Suicide is a sin

[Jazzy]

Can you tell me where in the Bible it says that suicide is a sin and you won't go to heaven?

 

[Lees]

Can you tell me where in the Bible it says that suicide is a sin and you won't go to heaven?

It's no where to be found in Scripture. That suicide is a sin, I would agree as it is taking a life. But it plays no role in one going or not going to heaven.

There are many situations a believer can find themselves in where death is preferable to what they are about to encounter, or are encountering. Remember Saul took his own life rather then be mutilated alive by the Philistines. (1 Sam. 31:4) And yet he went to the place where Samuel was. (1 Sam. 28:19)

Lees

 

[Josiah]

"Thou shalt not kill."



.

 

[tango]

Can you tell me where in the Bible it says that suicide is a sin and you won't go to heaven?

I think the best you'd find is the line of "thou shalt not kill" although given how often God sent the Israelites into battle with instructions to kill it's clearly not as simple an outright prohibition as some might like to think.

According to Jesus the only unforgiveable sin is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. I'm not sure how killing yourself represents such a blasphemy if killing other people does not. So on that basis the "you won't go to heaven" seems like a man-made idea.

 

[Lees]

"Thou shalt not kill."

So?

Lees

 

[Albion]

According to Jesus the only unforgiveable sin is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. I'm not sure how killing yourself represents such a blasphemy if killing other people does not.

When would you be repenting of your sin if you are dead from suicide and no longer in this life?

 

[Josiah]

So?

Lees

It seems to me that killing self is likely killing. And one of the Big Ten states, well, you know.



.

 

[Lees]

It seems to me that killing self is likely killing. And one of the Big Ten states, well, you know.

OK. So?

Lees

 

[tango]

When would you be repenting of your sin if you are dead from suicide and no longer in this life?

The same way you'd be repenting of any other sin if you died in the process of committing it, I guess. Unless you spend your waking moments endlessly repenting of every little thing you do wrong the minute you do it, the chances are you'll die without repenting of something.

I'm not sure that a place in heaven is conditional on dying without leaving a single sin unrepented. That would turn eternity into the ultimate crapshoot.

 

[Odë:hgöd]

~
During dialogue with a Jewish man several years ago, I was asked a very pertinent
question that went like this:

"Jesus died for your sins up to the point of your conversion. What about the sins
you are committing now?"

That's a reasonable question coming from a Jew because Levitical atonements had
to be repeated over and over again. Even Yom Kippur, the great day of atonement,
is only useful up to that point and from thence Jews began accumulating sins
towards the next Yom Kippur.

Now supposing God were to stop compiling a Jew's sins on Yom Kippur? Well; that
would be the cat's meow because the Jew would then need to avail himself of the
great day of atonement but one time only rather than repeatedly year after year.

Well; the covenant that Moses' people agreed upon with God per Exodus, Leviticus,
Numbers, and Deuteronomy doesn't allow for God to stop compiling His people's
sins; whereas Christ's crucifixion is much better than Yom Kippur because it does
allow for God to stop.

● 2Cor 5:19 . . God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting
men's sins against them. (cf. Heb 10:1-18)

The Greek word translated "counting" pertains to inventory, i.e. an indictment.
Well, needless to say; without an indictment, prosecutors have no grounds for
hauling someone into court.

* There's a bit of a moral hazard under these circumstances. Due to the fact that
Jesus' followers are on an honor system instead of a legal system, they have an
incentive to become ever more sinful; hence Paul's urging them to cultivate self
restraint.

● Rom 6:1-3 . . What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may
increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?

● Rom 6:12-14 . . Do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil
desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness,
but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to
life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.

● Gal 5:13 . .You, my brethren, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom
to indulge the sinful nature.

FAQ: If God is no longer compiling the sins of His son's followers, then what's with
1John 1:5-10?

REPLY: God desires fellowship with His son's followers; which of course requires
transparency on their part. But the important thing is: according to John 5:24
nothing Jesus' followers do now goes in the books to be used against them later on
down the road at the great white throne event depicted at Rev 20:11-15. Their sins
are no longer criminal matters, instead; now they're family matters. (1John 3:1-2)

Submitted for moderator approval 02/10/2024 @ 02:31 am Pacific Time
_

 

[Albion]

The same way you'd be repenting of any other sin if you died in the process of committing it, I guess.

All right, but that wouldn't really be a suicide; it would be an attempted suicide. The question (I thought) had actual suicides in mind.

Unless you spend your waking moments endlessly repenting of every little thing you do wrong the minute you do it, the chances are you'll die without repenting of something.

That is true. At least, it's the Protestant view of things.

For Catholics and anyone else who believes that it is necessary to die in a "state of grace" in order to reach heaven, this issue does come up. Often, it's raised in inquirers' classes, religion classes in church-affiliated schools, in Bible study groups, and etc. The explanation then given is the one I referred to.

 

[Forgiven1]

I recommend the book, "And She Was a Christian: Why do Believers Commit Suicide" by Peter Preus, a Lutheran Pastor. His wife committed suicide. His book not only talks about his wife, but al the views of suicide through the years.

Anymore, it is looked upon as a mental illness and for the believer who commits suicide, we need to commit their salvation into God's hands.

 

[Lees]

A believer goes to heaven on only one basis. They placed faith in Jesus Christ. That's it. It doesn't matter how good they may be or how bad they may be. It doesn't matter, as far as heaven goes, if they take their own life. And there is no Scripture that says otherwise.

And, if that's not true, then nobody goes to heaven. Is there anybody out there who think they deserve heaven? Any who think that they go to heaven because they quit sinning?

That suicide is an unforgiveable sin and will keep one from heaven is a man made lie. It appeals to the nature of man which is to earn and work his way.

Lees

 

[JennyorAlice]

When you become a Christian, do you not commit your life to God at that point? Does that not mean your life belongs to God from that point on?

Taking a life, even if it is your life and not someone else's, is still taking a life. You are taking something that belongs to God, are you not?

 

[Lees]

When you become a Christian, do you not commit your life to God at that point? Does that not mean your life belongs to God from that point on?

Taking a life, even if it is your life and not someone else's, is still taking a life. You are taking something that belongs to God, are you not?

When you become a Christian, you have placed faith in Jesus Christ, you have believed in Him and desire His Sacrifice to apply to your life of sin.

Your life belonged to God long before you made such a decision for Christ.

Yes, taking a life in murder is a sin. Taking ones own life in suicide is a sin. But it is not an unforgiveable sin. And it doesn't take away eternal life from the believer.

Lees

 

[JennyorAlice]

When you become a Christian, you have placed faith in Jesus Christ, you have believed in Him and desire His Sacrifice to apply to your life of sin.

Your life belonged to God long before you made such a decision for Christ.

Yes, taking a life in murder is a sin. Taking ones own life in suicide is a sin. But it is not an unforgiveable sin. And it doesn't take away eternal life from the believer.

Lees

How can you ask for forgiveness once you've committed suicide and have already taken your life (just asking out of curiosity)?