HOW BAD IS SUICIDE?      DO 2822 2/92

         1. (Maria: Do you have time for a little question? It's a rather heavy, theological question! It was something that even Techi asked about the other night after listening to this wonderful new teen song that the Brazil studio recorded on the subject of suicide, called "Don't Throw Your Life Away!" The striking thing about the song is that it's written so that the person singing it has committed suicide and is giving a warning from the spirit world to someone who is about to do the same thing, saying, "Don't do it!"
         2. (So Techi was saying, "If somebody is in such a terrible situation that that's about their only way out, why not commit suicide?" I was trying to explain to her that for non-Christians the Devil tries to get them to commit suicide, because if they hold on just a little bit more, the Lord may be able to get to them. That's what happened with Andrew, one of our Russian brothers. The Devil tried to get him to commit suicide the day before he heard about the Family!
         3. (But then there are the cases of backslidden Christians who commit suicide, those who have so miserably failed the Lord or done such great harm to His work that they can no longer live with themselves. Their remorse is so great they can't face themselves or others, and figure that since they're going to have to face the Lord some day anyway, they might as well do it now before they cause any more trouble. Some of these people, when they realize what they've done either to themselves or to others, feel there's no longer any hope. They feel there's no hope of remedying the situation and can't face themselves or others any longer. Some of them feel that if they can just get out of the way they could stop being a discredit to the Lord's work.) (--Like Judas.--D.)

The Only Unpardonable Sin Is to Reject the Lord!

         4. The Lord says there is no unpardonable sin except to resist the Holy Spirit, and that's always been my position (Mat.12:31, 32). I've even said that it's quite possible that even Judas was saved! Obviously he was very repentant and very sorry, but he just couldn't stand to live with the shame and the humiliation of knowing that he had betrayed his own Lord (Mat.27:3-5). (Maria: Oh yes, that's a good example!) So that's been my position.
         5. King Saul also committed suicide, and he was a believer (1Sam.31:4-5). That's one reason why he committed suicide, because he knew he had failed and he couldn't face defeat and life any more, so he just decided to end his own. In a sense it's sort of a self-judgment. And I still believe that no sin is unforgivable except to actually reject the Lord and the Holy Spirit.
         6. The Apostle Paul speaks of praying that someone's body should be destroyed in order that their spirit might be saved (1Cor.5:5). Just how he meant that it was going to be destroyed, whether through his prayers or by the act of the wayward one himself, I don't know. But obviously he said that the body could be destroyed that the soul might be saved. (Maria: Oh yes, that's a good verse too.)
         7. One of the first suicide cases I ever came in close contact with was when I was a young teen in Oklahoma. A very dear friend of ours, an old lady that we knew and met there, told us the story. They were fairly wealthy people who had a huge plantation there, and the husband was out in the field one day and got sunstroke, and apparently was lying on the ground in terrible agony. Remember the little boy in the Bible who said, "My head, oh my head!" and died of sunstroke? (2Kg.4:18-20). It's pretty severe. If you think you've ever had a headache, you can remember them; they died of it!--Of course, not just of a headache, but of sunstroke.
         8. Anyway, this man was supposed to be a good Christian, and he had written a note or somehow indicated that he just couldn't stand the pain. So he broke his watch in order to show what time he did it, and I think he shot himself. His wife was convinced that he was certainly saved, and therefore, although it was a sin in a way, the Lord Himself implies that there are sins that not only can be forgiven here, but in the next world as well. He says in that same passage, "That blasphemy against the Holy Ghost"--in other words, to reject Christ and the Spirit of the Lord completely--"shall not be forgiven, neither in this world, nor in the world to come" (Mat.12:31,32).
         9. So obviously there are sins that are going to be forgiven in the next world! Therefore, since we believe in eternal Salvation--once saved, always saved--I've always had the opinion that regardless of what happens, you cannot lose the Lord or His Salvation. Although you might disobey and go astray and reject His will or His leadings or break His commandments, nevertheless, if you truly believe in Him and have not rejected Him and the Holy Spirit as far as faith is concerned, then, like Judas, who committed one of the greatest sins of all--he both betrayed his Lord as well as committed suicide--you're still saved!
         10. So suicide is not on the list of unpardonable sins. There's only one unpardonable sin, and that's to reject the Lord.--Not just His will or His plan for your life, or even His commandments, but to reject Him by rejecting His Holy Spirit. To me, that means refusing to believe on Him. I still believe that those who believe have everlasting life (Jn.3:36). And sometimes believers have been known to commit suicide when they have failed the Lord and backslidden and life has become unbearable, but not interminable. In other words, it's unbearable and they figure that all that's left for them is just to terminate it.
         11. They just couldn't take it! It was just too much; they just couldn't stand it in the flesh. They couldn't even stand the torture of the spirit, the torture of the Devil, so they have terminated it. I'm sure the Lord will rightly and justly judge the degree of the situation accordingly and whether they deserve to be punished for it afterwards or not.

