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Last month, the Christian community was forced to confront the reality of suicide once again after Jarrid Wilson, a pastor, took his life (link). Since then there has been a barrage of comments and opinions floating around about how Christians should consider mental health. On top of all that, there have been a number of articles discussing what happens when a “Christian” commits suicide. Are they safe or does suicide confirm that they were never a true follower of Christ in the first place? Let’s talk about it.
No stranger to the topic
Of the ridiculous amount of secondary topics for Christians to consider, suicide is one I’ve had to wrestle with quite a bit. I’ve already shared my own history with depression and suicide (link), so my ears tend to perk up when I hear thoughts that either ignore or flat-out contradict the truths God reveals in the Bible. Let’s attempt to take a very big topic and cover the main points on how we should consider those who take their lives after professing faith in Christ.
A lack of saving faith?
There are many well-meaning Christians who, when speaking on this topic, start from a dangerous position. At best, they haven’t fully thought through the implications of their beliefs, perhaps speaking without grace, gentleness, or deeper consideration. At worst, they come from a place of arrogance and prideful judgment, shaming those who struggle with something so painful and hurting those who are left to pick up the pieces.
Imagine being so certain of your beliefs that you would tell a parent, spouse, or child that someone they loved clearly wasn’t saved if they were able to kill themselves. Have these people fully worked through their position, carefully considering how the entire teaching of faith and salvation should inform their belief on suicide? Let’s take a quick look at common arguments for suicide being proof that someone wasn’t saved.
#1 Lord of their own lives
Some believe suicide means someone is placing themselves above God. They are trying to decide their fate, rather than letting God remove them from the world when He’s ready. Likewise, they are clearly think suicide is better for them than whatever God has planned.
#2 Lack of faith
The primary goal of suicide is to escape. Whether it’s pain, hopelessness, or fear, what drives a person to end their life is to feel as though they have no other choice. Thus, for someone to end their life is to admit that they don’t have faith in Christ being in control and capable of saving them. They have no hope or trust, with suicide eventually proving that they never had faith in the first place.
#3 Suicide is the ultimate display of sin
When someone dies, they escape by inflicting pain on everyone they leave behind. Entire lives are forever changed from the act. Spouses, children, or family members may even go on to commit suicide themselves, creating a vicious cycle. For someone to inflict this much pain on someone is evidence of a heart rooted in selfishness and hate, with no room for Jesus Christ in a heart like that.
Having read and heard several opinions over the years, most arguments fall into these three categories. Either a person hasn’t surrendered their life to Christ, they lack faith, or they are too sinful to be a true follower. People are convinced these characteristics stand as proof that a genuine Christian could never kill themselves, and therefore anyone who does was clearly a false convert.
But if that’s true, we’re all going to Hell.
None of us are saved
Suicide is extreme. To come to a point where the only option is to cease existing isn’t impulsive. It requires a cascade of events over a long period of time to bring someone to that point. And yes, suicide is murder and therefore a sin. But despite the unique damage it causes, suicide isn’t a unique sin.
I’ve seen some take the position that because no Christians committed suicide in the Bible, it’s clearly not something a Christian would do. Ignoring the obvious problems with that position, it’s factually incorrect.
No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)
I’ve previously discussed the meaning of this verse in depth (link), but for now let’s look at how critical those first five words are to this discussion.
No temptation means just that. Anything we’re tempted with isn’t unique to us, but instead is a common problem throughout all of human history. The temptation that leads to suicide is often found in fear, hopelessness, or a desire to escape pain. We all know what it’s like to feel those. Some are tempted toward anger, others substance abuse or even working overtime. And though it’s one of the most damaging of all, others respond with the temptation to end their lives.
… has overtaken you is one we may easily miss. Who is Paul talking to here? What people are experiencing these temptations? Christians. He’s saying that no Christian will experience a temptation they are required to give in to, because God always provides a means of escape through Christ. Christ is enough to carry us beyond our desire to sin, but only if we’re willing to have enough faith in Him to do so.
In a way, that almost seems unhelpful to the conversation. If a person is tempted toward suicide, then giving in to it means they clearly aren’t relying on Christ to deliver them from their circumstances. Whatever is causing that hopelessness isn’t too much for God to handle, yet the act of ending their lives shows they don’t believe that. So how could that person possibly be saved?
Because I don’t normally let Christ deliver me from my temptations. And neither do you.
None are righteous
This simple reality is so often lost in the discussion of suicide. Let’s look once more at the arguments people give for someone not being saved if they could kill themselves:
- They aren’t letting Christ be lord of their lives
- They aren’t living in faith
- The act is incredibly sinful
And yet those criteria describe each of us every day.
Do we regularly bow our knee and live a life that claims Christ is Lord?
so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 4:10-11)
Do we have the constant faith called for throughout God’s word?
…for we walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7)
Can we look at our lives and see that we rarely, if ever, give in to sin because we are constantly killing it?
So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. (Romans 8:12-13)
A world of stray sheep
We all live like enemies of God. None of us are righteous enough to live a life that would allow us to die and immediately stand before a God who is pleased with us. We’re far too wretched and sin-loving for that.
That’s why we need Christ more than anything. Not just for salvation, but for daily living in a world so entrenched in sin. Our sin nature is constantly at war with the Holy Spirit dwelling within. He’s there, day by day, making us more like Christ and less like the world. Yet none of us are perfect, and never will be on this side of eternity.
If a person is clearly not saved because they did something that proved they weren’t obedient to Christ, walking by faith, and living without sin, then none of us are saved. Make no mistake, Jarrid Wilson killing himself is on a completely different level from me yelling at my toddler. Yet in the end, both of us give in to sin because we love sin far too much, yet love it far less than we did before Christ saved us.
Can a genuine Christian commit suicide? We may as well ask if a genuine Christian can get angry during a basketball game, be lazy, or lust. All those actions are evidence of lives that, at that moment, aren’t relying on Christ and His power to bring us joy and contentment in any situation.
None of them are split-second decisions but are instead built upon months or years of not living in surrender. All are a result of sin, and none are so great that Christ’s bloody sacrifice can’t atone for them. Suicide is a horrible act that should never be condoned, but it’s not so horrible that it removes our faith more than any other sin possibly could.
The only thing that matters for any person’s salvation is if they have placed their trust in Christ to save them from the wrath of God that we all completely deserve. Giving in to a particular sin, no matter how horrible and devastating that sin’s consequences are, cannot possibly nullify the awesome power of Christ. Not walking by faith in one area doesn’t mean we are completely without faith in all areas.
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)
