Ask Anything: Will you go to heaven if you commit suicide?

Will you go to heaven if you commit suicide?

There are over 1 million people who commit suicide each year in the world.

There are also examples of suicide in the Bible, in various forms. Samson, Saul, Judas, Ahithophel, Zimri, and Abimelech.

I get this question quite often. My first response is always, “Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ?”

How they answer this question dictates how to answer the first question.

If one has a personal relationship with Christ, the simple answer is, “Yes, they will go to heaven.” The reasoning why they would want to commit suicide is the bigger issue though and that is what I try and draw out. I want to deal with why they want to commit suicide and what they understand about God’s love, grace, and mercy in their lives. Back to this in a minute.

If they do not have a personal relationship with Christ, then the simple answer is, “No, they will not go to heaven.” At this point I would discuss both why they are considering suicide and what a relationship with Christ would mean for them.

So, how do I know a Christian would go to heaven if they commited suicide? Romans 10.9-10 says, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” Also, John 10.28-29 says, “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; no one will snatch them from my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can snatch them from my Father’s hand.” If you are saved, you are saved once and for all.

Murder is a sin. Suicide is self-murder. But, your sin does not make you unholy or unsaved. Say, for example a Christian was engaged in another sin, but died while engaged with that sin. That does not make them less saved. The idea of not going to heaven if you commit suicide is a false teaching brought on by the Catholic church. The Catholic Church sees it a a mortal sin and that the person who commits suicide has no love for God or self. Different Catholic Catechism’s have some variances in their belief, but since their initial beliefs they have added an exceptions clause. If that person has a mental illness, then it would be forgiven, maybe. The Catholic Church also adds, anyone who commits suicide could not have done so under complete free will, because they would have succumbed to some form of mental illness. In essence they are looking for loop holes into their original doctrine. Would you want to be part of a belief that changes its doctrinal positions?

Nowhere in Scripture is one, whom has faith, condemned for eternity because they committed suicide. And nowhere in Scripture does it say you will not go to heaven if you do. Christ prepares a place for all believers where there will be no more sin, sadness, and death. There will be a time for all believers to experience this, but suicide is not the answer to ending our suffering. For all suffer, it is the weight we bear as human beings, as Christians.

God does not want you to commit suicide, He wants you to have a life living for Him, to share His love and truth with all mankind. God can handle anything you give to Him. 1 Peter 5.7 says, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” He cares for you. Earlier in 1 Peter 4.1-2, it says, “Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.”

If you are suffering, you are not alone. There are so many who suffer alongside you, but know that God is by your side. Christians are to live in the suffering and are blessed for doing so. If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, know that your greatest love is Christ. And He wants you to live for Him, not the world. When we try to live by the world’s standards we will fail 100% of the time or the standards of those around us. This is when we feel lost, hopeless, and of little consequence. This is when we give -up.

Christ came so that you may have life, true life. Suicide is meant for a way out of the pain we experience, both physical and emotional. But, there is so much for you here on this earth. If it were not so, then this would not even be a conversation. If evolution were true, suicide wouldn’t matter and no one would care, because it would be one less person nature would have to worry about. However, you were created in the image of God, a beautiful and wonderful image.

Seek His guidance and those whom who trust and share your truth’s.

Feel free to leave your thoughts and questions in the comments section below. This video was meant to be short and does not address all that is associated with suicide. I simply wanted to answer the question and give some support from Scripture. But know, if you are a true believer in Christ, you are secured for eternity. And, if you are struggling, please know how sorry I am that you are going though this now.