First, let me preface my thoughts by acknowledging that this is a very difficult and sensitive issue, and I suspect that most everyone reading this knows someone—a friend, a family member, or a co-worker—who has made the fateful decision to end his or her own life.
Typically, two kinds of people ask this question.
The first group I want to discuss is discouraged Christians, often teenagers, who feel that life is simply too difficult or painful to go on. They wonder if they can say a prayer, kill themselves, and still wake up in heaven.
I want to firmly but kindly say that suicide is a terrible choice that a person cannot reverse. And, sadly, yes—there is a strong likelihood that such a person will wake up in a much worse situation. The Bible says plainly, “The just shall live by faith” (Romans 1:17). Usually, suicide is the result of a person losing faith and hope. In addition, the Bible commands, “Thou shalt not kill” (Exodus 20:13 KJV), which would include one’s self. Suicide, therefore, is a violation of the sixth commandment.
So, in the very least, if the last acts of a person’s life are losing faith and then committing self-murder, it would not increase the prospects for receiving eternal life. As Solomon explains, “Whoever is among the living has hope” (Ecclesiastes 9:4 NET).
The second group is those who have lost a loved one to suicide, especially parents who are grieving the loss of a son or daughter. They want to know if there is any hope that they might be reunited with their precious child in the kingdom of heaven.
Let me say with confidence that God loves our loved ones infinitely more than we do. Additionally, only God—a Being of deep compassion—truly knows the human heart. I am grateful the Lord has not left to mere humans the role of judging a person’s eternal destiny. After all, even great prophets like Elijah, Job, Jonah, and Jeremiah had moments when they wished they were dead.
The Bible teaches that God holds us accountable for what we know. The apostle James wrote, “To him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin” (James 4:17). Don’t ever forget that while God is a just King, He is also a compassionate Father, far more merciful than we can ever imagine. The apostle Paul described the Lord as “the Father of mercies and God of all comfort who comforts us in all our tribulation” (2 Corinthians 1:3, 4).
With this in mind, it’s important to be aware that suicides can be the result of extreme depression, unbalanced brain chemistry, compromised thinking, and unbearable physical pain. I have known some believers—faithful Christians—who were going through extreme pain and made a rash decision. If they had waited just five minutes for help to arrive or for medication to kick in, that anguish might have passed.
But I don’t believe God judges the panorama of a person’s life based on a momentary rut of depression, but rather, He takes in the sum of a person’s existence. Ultimately, God will take every case into consideration and evaluate it individually.
For instance, there would be a difference between the suicides of Judas and Saul and that of Samson. There is evidence that Samson repented of abusing the gifts that God had given him. Samson’s death was not so much a suicide as it was a sacrifice. Strangely, it was God’s Spirit that filled him with the supernatural strength to collapse the temple on himself.
All that said, I say with total assurance that it is not God’s will for anyone to take his or her own life as an escape from this world. He loves each one of us with a deeper love than we can imagine. Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10, my emphasis).
When things get tough and your emotions are low, remember that nothing “shall be able to separate us from the love God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39). God promises a love that “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Corinthians 13:7).
If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts or thoughts of self-harm, we urge you to contact the Christian counselors at New Life Clinics, which are located throughout the United States. Call 800-639-5433 and someone will locate a clinic near you and help make arrangements for an appointment.