SUICIDE & SALVATION
It is good that suicide is now openly discussed, even within the church walls. We ask Christians what they thought about the issue and whether Christ followers who take their lives will be saved. Here are some of the responses, followed by a pastoral response from TAN YU YONG.
Patrick, 40s
My aunt committed suicide many years ago. She was a Christian, very meek, humble and worked hard as a tailor to pay for her daughter college’s education. She jumped down from the 11th floor of her flat in Singapore after finding out her husband had an affair. After her funeral, I asked God if she would go to hell. At first, I thought yes, because she took her life that God gave her. Then my eldest aunt visited us and said she dreamed of her dancing happily. I took that as God’s sign that she’s all right and in a safe place. Personally, many times in my younger days, I too wanted to take my life but didn’t because I wanted to take care of my mum. That prevented me from jumping off my college building in 1991.
Abel Teh, 36
Would a Christian lose his/her salvation if he/she told a lie just before dying?
YT, 50
There was a young girl from a church in Kluang. She was a very active church member, one of the most prominent youths and a top student. She came to KL to work in an ad agency. She worked so hard that one day, she committed suicide. The whole church in Kluang suffered. Will I see her in heaven? That’s God’s decision.
PH Ang, 37
God is the final arbiter of all things, and those who continue to believe in Him till the end will be justified in Him in eternity.
Michael Boo 57
Some may say it is an unforgivable sin – eternal life and murder don’t click (1 Jn 3:15) – and we must hold on to the end (Mk 13:13, Heb. 3:14). Suicide is a horrendous act but lost forever? I believe God is merciful and gracious, even in our darkest pit. Jesus has paid it all. Will God look at one decisive act or our whole life? Only God has the answer to our final destiny.
M.Y. 44
It is a terrible thing for Christians to label people who committed or attempted suicide as “selfish, etc.”. Emotions are complicated, and mental illness is not something that anyone can get on a high horse and comment un-empathetically about. A person who committed suicide would have been struggling with the issue for some time. Maybe he/she was ashamed of admitting to having a problem? As to the question on salvation, God is the judge ultimately.
Victor Raj, 26
Only the Lord knows what transpired in those vulnerable moments when someone decided to take his/her own life. So, we should let Him as the perfect judge dictate if that person is saved or not. Still, I think self-murder is a sin and goes against His teachings.
Joyce, 40+
As Christians we are supposed to take up our cross and expect to be persecuted and not run away from suffering and difficulties. So, if Christians truly believe in Christ, they would not commit suicide. However, it is God, not men, who will judge us.
Deanna, 54
Who dare say we will die without sins found on us and yet is confident of The One who ensures we stand blameless before our Father? Eternal life begins the moment we accept Jesus as our Saviour; the Holy Spirit is the guarantor of our salvation. In the process of sanctification from glory to glory, we continue to sin. But we are blameless by the blood of Jesus. Verdict: Christians are saved eternally even if they commit suicide/sin in the end.
Nicholas CW, 26
Committing suicide speaks on the state of hopelessness, in which we believers who hope and persevere in the Lord should never dwell on. Regardless of the reasons that lead Christians to commit suicide, they are still saved because they had made the decision to follow God, and Jesus’s blood has legitimised their salvation.
WILL I GO TO HELL IF I COMMIT SUICIDE?
By Tan Yu Yong
I cannot recall much discussion or explanation about suicide in church during my youth. However, the impression I had was that suicide was a sin and that its implications were eternal. I had never questioned these beliefs or probed why I thought this way.
It was only after a friend committed suicide that I began to research the issue. At that time, I was doing my theological education at STM (Seminari Theoloji Malaysia), which gave me access to resources that helped me form an opinion on the issue.
Churches tend to shy away from discussing this issue but thankfully, there are signs of more open discussions. This is important as it’s a nagging issue faced by our youth. A recent newspaper report states that suicide is the second leading cause of death for youth between the ages of 15 and 30 in Malaysia.
Nagging Question
I shall start with a question that is frequently asked: Is suicide a sin? By suicide, I don’t mean euthanasia or assisted suicide but the act of a person who is of reasonable sound mind deliberately taking his/her life. Although it is not directly stated in the Bible, we can conclude that suicide is a sin because the Bible clearly and repeatedly says that murder – the deliberate act of the taking of a life – is a sin.
