On the contrary, some verses in the Bible appear to support the idea that Christians who commit suicide go to hell. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 (ESV) discusses the fact that a person’s body belongs to God and that anyone who destroys it will be destroyed themselves. Suicide falls under the category of destroying one’s body, so the Bible plainly states that God will destroy anyone who kills themselves. Furthermore, Hebrews 6:4-6 (ESV) says that anyone who was once “enlightened” and then “falls away” from God will be shamed.
This verse implies that a person can lose their salvation. It is clear that suicide is wrong for many reasons, but, as discussed previously, salvation is supposed to be permanent. If salvation can be lost, then surely a person who takes their own life would take back their salvation and be sentenced to an eternity of flames. Since, the Bible obviously states in Hebrews that it is possible to “fall away” from Christ, salvation can be lost. These two verses strongly support the idea that any Christian who commits suicide will go to hell.
Suicide takes away God’s authority to end one’s life and violates His will. God is the only being who has the authority to decide when it is the right time for a person to die (Cholbi, 2016). God’s omniscience and sovereignty give Him this right, so defying that by committing suicide would go against God’s will. From this, people could infer that violating God’s will is an obvious one way ticket to hell. In fact, God has a perfect timing for the world and suicide takes that away (Cholbi, 2016).
By committing suicide, a Christian is saying that God is not good enough for them by not giving them their way in life. A Christian denies God being above all by committing suicide because they should know that God’s timing is the only way for things to go. Clearly, taking away God’s authority to give life and take it away would send a person who follows Christ to hell. The strongest argument that supports suicide committing Christians going to hell is that there are no real Christians who would commit suicide.
The selfish nature of suicide clearly goes against God’s will. Christians do not belong to themselves, they belong to God. God will use Christians to bring Him glory even through the darkest and hardest situations, and suicide is the antithesis of that (Mayhall, 2008). Suicide simply stops the opportunity for God to use a Christian, so anyone who calls themselves would not kill themselves. In addition, Christ already redeemed Christians from death; therefore, anyone who escapes by killing themselves is denying the salvation that Christ offers (Mayhall, 2008).
Since Christ already died, choosing death is like telling Christ “no thanks” to His sacrifice of everything for humanity’s sake. Mayhall (2008) states, “During that moment, when a man is killing himself, he forgets about Christ, and were he to remember, his hand would tremble and he would not inflict the mortal blow upon himself” (p. 10). Suicide and Christ are two things that are far apart. In the act of suicide, a person only thinks about themselves, so no Christian would ever commit suicide. Biblical Viewpoint on Christians who Commit Suicide go to Heaven
Throughout the Bible, suicide is a gray area, with little direct answers to the situation. However, the Bible makes it clear that ultimately, God is the judge of where a person will spend eternity. Job was a character in the Bible that had reason to desire suicide because everything was taken away from him. However, in Job 1:21 (ESV), Job acknowledges that God is sovereign, and says that God is the one who gives and takes away life, so Job continues to live his life for God. This shows that while God does not approve of suicide, He is the ultimate judge.
If Job had committed suicide, God would have Job next to Him in heaven for Job’s faith. In addition, Psalm 139:1-2 (ESV) talks about how God knows a person’s heart in every moment. Fairchild (2016) uses this verse to support the idea of God’s sovereignty by saying that, “Only [God] knows the extent of pain which might bring a person to the point of suicide” (para. 20). Suicide is not something that anyone takes lightly. Whatever the issue that brings a person to that low, God knows it. God looks at a person’s intentions and their heart so that He can judge them.
If a person truly has their faith in Jesus, God is going to look at what is in their hearts; He is not going to look at their low moments spent alone. Even though the Bible does not explicitly give an answer about Christians who commit suicide, God’s character and sovereignty point to the idea that judgement falls into His hands. Another perspective from a Biblical viewpoint is the major theme of redemption. The whole point of Jesus dying on the cross was so that those who believe in Him will have eternal life.
Romans 5:9 (ESV) affirms this by saying that Jesus’s death saved Christians from facing God’s wrath. This means that no matter what a person does, with faith in Christ, they will not be sent to hell. Jesus already died for everyone’ sin, there is nothing that can change that. Once God has redeemed someone, He will not “unredeem” a person. In fact, anyone who chooses Christ will not be separated from Christ (John 6:37, ESV). Once a person commits to Christ, eternal life is their future, even if they choose to end their life on earth.
This is reiterated in John 10:28-29 (ESV), where Jesus again says that whoever is given to Christ will not be “snatched” of God’s hands. Nothing can separate a Christian from God: no sin, no wrong, not even suicide. The devil may tempt people into desiring death as opposed to life, but that will not take a person who chose Christ away from God. God’s redemption story is one of permanence, so even a person who chooses death, will receive eternal life if they first chose Christ.
