I was chatting to some Christian mates the other day, and they thought that if you commit suicide, then you would go to hell. I had a feeling that this is just what Catholics said, but I was interested to know what you guys thought?
P.S. sorry about the depressing subject, but it would be cool if I could clear it up in my head!
No doubt that God does not intend for us to take our own lives, and therefore I believe that suicide is a sin.
Does a believer go to hell if they commit suicide? Not if they are truly saved. We all are sinners, and none of us is perfect. We all sin. If I commit a sin this afternoon, would you come to me and tell me I am no longer saved because I sinned? No. This would mean we lose our salvation everytime we commit a sin. Why would we think that a believer who commits suicide would lose their salvation?
Also, we must consider that someone who is in a desperate enough of a situation where they commit suicide probably does not have a relationship with the Lord anyway. To be in a relationship with the Lord means that we trust Him, and we understand that He loves us. No matter how bad the situation gets, we know He is always with us and will never forsake. I think someone who commits suicide has never fully accepted God's grace and mercy, and therefore I would tend to think that the person was not saved to begin with.
Saying a quick 30 second prayer does not make a saved.
Just my humble opinion.
Krispy
but i was interested to know
Pardon me if i sound a bit tired, i had a long night. I've been away for a while and it's good to be back.
If i may and you don't mind, in my opionion yes you would go to hell, why because your life is not your own. There are some scripture in the bible that says:
1) When you were in your mothers womb he knew you
2) He knows the number of hairs on your head
3) God knows you by name
Again, padon my tireness at the moment. It sounds to me like there was and is a plan for this christian's life and by committing suicide you would go to hell.
So if we commit certain sins we can lose our salvation? God's grace isnt big enough?
Ultimately I dont think anyone can really answer this... just offer up opinions. I say we leave the judgement to God.
Krispy
Krispy Kritter,
The question was committing suicide, not committing certain sins. Not all sins lead to death, however there is a sin that leads to death, and if it wasn't for the resurrection of Jesus Christ and his power, we would be dead.
I still maintain that suicide is NOT the unforgivable sin that scripture referred to. The unforgivable sin is rejecting Jesus Christ. Once we are saved our sins are covered by the blood.
You believe if one commits suicide that lose their salvation. I maintain [b]#1[b]#2
Therefore, no sin can cause us to lose our salvation. Someone who is suicidal is not walking with God (I will exempt those with mental illness, bi-polar, etc...). God has promised us peace. Not inner turmoil. If we experience inner turmoil to the point of taking our own lives, then we can not possibly be leaning on God and trusting in Him with our whole heart.
Krispy
Krispy
I had a cousin who committed suicide last year. I spent a lot of time in prayer as he lay in a coma and pleaded for mercy. In my spirit I had no peace concerning his soul but I do know that God is just.
The scripture that is troubling regarding someone who commits suicide is Revelations 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and [b]murderers
I believe suicide is murder. I'm reminded of what Paris Reidhead said in the Revival Hymn "Will not the judge of the earth do right?" Yes, I believe He will.
I was at the prayer group and someone jumped of a bridge right infront of the train and my friend was in the train.
I have been at points when I feel like that?
In the book by John Bunyan Visions of Heaven and Hell. The start of the book starts with the character wanting to commit suicide and he says do not deface the image of god!! Which is an interesting way to look at it!!
Hello folks! This is a sensitve subject. That aside, the Bible states time after time that your body is the "Temple of the Holy Ghost." I think a great scripture illustrating suicide is this:1 Corinthians 3:17: "If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are." I myself believe that this explains the subject.
logan-trky,
Totally agree with your post regarding 1Cor3-17. Young's Literal translation says "if anyone the sanctuary of God doth waste, him shall God waste, for the sanctuary of God is holy, the which you are." I think like Krispy said no one can answer this, no one but God that is and I think that this verse is very clear. I have been the first responder(policeman) to a suicide and I can tell you from experience the atmosphere in that room was the most oppressive I have ever encountered.
Regarding the loss of ones salvation, no one ever asks if a person can FORFEIT God's salvation.
Wyatt
Has anyone ever seen the movie, Luthor? There is a bit in there that I find rather interesting.
"Some say that according to God's justice, this boy is damned because he took his life. I say he was overcome by the devil! Is this child any more to blame for the despair that overtook him than an innocent man who is murdered by a robber in the woods?"
