Is suicide a sin?

  • Christian Chat is a moderated online Christian community allowing Christians around the world to fellowship with each other in real time chat via webcam, voice, and text, with the Christian Chat app. You can also start or participate in a Bible-based discussion here in the Christian Chat Forums, where members can also share with each other their own videos, pictures, or favorite Christian music.

    If you are a Christian and need encouragement and fellowship, we're here for you! If you are not a Christian but interested in knowing more about Jesus our Lord, you're also welcome! Want to know what the Bible says, and how you can apply it to your life? Join us!

    To make new Christian friends now around the world, click here to join Christian Chat.

Is suicide a sin?

  • Yes

    Votes: 14 87.5%
  • No

    Votes: 2 12.5%

  • Total voters
    16

Adstar

Senior Member
Jul 24, 2016
7,582
3,616
113
#2
Suicide is self murder.. We should put the time of our departure from this life in the hands of God..
 

Magenta

Senior Member
Jul 3, 2015
60,178
29,481
113
#3
Suicide is the result of a tragic lack of faith.
 

PennEd

Senior Member
Apr 22, 2013
13,584
9,104
113
#4

I believe suicide is a sin. However Jesus died to pay for our sin. Some suicides, maybe all, are the result of a sick, hurting, broken mind. I do not believe that this sin disqualifies somebody from eternal life with Jesus.
 

notuptome

Senior Member
May 17, 2013
15,050
2,538
113
#5
I highly recommend against suicide. It often is a permanate solution to a temporary problem.

Most folks that commit suicide are lonely and desperate. If they are unsaved they only secure a worse fate for themselves for eternity. Nothing good ever proceeded from a suicide.

For the cause of Christ
Roger
 

posthuman

Senior Member
Jul 31, 2013
37,843
13,558
113
#6
Suicide is the result of a tragic lack of faith.
and/or of understanding.

my friend killed himself earlier this year. i think he believed he was doing the right thing.
 

posthuman

Senior Member
Jul 31, 2013
37,843
13,558
113
#7
Nothing good ever proceeded from a suicide.
unless we count what Christ did by laying down His life for us... should we count it this way? what if someone does something like throwing themselves on a grenade in hope to save someone else from the explosion.. is that suicide?
 

Adstar

Senior Member
Jul 24, 2016
7,582
3,616
113
#8
Suicide is self murder.. We should put the time of our departure from this life in the hands of God..
I will add that i believe those who believe Jesus and trust in the atonement He secured for their Salvation will be forgiven their sins,, even if that includes Suicide..
 

Magenta

Senior Member
Jul 3, 2015
60,178
29,481
113
#9
and/or of understanding.

my friend killed himself earlier this year. i think he believed he was doing the right thing.
I am so sorry to hear of the loss of your friend to suicide. The overwhelming amount of pain and suffering he must have been experiencing could have been alleviated by knowing the love of God. Knowing God does not eliminate all pain and suffering, but it can go a great distance in helping us understand the fallen nature of man, and realizing that God loves us regardless of our failures, so much so that He sent Jesus to die for us, to pay the sin debt. I know you know that :)
 
Sep 9, 2018
2,244
1,032
113
71
Illinois
#10
Suicide is self murder.. We should put the time of our departure from this life in the hands of God..
The poll demanded either yes or no but it should have allowed for
I will add that i believe those who believe Jesus and trust in the atonement He secured for their Salvation will be forgiven their sins,, even if that includes Suicide..
More often than not, in the case of a believer . . . suicide is the result of mental illness, which knows no distinction between lost and saved.
 

Dino246

Senior Member
Jun 30, 2015
25,478
13,785
113
#11
This is one of those topics that is challenging to respond to properly. Telling the truth in love doesn't always come across as "nice".

Self-sacrifice in the context of war, disaster or violence is not suicide. Jesus' death was not suicide.

Losing a loved one to suicide can't be easy or pleasant in any sense. People who consider suicide are struggling with serious emotional disruption, and even if they think it will be "best for everyone", it isn't.

Anyone who is even remotely considering suicide needs to ask for help... from local people if possible.


That all said, suicide is not an act of faith, and whatever is not of faith is sin (Romans 14:23). The Bible does not say it is unforgiveable sin though.
 

longtrekker

Senior Member
Sep 23, 2014
396
195
43
#12
.
And what of the person who is terminally ill with 6 months to live and given a choice of extending his life by 3 months if he goes thru painful processes like chemo, radiation etc. Thus making his 9 months a sort of misery versus the 6 months of a more or less peaceful decline...

Some years back I had a friend sign a 'Do not resuscitate' order towards the end of his illness - brain cancer (a miserable way to go...)

Is the above suicide..?

If faced with similar prospects and not immersing my self in the philosophical/religious debates I think i'd favor the fast way...
.
 

BenFTW

Senior Member
Oct 7, 2012
4,834
981
113
34
#13
unless we count what Christ did by laying down His life for us... should we count it this way? what if someone does something like throwing themselves on a grenade in hope to save someone else from the explosion.. is that suicide?
Suicide is taking one's life, not giving it. Suicide and sacrifice are not synonymous in that respect. One might say that suicide is selfish, while sacrifice is selfless. Sacrifice being done in hope, and suicide in despair.
 

Lafftur

Senior Member
Apr 18, 2017
6,895
3,634
113
#15
Jesus gave us an example of suffering to the last breath. Jesus did not say "It is finished," until He heard His Father say, "It is finished."

Jesus tried to wiggle out of suffering when He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, yet His final decision and choice was, "Nevertheless, not My will but Your will be done."