The consequence for murder is different from manslaughter (Contrast Exodus 21:12 with Joshua 20:1-3). But even without these Bible passages, almost every religion, ethnic group, society or community recognises murder as one of the biggest taboos of mankind.
The next question often asked is: Since murder is the intentional taking of another person’s life, shouldn’t it be all right if I take my own life? After all, it’s my life. So why is suicide a sin?
As Christians, we believe that it is God who gives life and no one, not even I, have the right to take it away. So, the intentional taking of any life, even my own, is murder. However, suicides stemming from mental illness are exceptional cases. Even the law courts will differentiate the consequences when a person commits murder while he is suffering from poor mental health.
Another reason why suicide is a sin can be found in Genesis 9:6: “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.”
This verse to Noah suggests that any act of murder (including suicides) violates the image of God. However, many Christians have the misconception that violating the image of God means that when you kill a person, you are killing God or His lookalike.
The theologian, Millard J Erickson, expounds on three views of the image of God, with none suggesting that we look like God. I personally go for the relational view, which states that God is a trinity – One Being and Three Persons in the most intimate and complete relationship in the universe. We humans are created for relationships. The image of God refers to us as relational beings.
Murder destroys relationships. A murderer robs not only the life of a person, but his/her experiences, memories and future. In the same way, a person who commits suicide robs his loved ones of the same things. Murder is theft of the highest degree and is therefore considered a serious sin.
Will suicide doom the person to hell?
My interactions with Christians suggest that many of them believe so. I was one of them, with the following faulty thought process prior to exploring this issue.
- Suicide is a sin.
- If you commit a sin, you must repent.
- But after the act of suicide, there is no chance for repentance.
- Guaranteed damnation.
When I was pondering this issue, I remember questioning if God was so petty. Imagine if I were a good Christian all my life but in one moment of weakness, I get into a heated argument with my parents. In my anger I disrespect them with words and actions and just as I storm out of the house, I get hit by a car and die. Because I fail to repent before dying, will God say, “Too bad, you didn’t repent, it’s hell for you!”?
I believe the answer is: “Of course not!” Only the Father will judge in heaven one day, and we can take courage that our Lord will not send us to damnation for one moment of weakness, even if it involves suicide.
Let us be encouraged that our Lord is not a petty God; He looks at the character and life of the individual rather than single out just one wrong act. Let’s also be reminded that it is our Lord who judges, not us.
We are saved by grace, not by works
Another point is that the Bible does not say that committing a single sinful act will cause one to lose his salvation. In Ephesians 2:8-9, Paul reminds, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.”
This does not mean we can sin to our hearts’ content and still expect salvation. But we must be reminded that it is the grace of God in which salvation is given, through the faithfulness of our Lord on His work and the cross, and our response which results in faith being available to the human race. Therefore, let us be reminded that salvation stems from the cross, upon which the only One who had no sin died for us sinners. Brothers and sisters, let us not forget this fact; let us not prematurely conclude that sinful acts will guarantee a pass to damnation.
Focus on the suffering person
The theological issues discussed above should be the last thing on our mind when dealing with a suicide case. Instead, we should be more focused on meeting the emotional needs of the suffering person rather than discussing theology.
Ultimately, most of what is discussed above is NOT helpful to the loved ones of a suicide victim. Instead of speculating on the salvation of the victim, we should be encouraging and helping the grieving through their season of grief and trauma.
Suicide, at the end of the day, is a great tragedy of the human life. It gives the person control of his fate but at the same time, it completely destroys what we are created for, which is to live. If you are reading this and are contemplating self-harm, this is my plea and my prayer for you.
May God, our loving Father, who knows what you are going through
Be there for you, to keep you going
May He bring you better days,
to show you life is worth living,
May He send you important people and experiences
to give you a reason to choose life
may He lift up, and encourage you in many ways.
and may His peace that surpasses all understanding be with you
and bring you comfort and strength. Amen
My friend, please…. choose life.
Tan Yu Yong is the youth pastor of a church in Petaling Jaya. He has a degree in Mass Communication and graduated from STM with a Masters of Divinity. Loves his youths, gym, fiancé, parents, twin brother and all else (not necessarily in that order).
Asian Beacon: Oct – Dec 2018 (Vol 50 #4, p28-29)
