This has been one of the most controversial topics over the years, and unfortunately many have responded emotionally and not through biblical analysis. Those of us who grew up in Catholicism have always heard that suicide is a mortal sin that irreparably sends a person to hell. For many who grew up with this position, it is impossible to get rid of this idea.
Others have studied the subject and, after that, conclude that no Christian could end his life; there are others who claim that a Christian could commit suicide but lose his salvation; and others believe that a Christian could commit suicide in extreme situations, without this leading to condemnation.
Basically, we have four positions
The first of these four positions was basically the only belief until the time of the Reformation, when the doctrine of salvation (soteriology) began to be better studied and understood. At that time, Luther and Calvin concluded that they could not categorically claim that a Christian could not commit suicide and/or whoever had committed suicide would be convicted. As the salvation of souls was discussed in detail, many reformers began to draw different conclusions about the position of the Church of Rome until then.
We begin by mentioning the things we definitely know about God’s revelation:
Within the evangelical movement there is a group of believers, to which we have already referred, called Arminians, who differ from the Calvinists in terms of the doctrine of salvation. One of these differences, not the only one, revolves around the possibility of a Christian losing his salvation. A large majority of this group believes that suicide is one of the sins capable of depriving the believer of salvation. Those of us who affirm the eternal security of the believer (the perseverance of the saints) are not the ones who believe that suicide or any other sin would eliminate the salvation that Christ bought on the cross.
In Calvinist and Arminian positions, some argue that a Christian will never commit suicide; however, there is no Bible verse or passage that can be used to categorically affirm this position; some, knowing this, defend their position by stating that in the Bible it is not a suicide committed by believers, while several cases of non-believers who have ended their lives appear. In addition to this observation, I would like to say that using it to establish that a Christian cannot commit suicide is not a sensible conclusion, because we use an argument of silence, which in logic is the weakest of all. There are many things that are not mentioned in the Bible (hundreds or perhaps thousands) and if we use arguments of silence, we run the risk of establishing possible truths never revealed in the Bible. Example: not a single account of Jesus appears laughing; From this, he could conclude that Jesus never laughed or was incapable of laughing. Was that a strong argument? Of course not.
We would like to emphasize that if someone who leads a life consistent with the Christian faith commits suicide, we must ask ourselves before moving forward, whether that person has actually shown the fruits of salvation, or whether his life was more religious than any other. Else. I think that would probably be the case with most so-called Christian suicides.
Despite this, we believe that, like Job, Moses, Elijah and Jeremiah, Christians can become so depressed that they want to die, and if this Christian does not have such a strong calling and character as these men, it is thought that He can go beyond mere desire and end up committing suicide, in this case anything that God allows to do can be part of God’s discipline, because this Christian did not use the means of grace in the body of Christ, provided by God to help your children.
Many believe, as we have already mentioned, that this latter-minute sin did not provide an opportunity to repent, and this is what ends up stripping him of his salvation by committing suicide. I want the reader to stop at that moment and I wonder what would happen if he died now, if he thought he would die without sin. The answer to this question is obvious: no! No one dies without sin, for there is no time in our lives when human beings are completely free from sin; at every moment of our existence, there are sins in our lives that we are not even aware of, and others we do not know about. We even know, but that at that time we did not go to the Father to ask him for forgiveness, simply because we consider him a less serious sin, or because we waited for the right time to go and pray and ask for such forgiveness.
The reality of this is that when Christ died on the cross he paid for our past, present and future sins, as we have already said. Therefore, the same sacrifice that covers the sins that will remain with us until the moment of our death is the one that will cover a sin like suicide. The Word of God is clear in Romans 8:38 and 39: “Because I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things of the present, nor of the future, nor powers, Neither height nor depth nor any other creature can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Notice that the text says “nothing else was created. ” This sentence includes the believer himself. Notice also that This passage says that “neither the things of the present nor of the future”, referring to future situations that we have not yet experienced. On the other hand, John 10: 27-29 tells us that no one can tear us out of the hand of our Father, and Philippians 1: 6 says that everyone who has begun a good work in you will do it until the day of Christ, Jesus?
As you can see, it is not so easy to establish a categorical position on suicide and salvation, all we can do is reason through clearly established theological truths, to come to a probable conclusion about an un definitely established fact. The argument is, most likely, to come to a conclusion. Augustine was right to say, “Essentially, unity; in doubt, freedom; and in all things, charity. My recommendation is that you be able to do a thorough study, again or for the first time, of everything God has said about salvation, which is much more important than suicide, which is almost nothing.
Several people questioned whether this article would encourage suicide. If you are someone who has considered this terrible evil, consider the following: suicide is a very serious sin that should raise the question of whether the person is really saved.
If, on the one hand, there is no way to biblically affirm that the suicidal person loses his salvation, on the other hand, one can ask whether that person was ever truly saved.
The article emphasizes this point: “We would like to emphasize that if someone who leads a life according to the Christian faith commits suicide, we must ask ourselves before moving forward, whether that person actually showed the fruits of salvation, or whether His life was more of a religiosity than anything else. I think that would probably be the case with most so-called Christian suicides.
Thus, without seeking to alleviate suffering, suicide is an affront to God, because he is the one who gives his life and only he can take it away. a terrible sin.
So do not assume the grace of Dieu. Il does not comment on the error that the Apostle Paul condemns in Romans 6: the idea that God is merciful, we can continue to sin. God’s grace must lead them to the hope that is in Christ, if you are a Christian, remember the enormous and undeserved love He showed for you on the cross. Repent of your sin and remain in the love of the father and seek help!