How Would You AnswerA Question About Suicide?

Late last night, unable to sleep, I decided to have a yogurt while I watched my local PBS station on television. The program was a documentary about a man, fifty-nine years old, who was in the advanced stages of ALS, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's Disease). The program, taped in 2006, followed this man and his wife in his decision to commit assisted suicide.

The couple were Americans, living in England; a very intelligent, educated man -- who faced nothing but further deterioration, until he reached the point where he would not even be able to move a muscle to alert a care giver that he was in pain or needed anything. In other words, he would be just a living corpse, lying there, waiting to die.

The man explained that he did not want to put his family through this. And, he did not want to put himself through this. So, he had chosen to travel to Sweden, where Assisted Suicide is legal, and end his ordeal.

The man was not in obvious pain; but, he could not do anything for himself -- he could not feed himself, he could not brush his own teeth, he could not even lift his arm or hand. All he could do was to sit in the chair where his care giver, his wife, had placed him -- and talk. Yes, he could still talk. But, that was about all he could do -- and, soon, he would not be able to do this.

This program, and this man's situation, was very sad for several reasons. Yes, it was sad that he had chosen to end his own life. But, what disturbed me the most was when he told us, "I do not believe there is an afterlife." With that statement, he was saying that he did not believe in God. So, it was obvious that he was soon to enter the afterlife in which he did not believe -- without God. This broke my heart.

Was his choice to end his own life wrong? Yes and no. Some will say, "He should have waited, for who knows when a cure will be discovered" -- or "He should have had more faith in God." Well, for one thing, he obviously did not believe in God. That is the sad part. Several times during the show, he said, "I am scared." And, as his wife pushed his wheel chair toward the limo to fly to Sweden, we heard him say several times, "I am scared." That is very understandable; for he was entering the unknown, eternity, without God.

Was his choice to end his own life wrong? In 1938, doctors at the Mayo Clinic diagnosed Lou Gehrig with a very rare form of degenerative disease: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Lou died in 1941.

The Phoenix Neurological Associates web site: http://www.phoenixneurology.com/als_cure.shtml tells us this about ALS:

As there is no known cause for the disease we do not have a cure yet. Once the disease begins the average life expectancy is 3-5 years. Patients pass away from an inability to swallow effectively or breathe effectively. At present there are numerous research trials looking to explore avenues to find cures.

So, I can empathize with this man. The world, and the world of science, has been acutely aware of this horrible disease since we lost the renown Lou Gehrig to it in 1941. Yet, we are told today that science still does not have any idea of a cure.

Could God have healed this man? Absolutely. There is no doubt in my mind that God could have healed him. I have read about and personally seen and experienced God's miraculous healing. Yet, this man did not believe in God. So, how could he have hope that the God he does not believe exists -- will heal him?

I can understand this man's decision to end his life while he could still at least speak. I can understand this man's desire to not put his family or himself through the horrible final stages. And, most acutely, I can understand the man's fear when he said, "I am scared." -- for he was leaving this life without God.

So, was his choice to end his own life wrong? Suicide is most often wrong; it is a sin -- but, it DOES NOT separate a person from God, it does not cause a person to loose his eternal life with God, it does not cause a person to loose his salvation.

I know, I can hear many Friends, especially my Roman Catholic Friends, practically screaming, "Bill, how can you say such a thing?"

First, let me say that I do believe that suicide is wrong. For it really hurts the ones left behind. People are left with the unanswered question, "What could I have done to prevent this?" or "Why didn't I see this coming?" or "Did I do anything which caused him/her to do this?"

And, for the young children or grandchildren, it is even worse -- for they have yet to understand death. And, now, they have to face this self-inflicted death of someone they love. Suicide may solve a person's immediate problem -- but, it creates a mountain of problems for his/her loved ones left behind. For this reason, suicide is wrong.

Yet, for this man in the documentary, I have a level of understanding -- for he faced a hopeless future; his disease has no cure, just a continual deterioration; and he did not have God. So, this man had no hope whatsoever. Could a Christian have come to him, witnessed to him, and led him to the Lord? Yes, that is possible.

Yet, recall what happened to Pharaoh. In Exodus 8:15, "But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not listen to them, as the LORD had said."

And, again in Exodus 8:32 and Exodus 9:34, we are told that Pharaoh hardened his heart against God. And, finally, in Exodus 10:1, God basically tells Pharaoh, "You wanted to harden your heart against Me -- fine, I have completely hardened your heart." God allowed Pharaoh's heart to be hardened past the point of salvation. We read the same of King Zedekiah in 2 Chronicles 36:13, that he had hardened his heart against God.

There is a point where a person can so harden his heart against God -- that God will allow this to become permanent. Keep in mind that we are speaking about non-believers hardening their hearts against God and losing all opportunity for salvation. This does not apply when we are speaking of Christian believers.

When a person has become a Christian believer, a Christ Follower, he/she is indwelled, sealed with the Holy Spirit. And, no one or nothing, can evict the Holy Spirit. We have the promise of Jesus on this, in John 6:47.

And, I believe, from listening to this man in the documentary, that, because of his previous world view and mindset, solidified by his disease, that this man would have rejected any attempt to share God with him. Of course, only God knows that for sure.

