Suicide: Moral or Immoral?

 

People who have no absolute standards may defend suicide. But Christians believe in the Bible. It is the only book that can speak authoritatively to this issue. What does the Bible say?

A. Bible Examples of Suicide or Attempted Suicide

****(Go to the Scriptures) ****

Abimelech - Judges 9:50-56

Abimelech was a wicked man who usurped leadership of Israel. When a woman dropped a millstone on his head, he had his armor-bearer kill him so people would not say he was killed by a woman.

King Saul - 1 Samuel 31:3-5

Saul rebelled against God, so God rejected Him as king. He was about to be captured in battle, and fearing torture, he asked his armor-bearer to kill him. He refused, so Saul fell on his sword and the armor-bearer did the same. [1 Chronicles 10:4,5; cf. 2 Samuel 1:1-16]

Judas Iscariot - Matthew 27:3-5

Judas betrayed Jesus, then realizing his guilt, he hanged himself.

Philippian jailer - Acts 16:27,28

If a jailer lost his prisoners, he was punished with death. Thinking his prisoners had escaped, the jailer in Philippi was about to kill himself, but Paul stopped him.

Note that every Bible case of suicide involved a wicked person who was driven to distraction because of the consequences of sin or because he did not use God's power to deal with problems.

Many faithful servants of God faced terrible hardships, diseases, and burdens. Worldly people might think they had plenty of reason for committing suicide, but not one ever did so. Why not?

Clearly people who serve God faithfully do not need to commit suicide. They have other means to handle their problems. Only when people have lost their relationship with God and do not have the means He provides to deal with problems, only then do they turn to suicide as a means of escape!

B. Bible Principles Violated by Suicide

Suicide is unauthorized killing of a human being (i.e. murder).

(Genesis 9:2-6)-"And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered. Every morning thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have i given you all things. But flesh with life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. And surely your blood of your lives will i require; at the hand of every beast will i require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will i require the life of man. Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man. And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein."

 

 - Men may kill only when God has so authorized. We are authorized to kill plants and animals because they are not in God's image. Killing a person is unauthorized because man is in God's image.

But if a person kills himself, is he killing a plant or animal? No, he is killing one who is in God's image! This is what God forbids. To kill yourself is murder as surely as if you killed someone else.

(Revelation 21:8) - "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolators, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death."

**- Murderers will not enter the eternal city but will be in the lake of fire.**

(Romans 13:8-10)- "Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not bear false witness, thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law."

 - Murder is wrong because it violates the principle of loving your neighbor as yourself. Love does no harm. The right to harm self and neighbor stand or fall together.

Consider: If you have a right to harm yourself, then you have a right to harm your neighbor. If you have the right to kill yourself because you think your life is not worth living, then loving your neighbor as yourself would mean you may kill your neighbor if his life is not worth living!

Mercy-killing and suicide stand or fall together. To justify one is to justify the other. To condemn one, we must condemn the other!

No one who kills himself can die innocent and righteous! To commit suicide is to stand before your maker guilty and unrighteous!

People usually commit suicide to escape problems. Sometimes loved ones say, "At least they are no longer suffering." But no matter how bad things are in this life, this is nothing compared to how it will be after death if you die in sin. How can you commit suicide and not die in sin?

There is a fate far worse than anything in this life. Suicide is no solution.

[Matthew 15:19,20-- "For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: these are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man."

 James 2:11- "For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law."

A. God Guides Us to Avoid Sins that May Lead to Suicide.

* Alcoholism and drug abuse -

(1 Corinthians 6:9-11)- "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolators, nor adulterers, nor effiminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of God."

* Sexual promiscuity -

 (1 Corinthians 6:18)- "Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body."

* Abortion-

(Romans 13:8-10) - "Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law."

* Family problems-

 [Colossians 3:18-21]- "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them. Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord. Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged."

What a blessing to know that we can avoid the heartaches that lead many people to consider suicide simply by obeying God's word, so we never practice these sins.

C. God's Word Assures Us We Can Handle Any Problem We Face.

Even those who serve God may still suffer severe problems in life. But if we trust God, we have assurance that even these are never so bad that we need to commit sin, let alone commit suicide.

1 Corinthians 10:13 - God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. God absolutely promises that there is no such thing as a problem in this life that is beyond our ability to endure.

Philippians 4:13 - I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

James 5:10,11 - When we are suffering, we need to remember the example of men of God who suffered: Jesus, Paul, especially Job. [2 Tim 1:8; Hebrews 12:1-4]

Job 2:9,10 - Consider Job. Satan claimed that any man will turn against God if he suffers enough (1:10,11; 2:4,5). So he caused Job to suffer as much as any many ever has. He lost wealth, children, and health.

His wife lost faith, and said to curse God and die. That is a perfect example of suicide mentality. She did not say how he would die; but like people who commit suicide, she concluded his life was not worth living, so forget about God and die! That is exactly what Satan said Job would do!

If any man ever would have been justified in committing suicide, it was Job. Any one of the things he suffered have driven people to suicide. Even Job said he wished he had never been born (3:11,16). But he never attempted suicide. He is expressly held up as our example of suffering. If a man can suffer like Job did without committing suicide, surely no one needs to commit suicide.

These examples and passages show that God will never allow problems so great that we ever need to sin, let alone take our own life. To commit suicide is to fail to trust in God and to allow Satan to succeed!

D. God Assures Us that Good Can Come from Troubles.

Christians learn that problems can work for our good. Hardships need not depress us to the point of despair, let alone suicide. We may not know how good will come, nor should we expect things to always work out the way we want, but we can find good in the end.

Romans 8:28 - All things work together for good to those who love God. The context is talking about the problems we face in life (see vv 17-23, 31-39). This does not say that everything about life is good, but good results can come in the end.

James 1:2-4 - Count it joy when we face trials because they produce patience and maturity.

2 Corinthians 12:7-10 - Paul asked for his thorn in the flesh to be removed, but God refused because it was accomplishing good. It kept Paul humble and dependent on God.

Trials make or break us. Many of life's greatest achievers accomplished their goals because they had to overcome adversity. Many great athletes had to overcome serious illness or handicap.

God tells us to keep on, we can endure, and if we do, good will result. Suicide is an admission that we don't believe that God can make good come from our problems. Suicide eliminates whatever benefit might have come; it allows the trials of life to destroy us instead of allowing them to make us better people.