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.
>> And if suicide is a sin and sin is actually one of desire then is “just let me die” also a sin? Elijah was not reproved for it. <<
1) There is a difference in allowing God to take your life and taking your own life. Being willing to die may be a great virtue; suicide is murder*.
2) Sexual lust, a sin of desire, is listed separately in the ten commandments, but it’s an exception because, no, temptation towards sin is not sin itself. Deliberately inflaming your lust is what makes it sinful.
3) Elijah, not knowing Christ, could not despair of Christ.
*Suicide is murder: suicide is a grave sin. But there must be three elements to a MORTAL sin: It must be grave, but its gravity must be known and it must be willingly committed despite that knowledge. Mental illness underlies much suicide, and is an impediment to free will. Thus, it’s very plausible that any given person who commits suicide does not commit mortal sin.
Thanks for being about the only person to respond with an actual Biblical response on this thread. Between the paranormal and other psycho babble nonsense posted, I was about to get dizzy.
Christ holds the keys to death and hades. He conquered both and only He decides who goes where according to their answering of who people say He is. Merit, deeds, intent, status and anything else done in this life will turn to ashes.
John 6:29; Acts 16:31
Amen sister!
Wish people would let Jesus Save!
Alcoholism is a sin, not a disease. Mental illness is a disease not a sin. A mentally ill man is not committing a sin if his mental illness leads him to taking his own life.
Your religion or another. Right or wrong. Nobody, well maybe one, has come back to tell us about the other side.
The one thing you can be certain of is that you are here. Thinking, feeling, being, hurting, finding ecstasy or despair somewhere, how ever, somehow. You have life, it is your choice, will you take advantage of what you do absolutely know. You are here.
Almost without regard to circumstance your life can be heaven or hell. I had heaven but chose hell. So I speak from experience and lessons learned.
I write only that even one person might be saved (hackneyed hyperbole - copyright 2018 if I just coined a new term - not searching on it - Goo--gle would steal it ;-)
BTW: I coined "Life is good" but didn't copyright it. So now its not. ;-)
A good start is just to forget about yourself, draw on the person you're with or you interact with.
They have a lifetime of experiences that make them who they are at the very moment you interact with them.
Because life is not a bowl of cherries, the person you are with in that moment, very likely a collection of unknown perspectives given their immediate state of mind.
Reach out, all you have to do is ask them how they're doing.
Listen.
They'll tell you. You will learn. Your life will be enriched. There are some people you do not want to interact with. Use good judgment.
Synopsis: Enjoy life, Its the only thing you're certain you have.
Merry Christmas.
PS: if you're smart you'll cover your bases and be good to all and if GOD is paying attention you're good to go - to heaven .
Better question is to ask:, Does a person who commits suicide exercise faith in Christ in the execution of that act?
The consequences of sin is death. Same might be said for any sin, including driving 22mph in a 20 mph school zone. If a person speeds accidentally through the school zone, and dies from a heart attack, is his sin forgiven?
Please also note, nobody in Revelation is mentioned as being condemned to Hades for their personal sin. Rather, ALL sin was paid for by Christ at the Cross. Sin was already judged.
The issue is forgiveness.
Condemnation precedes salvation.
All humans are condemned prior to salvation. Our sin prior to death is no longer the issue. The issue is our facing God, confessing our sins to Him thru faith in what Christ provided in that judgment at the Cross, and then God is free to forgive us those sins.
We all will one day stand before the throne of judgment.
Agreed. I will also add his grace is immeasurable.
As a survivor of late stage cancer in my 30s, I wonder about that very question. It would be very hard to go through all that again. I pray when the time comes that god takes me fast.
Congratulations on your survival. Live every day like it is bonus time huh?
Yes I do. I’m grateful fo the extra 10 years and counting.
If Jesus committed suicide because he neglected to resist, then so did Peter, Paul, James, Stephen, and the remaining apostles other than John, etc., etc., etc. Perhaps, only the thief on the cross was in Paradise since Jesus would have to be in Hell. However, Jesus told the thief that he would be with Jesus in Paradise that night.
The characteristic of no resistance dominates through the New Testament. The sword, itself, symbolizes resistance and the vanquishing of the enemy. The weapon of a Christian, the sword of the Spirit, is the Word and the preaching of the Word. See the symbolism in Revelation where the sword is protruding from the mouth.
I hope and pray you don’t have a reoccurrence of it.
“...they spend X amount of time in torment paying for their crime...”
So the question is: “Can one come from there (Hell) to here (Heaven) after a period of time?” Probably not, if you believe the story of the rich man and Lazarus.
We also have the example of King Saul. :)
1 Samuel 31:4 - Then said Saul unto his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword, and fell upon it.
But then we see in 1 Chronicles the following:
1 Chronicles 10:14 And enquired not of the LORD: therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse.
However, when Saul had him conjured up, Samuel told Saul that tomorrow Saul and his sons would be with him (1 Samuel 28:19).
So, God killed Saul for his disobedience via “suicide” but didn’t condemn him to hell for it.
Only the sin of unbelief is unforgivable.
You CAN believe it, my FRiend! He tells us in His word:
The Prophet Jeremiah knew what it meant to be despondent and hopeless, yet...
I will be praying for you that you are reminded of His everlasting love and your hope in Him is renewed. :o)
No.
......” Does, ‘once saved, always saved’, mean, well..., EXCEPTING SUICIDE?”.......
No....Because ...”Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may ‘KNOW’ that you have eternal life.”...1 John 5:12,13
The security of the believer in Christ Jesus is a ‘sealed’ deal. In biblical times, a seal was ‘a guarantee’..for...
....”In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were ‘sealed’ with the promised Holy Spirit, who is ‘the guarantee’ of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.” Ephesians 1:13-14
The seal of the Holy Spirit takes place at the point of salvation. It is a promise or guarantee of the Christian’s future, eternal inheritance with Jesus Christ...In a very real sense, God’s Spirit protects us and guarantees our eternity with the Lord.
The body doesn't need food or water when the soul is preparing to leave the body. It is quite natural to not desire food as the body knows in and of itself.
Just as when one is ill they don't feel like eating their appetite diminishes. They eat soft or liquid food at those times. So all the less when ones soul is preparing to leave this world. The body does not need food.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.