Thoughts of
Suicide
Just last week I received a
surprise e-mail from the pastor of the Topeka church that I was
raised in, giving the sad news that a friend in the church from
years back had died suddenly, by suicide. This is always a
tragic thing – leaving behind feelings of confusion and hurt. It
seems like there’s been a surge of such things recently. I don’t
know the causes, nor do I presume to have all the answers. But
recent conversations have motivated me to share a few thoughts
on the topic of suicide, and the related topics of death and
salvation.
While I am sure that many
Wabaunsee County Pastors will agree with me on most and maybe
all of these points, I feel it’s important to say that I am not
speaking for them – just myself. Several points can be made
here:
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Some people go with the
assumption that says, “If you commit suicide, you
automatically go to hell.” The Bible never says anything
like this.
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I agree with a Baptist
colleague of mine who pointed out that it is possible for
genuine Christian believers to make the mistake of
committing suicide. He told me, “It only takes a second to
do something stupid.”
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That said, I also believe
that suicide is always contrary to God’s will. No one
should die that way. Many of us understand the 5th
Commandment to also apply to suicide: “You shall not
murder.” (Exodus 20:13, Deuteronomy 5:17)
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Some Christians believe that
if you if you commit a “mortal” sin before you die (or at
the moment of death) you will lose your salvation. In order
to get right with God they believe that you need to be
“re-justified” – often by going through certain acts of
penance before you die. I don’t agree with this. Jesus said
that anger is as big a sin as murder (Matthew
5:21-22).
I’d hate to think that if I had an angry thought the moment
before I died that I’d lose my salvation.
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I don’t believe that our
salvation is based so much on performing certain acts of
penance as it is on our faith-relationship with God (Ephesians
2:8-9). Our salvation is relational. God is our friend.
Jesus is our friend. When we put our faith and trust in
Christ, we accept that friendship and enter that
relationship with Him. God isn’t going to let us down in the
end, because He’s still our friend. Faith is the condition
of salvation. The only way that a sin near or at the point
of death can mean the loss of our salvation is if it means
the loss of our faith.
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Ultimately we don’t know who
is unsaved. God is the only one who knows, since He’s the
one who takes the initiative in salvation. Sometimes we can
guess based on outward evidences and signs of faith in life
(I Thessalonians 1:4-5a). But that’s the most we can
do. And not all responses of faith are outwardly visible.
Some people are very private persons – especially when it
comes to religious matters.
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We can be sure, however,
that a person has entered eternal life if they have been
“born again” by faith in Jesus Christ (John 3:3).
When I do funerals for such folks, I proclaim boldly that
we know that they have entered the heavenly
kingdom.
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I don’t believe that you
have to be a doctrinal genius in order to be born again.
When I came to know Christ, all that I knew was that God is
God, Jesus is His son, that I needed to be forgiven, and
that I wanted to know more. It’s the most important decision
I’ve ever made in my life.
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Being “born again” means
being a new creature in Christ (II Corinthians
5:17),
turning away from the past into a life of faith in God (I
Thessalonians 1:8-10). It need not be narrowly defined
as single-moment experience, though it may well happen in
that way. But it can also come through an upbringing of
Christian nurture in a church. Either way, our God is a God
who gives new, fresh starts – forgiveness of sins and new
life in Jesus name.
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God has plans and purposes
for every person. The fact that you are alive today is a
sign that He’s not done with you. So don’t give up and cut
things short. You may miss out on your life’s greatest
blessings.
God bless you,
Andrew McHenry – Pastor, Maple
Hill Community Congregational Church
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