I was wondering what the biblical basis is for the idea that people who commit suicide automatically go to hell, regardless of whether they are disciples or not. The explanations I have heard are related to selfishness, but how is this sin any different than say, driving in a car, hating someone at that moment, and being hit by a car and dying? Or any other character sins that disciples struggle to overcome (like laziness, selfishness, pride), that some of our brothers and sisters have died while still not conquering them? I keep thinking of Ro 3:23 which we use to teach that God sees all sin equally. And several other scriptures from the sin study, which we use to teach how our sin separated us from God. And then the scriptures in the Redemption study which teach that Jesus, through baptism, breaks down that wall.

This matter is particularly pressing on my mind because a dear friend of mine's mother, both of whom are/were our sisters in Christ, recently, after battling bi-polar disorder for several years and being on suicide watch for several months, finally did kill herself. While my friend has been handling it well, I cannot help but think about how those scriptures seem to contradict what is a commonly held belief. And I'd like to be able to give her the hope that though her mother was very sick, she'll still see her one day in heaven.

Your help is appreciated!

Elisa

Hi Elisa,

My name is Keiah. I'm from the Tucson church. I am very sorry to hear about our sister who passed away so tragically. Suicide is a difficult subject. Honestly I believe it is not the place for any of us humans to say that anyone automatically goes to hell because we are not God/Jesus. Ultimately it is left up to God's judgment. The thing about suicide is that it does not come out of nowhere. If a person is suicidal, most likely they have been suffering from feelings of hopelessness and depression (among other things) for quite some time. As a disciple, we are called to focus on Christ, to throw off things that hinder us so we can remain faithful to him (Hebrews 12:1-3). We must not refuse God or His way, but look forward to His great plans for us and recognize His power (Hebrews 12:25-29). We must work out our salvation and shine in order to show God's glory to the world (Phililppians 2:12-16). We must live by the Spirit and follow the Spirit's leading, instead of our own sinful nature (Galatians 5:16-25). Of course there are many more scriptures that would tell us to focus on God and not ourselves and if we are having depression problems to be open about them and work constantly to fight them, including prayer, reading the Bible, fasting. Then there is the obvious scripture is Deut 5:17 (You shall not murder). Struggling with murder and struggling with a character flaw like selfishness is not the same thing. You can battle something like wanting to be selfish and keep to yourself all your life, but you can always work on that and read scriptures to remind you of your goals. But murder is something that must be stopped immediately. If you follow Christ, you cannot go out and kill someone, including yourself, and then not repent of that. That's the thing about suicide. You have no chance to repent of murder. It is all left up to God to have mercy on you even though He has warned you in His word about such sins.

As far your friend's mother, this may be a different situation altogether. I don't know much about bi-polar disorder but if she killed herself out of her right mind, then she may not be held responsible for what she did. If it was the part of herself that she could not control, then she did not have free will in that situation. Look at the demon posessed man in Mark 5. I hope this helps somewhat. I will try to find more scriptures and when I do I'll send them to you, but I just felt like I had to respond quickly. Take care and stay strong in Christ.

Maybe my reply would be not exactly the answer to your question, sorry for that.

I jut wanted to say I've felt something like that. One of my friends had a fatal accident while skydiving. She was younger than me, she died on the day she was to receive her diploma. i just couldn't understand why God didn't give her a second chance, why He cut her life. She was not a bad person. Maybe, I thought, she would have repented later. Quite a difficult time for me it was. I understand that your sitution is different, that the person you are talking about took her own life.

But we actually, as Keiah said, don't know God's will about certain people and we can't say who will go to heaven or hell. It's the matter of accepting His will, I think, and faith that our Lord doesn't wish us bad, that everything He does is to our best. This trust in God and time healed my heart and eased my uneasiness towards God at that period. As Philippians 4:7 says: And the peace of God, which surpasseth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Mental illness is very difficult to deal with and I trust God that he will do what is right.

A while back I was studying Judas.  Do you think that Jesus would have forgiven him?  Do you think that he could be used in a powerful way? He took his life cause he did not trust in what he had been taught!  I think he knew what he was doing and that is entirely different situation.

Matthew 27:5

 5So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.

I want to reply to this because it hits home for me. I am bi-polar (see my story on the Disciples Today website) and have thought of suicide many times throughout my life. I have been on Lamictal for the last couple of years. My wife said that she can't stay w/ me if I don't keep taking my medicine, so I have a lot of motivation to not quit taking it. I can be a real monster w/ out it.

Anyway there have been many times where the fear of God and my eternal condition was the only thing that kept me alive. I am truly sorry for your loss. I mourn w/ you. I can't say what your friends fate will be but can only leave you w/ a little nugget that was given me a few years back. "Let God be God" 1Jn 1:5 says that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. So whatever God does is good and right.

In Unity w/ Love,

Byron

Once in a while, I am blessed with a 'nugget of faith' that helps me realize things about the world around me and helps bring into focus some things that I have thought or believed.  One such nugget for me is the fact that the Bible is the beginning of God's wisdom; it isn't the terminal point of our faith.  Our faith and understanding of God's will is born of the Bible, but it must continue to grow and expand as we go on through our Christian walk.

The issue of suicide, for me, has always been one of those things that despite my 15 years in the church I have never really heard taught from the pulpit or explained in a sermon.  However, in my mind, I had always thought that suicide was an eternal sin that immediately disqualified you from salvation (might be the old Catholic dogma seeping through my consciousness, I suppose).

Considering that no individual really has the authority to say for sure, I suggest wrestling with the topic yourself and coming to your own conviction regarding the act.  Sorry if this seems like an evasive, 'non-answer', but I hope you can reconcile your faith to the events in your life (and the lives of those around you) through meditation, prayer, and reason.

Hi Elisa,

I am your sister in Christ in Charlotte, NC and I want you to know how I understand what you are going thru.  I am a single mom and my daugthers daddy committed sucide and he was not a disciple.  He called me and told me he was going to do it and I believed him.  I have always prayed that God would have mercy on his soul.  This man was not himself.  I know God is the only judge, and I pray he will find mercy for his soul.  I believe he was severly depressed, and no one caught it.  I do not understand the mentality that comes with sucide.  Continue to be in prayer and a support to the family.

Lv YSIC in Christ