that many people will think they have salvation and do not.
Matthew 7:21-23
'Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.'
We are promised that God won't allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear. We have a high priest whom we can cast all our cares upon and not feel condemned in our weaknesses and inabilities. But all of that is based solely on having salvation. Anything short of I solely trust the life, death & resurrection of Jesus (i.e. his redemptive work, including convicting us of sin, enabling us to repent, and follow him et al) means that the person is not Christian - and the suicide shows that the person obviously did not solely trust Jesus for their salvation.
---
Saying that though, having salvation means that our sins... all of our sins... have been forgiven. Even though repentance is apart of the process, God forgives us for things we do not repent for as well as things we have repented for. We do not, and I would say can not, possibly repent for every single sin we have committed in our lives.
For one, we can't remember everything we've done. Secondly, a lot of things we do not consider sin, is actually sin. As a matter of fact, once we are not perfect, we are sinning. And although we can be honest before God and make a blanket plea for forgiveness for sin we've committed knowingly and unknowingly, the fact of the matter is... for there to be true repentance there needs to be an admonition of guilt first. I have done wrong. you have to acknowledge that you're sinning before you can repent of it.
Every day we fall short. Every day we sin because we can't attain perfection. This is why we Jesus' blood cleanses to the utmost. Everyday God is forgiving us for sin we don't even know we commit because God knows we aren't perfect.
Salvation isn't gained through repenting of every single sin we've ever committed. If that was the case, we would still be at the exact place that we begged God to forgive us initially. We would still be on our faces up to this day.
Also... let's not forget that it's not about how the person died. Whether suicide, laying their life down to save someone, or passing quietly in their sleep, the issue is who does their soul belong to.
We know that the fruit of the Holy Spirit is not suicide, never-the-less, if indeed a Christian, which by definition is someone who is indwelt by the Holy Spirit, does go temporarily insane and forgets who their master is... committing suicide... according to the bible, they are saved and will be in heaven.
After all, their sin of committing suicide is not worse than the Christian who is fornicating, lying, committing adultery, teaching bad theology, misrepresenting God, etc. And yet those people will also God to heaven.
Eternal life is a gift of God. Those who have salvation shall never perish. So, it is reasonable to state that a Christian, filled with the Holy Spirit, can go against the will of God and through self-deceit (the flesh) or due to an attack from Satan and his angels, decide to/attempt to/succeed in committing suicide, and still have a seat prepared for them at the great wedding feast.
However, I think it would be better for us to first take a careful look at the fruit in the life of a person who was successful in committing suicide to see if we can actually say they were saved or not before we start putting every drug user into the category of salvation because they said they "believed in Jesus" one time in their life.
No comments:
Post a Comment