6/20/2022

It happened again.  I was messaged the question that people ask me repeatedly.  A young woman wrote:  “I was told that it’s in the Bible if a person kills themselves they won’t go to heaven.  Is this true?”

If you were asked that question, how would you answer?  What’s the truth about suicide?

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, more than 40,000 Americans die by suicide each year—one death every 12 minutes.  The overall suicide rate has increased by approximately 30 percent over the past 20 years, prompting some to call it a public health crisis.

LifeWay Research found that 1 in 3 Protestant churchgoers have been personally affected by suicide.  The grief of losing a loved one may be normal and expected, but with suicide comes added trauma.

Some Christians have the idea that suicide is an unforgivable sin and that those who die by suicide automatically go to hell.  Al Hsu, an editor for InterVarsity Press, says that’s a misconception that believes in a transactional view of sin and forgiveness, where if we don’t confess the sin of suicide after it takes place, it can’t be forgiven.  But that idea comes more from Augustine and medieval theology than the Bible.

Scripture doesn’t actually say that suicide separates us from God for eternity.  Unforgivable sin is never equated with suicide in Scripture.  Somebody like Samson died at his own hand, but he’s still included in Hebrews 11 among the Hall of the Faithful.

Hsu was once asked:  “I’ve always believed that suicide automatically sends you to hell, and that has prevented me from killing myself.  Now I’m confused because if you tell me that suicide doesn’t automatically send you to hell, doesn’t that let people off the hook?” 

Hsu responded:  “Suicide is never held up positively in Scripture.  There are seven suicides in Scripture from King Saul to Judas, and they’re always depicted negatively.  They are never God’s plan for anybody’s life.  But it’s also not the unforgivable sin that automatically condemns somebody for eternity.”

When someone loses a person they love to suicide, what’s needed is compassion and empathy for them as they grieve.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says each suicide leaves behind, on average, 6 to 10 people—children, parents, spouses.  That’s hundreds of thousands of people that are going through this loss every year.  We’re not always aware of its prevalence until it happens.  People are surprised by it and feel like they’re alone. They need to know there are others that have gone through the same experience.

Karen Mason’s book “Preventing Suicide” argues that people who are thinking about suicide want to be rescued.  They may not always articulate it, but the people experiencing suicidal ideation are often torn between the desire to die and the desire to live.  When the desire to die outweighs the desire to live or exceeds their capacity for coping mechanisms to handle their pain, that’s when suicide takes place.  Therapists say you can either reduce the pain or increase the capacity to cope with pain.  This can be done through counseling, therapy, medicine, or antidepressants.

The church is not to be afraid of psychology or medicine.  Sometimes Christians think, “Oh, that’s unspiritual.  If we just believe or pray more, then we’d be able to heal this.”  But just as we would not think it unspiritual to medically heal somebody for cancer or leukemia, it’s okay to provide treatment for depression and mental illness.

There are resources available for the church, like Kay Warren’s and Amy Simpson’s book “Troubled Minds.”  To the extent that people are more public about the realities of mental illness and suicide, the more we can help those who struggle and hopefully save those at risk.

-Michael