Suicide seems to be epidemic in the current Western world. I frequently hear stories from pastors and teachers about young people who have tragically killed themselves. About 15 years ago a co-worker of mine killed himself. When a Christian tragically kills himself or herself, questions arise regarding their eternal state. Does the Christian who commits suicide go to heaven or hell? Part of the confusion on this subject is the long-standing belief that suicide is an unforgiveable sin. But what does the Bible say? Can a Christian who commits suicide go to heaven?
Christians will go to heaven if they commit suicide because they believe in Jesus, his death, and resurrection, and because one’s eternal destiny is not dependent on works. Scripture suggests there are some permissible reasons for suicide, but by-and-large Christians should not do it.
I will first present the requirements for entering heaven and hell, which will greatly help us answer our question. Then, I will look at narratives in the Bible that contain suicide to determine how Scripture views such actions. Finally, I will answer the question about the destiny of Christians who commit suicide along with some personal comments in the summary.
Requirements for Entering Heaven and Entering Hell
When it comes to the question of who enters heaven and who enters hell, Scripture has one answer for each question. I will treat who enters heaven first, then who enters hell.
Who Enters Heaven?
The Bible is clearest on the issue of who enters heaven. Those who enter heaven are those who repent of their sin and who believe in Jesus, his death and resurrection:
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith [in Jesus]. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
EPHESIANS 2:4–9, emphasis added
Those who enter heaven are those who do not trust in works, but trust in Jesus, believing that he died for your sins and was raised from the dead three days later, defeating sin and death. Those who believe in Jesus are united with him and will be with him in heaven when they die as they await the resurrection and for Jesus to fully set up his kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.
Who Enters Hell?
Conversely, those who enter hell are all those who reject Jesus, who do not believe in him, his death, or his bodily resurrection. In the book of Revelation, all those who believe in Jesus have their names written in the Lamb’s book of life (the Lamb is Jesus in the book of Revelation, so it is Jesus’ book of life). Revelation clearly states that those who do not have their name in Jesus’ book of life (i.e., who do not believe in him) will be sent to hell:
“And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”
REVELATION 20:12–15, emphasis added
Believers in Jesus Who Commit Suicide Go to Heaven
Based on who enters heaven and who enters hell, if a Christian commits suicide, the Christian will go to heaven because he believes in Jesus. I am reminded of Paul’s comments on a Christian’s assurance of salvation in Romans 8:
“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
ROMANS 8:38–39, emphasis added
Nothing can take away a Christians salvation, not even killing oneself. If a Christian commits suicide, that Christian will go to heaven to be with his Lord and Saviour, Jesus. Should Christians commit suicide? I’ll respond to that question in my concluding thoughts at the end of this article.
Suicide in the Bible
The Bible does not explicitly comment on suicide. Thus, it does not state whether there are acceptable reasons to kill oneself, nor does it state that God’s people should never kill themselves. As such, we will analyse the biblical narratives that include suicide.
There are three narratives that recount people who commit or attempt suicide: king Saul and his armour bearer, the Philippian Jailer, and Judas Iscariot. Let’s look at each of these in turn to determine the circumstances that led to their suicide or attempted suicide and how Scripture views it.
King Saul and His Armour-Bearer Falling on Their Swords (1 Sam 31:1–7; 1 Chron 10:1–7)
After the prophet Samuel died, the Philistines gathered to wage war against king Saul and Israel (1 Sam 28:1–4). King Saul was greatly afraid and did not know what to do (28:5), so he illegally went to medium to conjure up the spirit of Samuel for advice (28:6–16). When Samuel appeared, he told Saul that Yahweh had torn the kingdom away from him and given it to David (28:17–18). Samuel also told Saul that Yahweh was going to kill Saul the very next day in the battle against the Philistines (28:19). Thus, Saul was 100% sure he was going to die the following day.
During the battle the following day, king Saul was badly wounded by the Philistines (1 Sam 31:1–3). Saul asked his armour-bearer to kill him lest they pierce him through and abuse him:
“Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, ‘Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and mistreat me.’”
1 SAMUEL 31:4a
The armour-bearer would not kill king Saul, so Saul took his own sword and fell on it. When Saul’s armour-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his sword and killed himself:
“But his armor-bearer would not, for he feared greatly. Therefore Saul took his own sword and fell upon it. And when his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword and died with him. Thus Saul died, and his three sons, and his armor-bearer, and all his men, on the same day together.”
