If a Christian commits suicide do they still go to Heaven?
By Dr. Ken Matto
(Exo 20:13 KJV) Thou
shalt not kill.
One of the most plaguing questions in the world of Christianity is the
one concerning suicide and the Christian. The question is, “if a true born
again Christian commits suicide, can they still go to Heaven? “ Normally
this question always elicits an immediate but emotional response and that
response is normally “no they don’t!” Do we accept answers based upon
emotion or do we accept answers based upon the Bible? I think that every
Christian can agree that we must take our answers from the Bible?
Disclaimer
This article is not endorsing suicide among the Christians or any people
groups in the world, it is only for exploring the question concerning the
relationship between suicide and salvation.
What is Suicide?
Webster’s 1828 Dictionary defines it as:
Self-murder; the act of designedly destroying
one's own life. To constitute suicide, the person must be of years of
discretion and of sound mind.
2003 Merriam-Webster defines it as:
the act or an instance of taking one's own life voluntarily and
intentionally especially by a person of years of discretion and of sound
mind
Suicide is when a person ends their own life. It is called the act of
self-murder.
Suicides in the Bible
In the Scriptures there are seven recorded suicides:
Ahimelech - Judges 9:52-54 - He wanted his armor bearer to slay him
because a woman hit him in the head with a millstone and he did not want it
to be known that he died by the hands of a woman.
Samson - Judges 16:25-30 - He died taking the lives of thousands of
Philistines in vengeance for blinding him. He knew that when he pushed the
pillars of their building, that he would die too.
Saul - 1 Samuel 31:3-4 - Saul was hit by arrows and did not want the
Philistines to slay him and then abuse his body, by maltreating him or
mocking him. He asked his armor bearer to kill him but he would not, so Saul
fell on his own sword.
Saul’s Armor bearer - 1 Samuel 31:5 - He saw Saul was dead and probably
feared that the Philistines would do to him what Saul feared they would do
to him.
Ahithophel - 2 Samuel 17:23 - He had partnered with Absalom in his
rebellion against his father David. Now the counsel of Ahithophel was not
being followed because in verse 21, David had found out that Ahithophel
counseled against him and he knew the writing was on the wall, so he took
his own life.
Zimri - 1 Kings 16:15-20 - A wicked king who burned himself to death in
the king’s house because he knew the city he was in was taken.
Judas - Matthew 27:3-8 - Judas is probably the most famous suicide in
the Bible if not history itself. Judas was despondent because he had
betrayed the Lord Jesus Christ and instead of seeking the Lord at that time,
he instead allowed his emotions to dictate his action of suicide.
Out of this group of seven, there was only on believer in there and that
was Samson.
(Heb 11:32 KJV) And what
shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of
Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David
also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:
Samson is listed in Faith’s Hall of Fame. Now because suicides are listed in
the Bible does not mean that God in any way endorses them.
Religious Suicides
I want to list here two religious suicides because they are not
Christian suicides. Christianity is not a religion, it is a living faith.
These were in the news so they would be somewhat familiar to many.
1. Jonestown, Guyana - 918 people committed suicide on November 18,
1978. These people were following the dictates of their leader Jim Jones who
was not a Christian.
2. Heaven’s Gate - It was headed up by Marshall Applewaite and Bonnie
Nettles. On March 26, 1997, 39 members committed suicide in hopes that a UFO
was going to take them off the earth.
These types of mass suicides have nothing whatsoever to do with
Christianity. These groups were headed up by people who had superiority
complexes and had mind control over their people. They were not crazy, just
totally deluded by Satan. Now let us turn to the matter at hand and see if a
Christian still gets to Heaven even after committing suicide.
What Happened At Salvation?
Salvation is an eternal watershed event in the life of those who have
become saved. Now let us look at why that is so.
How Were We Saved?
The first thing we must ask is how were we saved? The Bible is very
clear on that issue. We are saved by grace and not by works.
(Eph 2:8-9 KJV) For by grace are ye saved
through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
{9} Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Eph. 2:8-9 make it very clear that we were saved by grace and not by
works. These verses are very commonly used but I don’t think that many
Christians really get the significance of them. They are normally used very
casually. The strong message in these verses is that we are saved by grace,
which is God’s work from beginning to end. Salvation is not of works, which
means not even the slightest work counts toward salvation.