Punishment Does Not Last Forever!

         12. We still believe that for some people who are going to Hell or to Purgatory, it's only temporary. Jesus said, "And that servant which knew his Lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to His will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes" (Luk.12:47,48). But whether the stripes are few or many, they come to an end! It doesn't mean they're going to be punished forever.
         13. We do not believe that Hell is forever! There are some terms used in the Bible, which translated from the Greek in our English Bible as "forever" and even "forever and ever," actually come from the Greek "aeon," which means an age.--Which can be a long time, but even an age comes to an end.
         14. And obviously even murder is forgivable. Look at Paul, who arrested and tortured innocent Christians, and delivered them over to death!--And David, who had Uriah killed! (2Sam. 11:15; Psa.89:30-34). And then there's the example of the thieves on the cross--we know the one's sin was forgiven, at least, and the Lord even said he wasn't going to have to suffer any punishment at all; he was going to go straight with Him to Paradise! (Luk.23:43). The only unpardonable sin is to reject the Lord--in other words, the appeal of His Holy Spirit to believe in Him. That will not be forgiven in this world, nor in the next.
         15. So obviously there are many sins which are forgiven in this world, and there are some which men apparently think are unforgivable, but which will be forgiven in the next, probably after appropriate punishment and at the Resurrection of the Unsaved and White Throne Judgment Seat of God at the end of the Millennium. Many of those people who have been in Hell are apparently even found written in the Book of Life and are not lost forever!

Suicide Is Punishable, but Forgivable!

         16. I don't think you can find any place in the Bible where it teaches that suicide is unforgivable! Of course, they probably will be disciplined or punished for it, depending on the circumstances and the strain and stress of the situation and all the rest. Or maybe they won't even be punished for it at all! Maybe they'll have an awfully good excuse and God will even consider it excusable, and certainly forgivable. (Maria: Hallelujah! That's wonderful!) But if they're saved and the Lord doesn't consider that they had sufficient excuse for suicide--they terminated their lives before He was ready--they therefore may deserve to receive some punishment for it. It's like any other sin--it is punishable, but forgivable.
         17. It doesn't say anywhere in the Bible that suicide is unforgivable. There may even be some cases where it was virtually justifiable, under some circumstances. Maybe the suffering was too great and they couldn't stand it, or they did it in order to keep from betraying the Lord through torture, or betraying their brethren, etc. They chose death instead, feeling it was better than betraying brethren who would then all be slaughtered because of it. They didn't feel that they could stand the torture and thought that they might betray them, so they killed themselves.
         18. In this case, where some have been thought to have committed suicide in order to save their brethren, to spare them from as bad or worse a death, the Lord said that if a man dies for his friends, this is the greatest love of all! "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" or his brethren (John 15:13).
         19. Samson is an example of a believer who not only committed suicide, but killed many of the Philistines at the same time, and who was evidently neither condemned nor punished by the Lord. He took hold of the two pillars of the Philistines' house of Dagon and said, "Let me die with the Philistines!"--And the house fell down and killed them all, including Samson! (See Judges 16:29-30.) In fact, it says that "the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life!" He willingly, purposely gave his own life in order to avenge himself of his enemies, and is later listed in the "Hall of Fame" of Hebrews chapter 11! (verse 32.)

Suicide in the Case of Backsliders

         20. Of course, the backslider who commits suicide is not doing it for his brethren. It's not because of love of others, it's just because of grief over his own horrible sins and his awful state. "For the way of the transgressor is hard!" (Pro.13:15). He just can't stand it any longer, and he may somehow feel that the Lord can't forgive him and that he can't come back to the Family because of his failures or whatever.--And perhaps he's too proud to come back. But even suicide in that case will be forgiven. That doesn't mean it will go totally unpunished, but the Lord is merciful and just.
         21. There are sins that can be forgiven in the next world, as Jesus said, which men will not forgive in this world. And even if in this world God perhaps doesn't forgive, we will be forgiven after some type of discipline in the next world. Even the Catholics believe that Purgatory is not forever. (Maria: So maybe some backsliders feel that their brethren won't forgive them, but the Lord will, and maybe that's why they take their lives. They feel like they can't be forgiven by people, but at least the Lord will have some mercy on them.) Yes, that's possibly how they feel.