Suicide kills the body and is an absolute lie from the pit of hell that tries to make us believe we can somehow escape all the pain in our souls by killing our body. All the emotional and mental pain is in the soul which only God can destroy.

Suicide is NOT an escape nor is it a solution. God has each of us on a journey to know Him and to love Him. God does NOT want to destroy our souls, rather He wants to save our souls by restoring them - emotionally, mentally - filling them to overflowing with the knowledge and love of Him.

Our souls MUST be restored. Killing the body is an absolute waste and accomplishes nothing.

We will have to just like Jesus...........suffer to the last breath. Suffering is full of great reward on the other side! Just stay the course! Stay in the game, until God takes you out!
 
Dec 12, 2013
46,515
20,402
113
#16
There is a man who makes the 11th chapter of Hebrews which is the chapter of faith and the GREAT CLOUD OF WITNESSES....HIS NAME IS SAMSON....He asked for his strenght back that he MIGHT KILL HIMSELF AND AVENGE HIMSELF CONCERNING THE PHILISTINE LORDS WHICH HAD TAKEN HIS EYES, HAD HIM CHAINED BETWEEN TWO PILLARS and were fixing to make sport of him and sacrifice him to their false god.....

GOD GRANTED HIS REQUEST and he COMMITTED SUICIDE and KILLED 7000 Philistine lords in the process....

In this particular case if suicide had been SIN would GOD HAVE HONORED HIS REQUEST???

NOPE!!!!!!!!!!
 

notuptome

Senior Member
May 17, 2013
15,050
2,538
113
#17
and/or of understanding.

my friend killed himself earlier this year. i think he believed he was doing the right thing.
More selfish than doing the right thing. I'm quite certain that the act of suicide cause lots of pain for others who loved him.
unless we count what Christ did by laying down His life for us... should we count it this way? what if someone does something like throwing themselves on a grenade in hope to save someone else from the explosion.. is that suicide?
Jesus did not commit suicide. Suicide is not a noble act like giving ones life to save others. Suicide is selfish and self serving and very heartbreaking. Is God glorified in a persons suicide?

For the cause of Christ
Roger
 

posthuman

Senior Member
Jul 31, 2013
37,843
13,558
113
#18
More selfish than doing the right thing. I'm quite certain that the act of suicide cause lots of pain for others who loved him.
and he surely loved others, too. so he must have thought he was preventing more suffering than he was causing. so i said, 'or a tragic lack of understanding'

Jesus did not commit suicide. Suicide is not a noble act like giving ones life to save others. Suicide is selfish and self serving and very heartbreaking. Is God glorified in a persons suicide?

For the cause of Christ
Roger
so it's not the act of taking steps to bring about your own death that makes such a death suicide, but the motivation?

Dcon brings up something important to arriving at a definition of suicide, that brings up a thousand other questions, begging for a definition of the word: is Samson's death 'suicide' ? was Samson giving his life to save others? was he 'jumping on the grenade' or 'standing in front of the bullet' -- or was he carrying out war? in war, is jumping on the grenade suicide? and what about a kamikaze pilot? and what about a 'suicide bomber' -- and what about someone who holds a bridge or a hall or a hill while others make an escape, or who knowingly allows himself to be gunned down as he rushes to take out a dangerous weapons emplacement, or to fulfill any mission knowing he will not survive?
what if they do it for glory, what if they do it for duty, for compassion, for remorse, what if they do it completely unthinkingly?


what if they have a contagion, and they know they will spread it? does it matter what convinces them in their mind, if the act itself has a noble result? can a man jumping on a grenade, saving others, be sin, if the motivation isn't pure? is it still noble if deep down, he does it because he hates someone? does it matter who that person is?
 
Dec 12, 2013
46,515
20,402
113
#19
and he surely loved others, too. so he must have thought he was preventing more suffering than he was causing. so i said, 'or a tragic lack of understanding'



so it's not the act of taking steps to bring about your own death that makes such a death suicide, but the motivation?

Dcon brings up something important to arriving at a definition of suicide, that brings up a thousand other questions, begging for a definition of the word: is Samson's death 'suicide' ? was Samson giving his life to save others? was he 'jumping on the grenade' or 'standing in front of the bullet' -- or was he carrying out war? in war, is jumping on the grenade suicide? and what about a kamikaze pilot? and what about a 'suicide bomber' -- and what about someone who holds a bridge or a hall or a hill while others make an escape, or who knowingly allows himself to be gunned down as he rushes to take out a dangerous weapons emplacement, or to fulfill any mission knowing he will not survive?
what if they do it for glory, what if they do it for duty, for compassion, for remorse, what if they do it completely unthinkingly?


what if they have a contagion, and they know they will spread it? does it matter what convinces them in their mind, if the act itself has a noble result? can a man jumping on a grenade, saving others, be sin, if the motivation isn't pure? is it still noble if deep down, he does it because he hates someone? does it matter who that person is?
Samson is not the only one....did not Saul fall upon his own sword when he seen he was going to be taken and made sport of? It seems to me that at the end of the day motive plays a big part when it comes to judging the act of suicide itself......With Samson, no one can convice me it was sin....God's holy nature and character would not allow him to grant a request that leads to sin in my view......
 
Dec 9, 2011
14,129
1,803
113
#20
Suicide is self murder.. We should put the time of our departure from this life in the hands of God..
IMO,Yes suicide Is a sin but the bible says that everyone that has the hope of glory In them purifies themselves even as they are pure and grace doesn't teach a person to live unGODly and BTW,the Issue Is faith In JESUS and not how much we sin.