{UAH} If a Christian commits suicide, will they go to heaven?

If a Christian commits suicide, will they go to heaven?

Apart from rejecting God's provision for salvation through the sacrificial death of Jesus, suicide is the worst thing an unbeliever can do. This is so because there is no second chance for salvation after one's death.  In the Book of Hebrews we read:  ". . . it is appointed for men to die once, and after this comes judgment" (Hebrews 9:27).

For the Christian, it is essential to understand several things regarding suicide:

(1) Suicide is sin. God forbids murder (Exodus 20:13) and taking one's own life is murder. It is also sin because it fails to take into account the assurances of God's grace and mercy, of the compassionate High Priesthood of our Lord Jesus, and because it believes that there is no way out, but to sin. None of these are true. Taking one's life is to disobey God, and disobedience is sin. Suicide is also sin because it causes great suffering for those we leave behind.  Suicide does not serve others for their good.

(2) While suicide is sin, it is not the unpardonable sin. The only unpardonable sin is attributing the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit in Jesus to Satan (Mark 3:20-30).

(3) While suicide is sin, it is easier to understand why a Christian would consider suicide than it is to grasp why an unbeliever would do so.  At best, the unbeliever who commits suicide enters into an uncertain future.  Little do they know that the are actually entering into a state of eternal separation from from God.  Knowing the glorious future that awaits the Christian, a believer might reason that it is better to escape the trials and tribulations of this life and enter into eternal joy in the presence of our Lord.  This is not to understate how tragic this choice is, or how destructive it is to one's testimony, and to one's claim that God's provisions are sufficient for our every need. But the Christian is assured of going to heaven when they die (even if that be by suicide). When one is overcome by depression and is not thinking clearly, suicide may appear to be the only way out.

(4) There were genuine believers in the Bible who wanted to die, men like Elijah and Job, but the Scriptures that describe these men's despair and suicidal desires make it clear that they were wrong. Later events make it clear that "bailing out of life" would have been a very bad choice.

(5) God sometimes brings us to a point of total despair and frustration so that we will give up trying to live this life in our own strength and cast ourselves wholly upon Christ.

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Gwokto La'Kitgum

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"Even a small dog can piss on a tall building" Jim Hightower

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