Jesus and the Martyrs and Ourselves!

         22. So even suicide is amongst the forgivable sins, even if it is a sin. And it might be judged that in some cases it was not a sin, it was the only way out, and maybe the only way to spare the brethren. After all, Jesus laid down His life for the sheep (Jn. 10:11). He didn't have to go. If you want to look at it that way, even the death of the Lord was a voluntary suicide! Some people would be horrified to hear me say that, but He came and voluntarily laid down His life so that we could be saved.
         23. So that's a little shocking, and it might be a little hard for some people to consider it in that way, but the Lord Himself said that "no greater love hath any man than this, that a man lay down his life for his brethren." What if the suicide is laying down his life for his brethren?
         24. In a way, the martyrs were suicides! They voluntarily went to their death for Jesus when they could have escaped by denying their doctrine or the Lord, or whatever. They voluntarily chose to die, which amounts to suicide! Even though it was not at their own hand, it was according to their own will. So in that sense you could even count the martyrs as suicides!

Suicide Is Possibly Justifiable And Definitely Forgivable!

         25. In the long run, a lot will depend on people's motives, why they did it. Whether they did it as a martyr to save their brethren, or as a martyr to refuse to deny the Lord, or whether they were just backsliders who just couldn't stand to live because of their sins or betrayals. According to Jesus Himself they all can be forgiven in the next world, because there is only one unforgivable sin. The only unpardonable sin is rejection of faith in Jesus, and refusal and resistance of His Holy Spirit's urges to believe on and receive Jesus.
         26. So the shocking conclusion is that sometimes suicide possibly could be justifiable, and it's definitely forgivable! Some people get so depressed and oppressed that they just think life is too hard and they want to end it all.--Or in defeat and pride and humiliation, they just don't think they can face life and face others, so they'd rather kill themselves and face God. Apparently they're too weak and they just don't have enough faith to hang on a little longer and trust the Lord to deliver them His way.--So they take their life--and their death--into their own hands. God will forgive them and will judge them according to His perfect wisdom.

God Is the Judge!

         27. God is going to be the Judge. I think it depends on the person, the circumstances and the conditions.--And that's up to the Lord. In some cases suicide may be justifiable, but there are many selfish, unjustifiable and poor excuses for suicide. But even though they may be punished for these things, they can still be forgiven.
         28. (Maria: In a way, you would think that if Christians do the same evil things as non-Christians, since they're much more responsible, that they would be punished much more. But on the other hand, because we as Christians have received the Lord's forgiveness, and we've even received His pardon in advance for all our sins, if we're repentant, we can claim that forgiveness. Even if a believer gets so extremely "out of it" that he commits such a horrible act as suicide, he can still repent and receive the Lord's forgiveness, even though he has to accept the serious punishment for his actions.
         29. (The saved have freely received God's pardon, which was bought for them with Jesus' blood. Whereas the unsaved folks, even though they aren't as responsible, because they don't know the Lord, all they have is the Devil's justice and judgment to look forward to! Because what they are responsible for in many cases is that they have rejected the Lord. If they have willfully rejected Jesus, then they certainly are responsible, very responsible.--And all they have to look forward to is the Devil's justice or judgment, not the Lord's forgiveness and mercy.)
         30. I've always felt some sympathy for the poor people who commit suicide, and I've hoped and prayed that they were saved, that they at least had faith in the Lord, even though they couldn't stand life any more. I think it's far better, of course, that you suffer whatever it is for the Lord and stand up for Him, and if necessary even die for Him, than dying at your own hand! But I can't say that it's a sin that's unforgivable, because obviously Jesus said all sins are forgivable except to always resist the Holy Ghost, like the self-righteous Scribes and Pharisees did.
         31. God bless you!--And help you to keep living for Jesus, presenting your body a living sacrifice on the altar of His daily service, laying down your life in love for Him and others! I love you! (For more on this subject, see TSM #9.)

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family