Posted on 09/17/2019 8:05:38 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
There are some Christians who believe that suicide is an unpardonable sin, the logic being this: Suicide is self-murder, no murderer-has eternal life, and you cannot repent of the sin of suicide, since it is your last and final act.
Other Christians argue that we are forgiven because of what Jesus did, not what we do. Therefore, regardless of which sins we commit or do not commit, Jesus still saves us.
Still others would say, “Who says suicide is always a sin? What if the person suffered unbearable pain or was not in his or right mind? Surely God would overlook this.”
Before we try to answer these important, theological questions, we need to pause for a moment and look at the human side of these agonizing questions.
Just this past week, Pastor Jarrid Wilson, himself the founder of a suicide outreach group, took his own life, leaving behind his wife and young children.
Adding to the tragedy is the fact that, on the very day he committed suicide, he presided at the funeral of another suicide victim. Perhaps the pain of it all was just too much to bear?
Like many of you, I have never suffered from mental illness or battled depression. And aside from one crazed thought I had in 1971 in the midst of a massive overdose of hallucinogenic drugs, I have never for a split second contemplated suicide. (For those who don’t know my story, I have been drug free and alcohol free since December 17, 1971.)
So, I am in no way qualified to address the psychological or medical or emotional aspects of depression, mental illness, or suicide. And the very last thing I would dream of doing would be to judge someone who committed suicide (unless they plainly stated their reasons for their actions, thereby explaining things for themselves.)
What, then, of the biblical questions? What about the question of sin and salvation?
Speaking at Jarrid’s memorial service, Greg Laurie, the senior pastor of the church where Jarrid served, said this: “When you stand before God, you won’t be judged by the last thing that you did before you died. You’ll be judged by the last thing Jesus did before he died. He died for your sin.”
Here, Pastor Laurie makes an important point.
Many Christians think that if they fail to confess every last sin they commit each day, if they die in their sleep, they will go to hell. Or if they lose their temper on the road, yelling at a driver who cut them off, then die in a car crash, they will go to hell because they didn’t have time to repent.
That is a real misconception, one that can produce condemnation, fear, and bondage. (Bear in mind that I write these words as someone who believes in the importance of confession of sin and as one of the best-known opponents of the doctrine called hyper-grace.)
But we are not saved or lost based on a specific sin we commit (or do not commit). We are saved based on our faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus, who then becomes our Lord and calls us to live a new life.
What if we reject His lordship once we are saved? What if we turn away from Him and deny Him? Can we then forfeit our salvation?
I believe the Scriptures teach that this is a distinct and real possibility. Let us not play games with such a great salvation! (I’m aware, of course, that there is great debate among Christians on this subject.)
Is it possible, then, that someone committing suicide could do so as an act of defiance and rebellion against God, thereby rejecting His lordship?
This is possible too. But unless we have clear evidence that this is the case, when we hear of a believer committing suicide, especially one who suffered from severe depression, we should believe and hope for the best.
A caller to my radio show once described what happened to his brother, who returned from Afghanistan suffering from PTSD. He had been a committed believer but now was acting irrationally, drinking, and losing his temper. Then he committed suicide.
Did he thereby commit the unpardonable sin? I seriously doubt it.
Did Pastor Jarrid commit the unpardonable sin? I see zero evidence for it.
And that’s why Jarrid’s wife was quick to post that, in the midst of her own agony, her “sweet husband” was “in the presence of Jesus,” free from pain at last. May the Lord pour out His mercy on this hurting family!
At the same time, we need to do our best to urge those who are struggling to hang on, helping them somehow to see that there is a way to find freedom right here in this world. That suicide is never the best option. That with God, healing and deliverance are possible in the here and now.
We also need to help convince them that we not only love them but that we need them, and if they take their own lives, they are depriving us as well.
