In this episode, host Veritéetfeu discusses how Christian suicide undermines Scripture and ways Believers tempted to despair may find hope in Jesus Christ.
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Thoughts About Suicide...
In September 2019, late Pastor Jarrid Wilson made Christian and mainstream headlines after taking his own life. He was 30 years old with a birthday on the way. In addition to his noble profession as a pastor, he was a husband, a father of two boys, and a mental health advocate. As the pastor of a megachurch with a sizable social media following, Wilson was loved and adored by many, and in the days following the news of his death, those who knew and followed his ministry took to social media to say their goodbyes, express their condolences and to honor his memory. Wilson’s story also gave way to a larger conversation on Christian suicide, and as many utilized social media to grieve his death, many also took to social media to try to make sense of his actions.
Unfortunately, many did so according to their own understanding.
1. Thoughts About Suicide + the Bible
While suicide isn’t explicitly condemned in the Bible, it would be wickedly disingenuous to consider that God’s tacit approval of the act. Pedophilia, same-sex marriage, abortion and other sins also aren’t explicitly named as sin, yet an honest reading of what God says on a host of other matters reveal his heart on these topics. First, there’s the fact that murder is an explicitly named sin (Exodus 20:13), and suicide is but self-murder. Second, it’s helpful to note that all instances of suicide in the Bible were carried out by those who were enemies of God, or those or who had turned away from Him.
2. Thoughts About Suicide + Mental Illness
While it’s a popular in the world and among some Christians to absolve one of the sin of suicide if they suffered mental illness, there is no Biblical case for it. First, let’s highlight how there isn’t a single sin the Lord excuses because of one’s mental health. There is no such thing as “Go and sin no more, unless you’re mentally ill.” And we need to be honest - what we count as “mental illness” is what the Scriptures count as spiritual oppression or double-mindedness (Judges 9:23; 1 Samuel 16:14-23; 1 Kings 18:21; Matthew 4:24, 5:15, 9:23; Mark 5 and elsewhere). Scripture says “a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways” (James 1:8). But there is hope, as the double-minded can be cleansed if they draw near to God (James 4:8).
3. Thoughts About Suicide + Repentance
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). In context, this verse appears in a letter to a body of Believers who are being encouraged to remain in right fellowship with God and one another. In fact, the whole of 1 John offers these (and future) Believers a test for a being a genuine Christian - those who confess and are repentant of sin (1 John 1), those who don’t practice willful sin (1 John 2), those who love their brother (1 John 3-4), and those who love God by keeping His commandments (1 John 4-5). And, yet, those who would make a case for suicide being a “forgivable sin” would say one who commits self-murder can be assured of Christ’s salvation, no repentance necessary.
4. Thoughts About Suicide + Faith
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.