1 SAMUEL 31:4b–6, emphasis added; cf. 1 Chron 10:1–7
Why did king Saul commit suicide?[1] According to 1 Samuel 28 and 31, Saul committed suicide because (a) he was badly wounded, (b) he knew 100% that he was going to die that day by the Philistines because God told him this through the prophet Samuel, (c) the Philistines were almost upon him, (d) the Philistines were going to abuse him (torture him) before killing him, and, thus, (e) committing suicide was going to be a more peaceful death than letting the Philistine’s torture and kill him.
Does Scripture comment on the rightness or wrongness of Saul’s suicide? No, it does not. Scripture simply presents what took place in this instance. It accurately states how king Saul died. Because Scripture does not comment on the rightness or wrongness of Saul taking his own life, we must be careful about assigning a moral quality to his actions.
With the above being said, I think we can conclude that Saul was justified in killing himself because (a) he knew 100% that he was going to die and (b) he was avoiding a more horrific death. It is certainly possible that the Philistines would have given Saul a quick death, but it is very unlikely based on their past history. Saul was not ignorant regarding the Philistines and what they thought of him; he knew that they hated him and what they did to their enemies.
What about king Saul’s armour-bearer? What about his suicide? His situation was quite different from Saul’s. He was not injured and he could have run away with the rest of the Israelite army. However, he did not. He chose to kill himself along with the king he served. What are we to make of the armour-bearer’s suicide?
Unfortunately, the text does not comment on the armour-bearer’s death other than to tell us how he died. The silence on the issue and the matter-of-fact way it is written suggests that it was commonplace for a king or soldier’s armour-bearer to kill himself if his master died. It has been suggested that in an honour-shame society the armour-bearer would have been expected to kill himself if his master died or face extreme shame by his community. When two people are joined, such as a king or soldier and his armour-bearer, they frequently share the same fate. Thus, the armour-bearer seems to have killed himself in solidarity with king Saul and to avoid the shame of running away and abandoning his master.
The Philippian Jailer’s Attempted Suicide (Acts 16:25–29)
The apostle Paul and Silas were preaching the gospel in the city of Philippi (Acts 16:11–15). While in Philippi, Paul cast out a divining spirit from a slave-girl (16:16–18). Her owners did not like it, so stirred up the crowd and had Paul and Silas thrown in prison (16:19–24). That night, an angel came and opened all the prison doors and unfastened all the prisoners’ bonds (16:25–26). When the jailer saw that all the prison doors were open, he attempted to kill himself, but was stopped at the last moment by Paul:
“When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul cried with a loud voice, ‘Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.’”
ACTS 16:27–28, emphasis added
Why was the Philippian jailer going to commit suicide? The text is clear that he was going to kill himself because he thought all the prisoners had escaped. Historical studies have shown us that if one or more prisoners escape, the one in charge of the prisoner(s) was expected to kill himself for his failure or be killed by the State. Not killing himself would have brought shame upon him and his family; whereas killing himself for his failure would have been an honourable act that would have mitigated the shame of his utter failure. Thus, the jailer’s death was certain, so he was taking the honourable course of action by killing himself, saving his family the shame that would have come upon them because he allowed all the prisoners to escape. Thankfully, the prisoners did not escape and Paul stopped the jailer from killing himself.
We conclude then, that the jailer attempted suicide because his death was certain and suicide was the honourable course of action. Had the State killed him for his failure of letting the prisoners escape, shame would have come upon his family and made their lives more difficult.
Judas Iscariot’s Suicide (Matt 27:3–5)
Probably the most famous suicide in the Bible is Judas Iscariot’s. Judas, of course, is the one who betrayed Jesus to the religious authorities who then put Jesus to death (Matt 26:14–16, 47–56). However, upon seeing that Jesus was to be condemned to death, Judas regretted his decision and his part in Jesus’ death, so he hung himself:
“Then when Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, saying, ‘I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.’ They said, ‘What is that to us? See to it yourself.’ And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed, and he went and hanged himself.”
MATTHEW 27:3–5, emphasis added
Why did Judas commit suicide? Judas killed himself because of shame and regret for his part in the death of Jesus, who was rightly declared as innocent by Judas himself. The biblical text does not comment on whether or not Judas was right to kill himself; it simply presents the facts surrounding his death. However, the idea of killing oneself because of shame should be familiar by now because it was an element in the deaths of Saul’s armour-bearer and the Philippian jailer.