(Titus 3:5 KJV) Not by works of
righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by
the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
Even if it were possible to do righteous works while still a sinner, it
would not be by righteous works but only the washing of regeneration. We
receive the washing, not do the washing by works. If it was possible to
become saved by works, how could the Apostle Paul have become saved. What
was his works prior to salvation? It was killing Christians and destroying
the church. These would hardly qualify for works that one would use to merit
salvation. So what was the result for Paul. He was on the road to Damascus
for the purpose of destroying the church which was there and the Lord
overshadowed him on the road. Remember what the Lord said unto him, “Paul,
your works of killing Christians and destroying the church have been good
enough to warrant salvation.” Well, the Lord did not say that.
(Acts 26:13-18 KJV) At midday, O king, I
saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining
round about me and them which journeyed with me. {14} And when we
were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying
in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard
for thee to kick against the pricks. {15} And I said, Who art thou,
Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. {16} But rise,
and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to
make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast
seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; {17}
Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now
I send thee, {18} To open their eyes, and to turn them
from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that
they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are
sanctified by faith that is in me.
The Lord made Paul a minister of the Gospel and a witness to the
Gentiles. Paul’s ministry was based upon the Lord saving him and giving him
that ministry. If you notice, there was nothing said by the Lord concerning
Paul and his life as a Pharisee. Paul’s good works as a Pharisee played
absolutely no part in the equation of salvation. Now if the Apostle Paul was
saved by grace alone without any works from the law, then we too are saved
the same way. You can even ask the question. What works did the thief on the
cross do before he became saved by Jesus?
(Luke 23:39-43 KJV) And one of the
malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save
thyself and us. {40} But the other answering rebuked him, saying,
Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? {41}
And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but
this man hath done nothing amiss. {42} And he said unto Jesus, Lord,
remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. {43} And Jesus said
unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.
The thief on the cross did nothing to become saved because he couldn’t.
He was near to death as Jesus and the malefactor was. Here too is a
beautiful picture of grace without works and it should not be gone over very
lightly because this gives a wonderful picture of workless salvation.
So to summarize, works do not play a part in obtaining salvation. It is
only by the electing grace of God that a dead sinner is brought to spiritual
life. We are dead in sins and can do nothing to regenerate ourselves. It has
to come from the outside. Did Lazarus in the tomb raise himself or was he
raised by the Lord Jesus Christ from outside the tomb? Lazarus was raised
through no work of himself and here too is another wonderful picture of
grace of someone being brought to life without them having a part except to
receive it.
The Effects of Salvation in Christ
Now since we have established that salvation comes only by grace, we
must now look at what grace accomplishes in the life of the believer. In
this section we must deal with the sin issue. It is the issue of forgiveness
of sin and the removal of those sins from the soul of the Christian.
(Psa 103:12 KJV) As far as the east is from
the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions
from us.
In Psalm 103:12, we have an action from God concerning the sin situation
in the believer’s life. According to this verse, God had removed our sins as
far as the east from the west. East and west never meet on this globe. If
you went north, all the way to the north pole, you would eventually be going
south, so south and north do meet, but not east and west. The word “removed”
carries with it the meaning of “far distant, or separated.” So what this
verse is teaching, is that God has separated us from our sins. To be
separated, something must be removed and that is our sins. He removed our
sins and made our souls clean and holy at the point of salvation.
(Col 2:13-14 KJV) And you, being dead in
your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together
with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; {14}Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was
against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of
the way, nailing it to his cross;
Blotting out - Wipe out or obliterate
Handwriting of ordinances - The crimes of the criminal written and
placed at the location of execution
Contrary - Against or hostile to
Out of the way - Away out of the midst or middle
Death is basically separation and Paul is reminding the Colossians that
they were dead in sins and that meant they were separated from God plus they
had not received the circumcision made without hands as spoken of in verse
11.
(Col 2:11 KJV) In whom also ye are
circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the
body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:
They were still subject to the fallen nature which was
the sin-laden nature. Then as a result of God’s salvation, God had taken His
Elect and made them alive unto Him. We were made alive with Christ.
(John 5:21 KJV) For as the Father raiseth up
the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he
will.
The next part of this verse is of the utmost importance. Since Christ
has made us alive, He has forgiven us all our trespasses. This means that
every sin that any believer has committed, or will commit in the future has
already been paid for. There is not one sin which is held to the account of
any believer. Those who claim that a person can lose their salvation have no
understanding of the fact that every single sin of the believer has been
forgiven. If every sin has been forgiven, then what could possibly keep us
out of Heaven? These same folks claim that our future sins could keep us out
of Heaven. Let us ask a simple question. Where were you when Christ went to
the cross? You were not even born yet which means ALL your sins were in the
future. It also means that ALL of those sins have been paid for and this
means your soul is completely clean, with not one blemish.
