Suicide Will Not Send You to Hell

Nathan,

Thanks for writing me.

First of all. I am sorry for the loss of your friend. There is little more difficult than having to cope with a death of someone very close to you. On top of that, it must be doubly hard to deal with someone you love ending their own life, especially when you may not have seen it coming whatsoever... so my deepest sympathy.

You ask a question that is very common. Suicide is a very serious issue, and particularly among the religious community, there has been the ongoing answer that suicide gives you a one-way sure fire ticket to the gates of hell. I apologize for using what may seem like an insensitive depiction but I want to relay and paint a picture of how this topic has been treated-- as I'm sure at this point you know.

First of all, yes, the Bible does speak of suicide on a couple of occassions. In the Old Testament (1 Chronicles 10:4) King Saul when in a losing battle of war chose to "fall on his own sword" rather than face the torture of his enemies. In the New Testament, Judas, who betrayed Jesus felt so bad about what he had done, he killed himself as well. (Acts 1:16-18). So the situation of suicide is not new. There is really nothing new under the sun.

Suicide Does Not Automatically Send You to Hell

My answer is controversial, but my answer is no. Suicide does not automatically send one to hell. The Bible does not support that fact. I know that is an unpopular belief in the religious community but again the Bible does not support that fact. There are several factors to consider:

1. How does one make it to heaven: There is nothing that you can do to qualify yourself for heaven. The Bible says that there is one way in and that is to believe in Jesus Christ. We are not saved by works, but by grace. (Ephesians 2:8)

2. If there is nothing we can do, in our own works, to go to heaven. There is nothing we can do to disqualify for heaven.... aside from no longer believing. I know now that the popular argument arises, "well the person died before they were able to repent of their sin of murder." This is true. However, entertain this thought... let's just say that you told a lie, and then got in your car and was wrecked and died before getting the chance to repent of that sin... are you hell-bound for that? Most people would say no. Of course not. It is the belief in Jesus that is your ticket to heaven. Jesus says that He is the way, the Truth and the Light and no person goes to the Father, except by Him. Missing the mark will not run God off, or erase your name from the Book of Life. The Bible says that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.

I will qualify all of this by saying that I don't encourage or endorse suicide. In fact even if a person commits suicide yet believing, they still have to answer to God about what they've done. The Bible says that we will ALL stand before the judgment seat of Christ and answer for the things we have done in our body. (2 Corinthians 5:10) I don't know how that conversation works when standing before the creator and possessor of heaven and earth.

You must understand that we are here on earth to fulfill the entire will of God for our lives... whatever that may be individually for us. We want to hear those coveted words from the Father, "my good and faithful servant-- well done" not "my good servant-- job incomplete." If your friend was a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, though she left this earth without fulfilling the will of God for her life, you will see her again if you have your life together. I hope that answers your questions.

-Live Intentionally, Die Empty

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