Summary of Suicide in the Bible
The reasons for committing suicide as presented in the above biblical narratives are as follows:
- Death is certain
- To avoid a worse death
- Because of solidarity with the one who died
- Because of shame
- To avoid shame
The biblical text does not comment on the justification or moral rightness of any of the suicides it narrates. The biblical text simply presents the facts. As such, we should be careful about assigning moral qualities (rightness or wrongness) to these suicides.
With the above being said, it seems to me that when death is certain, such as in the case of Saul and the jailer, suicide is justifiable if it avoids a worse fate, such as torture or greatly disadvantaging one’s family socio-economically because of shame.
Further, shame is not something to take lightly or to look down upon. In the West, we have largely lost any semblance of shame. The raunchy, the incompetent, the diabolical, the perverse, and those who engage with or epitomize these qualities are far too often lauded, promoted, loved, and accepted. I truly believe most of those who are from the West have lost a sense of honour and shame. Thus, my next comment may not make sense to many of my readers or may turn you off. Please bear with me and show me grace if you think I am wrong.
I believe that in cases of extreme shame, it is permissible to kill oneself, such as the case with Judas who orchestrated the death of the Son of God and the Philippian jailer who thought he utterly failed at his job. A more recent example is Roh Moo-hyun, the President of South Korea from 2003 to 2008. A year after leaving office, in 2009, Roh Moo-hyun committed suicide and left a note with the reason: “there are too many people suffering because of me.” Often in cultures of honour and shame, when shame is brought upon a person it affects that person’s entire family in socio-economic ways that we in the West cannot image and will not experience. Thus, suicide is a way to mitigating the shame that is transferred onto one’s family and may serve to benefit them.
Summary and Concluding Thoughts
Christians will go to heaven if they commit suicide because they believe in Jesus, his death, and resurrection, and because one’s eternal destiny is not dependent on works. Those who enter hell enter because they have rejected Jesus as their Lord and saviour, not because they have killed themselves.
The narratives of king Saul, his armour-bearer, the Philippian jailer, and Judas Iscariot suggest that suicide is a legitimate option for those who are 100% sure of their death and their imminent death will be worse than suicide. Further, the above narratives also suggest that suicide to preserve one’s honour or because of extreme shame are acceptable.
So, should Christians consider suicide? No, I do not believe Christians in the West should ever consider suicide for the following reasons. First, 99.99% of Christians in the West will never know the exact date of their death. It is possible God may reveal it to you like he did Saul, but it is quite unlikely. Since we do not know when we will die, we should not presume and ‘jump the gun,’ but should live and continue serving the Lord Jesus.
Second, the West does not have an honour-shame society like the middle East did in biblical times and like many non-Western countries do today. As such, Christians in the West will never need to kill themselves because of shame or to avoid shame (on themselves or their family).
Third, committing suicide demonstrates a lack of trust in God. As those who have entrusted their eternal destinies to God, Christians should be able to trust their entire lives to God. Killing oneself frequently exhibits a lack of trust in God and our saviour Jesus. Rather than committing suicide, Christians should entrust themselves and their situation to God and allow him to work things out.
Fourth, Christians do not have permission to kill themselves because we are slaves of God:
“What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.”
ROMANS 6:15–22, emphasis added
As slaves of God, Christians do not have the right to kill themselves. Only God has the right to kill us and bring us home to him when he sees fit. Committing suicide is taking control of our lives where we have not been given such control. It is taking on the role of God whom we serve. As such, committing suicide is similar to the sin in the Garden of Eden, attempting to be like God.
Fifth, committing suicide is selfish. Those who kill themselves are thinking of themselves and not their family and friends (an exception would be suicide to avoid shaming one’s family). It does not seek to love others and it does not seek the benefit and betterment of others.
Finally, committing suicide ends our service to Jesus and others in this lifetime. Paul contemplates the benefits of death and life in Philippians 1:21–26. He claims that dying will bring him to Christ, but living will enable him to continue serving Christ and the Philippians:
“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.”
PHILIPPIANS 1:21–26, emphasis added
Paul chooses to live for the sake of the Philippians. I encourage all Christians to make the same choice. Choose to live so that you can serve God’s people for their progress and joy in the faith!
[1] We find out in 2 Samuel 1:1–10 that Saul’s suicide attempt didn’t quite work. He was close to death when an Amalekite passed by. Saul entreated the Amalekite to finish the job and kill him, which the Amalekite did. Even though Saul’s suicide did not work, he still attempted suicide and, thus, the narrative is still relevant. Plus, the armour-bearer’s attempted suicide did work.