I’ve heard people inquire whether or not the act of committing suicide is the or an unforgivable sin? Is the person who commits suicide condemning him or herself to hell? Can’t a person choose suicide, as it’s not harming anyone else? “After all, it is my life, isn’t it?” Does God have anything to say about suicide in the Bible?
DOES SUICIDE APPEAR IN THE BIBLE?
Suicide does appear in the Bible. The five instances of it, that I’m aware of, are:
Samson (Judges 16:29-30),
Saul and his armor-bearer (1 Samuel 31:4-5; 1 Chronicles 10:4-5),
Ahithophel (2 Samuel 17:23),
Zimri (1 Kings 16:18),
Judas (Matthew 27:5; Acts 1:18).
There are also examples of people in Scripture who desire death rather than life, usually because of the difficulty of their current life situations. Some examples are:
Moses (Numbers 11:15),
Elijah (1 Kings 19:4),
Job (Job 3; 6:8-11; 7:1-3, 15-16; 10:1; 14:13),
Jonah (Jonah 4:8).
All of the above examples are either directly condemned by God, or are shown to be poor decisions/attitudes by the end of the biblical narrative. God never condones a person taking his own life. Why? Simply because the life is not his to take. God makes it clear, especially for followers of Jesus, that it is God’s prerogative to take life. The Apostle Paul reminds his readers of this truth with the question, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). The modern adage, “My body, my choice” is completely untrue and misleading from a biblical worldview.
I find it interesting that even Jesus was tempted by Satan to test God through at attempted suicide, by throwing himself off the highest point of the temple in Jerusalem (Matthew 4:5-6; Luke 4:9-11). Jesus’ response to this temptation was that it is never appropriate to test God’s decision to save a life by taking such matters in one’s own hands. Jesus understood that it is God who would sanction his last breath (Mark 15:37), determining both the time and means of his physical death.
Biblically, suicide falls into the category of the 6th commandment—“You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13). Murder is the unjust taking of a human life. And because we are not the captains of our own destinies, to take a life unjustly—even our own—is to assert a divine right, acting as though we are God. Suicide is the taking of human life which is designed to reflect God’s creative, redemptive love out into a dark and desperate world (reflecting the image of God).Â
IS IT POSSIBLE TO BE A CHRISTIAN AND COMMIT SUICIDE?
For a follower of Jesus, who understands his or her relationship to life’s Captain—Jesus, and is in a right state of mind, it is difficult to imagine how he or she could act upon the temptation to commit suicide. Nevertheless, we must be careful not to elevate the sin of murder (even the murder of self) to a level which is somehow outside the bounds of God’s mercy and forgiveness.  It is certainly possible that one who has a true relationship with Jesus, while in a state of extreme mental illness, could make such a poor and devastating decision.  Nearly all people who commit suicide have a mental illness at the time of their death. So, though we know that suicide is always going against God’s plan, we must also be reminded 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).
PERSPECTIVE IN DIFFICULT TIMES
One thing that is always important to keep in mind when going through a trying circumstance is that we only see a snapshot of our life. Imagine watching an exciting action or drama movie, and then stopping it at the climax of the plot. We might be completely perplexed as to how the story could ever be satisfactorily resolved. Too many loose ends! I’d suggest that this is very much like our experience of life. Our imagination collapses in attempting to peer very far into the future. We stand but in a single frame of God’s film. But as Paul reminds us, the God in whom we trust with our lives is Jesus, “the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). After all, history is His-story, and we are known and infinitely loved by the Author.
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION:
1. What do you think are the most common factors in depression?
2. Do you know the right steps to take if someone you know threatens suicide? (Crisis Intervention).
3. What are key passages from the Bible that speak to the issue of depression?
SUGGESTED RESOURCES:
1. Suicide: Understanding and Intervening: Booklet, by Jeffrey Black
2. Suicide: A Christian Response, by Gary P. Stewart &Â Timothy J. Demy
2 Comments on “What does the Bible say about suicide?”
In my line of work over the years, I have worked with many depressed people. I also have had a cousin with whom I was close who committed suicide; he was a Christian, but he had suffered a brain injury, and it is common with brain injury victims to suffer profound depression.
I am not a therapist, (I’m in the medical field, and I have worked in corrections) but it is my observation that with suicide, people want the pain to stop, and out of human hurt and suffering, that ends up being the method of stopping the pain. Very few people that commit suicide actually want to end their lives. Many of them are trying to get someone to notice how much they are hurting. That’s why there is often a note; they are trying to get someone to help them with their pain before they end up doing something drastic, because they know they are out of control.
The most important factor in dealing with someone who is suicidal is to never leave them alone until they are in the hands of a professional who can help them, e.g. a doctor or psychologist. The suicidal person may try to tell you they are fine, but that can be a manipulative way to get alone to go ahead and do the deed.
My heart about suicide is this: Do whatever you can. With my cousin, no one saw it coming. After it happened, my uncle (who was a pastor) could start piecing together some feasible reasons of why, but there was no note. There is a very long story behind it all, but my cousin was alone in his house, and no one knew it had even happened. If someone even hints or jokes about it, take it seriously.
My cousin knew Jesus was his savior. He had to face the Lord for his judgement for his sin like we all will. God punishes all sin the same. We are all sinners, even after we are saved. He was held accountable for taking his own life, as we will all be held accountable for our sins.
I think the belief that suicide is the or an unforgivable sin comes, again, from the Catholics. I do believe that they believe if one takes their own life, it is a direct ticket to Hell….I could be wrong? But i don’t think so.
I’ve been in the darkest places and have attmepted it myself, as a Christian. I was spared; twice. I can’t describe the pain that one feels to go down such a path as to have no other choice but to die. When you are in the depths of despair, that’s exactly the issue. No choice. That’s your reality. I think, as with anything else, God has mercy on those that have suffered to the point of desperation, that He could never turn His back on them. But as Amanda says, to Him, all sin is equal and there are consequences, of course.
I absolutely do agree that it never is God’s will for anytong to take his/her own life. We have a God that heals, it’s just some can’t get to it. 🙁