truth about suicide

We come to church every Sunday and one of the most important reasons that we come to church is so that we can study our Bible. We promote that everyone should be reading their Bible's. It is our understanding that the Bible is God's Word, it is God's message for us. Today we are going to look to the Bible to learn the truth about suicide.

Here is my simple outline for today.

First of all we are going to look at some common lies. Today people politely say myths or misunderstandings. But if it is not the truth than it is a lie. The devil does not want you to have the truth.

Next we are going to look at some Bible verses that give us hope. This world can take you to a point where you think you have no hope, it can take you to a place where all you see is despair and I want to remind us from God's word in the worst moment, you have hope.

Finally I want to end today just by reminding us of the simple truth of the Gospel. The devil's goal is to take you as far away from God as he possible can. He does that through your circumstances, he does that through drugs and alcohol, he does that through your relationships, he does that through your family. He can do that through so many ways.

But the Good News is that God loves you!

First we will look at the lies.

We need to know the truth. When a family is facing this they need to know the truth. When a person is having these kinds of thoughts, they need to know the truth.

Proverbs 13:14 (KJV) 14 The law of the wise is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.

Lie: Suicide is the unpardonable sin.
Suicide is the unforgivable sin
Christians who commit suicide lose their salvation

Truth is:

Below is the passage in The Gospel of Mark in which many people will claim states that there is an unforgivable sin and then they will claim that suicide is that sin.

Mark 3:29 (KJV) 29 But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:

Mark 3:22 (KJV) 22 And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils.

What I am about to give you is the traditional understanding of this scripture within the Baptist Church.

Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, however, is something else. Nobody can commit that sin today. It was a sin peculiar to those who lived when He lived and who heard His marvelous teaching for themselves. It was a sin reserved for those who saw His many matchless miracles, those who had looked into His eyes, experienced His grace, and felt His power. It was the sin of those who then—out of sheer malice, envy, hatred, and determined wickedness—accused Him of conspiring with the Evil One. Such a sin revealed a state of soul beyond the possibility of redemption, so it was unpardonable.
That was how Caiaphas and his crowd conspired against Jesus. They bought Judas and then brought the Son of God before their judgment seat. They mocked Him, abused Him, and falsely accused Him. They hired perjurers to distort His teachings. They condemned Him to death because He claimed to be who He was. They handed Him over to the Romans to be crucified. Then Caiaphas and his cronies sealed up His tomb—just in case. Worse still, when confronted with His resurrection, they bribed the guard to lie about that monumental, historic event and persecuted His disciples for proclaiming the truth that Jesus was alive from the dead and mighty to save.
Such was the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
The John Phillips Commentary Series – Exploring the Gospel of Mark: An Expository Commentary.

Now let me share with you some truth about the idea of losing your salvation.

A Christian is redeemed.
1 Peter 1:18-19 (KJV) 18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

The word redeemed refers to a purchase being made, a price being paid. We were purchased at the cost of Christ’s death. For a Christian to lose salvation, God Himself would have to revoke His purchase of the individual for whom He paid with the precious blood of Christ.
A Christian is justified.

Romans 5:1-2 (KJV) 1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

To justify is to declare righteous. All those who receive Jesus as Savior are “declared righteous” by God. For a Christian to lose salvation, God would have to go back on His Word and “un-declare” what He had previously declared. Those absolved of guilt would have to be tried again and found guilty. God would have to reverse the sentence handed down from the divine bench.

A Christian is promised eternal life.
John 3:16 (KJV) 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Eternal life is the promise of spending forever in heaven with God. God promises, “Believe and you will have eternal life.” For a Christian to lose salvation, eternal life would have to be redefined. The Christian is promised to live forever. Does eternal not mean “eternal”?

A Christian commitment is kept by God.
2 Timothy 1:12 (KJV) 12 For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
I am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed. My salvation is not based on how tight I can hold His hand. My salvation is guaranteed because of how tight He can hold my hand.

Lie: A deeply committed believer would never commit suicide.