The subject of suicide is very hard for most pastors and mature Christians to discuss; for very good reason. On the KWVE Christian Radio show "Pastor's Perspective" -- I have heard Pastor Chuck Smith, whom I admire very much, dance around the question when asked if suicide is a sin and will cause one to lose salvation. Over the past twenty-three years as a Christian believer, I have heard many pastors dance around that question.

Why? Because one never truly knows the person's reason for asking the question. Is he/she asking the question -- looking for justification which will allow him/her to commit suicide? If we say it will not cause a person to lose his salvation, will this encourage this person to commit suicide? It is a very difficult question.

Yet, as mature Christians, we are called to share the "truth" of God's Word. And, the truth is: As horrible as suicide is, as much as it hurts so many, many people -- it does not cause a Christian believer to lose his/her salvation.

In all my years as a Christian, I have only heard one pastor, Dr. Harold Sala, of Guidelines International Ministries, answer this question in a direct manner. In his Guidelines radio commentary, he said clearly, "No. Suicide does not cause a believer to lose his/her salvation." And, to the best of my knowledge, no one has ever committed suicide leaving a note that Dr. Sala gave him/her permission.

On the other hand, I have seen harm come from answering the question wrong. About eighteen years ago, a visitor came to our Bible study, a young lady in her twenties. During the study, she told us that she recently had a friend who had taken his own life and she wanted to know how this affected his salvation, did he lose his salvation?

One of our members, a young adult in our College Ministry, immediately told her, "Yes, he did lose his salvation!" And, to support this, he quoted 1 Corinthians 6:19, "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?"

This young man was right and he was wrong. Yes, he was right that our bodies, when we are saved and have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, is a temple of God -- for God, the Holy Spirit, is living within us.

But, where he was wrong was in not aligning that Scripture verse with other parts of the Bible. Scripture cannot contradict Scripture. So, when we build a theology, or a doctrine, upon one Scripture verse -- and there are other verses or passages which tell us something different -- we must align the two to more fully understand what God is telling us.

Yes, this Scripture verse is telling us that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, and as such, is holy. Yet, we are also told, in John 1:12, that all who have believe and received Jesus Christ, are children of God. God does not adopt us and then renege on it.

We are told in John 6:47, "He who believes HAS eternal life." That means that we HAVE eternal life; not "could have if" or "will have if" or "may have if." No, it means that we HAVE eternal life in Jesus Christ. And, we are assured, in Romans 8:1, "Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."

We are told in John 10:27-30, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one."

Taking all these Scripture passages together -- we know that our body, indwelled by the Holy Spirit, is the temple of God and should not be destroyed; particularly by self destruction. Yet, we are also assured that when we believe and receive Jesus Christ -- we HAVE eternal life and no one, nothing, can snatch us out of His hands or out of the Father's hands.

So, how do we reconcile this difference?

We are told in 2 Corinthians 5:10, and it is confirmed in Romans 14:10, "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad."

One day, we will ALL stand before Jesus Christ in judgment; believers to a judgment of rewards, or lack of rewards; non-believers to a judgment of punishment. In the believer's judgment (Bema Seat Judgment), we will have to answer to Jesus Christ for every deed and every word committed in this mortal life. At that time, I feel sure, He will ask, "Why did you destroy your body, the holy temple of God?" Would you, could you, have a satisfactory answer for this question?

We are assured in 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 that the Foundation of the Christian church, and the Christian believer, is Jesus Christ. And, depending upon how we build upon that Foundation, our Christian fruit, our Christian life -- either with indestructible stones, metals, and gems -- or with destructible wood, hay, or straw -- our fruit, our Christian life, will be tested when we stand before Jesus Christ.

It will be tested by the holy fire of the Refiner, Jesus Christ, and if we have built our Christian life upon destructible, worldly things -- it will burn up. Yet, we are told in 1 Corinthians 3:15, "If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire."

So, while my College Ministry Friend in our Bible study was right; he was also wrong. And, this wrong answer hurt this young lady. That night, I could see the anguish in her face. And, what hurt most was -- she never again came to our Bible studies. Was she already saved? Was she only seeking? Did she find another Christian fellowship where she could continue to learn, grow, and mature in God's Word -- or to receive Jesus Christ? We do not know -- for she never returned.

Yes, the question of suicide is probably the toughest question a pastor or other mature Christian will ever be asked. But, we are obligated to share the "truth" of God's Word. However, beyond that, we are also obligated to further explain to this person asking the question, God's full view of this very wrong action and salvation -- and to help him/her through whatever caused the question.

What we should have done that night, in our Bible study eighteen years ago, was to forego the planned Bible study lesson -- and concentrate on this young lady, her question, and her anguish over losing her friend in this horrible way. We should have taken her hand and made sure she was walking with Jesus Christ. We did not. We just gave her a blunt, wrong answer -- and went on with our business of Bible study. One day, we will have to explain this to Jesus Christ -- face to face.

I pray that this sheds light on this very touchy subject; that we all have a better understanding of the issue and what God's Written Word, His full revelation to us, tells us about the sin of suicide and the need of the person asking the question.

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

Bill Gray