I know that Pastor Jarrid sought to help others in just these ways, based on what I have read about him. Now, I can only pray that, rather than his death prompting others to take their own lives too, his suicide will be a deep awakening call to the Church.
Many are hurting, right in our own midst – perhaps, right in our own families – and we simply do not recognize it. Many are in pain that we cannot imagine.
May we provide the support and love and help they need, ultimately through the Lord’s grace, that will cause them to cherish life, cling to life, and then, bring life to others.
May Jarrid’s death bring life to others, and may the darkness give way to light.
Sad and interesting. In Jewish (orthodox) law, I believe all suicides are ruled post-facto faultless.
From what I have read and I am by no means a Theologian, suicide is not considered a sin since the person is not in their right mind. I have always been taught, as a practicing Catholic, only the Lord can determine when you should leave this world. No one knows for sure. Only my two cents. DM
RE: In Jewish (orthodox) law, I believe all suicides are ruled post-facto faultless.
I am interested in their reason(s) for making such a ruling.
Of course God knows more about the brain than we'll ever know.
I guess this is a long winded,disjointed,way of say that I don't think that *all* suicides are unforgiven by God.
Bookmark
God knows everyone's heart so he can judge. Many a person who have survived a suicide attempt like jumping off a bridge at the last moment regretted what they were doing.
I’ve been through deep depression. Not a pretty place. It’s real.
I read once the Christian proscription against suicide dated back to a group that had decided to get to heaven by being killed for being robbers. Don’t know if it is true but Christians have come up with some wild interpretations from time to time. A couple hundred years ago IIRC there was a group in England who reveled in sin because they were “saved and couldn’t sin anymore”.
Since last week was the anniversary of 911 one observation is relevant here, perhaps. There were a whole lot of jumpers that day. At the time I remember people claiming that wasn’t suicide because they were going to die anyway and they were just choosing how. They could have turned and run into the fire. But it occurs to me that a depressed person is also choosing. But I’m no Theologian. One could easily point out the depressed person is choosing death over life rather than death by gravity versus death by fire.
A question above our pay grades.
Well when one who does it goes over to the other side they’ll find out.
I think God will forgive whoever he wants
The world can sometimes be very dark.
There is not always someone near by to help you out of the darkness.
My extended sister-in-law drank herself to death.
She however had many who tried to help.
The unpardonable sin is hardening your heart against the truth.
It is very real.
I’ve only been there twice and never want to be there again.
Being brought up as Catholic, I was always told that it was a serious sin. This was seen as the ultimate rejection of God’s gift of Life. That was then, before I walked through many decades of living, surviving and appraising.
Now, I don’t feel that way at all.
Each person now walking the earth has their own unique experience. I have no idea what ‘enough’ feels like for the other person. I can advise when requested to. I can offer my suggestions on solutions, but in the end, it’s up to that person.
I am speaking mainly of adults. Were this a child or youth, I would still aggressively try to persuade them to have faith in the future, in themselves, in the love and wisdom of God. Hold on a little longer, and assure them that today’s Black Cloud doesn’t mean it will stay hopeless forever. I would remind them that there are a few actions in this world that one cannot undo. Suicide being one of them.
Suicide is not pardonable even if it is done by a political party.
Those who killed themselves rather then die in the gas chambers were in their right minds. They denied their killers the satisfaction of murdering Those poor , doomed souls who jumped to their deaths from The World Trade Center rather then burn to death were in their right minds.
It is a terrible place to be mentally. We have tried many alternative treatments- ketamine, trans magnetic cranial stimulation, NAD and more.
One thing we talk about is what he would have missed had he succeeded in 1992- our children were 10,8,5 and 3 at the time. Now they are all grown adults, married and we have 4 grandsons. There is also much to come in our lives. At 65, we still have a lot of good years and family time left.
I wish I could say it is in the rear view mirror now but unfortunately we are still in the throes of it. It is brutal.
“no murderer-has eternal life,”
I thought blasphemy was the only unpardonable sin?
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