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There are five questions that we were asked to analyze on the topic. I focused on the Bible question and ran out of room to answer the other questions. My post is longer than I wanted it to be, so I will leave it to my colleagues to address the other questions. There are very heated moral debates around the world today regarding the topic of suicide and assisted suicide. In just the last few weeks, I have heard podcasts, Christion radio programs, as well as news programs on TV and radio discussing suicide and assisted suicide.
Now let’s look at the question for this week. There is a popular belief that suicide is an unpardonable sin and those who commit it are destined for Hell. What does the Bible say about suicide and is suicide an unpardonable sin? There are quite a few recorded suicides within the Old Testament (OT) and one in the New Testament (NT). Except for Samson who committed “‘martyrdom,’ the Bible presents each person who committed suicide as an individual whose behavior is clearly not to be emulated.” [1]
One such incident in the OT is found in Judges 9:53-54 where Abimelech committed assisted suicide after having a millstone dropped on his head by a woman as they tried to capture Shechem. Scripture tells us that the millstone crushed his skull. Instead of taking a chance of dying at the hands of a woman, he had his armor bearer assist him in committing suicide. A very similar set of events occurred with King Saul and his armor bearer to avoid capture by the Philistines. Other OT examples include Ahithophel who strangled himself in 2 Samuel 17:23 after his counsel to Absalom was not followed and King Zimri, King of Israel, who killed himself when he set his house on fire when the city of Tirzah was captured.[2]
There were people in the OT who asked God to kill them. God rejected their request every time. This list includes Moses who saw his task too burdensome in Numbers 11:14–15, Elijah made his request fleeing from Jezebel in 1 Kings 19:4, Job in his agony in Job 6:8–11, and Jonah in his displeasure with God over giving grace and mercy to Nineveh in Jonah 4:3. Such instances provide ample biblical evidence that suicide is never the proper choice.[3]
The NT records the suicide of Judas in Matthew 27:5, “because of his shame and grief at betraying Jesus.” [4] Jesus speaking of Judas in His priestly prayer to the Father prior to being betrayed said, “While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.”[5] Jesus knew that He was going to be betrayed by Judas and stated that there was a devil among the disciples early on in John 6:70. Jesus stated, “Jesus answered them, ‘Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?’”[6] I make note of the above verses as they lead to the following observations.
First, life is sacred, and in Genesis 1:26-27 as well as Genesis 2:7 we are created in the image of God. In Deuteronomy 30:15-20 we are told to choose life. Second, “God as the Creator has power over all existence. He alone should control life, whether it continues or stops.”[7] Job came to this realization in Job 1:21. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 that our bodies are, “a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore, glorify God in your body.[8] Third, the Bible does not explicitly forbid suicide. God does however tell us not to murder in Exodus 20:13. There is much Scripture to say that a person should not commit suicide but there is no Scripture that says suicide is forbidden. Suicide when not assisted is taking one’s own life. Murder is one person killing another person. Therefore, any assisted suicide is murder.
I come to my final thoughts with Jesus’ words that are in the Bible:
“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”[9]
Here is the fact. As one of Jesus’ sheep, no matter what a person does, he or she can never lose his or her salvation. No one can snatch a believer from the hands of Jesus or God. That includes oneself. You can never snatch yourself from the hands of Christ. With that being said, there are two quick points. First and foremost, has the person accepted Jesus Christ as his or her Lord and Savior? Second. as Christians, we are to be more Christ-like every day. The Christian needs to seek help with their trials and tribulations and not resort to a decision that destroys the image of God.
If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, please get help. There are many organizations that have been founded to help a person during these times. I encourage you to reach out.
In Christ,
Don
[1] Chad Brand et al., eds., “Suicide,” Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2003), 1540.
[2] Brand, “Suicide,” HIBD, 1540.
[3] Brand, “Suicide,” HIBD, 1540.
[4] Ronald F. Youngblood, F. F. Bruce, and R. K. Harrison, Thomas Nelson Publishers, eds., Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1995).
[5] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Jn 17:12.