Wyatt, please don't mistake spiritual opression with wrongdoing or damnation...
In the physical being, there are a great many things that can have direct bearing on a great many other things - not the least of which is improper diet affects mentality/mood. I think I have to be so bold as to suggest that spiritual activity can have similar bearing in less prominant and just as easily overlooked ways. Nobody looks at the corpse of a young man and asks, "I wonder if he's been eating right?"
For the context of 1 Cor 3... it seems to be a proactive thing, no? If I'm not mistaking myself, its more along the lines of proper judgement, something that we are not entitled to. As such, I think I also have to agree with Krispy's statement. No man may know. Have a good guess, but in all honesty, that's all it is.
As such, according to that same passage in Corinthians, does that mean King David is damned? I mean, if we take it literally, David actively sent a God-fearing man to his death, sending the order with him. As such, he destroyed that same canister that we posess. I don't think something like the civil war can be rectified by this verse, either. No, if murder can be forgiven, and mercy is a soverign right of our God, then He shall be the judge of this, and no man.
When I was 17 I was distraught and attempted to take my own life. I was not a Christian then but as I raised the tablets to my mouth an amazing peaceful presence filled the bathroom.
I then heard the audible voice of God speak to me, which was like thunder.
The love which I experienced in that voice was so deep that I could never have imagined it at all. He was commanding me not to take my own life.
I also felt that I had angered Him.
He revealed to me that the reason for my depression was because I was sinful. I was completely devastated by this as I had previously blamed others for my terrible life.....
From what I can understand we are going to be judged in righteousness by the man that God has ordained. That man Jesus Christ while he was on the earth said that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and pharisees you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.
This is why we are supposed to live a life of repentance until the day we die. And truly turning away from our sins will also remove depression from our lives. (I have experienced this also.)
This really is a sensitive matter and I have been thinking about it for qiute some time yet.
The brother of our church´s secretary (she says he was saved) hung himself. Our Pastor said that Jesus died for our sins past, present and future. So in his words he believes that this guy still went to heaven. But I´m thinking: what about 1. John 1:9:
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness".
We all know we have to confess our sins to be forgiven of them. But can we confess something before we do it, then commit suicide and still go to heaven??
I don´t know. I really don´t know what´s right or wrong here.
A confused
Bea
1 Peter 3v15 tells us ...always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.
Exodus 20v13 says you shall not murder.
How is it that Christians treat suicide, which is murder, as a grey area? It isn't.
If taking someone else's life is murder, as is abortion, assisted suicide etc, then how is suicide not punishable with an eternity in hell?
Genesis 9v5 says, 'Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning...
Verse 6 says, 'Whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed. For in the image of God He made man.
What kind of idea do we give people when we tell them we don't know if God will punish for all eternity someone who commits suicide?
We are telling them it's okay, or it doesn't matter. That's wrong.
God covers all areas in His word.
We might not always be able to see it, but it is there.
Let us accept what the word of God says, and not pander to our own 'opinions', as if they matter.
God bless.
enid,
It is not a grey area. It is wrong. Plain and simple.
But we see a different side of God. That is called mercy. It is his right. If any man shall sin, then his pennance is death. So be it. Yet, Paul tells us that "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." So be it. Are you incapacitated from God? Are you, yourself not capable of reaching heavan? Is breaking any of those standing 10 commandments a sin that is not overcomable? Have you ever talked back to your parents?
Here in Isaiah, we see (again) the idea of a more permanent divine forgiveness.
Isa 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
Another relationary statement:
2Co 5:20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.
2Co 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
As such, which of us is fit to say which sin shall be deemed unforgivable by God? And where in God's book are we given that right over man? In Leviticus it talks of judging actions and putting men out (killing them) for false teachings, and we are warned of it in quite a few places. But I don't see one place where I am given the task of judging another's soul, speculatively or literally.
Moses was a murderer.(Ex 2:12)
David was a murderer and adulterer.
Jacob had quite a few wives. Several of his sons (whom gave their names to the tribes of Israel) were murderers.
Saul (Paul) was a murderer.
What of the men that stoned Stephen? (Acts 6:5-7:60)
What of these men? Is there no grace for them? Is it our right to say such things? Are they condemned? If a man who takes a life unjustly, his or anothers, cannot enter the gates of heaven, then a man who stood on the mount with Christ (Mat. 17) should not have been there.