Truth is:

Job - Job 3:1-3 (KJV) 1 After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day. 2 And Job spake, and said, 3 Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived.
Jeremiah - Jeremiah 20:14-18 (KJV) 14 Cursed be the day wherein I was born: let not the day wherein my mother bare me be blessed. 15 Cursed be the man who brought tidings to my father, saying, A man child is born unto thee; making him very glad. 16 And let that man be as the cities which the LORD overthrew, and repented not: and let him hear the cry in the morning, and the shouting at noontide; 17 Because he slew me not from the womb; or that my mother might have been my grave, and her womb to be always great with me. 18 Wherefore came I forth out of the womb to see labour and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame?
King Solomon - Ecclesiastes 2:17 (KJV) 17 Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit.
Elijah - 1 Kings 19:4 (KJV) 4 But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.
Jonah - Jonah 4:7-8 (KJV) 7 But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered. 8 And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live.
Paul - 2 Corinthians 1:8 (KJV) 8 For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life:

This lie and this myth is very similar to the lie that some people claim that a strong Christian cannot be depressed.

What this lie does is it makes the person that is suffering feel alone.

I am the only one that feels this way.
I am the only one that thinks this way.
I am the only one this
I am the only one that

When the devil gets you by yourself and gets you to believing these alone thoughts then we can get into real trouble.

The truth is that you are not alone.
You are not alone in your feelings
You are not alone in your thoughts
You are not alone in your fears
You are not alone in your burdens
You are not alone in your worries
You are not alone in your struggles
You are not alone in your pressures
You are not alone in your sins
You are not alone in your failures
You are not alone in whatever you are facing.

1 Corinthians 10:13 (KJV) 13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

Now I just want to give you a few more verses that will remind you, even if you think you are alone and everyone else has left you, God promises to always be there.

Deuteronomy 31:8 — And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.
Joshua 1:5 — There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
1 Samuel 12:22 — For the LORD will not forsake his people for his great name's sake: because it hath pleased the LORD to make you his people.
1 Chronicles 28:20 — And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the LORD God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD.
Psalms 37:25 — I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.
Psalms 37:28 — For the LORD loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.
Isaiah 41:10 — Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
Isaiah 41:17 — When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the LORD will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them.
Matthew 28:19-20 (KJV) 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
John 14:18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
Acts 18:9-10 (KJV) 9 Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace: 10 For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city.

Next we are going to look at some Bible verses that give us hope.

The truth is, life is hard.

We face all of this and anyone is capable of having moments where they lose their hope. I want to take a moment and remind us of the hope that we have as Christians.

God loves you!

Jeremiah 31:3 (KJV) 3 The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.
John 3:16 (KJV) 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
1 John 4:7-10 (KJV) 7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. 8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. 9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

When you get to that place where you think you have lost all hope, know that the God that created this world loves you.

When you get to the place where you think you are worthless remember you have worth just because you are loved.  God created you and He loves you!

God offers real solutions for your problems.
Sometimes when you don't know how to solve a problem, you can feel helpless because you have no direction. For example, if your wristwatch stops, you may not know how to fix it, but a skilled watchmaker would. The One who created the universe with all its intricate parts—the One who created you with all your intricate parts—knows how to fix whatever is not working. He will direct you in the way you should go.

Proverbs 3:5-6 (KJV) 5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Psalm 119:105 (KJV) 105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

God offers the solution for your sin.
The Bible says sin separates us from God. But Jesus doesn't want you to be separated. He desires to have a meaningful relationship with you. Jesus, who is God, took on human form, came to earth, lived a sinless life and chose to pay the penalty for your sins. When He was crucified on the cross, His blood was the purchase price to pay for the full forgiveness of your sins. Today, you can receive forgiveness when you humble your heart, confess your sins and trust in Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior.

1 John 1:9 (KJV) 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Finally I want to end today just by reminding us of the simple truth of the Gospel.

John 3:16 (KJV) 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 10:10 (KJV) 10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

1 Corinthians 15:1-4 (KJV) 1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

Romans 3:23 (KJV) 23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Romans 6:23 (KJV) 23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 10:9-11 (KJV) 9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.