Suicide and Hell Qs
Q: I have attempted suicide in the past. ((Praise God that my life was spared...and that I am now free of all of that))....but I'm still having trouble with some things.
I was told it is an unforgivable sin, and that victims will go to Hell. Is the same also true for those people who chose death by "assisted suicide"? My father chose this as a option when he was suffering with cancer and nearing his transition. His doctors wouldn't sign the paperwork, citing "strong moral conviction." They provided medication and care to help, but ultimately my Dad ended up suffering until his passing away. I worry he went to Hell if this is true.
If God is such a loving God, WHY would He NOT take victims to Heaven??
A: There is clarity needed here on several things.
1. Were they saved? God knows who is. All saved ones go to Heaven. 2. Yes Those who murder are murderers and God is not in them, and all murderers go to Hell. But there are things to explain. If someone is a believer = Jesus sacrifice paid for all their sins (past, current and future). It is a done deal. It is paid in full. Nothing can unsave them. Theyre Heavenbound.
People who commit suicide are 1. Believers not walking rightly with God [are far from Him], or 2. not living out their purpose and cant because the unsaved not in their right mind. Now all unsaved humans are not in their right mind but we also see from Scripture, [and in every day life] that even during Jesus time on earth, there were mostly unsaved people in Israel. Only 620 believed in and followed Him until the cross. Those overwhelming unsaved people seemed sane but their thinking wasnt. It was sin based thinking. Then there were the ones who had demons and were living insanely, but only because they were controlled by a demon. It wasnt necessarily their will to do what the demons did in them. But others like Judas sought out evil to do what he did, and then Satan entered him to complete the plan; from our view of Satan it was evil but from God's view it was leading to mans redemptive good. God uses evil [people/actions/Satan] for good outcomes for His good purposes. Dont forget that.
But who are really the sane ones? The ones God transforms into a new creation at salvation. They live right mindedly. In righteousness.
There is only 1 unforgivable sin and Scripture shows it; it was only possible to commit it in Jesus day.
However what is unforgivable? Looking for deeper understanding and answers we see Scripture says it is those who die in their sin. After death is only judgment. So if in this life we have been saved then Jesus took our judgment and punishment for us, but the unsaved have no hope for the offer is only valid while alive on earth; before death.
So what determines someone going to Heaven? Salvation in Christ.
To further probe and answer your questions...
My uncle yrs ago killed himself. Professed to be a believer. Idk if he was.
Others have likely said the things of comfort to you and ill give you a resource on comfort peace and grief. But you want real answers so here it goes...
Every human deserves eternal Hell.
We all sinned. We are created in a Fallen world and from conception all have the sin nature. We all sin after birth. A 2 yr old would kill his father if he could in order to have the watch on his wrist. We are all wicked creatures who only continually do evil (Scripture says).
So when we commit our first sin [in thought word or deed] God [our creator] would be Just to zap us dead and send us to eternal Hell and be punished there by His wrath. God is holy and perfect. We were made that way originally (as image bearers of God) but Adam and Eve sinned and that brought sin and death into creation and to us all. "The wages of sin is death" Rom 6:23. But God our Creator decided [*he didnt have to*] to redeem some humans. He has the right to decide who. Not because of any good in us but by his pleasure. Just as he created us he can save whoever he wants. We believers should be very grateful of His Grace towards us and be in awe that he would & did save a wretch like me. The NT goes on to tell us that Jesus restores believers to a righteous state. We get His righteousness and he exchanged his for our sinful one on the cross; for redemptive purposes. God went to extreme measures and cost to redeem those whose names He wrote "in the Lambs book of Life, before the world began". Jesus earthly life's work;living sin free, his taking each of our eternal punishment on the cross, his death with blood shed to forgive sins, his death and resurrection... alllll was done to buy us back from the curse/ from the wages of our sin. The rest of the verse says what? Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death,👉 but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Who gets eternal life? Those who believe. Who are they? Those whom God causes to be born again. The ones in Jesus book of Life.
Who are victims? Jesus was the only victim on earth - in truth. But he also chose to do this work so humans [God made to glorify Him and live out their purpose] could be redeemed and do that which they were created to do. Including to have fellowship with Him now and forever. He defeated deaths power over us and paid the fine for our sin debt to God.
We live in a fallen sin stained world. There are consequences to sin, we are affected by others evil actions. We also know corruption entered the world at the Fall. People are born dead, born deformed, born with genetic errors, get ill, get diseases, and ultimately die.
I have a rare incurable cancer. I have other physical and internal health issues as well; some due to others choices which harmed me [possibly for life]. We all have a myriad of issues we encounter in life. But we live by and in Grace as a believer. God helps us through it all. And it grows us closer to Him, grows our faith, it conforms us more to be Christ like, to trust, to obey, to shine Christ to the world. And be faithful to Him.
Our focus should be to know Scripture well so we can live out a righteous life, proclaim Christ and His Gospel, reach others to lead them to the cross, and to trust God as he walks with us in this life [and right on into eternity].
Those looking to commit suicide are most likely people who are not saved. Theyre not living out their lifes purpose. They believed Satans lie that they are of no value, have no purpose, and are hopeless. We need to show them the truth, and it is found in Christ our redeemer and restorer.
Other people will die in their sins. Thats between them and God. He calls everyone to obey the Gospel. There are many who wont. And thats a deeper discussion which you can find answers on here in FAQ section; (*See the asterisked faq answers noted here at the bottom). But ultimately if we are saved we are grateful to God.
* Bookmark this page, so you can go through the above contents.