Paul continues the great emancipation of the believer. Christ has
forgiven every trespass of the believer and here we are told that all our
crimes, our sins, were completely obliterated. The hand writing of
ordinances was the crime or crimes the prisoner was guilty of. The
ordinances which the believer was guilty of was the violation of the law of
God. We broke every law, even if we broke only one.
(James 2:10 KJV) For whosoever shall keep the
whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
So here the law became our enemy because it openly showed
us that we were guilty of breaking God’s law but when Christ went to the
cross, He had fulfilled the demands of God’s righteous law and because we
were in Christ, being baptized unto His death, we were found not guilty of
the violation of God’s law. As Col. 2:14 puts it, Christ completely
obliterated the charges against us, so never again will the believer ever
have to come into judgment for any sins. The verse further states that
Christ took those charges against us away from us, out of the midst, that
is, the sins no longer prevent fellowship with God and with other
Christians. It goes on further to state that He nailed it to His cross,
which means the law is totally dead to us in the area of accusations and
violations because Christ paid for every single violation of the law that
the true believer would ever commit. There would never be even one violation
of the law which could ever affect our salvation and our purity of our souls
because of Christ’s total effectual sacrifice.
(Heb 8:12 KJV) For I will be merciful to
their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I
remember no more.
(Heb 10:17 KJV) And their sins and
iniquities will I remember no more.
(Isa 43:25 KJV) I, even I, am he that
blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not
remember thy sins.
(Jer 31:34 KJV) And they shall teach no
more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the
LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest
of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will
remember their sin no more.
Here we have four verses, two from the Old Testament and two from the
New Testament. When God lists a teaching four times, He wants us to make
sure that we understand well what is in view. The teaching that God is
emphasizing is that those who become saved, their sins are a thing of the
past and God promises that He will never remember those sins again. This
means that not only have our sins been removed from us and taken out of the
way, it also means that God will remember our sins and iniquities no more.
In Isaiah 43:25 above, the words “that blotteth out” in the Hebrew also
carry the meaning of “destroy or wipe away.” Salvation is not just
forgiveness of sins, but it is the removing of them and the forgetting of
them by God. This is how thorough the believer’s salvation is.
Suicide and the Christian
Let us now return unto the subject of this article. We have already
assessed that suicide is murder. It is the murdering of oneself but
nevertheless no matter who the victim is, whether yourself or another, it is
still murder and it is a sin. Now a person who has been truly born again in
the Lord Jesus Christ has experienced what we discovered and that is total
forgiveness of all sins, both past and future, then God removed all those
sins from the soul of the Christian making the soul clean and holy before
Him, God then chose to forget all our sins because they were paid for by
Christ.
If a truly born again Christian commits suicide in a moment of despair
or even if they plan it, since all their sins are forgiven, including the
future ones, then if they do commit suicide, they are still going to Heaven.
Murder or self-murder is not an unforgivable sin.
(Exo 2:14 KJV) And he said, Who made thee a
prince and a judge over us? intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the
Egyptian? And Moses feared, and said, Surely this thing is known.
Exodus 2:14 states that Moses killed an Egyptian. Moses
committed murder and was forgiven for that sin. It does not matter who the
victim is, whether self or another, murder is a forgivable sin and if a
Christian does commit suicide, then that sin was also paid for by the Lord
Jesus Christ and will not prevent entrance into Heaven.
Summary
Since all the sins of the true Christian have been nailed to the cross,
taken out of the way, removed from us, and forgotten by God, there is no sin
that can keep the Christian out of Heaven and that includes suicide. Either
the atonement of Christ was total, or it was partial. If the atonement was
partial, then there is not a saved person either today or in history, and
there never will be if we have to rely on works, even for 1% of our
salvation. 99% salvation equals no salvation.
(John 11:26 KJV) And whosoever liveth and
believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
(Isa 43:13 KJV) Yea, before the day was
I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of
my hand: I will work, and who shall let it?
(John 6:37 KJV) All that the Father giveth
me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me
I will in no wise cast out.
(John 10:28 KJV) And I give unto them
eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any
man pluck them out of my hand.
Based on these four verses, what can keep a Christian out of Heaven?
NOTHING! You can do no work to gain salvation and you can do no work to lose
it!