Posted on 12/24/2018 8:22:14 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Responding to the question of whether or not Christians who commit suicide go to Heaven, ethicist Russell Moore said that because the blood of Christ covers sins past, present and future, the “last thing we do” does not determine where we will spend eternity.
Moore, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, said he’s often asked the question by worried individuals whose loved one committed suicide.
“They worry,” he said. “Does this mean because this person essentially the last act on earth was a sin, does this mean that that person is in Hell? And the answer to that is no.”
“This person is in Christ. That means that the blood of Christ covers that person's sins, past, present and future. And so we're not saved on the basis of the last thing that we do being something that is acceptable to God. We're saved by the grace and mercy of God.”
But sometimes, Moore said he’s hesitant to weigh in on whether or not Christians who commit suicide go to Heaven because he fears some will view it as permission to commit suicide.
“It’s not OK,” he underscored. “A suicide is murder. Suicide is the attacking of the image of God. And suicide is horrible. It’s not only a sin but a sin that leaves wreckage and devastation all over the place.”
“And so if you're someone who's asking that because you're contemplating suicide, I would just plead with you to talk to people in your life and get help because life is worth living."
Many individuals who commit suicide are in a place of “deep, deep anguish and distress of various sorts” or suffering from mental illness, Moore pointed out, adding we “ought to view them with compassion.”
“The response that we ought to have when someone we love commits suicide is not to blame people, not to blame that person, not to be angry at that person,” he concluded. “Nor is it to wonder, ‘Does this mean that this person is outside of the reach of God's grace?’ God's grace covers a multitude of sins, including those that are so hurtful that we hesitate to even talk to them.”
Amid a dramatic increase in suicide over the last two decades, a number of faith leaders have weighed in on whether or not those who commit suicide are condemned to Hell.
Recently, a Michigan priest came under fire for suggesting at the funeral of an 18-year-old college student that he might not go to Heaven because he took his own life.
"It was his time to tell everybody what he thought of suicide, [and] we couldn't believe what he was saying," the teen's father, Jeff Hullibarger, told the Detroit Free Press. “He was up there condemning our son, pretty much calling him a sinner. He wondered if he had repented enough to make it to Heaven. He said 'suicide' upwards of six times.”
Apologist and New Testament scholar Dr. Jeremiah Johnston has argued that suicide is not the unforgivable sin.
"The only sin that God cannot forgive is the sin of rejecting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior," he told CP earlier. "Do people who commit suicide go to Hell? Some people teach that suicide is the 'unforgivable sin.' God forgives that sin. Is it a sin? Absolutely. But the salvation we receive from Jesus Christ is eternal, regardless of our mental state or our spiritual maturity or immaturity. Otherwise, the Gospel is void. Do you know how many Christians die unexpectedly with unconfessed sin in their life?"
Kayla Stoecklein, widow of late Inland Hills Church Lead Pastor Andrew Stoecklein, who died after attempting suicide at his California church in August, also debunked the commonly held view and wrote on a blog, "This is a common misbelief about suicide and it breaks my heart ... I believe with 100% of my soul that Andrew is in heaven. Andrew had a real, raw, authentic, and infectious relationship with Jesus. Thousands of people will be in heaven because of him."
Saddleback Church co-founder and best-selling author Kay Warren whose son, Matthew, died by suicide at age 27 in 2013, has also emphasized that suicide doesn't condemn a Christian to Hell.
"God's promised us that Matthew's salvation was safe and secure. Matthew gave his life to Jesus when he was a little boy. And so, I'm absolutely 100 percent confident based on the work of Jesus that Matthew is in Heaven," she told The Christian Post in an earlier interview.
That's a supposition. There's no way of knowing if suicide will end the emotional pain of this life or not.
That said, I have suffered from depression at several points in my life. The pain can be profound.
Life is a gift from God. Don’t murder yourself.
Seems a lot of ‘suicides’ come back as ghosts, for that alone I think it would be a good idea not to commit suicide.
Of course I recognize people are not in their right mind when they do, but they still come back as ghosts, and not happy ones.
I believe an agreement was struck between Light and Darkness to allow humans free Will. This means they can disconnect from their soul by choice. If your ego disconnects from your soul, then no part of you is left to be recycled through the Karmic process on Earth. You become grist from the mill, a point of consciousness with chance to further evolve in this field of perception called Earth. Hell? You will have the aeons to decide.
I’ve been forced to attend Protestant churches after leaving the Catholic church two years ago. But this is an issue that certain Protestant groups get really weak in the knees over. Taking one’s own life out of mental or physical duress leaves no room for repentance after the act. Even the Theif-on-the-Cross had to repent and show true faith in Christ as a final act just before he died. Now, one doesn’t even have to do that.
I have a co-worker who’s told me he wants to die overdosing on an 8 ball of cocaine whilst having sex with a group Thai-hookers. Apparently, he could do that - parhaps not in good conscience - but he could still do that, not repent, and get to skip through the Pearly Gates in the Hereafter....lovely. /s
No, it falls into the murder category. You can murder and still get to Heaven.
In the Middle Ages no less than the Pope himself ruled that jumping from a burning tower did not condemn one to Hell.
I married into a family that, it turns out, has a lot of mental illness and depression running through it. I've gotten to know just how deeply their dark spells change them. My empathy for people who suffer through that, people like yourself, is very high. I sincerely hope that you're doing well now. When you feel those dark thoughts, I pray you'll find a way through to the other side without doing anything to harm yourself. People do care.
........”Are Christians who commit suicide condemned to Hell?”......
No. ... no where in God’s Word does it indicate that suicide is an unforgivable sin. The Bible is very clear in that the ‘only sin’ which cannot be forgiven is rejection of Jesus Christ.
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39
Nobody can merit eternal life.
If we could, then Christ wouldn’t have needed to die.
All I will say is this, never underestimate God’s grace and mercy.
Teddy, is that you?
We are not in a position to judge another person’s life.
I pray that we all meet up one day in Heaven...
Thank you.
Thank you.
+1000!
I was thinking of Saul of Tarsus/Apostle Paul. Had a mean streak a mile wide until he hit the Damascus Road....
If you want to be on the safe side, just set up an irreversible situation and then ask forgiveness before you die. An example would be to take a boat off shore and jump into the icy water, letting the boat continue on. Guaranteed death within minutes in icy Alaska waters. But enough time to confess your sin and ask for forgiveness.
I don't want to say that people in extreme pain wouldn't contemplate suicide, but we're told the Lord never gives us more than we can bear. Frankly, that's a test I hope never to confront.
Had a dream about an ex, very real, she told me she was ok and everything was going to be good. I found out 4 days later that she had killed herself that very night. Ghost?
I think unending excruciating physical pain would be a good enough reason to commit suicide. Right now, the Drug Warriors, along with their M.D. fellow travelers, are attempting to restrict access to opioids, not only for folks who could get by on something else, but for people with chronic, excruciating pain which only responds to such things as opioids, heroin, etc. These allegedly well-meaning folks are going to be responsible for a rash of suicides.
As for the subject at hand, it is probably best to let God be the judge, since He is the only perfect one among us, save for his Son and the Holy Spirit.
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