If you know anyone contemplating suicide, pray with and for them. And seek help from higher authorities.
There is no shame in struggling with sin.
While some folks may condemn someone struggling with suicide, we shouldn’t let that discourage us from speaking up and seeking help.
You are here because you are curious to know if a Christian who commits suicide will go to hell or heaven.
Well, we will share our perspective based on the scripture and other lingering issues around suicide. We pray that at the end of this, you will have every reason to live the life God has given you to the fullest.
No one wakes up and decides to take their own life. There must have been some underlying situations. Believers and non-believers face this tragedy. Why will someone choose to end themselves, and even if they did, where is their eternal destination?
The Roman Catholic Church believes that people who commit suicide go to hell.
Although it is unbiblical, many Christians embrace it as an unpardonable sin. Nowhere in the scripture do you find that those who commit suicide go to hell? It is true that Judas committed suicide and went to hell, but that is because he did not believe in Jesus.
However, suicide is a grave sin because it involves intentionally taking one’s life. It is seen as rejecting the gift of life from God and does not give room for repentance. 1 Corinthians 3:17 shows that “ If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.”
The scripture reminds us that life is sacred and humans are God’s image and likeness. So no individual has the right to end their life. Also, suicide does not determine whether a person goes to heaven or hell. If an unsaved person commits suicide, their eternity in hell is not because of the act but because they rejected salvation before death. Some people have a change of heart and cry for God’s mercy before death.
Suicide is a selfish act
This may sound insensitive, but it is simply an acknowledgment of the truth. It is selfish because it is a narrow escape from suffering. It does not care about the interest of loved ones. We can argue that taking one’s own life is the wrong way to deal with a problem, but we can’t deny that it is a prevalent act among even believers.
For instance, a person says,
“What if my death is the stability the family needs”
“What if I’m the thorn in the flesh, everyone that comes close.”
“What if my death will restore peace and unity.”
These are all self-focused perceptions and assumptions of what is beyond human control.
Thinking our death is the answer to everyone’s problem is like saying our presence is the solution to everyone’s problem. And that’s lame and untrue. It’s like saying, “I have it under control,” when our life is not ours.
Romans 12:1-8 itch our ears to understand that we are a living sacrifice. And not to think of ourselves too highly but to be sober in judgment. Taking your own life is thinking highly of yourself to solve everyone else problem.
No salvation after suicide
There is no salvation, repentance, or confession after death. If you end your life as an unbeliever, it does not ease your suffering. Rather it hastens the judgment of eternal doom and shortens God’s desire and expectation for your life.
What about a believer? An individual who has genuinely received salvation and commits suicide.
That leads us to the core question, is suicide a ticket to heaven for believers?
If they are a staunch follower of Christ, the quick-fix response is yes.
But there are caveats to this.
Suicide dims the beauty of Jesus’s sacrifice that He paid for all sin. Jesus’ sacrifice proves that nothing can separate us from the love of the Father. No matter how heavy the burden is, Roman 8:35.
The fact that Christians commit suicide is evident that anybody can face despair. But it does not change the fact that it cripples God’s desire for us. “You shall not murder” Exodus 20:13. Suicide is self-murder.
Likewise, consider 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
What then happens when a believer commits suicide?
John 1:9 gives the assurance of forgiveness if we confess it all. But if a believer in Christ takes their own life, they smudge their record with unresolved and unrepented sin. Unlike other sins that allows you the grace to repent and make thing right before doomsday, that’s not possible with suicide.
If you find yourself in a situation that shakes your faith and leaves you suicidal, you must question how confident your relationship with God is. Would we really consider suicide if we are in good standing with God?
God’s grace is unending, but if you are doubtful of your relationship with Him because of the present suffering and you consider suicide, you are using his grace as a license to sin when we doubt our relationship with God that much, suicide makes a solution. And eternal hell seat those who have no saving relationship with Jesus Christ.
The truth is if we are not confident that God is working through our suffering, how can we be confident in his grace when we take our own life?
Likewise, if we believe that his grace will lead us into heaven even if we commit suicide, imagine how much more sufficient His grace will supersede our suffering if we obey and stay alive.
What do you do as a believer going through anguish and life-threatening challenges? You might be hesitant about this, but…
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It hinges on Jesus Christ
Your solution is in Him. True, Jesus is not a magician that makes things disappear, neither does He concort sacrifices like an herbalist. Instead, he changes us with His word through the spirit and cloths us with the armor of faith to weather all life’s struggles. If you’re already a believer in Jesus Christ, then you should get better in your walk and your relationship with Him. If you don’t know Him or aren’t sure where you stand with Him, then your first step is to give yourself to Him.
Wrap up
God’s grace is magnificent but should not be taken for granted. It is better to disregard all sins, including suicide, and have a great account with God here on earth than to fast-track our death only to stand before God with an unresolved sin. So, while Christians who commit suicide may go to heaven, it will not be a warm and spotless welcome. However, we take comfort in knowing the Christians who lost their Christian loved ones to suicide will have a glorious heavenly life.