(Image by Jack Sharp)
“But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.”
SUICIDE, FAITH + THE CHRISTIAN CALLING
Even if we remove mental illness claims away from the topic of suicide, there are those who claim Christian suicide is still possible in a “moment of weakness” or as a “split second decision”. To be sure, that’s an extremely drastic decision to make in a snap. But if it were to occur, it would only prove that individual, even in that moment, rejected the sufficiency of God’s grace for us, as He says He is made strong in our weakness (1 Corinthians 12:9). Even if someone took his/her own life in a “split second” decision, it doesn’t negate that the Lord, who calls His just to live by faith, says if someone so much as shrinks back, His soul takes no pleasure in them (Hebrews 10:38). One making this argument also has to contend with the fruit of patience and self-control we have as Believers born again of the Holy Spirit. So, again, a Christian making a snap decision to take his/her own life in a flash moment of despair is an interesting scenario.
The reality, however, is suicide isn’t typically an act committed at a moment’s notice. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, previous suicide attempts and suicidal ideations are top risk factors and warning signs for suicide. This means the individual thinks about the act, and has possibly attempted it, well before he/she is successful at it. Again, “mental health issues” are no Biblical excuse for any sin, including the decision to take one’s own life, especially among Christians to whom God has given the spirit of “power, love, and a sound mind” (1 Timothy 1:7). By the time someone has killed him/herself, they’d lost all hope for this life, which means they were not placing their faith in Christ to sustain them for some period of time. Their mind wasn’t stayed on Christ for some period of time. They’d been in unrepentant sin for some period of time (Matthew 15:19; Isaiah 55:7; Romans 8:6-10). For this reason, I previously inquired on Twitter: If someone loses hope in Christ’s ability to keep them in this temporal life, how can they truly believe on Him for life eternal? This question won me a lot of backlash, yet the question remains.
For we know that “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). But “without faith, it is impossible to please God…” (Hebrews 11:6). Therefore, “the just shall LIVE by faith” (Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11, my emphasis), as “man does not LIVE by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Deuteronomy 8:3; Matthew 4:4, my emphasis). Even as we endure suffering in this life, Christ told us in advance trials were guaranteed and yet we are charged to endure to the end (John 16:33; Matthew 24:13; Hebrews 3:12-13). That end is whenever the Lord sees fit to call us back to Him or upon His return, when those still living are caught up (after the dead in Christ are raised) to meet Him in the air (Hebrews 9:27; 1 Thessalonians 4:17). Until then, we are to abide in Christ, which means to LIVE according to His Word. “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32). And whom the Son sets free is free INDEED (John 8:36). Hopelessness doesn’t fit anywhere into this equation, unless the professing Believer has taken his mind off of Christ Jesus and abandoned his calling in Him.
“And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”
This life can be hard and knowing this ensures we have no affinity for it and thus long to be with our Creator. Yet, He has opted to not yet take us out of this world. Thus Christ was faithful to pray for our protection against the snares of Satan and equip us to suffer well and bring Him glory as we share His message with His lost sheep (John 17:15-20).
As I previously shared on Twitter:
“If we, who sincerely believe, can just skip ahead and go straight to Jesus, Paul suffered in vain. Paul knew in death he’d see Christ (Philippians 1:21-26), and yet, with all he endured, he didn’t kill himself. The Believer who finds this life isn’t worth living would be the best agent for Christ if he’d redirect his despair to kill himself to instead die TO himself and once and for all live his life in the flesh by faith in the Son of God, who loves him and gave HIS life for him (Galatians 2:20). Go boldly teach the Gospel in a land hostile to Christ that souls may be saved. If death comes from that, at least he’d die in faith and in God’s good graces. It is a selfish act to kill yourself as a Believer when you were called to be a light in this dying world (Matthew 5:13-16).”
I remain in this line of thinking. For what’s the point of everything God tells us in His word if, ultimately, we CAN grow weary in well doing (Galatians 6:9)? And since we are to love our neighbor as ourselves, what does killing ourselves indicate about our love for others? And if we’d violate God’s second greatest commandment, and aren’t able to repent of it, will we not have died in violation of the first, thus displaying we don’t love God after all (Matthew 22:37; 1 John 5:3)?
I SAID ALL OF THIS TO SAY…
It is not lost on me what the truths relayed in this piece may imply about those who’ve chosen to take their own lives. But, with all due respect, my duty is to the living and those who still have a chance at hope in Christ (Luke 9:60). So I share this piece in hopes THEY will be encouraged in the Lord, both to grow AND remain in Him. If my words have hurt anyone, know they weren’t written for your condemnation. They are merely the faithful wounds of a friend, and I’d rather wound than remain silent and it lead to your death (Proverbs 27:6; Ezekiel 3:18). If my previous Twitter interactions on this topic were any indication, I already KNOW this piece won’t be popular, either. But I wrote it in love, and love isn’t fake, fleeting, nor is it merely a feeling. Love is genuine and doing what is ultimately good and right towards others (Romans 12:6-10). So it’s only good and right I earnestly warn others about the truth about suicide, not according to man’s philosophies, theories or hypotheses, but God’s wisdom.
“If I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.”
According to the Scriptures, “suicide”, while not explicitly identified as a “sin”, is an act carried out by those at enmity with God. Perhaps suicide isn’t explicitly called a sin in the Bible because in each Biblical account, suicide was a means of judgment against men the Lord had explicitly counted wicked. Nevertheless, knowing that taking one’s own life is murder should be enough to make any sincere Believer on Christ pause, for murder is explicitly counted sin, and it is also explicitly condemned (Ezekiel 20:13; Galatians 5:19-21).
There is no opportunity to repent of suicide, and ongoing mental health struggles nor “moments of weakness” are never offered up to excuse it, or any sin, in God’s Word. We have only two options: (1) Believe on Christ and abide in Him, which entails a lifetime of self-denial and sanctification, or (2) Confess Christ, but do as we please and later prove ourselves never truly belonging to Him. For His sheep hear His voice, and we do what He says, and He said we must endure to the end (Matthew 10:22; 24:13; Hebrews 3:12, 10:38:39).
Thanks be to God, our endurance isn’t impossible nor will it be in vain! First, He has given us everything we need to endure in this life - His Spirit (Galatians 5; Philippians 2:13), His Word (John 17:17; 2 Timothy 3:16-17) and His Body [one another] (John 13:34 Galatians 6:2; 2 Corinthians 8:14-15); Proverbs 27:17). Second He’s promised us a great reward (1 Peter 4:12-13; Romans 8:17; 2 Timothy 2:12; 1 Corinthians 2:9; 2 Corinthians 4:17). Third, He left us in the earth with a purpose greater than ourselves (Matthew 5:14-16, 28:19-20; Philippians 2:15; 1 Peter 2:9). As followers of Christ, we are here to proclaim the excellencies of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light! And we are now salt and light! So what good are we to the world if we lose our flavor or dim ourselves?
And so, after having read each part of this series, whatever one wishes to do with what was shared on this matter, I will leave to the Lord. But I could not sit idly by and allow those I count as brothers and sisters in the Lord to believe and dare proclaim not only that which makes suicide seem palatable, but that which undermines Christ’s promises and the work of God in us. There is no Biblical case for a Believer to take his own life, nor is there a Biblical excuse for losing all hope to this end. If anyone finds fault with this claim, may they go their way and I go mine, and we’ll just have to see who beheld the truth on the other side.
With all of the peace and love God intends,
““Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.””