It is not man's place to judge. That was the topic of this thread, and the answer is a plain one, supported by more than one place in scripture and suggested in a great many more. We are not here based on the rightness and wrongness of the situation, but an uncertain outcome. That outcome is not known to us, and is specifically reserved for Christ.
Good Afternoon Brothers,
Let's call him Mr. Suicide.
Krispy....what would you say to a person who says with his mouth..."I am a Christian BUT, I in no way ever intend from this day forward to ever say anything, or do anything ABOUT GOD OR FOR GOD."
I would tell this person...my dear friend, you are then deceiving yourself that you are a Christian. Because a Christian is one who as a result of his gratefulness for being redeemed with God, the pure form of fruit of this grateful heart is that he devotes his life as a slave to Christ, not as a slave to himself.
I would just like to say that assuming Mr. Suicide was born again....by the Word of God it is no longer Mr. Suicide who lives but Christ in him, the old things have past away, the old nature. The blood coursing through Mr. Suicides veins has been drained out and blotted out and nailed to the cross. The new blood that is being transfused into Mr. Suicide is the Blood of Christ, this is what makes Mr. Suicide right before the eyes of God.
Mr. Suicides' past, present, and future sins have all been drained away and no longer exists, its a finished work by the Blood of Christ.
Now, saying all this.....if this person is living and walking on this earth with the Blood of Christ and has suffered the death, burial and resurrection along with Christ...the feeling to end ones OWN life is a fruit of a life that is obsessed with ITSELF.
SUICIDE IS THE MOST SELFISH ACT ONE CAN MAKE.
It isn't the unforgivable sin...but once its done there is no repentance, confession, or remorse for the view of the act of suicide through the eyes of God. It's too late.
I'm just saying that I believe that someone who is really dead to self and born again by the life giving blood of Christ would never commit suicide because it would be impossible for a man that has offered himself as a LIVING SACRIFICE to be so selfish to end his life and IN NO SMALL WAY tell God, "I do not give you permission to use my existence for the purpose of spreading the Gospel message for the sake of Christ's sacrifice!! The Cross just doesn't mean that much to me!!"
God Bless,
Desi, Jr.
One thing I think we all should consider is that when we accept Christ, He comes into our hearts. Christ is referred to as the "Prince of Peace" So, I would think that a Christian should be at peace in our lives and daily walk with the Lord. If you take your life, I would definately think you are not at peace. I personally think that suicide is a type of demonic oppression for Christians and quite possibly demonic possesion for non-christians. What many Christians just don't understand is that Jesus has already paid for all of our sins and bondages at the Cross. My personal opinion about this matter is that if you kill yourself, even as a Christian, you will go to Hell. I don't mean that statement to be offensive at all. However, only Almighty God is the judge of our souls. I believe that the 1 Corinthians verse I quoted earlier explains it thoroughly. I believe that it is supposed to be taken literally. YOUR BODY IS THE TEMPLE OF THE HOLY GHOST!
I am always weary of the argument, "A true Christian could never possibly do sin X Y Z...."
Have you here, who are born again, not committed some horendous sins even after your conversion? Are not all sins so despicable and hated in God's sight? What sin then is little, or of less significance in God's eyes?
As a Christian, I have screwed up big time. I have experienced serious opression that I myself have walked into. I don't underestimate the evilness that can exist in the remaining unregenerate areas of a believer's heart, nor do I believe that God's hand is too short to forgive the worst of these manifestations.
I don't know if anyone has noticed, but you can't repent of suicide. And if it needs to be repented of, then it is sinful, wrong, and damnation in hell awaits you.
I really don't care about other peoples 'opinions'. There are worthless.
I do care very much what the word of God says. It is by His word we are judged.
If you want to be self deceived and ignore what scripture says, that's your problem.
The bible is there for all to read and interpret their own way. Which is why so many false religions and cults exist.
That's my two bits.
God bless.
If a man need repent to be saved, then is it by a work of man that salvation is acquired? Does the bible support this? Or is repentance a command?
AND WHERE IN THE BIBLE DOES IT GIVE US THIS RIGHT TO JUDGE?!?
If you can answer me that, then I'll back down.
This discussion is locked.
