Is a person who committs suicide able to go to heaven?

[Earth Wind and Fire]

A good friend of our family committed suicide recently. so Ive poured through scripture & of course its very clear we are not to take our lives but I could not find anything saying suicide as an unforgivable sin. Now if a person ends his life in full position of their faculties, the act of suicide might represent an act of unbelief. But this guy was so depressed & despondent that I think he stopped thinking rationally & was probably mentally ill so I prefer to rest my hope in the grace & kindness of God.

 

[Deacon]

I prefer to rest my hope in the grace & kindness of God.

Good place to be!
Suicide is tragic, both to the individual who dies and to those who are left.

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,
nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:38-39 (ESV)

Rob

 

[DiamondLady]

A good friend of our family committed suicide recently. so Ive poured through scripture & of course its very clear we are not to take our lives but I could not find anything saying suicide as an unforgivable sin. Now if a person ends his life in full position of their faculties, the act of suicide might represent an act of unbelief. But this guy was so depressed & despondent that I think he stopped thinking rationally & was probably mentally ill so I prefer to rest my hope in the grace & kindness of God.

If, at some point in their life they gave their heart to Jesus, absolutely YES! They are in Heaven with Christ now. Depression is a terrible thing, but God loves us through the illnesses in our lives. NO sin is unforgiveable, save the sin of rejecting Christ.

 

[abcgrad94]

Sampson committed suicide and killed many of his enemies while he did so, yet he is included in the hall of faith in Hebrews 11. I believe he wouldn't have been commended and held as an example of faith had he "lost" his salvation later on.

 

[annsni]

I've told numerous people that for someone to take their own life, they were not mentally well because it's our natural inclination to save our lives, not take it. There is one unforgivable sin and I don't see scripture saying that it's suicide.

 

[Jim1999]

That one sin is the sin against the Holy Spirit; denial of Christ as Saviour.

Thoughts of suicide can be a medical deficiency. The person knows he is contemplating it, but it is virtually beyond his control. I have seen this several times, and one even went to his doctor explaining that he was thinking about suicide.

There is a substantial difference to what Judas did when he went out and hanged himself. The same is true of the men who took their own lives at the end of the war because they chose not to face the alternative blame for the war atrocities at their hands.

I think the Church of Rome and a few others acted hastily when they refused to serve suicide victims in burial. They were wrong, in my opinion. I agree with Ann.

Cheers,

Jim

 

[Melanie]

It has been taught that the suicide was hell bound and in the long past the suicide was not buried in consecrated ground and/or other custom along with that.

I believe that the suicide is in such mental anguish that it is best to pray for the victim and their family that the good Lord is compasionate and loving. He is the One who can read souls, not us.

Been a suicide wannabe over the course of my life I am eternally grateful that the Lord spared me and my family. :godisgood:

 

[glfredrick]

From what I've seen concerning the subject, is that many use the threat of hell as a deterrent to an individual contemplating suicide, for they have no other real means of deterring them otherwise. The threat of everlasting punishment and torment seems somewhat effective in the mind of a person who is wanting to cut off his or her own life to end "torment."

But, I would have to side with those who have brought the Scriptures; nothing separates us from God because of Christ -- IF -- one is indeed "in Christ" and not merely religious or an unbeliever. Having a name (Christian) is not enough for salvation. Having a position (new creation in Christ) is sufficient for salvation.

Of course, that is effective for those who do not consider suicide also...

 

[Arbo]

I think He gives grace to match His childrens' sorrows.

 

[Jon-Marc]

Whether or not a person goes to heaven depends solely on whether or not he/she was cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ and born again. Sometimes life gets to be too much for people who lose hope and aren't trusting in the Lord as they should be.I considered suicide a couple of times during my life and understand how one can get to that point.

If your friend was born again, then he is in heaven.

 

[FriendofSpurgeon]

Is taking your own life even mentioned as a sin in the Bible?

"If you are being burned alive with a loaded pistol in your hand, it's hard to see how anyone can seriously hold it against you for pulling the trigger."

 

[Gina B]

Here's where I wish I had my old computer and the study I did on it!

Depression and suicide are threaded throughout the Bible. Never do you find a case where it is stated that suicides are unforgiven offenses. The only sin that the blood doesn't cover is rejection of the Holy Spirit...ie being an unbeliever.

I've heard people argue that there's not enough "time" after a suicide to be forgiven because you can't ask for forgiveness. That makes no sense. Christ died for sins past, present and future. It makes me angry to hear humans decide there are exceptions to that because there aren't. Over and over, God's word emphasizes grace and forgiveness to ALL believers. We are told that believers are SEALED. We were bought. We are owned. Forever. That is the promise. God's word says so and anything else is a lie.

The other argument I've heard is that committing such a sin is proof that one isn't a believer or they wouldn't have committed such a sin. My answer to that is a question. What sin is so trivial that it wouldn't have required Christ's death?

The answer is none. Sin is sin. Christ died as much for a little white lie as he did for serial murder. There wasn't more or less on the cross, it all resulted in Christ taking the same amount of humanity, the same amount of pain, the same amount of suffering, and just as much overcoming of death for our sakes.

So yeah. It isn't something that unseals you. And as far as questioning whether a person who committed suicide was mentally ill? Do people in good mental health do this? EVER? Even unplanned, such as Saul's armor bearer falling on his own sword when moments before he'd likely been fighting to save his own life, was plunged into an extreme state of mental distress.

So long as he was part of the family of Christ, he's home with his Savior, fully forgiven, all tears erased, and healed of any mental struggles he suffered from. No, it wasn't the most honorable way out of this life, but that doesn't change the fact that Christ's death ensures our eternal life after our death, however it may come about.

 

[1 Timothy 3:3-9]

I've heard people argue that there's not enough "time" after a suicide to be forgiven because you can't ask for forgiveness. That makes no sense. Christ died for sins past, present and future. It makes me angry to hear humans decide there are exceptions to that because there aren't. Over and over, God's word emphasizes grace and forgiveness to ALL believers. We are told that believers are SEALED. We were bought. We are owned. Forever. That is the promise. God's word says so and anything else is a lie.

I agree with you