If a Christian Commits Suicide, Do They Lose Their Salvation?What does the Bible tell us about suicide?
First of all… if you are reading this and considering suicide, please seek help now. Call 1-800-273-8255, the national hotline, go to a hospital if you can, call 911, or go alert someone in your home, apartment, or workplace, or wherever you are, and do whatever it takes to get help. For more go to www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org. From 2000 to 2020, more than 800,000 people died by suicide in America. In 2022, about 49,500 people died by suicide... the highest number ever recorded. Surging rates from "deaths of despair”... suicide, drug overdoses, and alcoholism have contributed to a recent three-year decline in life expectancy in America. Source According to the Centers for Disease Control, approximately 123 Americans die by suicide every day. That’s one death by suicide every 12 minutes. It is estimated there is one suicide for every 25 suicide attempts, with nearly one of a quarter-million people becoming suicide survivors each year. Women attempt suicide three times more often than men, but men succeed four times more often than women. What Does the Bible Tell Us About Suicide? As it turns out… not much. You won’t find the word “suicide” in the Bible, but it does record six people who took their own lives… Zimri, Abimelech, King Saul, Ahithophel, Saul’s armor-bearer, and of course Judas Iscariot who hung himself after betraying Jesus. All of these men are described in scripture as being wicked, except for Saul’s armor-bearer whose character is unknown to us. There are several reasons why people might commit suicide, but these are not directly addressed in Scripture. For example, a chemical imbalance, a serious brain injury, chronic pain, severe depression, or other acute mental illness that may drive people to take their own lives. Satan, the father of lies, can and does sometimes plant destructive thoughts in people’s minds… who sadly choose to act on those lies and kill themselves. There are devoted Christians who sincerely believe that anyone who commits suicide will not be saved but condemned for all eternity... But is Suicide Really a One-Way Ticket to Hell? American Faith & Freedom is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. The idea that committing suicide automatically condemns one to hell is not supported anywhere in Scripture. For all those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, all sins past, present, and future have been and for all time been forgiven by grace through faith by the atoning work of Jesus Christ. Anything else is a mockery of the cross...
One’s eternal destiny is set forever at the moment of repenting and receiving Christ and sealed by the Holy Spirit. Consider this found in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians…
Paul said it even more forcefully in Romans…
Suicide is not what determines whether or not a person gains entrance into the kingdom of heaven. If an unsaved person commits suicide, they will surely go to hell. However, that person will end up in hell for rejecting salvation through Christ, NOT because he or she committed suicide. Take a look at one of the most well-known passages in all of the Bible, particularly verse 18…
Suicide is therefore NOT the unpardonable sin… that sin is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Jesus Himself described it this way…
Blasphemy is defined as rebellious irreverence toward and disrespectful mockery of the Holy Spirit. It is the one and only sin that will never be forgiven. Again, in Jesus’ own words…
and...
This is NOT to say it is ever okay to commit suicide, but those who are left behind can rest assured that a person who does take their own life will not lose their salvation if they were truly saved in the first place… and that is a matter only between the individual and God Himself. If you are enjoying our posts, help us cover the expense of this blog by buying us a coffee!
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